The Charnel Prince - J. Gregory Keyes [166]
“Oh, they are very real, Majesty,” Berrye assured her.
Muriele looked back up at her. “But why do you suspect that Robert died? After all, it was his plan to assassinate William.”
“Plans go wrong. William had faithful men with him, and there was a fight. In any case, there were plenty of people who hated Robert enough to kill him—and he was absent from the court for an awfully long time.”
“This is still conjecture,” Muriele said.
“It is,” Berrye said. “But it would explain other things I have heard about. Terrible, unnatural things that ought not to be.”
“I only cursed Robert—”
Berrye shook her head violently. “Majesty, if he came back from the dead, you have done more than curse one man. You have broken the law of death itself, and that is a very bad thing indeed.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A CHANGE OF PATRONS
PLEASE,” LEOFF BEGGED THE soldier, “can’t you tell me what’s happened, what I’m supposed to have done?”
“Don’t know,” the soldier said. He was a short fellow with a puffy red face and an unpleasant nasal voice. “Word was left at the gate to grab you if you turned up—and you turned up. That’s all I know. So just keep moving and don’t make my life difficult with a lot of questions I can’t answer.”
Leoff swallowed, but resigned himself to waiting.
They were in a part of the castle he hadn’t been in before—not that that was a surprise, because he hadn’t seen most of the castle. They’d already passed the court, so they weren’t going there. They went down a long hall with high arches and a red marble floor, then into a large room of alabaster. Light streamed in from broad windows trimmed with pale green and gold drapes. The rugs and tapestries were done in similar colors.
When he saw the men who waited in the room, he felt his scalp prickle, and his heart jerked erratically.
“Fralet Akenzal,” one of the men said, “or shall I call you cavaor?”
Leoff did not know the face, but he knew the disharmonic voice instantly. It was the man from the dike; the one Mery had said was Prince Robert.
“I—I’m sorry, my lord,” Leoff stuttered, bowing. “I don’t know how to address you.”
The other man, of course, was the praifec. “You would not know Prince Robert,” he said, “but he is now your regent. You may refer to him as ‘Your Highness’ or ‘my Prince.’ ”
Leoff bowed again, hoping the shaking in his legs wasn’t visible. Did they know that he had heard them, somehow? Did they know?
“It is my great honor to meet you, Your Highness,” he said.
“And mine to meet you, Fralet Ackenzal. I hear you performed a great service for our country in my absence.”
“It was nothing, my Prince.”
“And I’ve also heard that you’re excessively modest, a trait I’ve little understanding of.” He stood and put his hands behind his back. “I’m glad you’re well, though I see you’ve been injured.” He pointed at the bandage on Leoff’s head. “You were at the lady Gramme’s ball, were you not?”
“I was indeed, Your Highness.”
“A tragic thing, that,” the prince opined. “It won’t happen again.”
“My Prince, if I may ask, has something happened to His Majesty?”
The regent smiled an unpleasant little smile. “I did not have you brought here, Fralet Ackenzal, so that you could question me. You will understand the situation in due course. What I would like to know at the moment is where you have been.”
“Wh-where I have been, Your Highness?” Leoff stammered.
“Indeed. You were nowhere to be found when the smoke cleared at Lady Gramme’s and now, five days later, you suddenly reappear at the gates of the city.”
Leoff nodded. “Yes, Sire. As you might expect, I was frightened and disoriented. My head injury made me dizzy, and I became quite lost in the dark. I wandered until I collapsed. A farmer found me and took care of me until I was able to travel.”
“I see. And you were alone, when this farmer found you?”
“Yes, Sire.”
The prince nodded. “You know the lady Gramme’s daughter, Mery, I believe? You were instructing her in the playing of the hammarharp?”
“I was, my Prince.”
“You did not see her at the ball?”
“No, Sire. I wasn’t aware that she was there.”