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  Paradise Plagued

  ~A Court of Mystery Novel~

  Sarah E. Burr

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Sarah Burr

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First Printing, 2018

  www.saraheburr.com

  Other books by Sarah E. Burr

  The Ducal Detective Mysteries

  The Ducal Detective

  A Feast Most Foul

  A Voyage of Vengeance

  A Summit in Shadow

  Throne of Threats

  The Court of Mystery series

  Paradise Plagued

  Burdened Bloodline

  Sovereign Sieged

  Crown of Chaos

  Realm of Virtues Stories

  Mark of Mettle

  Centuries ago, priests of the Ancient Faith lorded over the continent, building their empires on fear and greed. Poverty and sickness ravaged the world, forcing a faction of rebels to rise up and overthrow these tyrants preaching in the name of silent gods. The leaders of this movement, known in the annals of history as the Rebirth, proclaimed the realm would no longer answer to nameless demons and gods, but to the virtues of bravery, humility, kindness, and intelligence. Sealing their pact, these newly anointed leaders drank the dew of the fabled kingsleaf flower, marking them and their offspring forever as destined rulers of the realm with their royal eyes. Under their care and guidance, the dukedoms flourished for over five hundred years. Now, greed and oppression have seeped back into the Realm of Virtues, as the ruling dukes and duchesses of each region lust for more and more power. Fearing the duchies are going the way of the all-but-extinct Ancient Faith, Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier, the self-appointed protector of the realm and ruler of Saphire, has put a plan into motion to secure the freedom and prosperity of the world, despite growing opposition to her cause.

  Contents

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Acknowledgements

  Dedications

  Notes from the Author

  Chapter One

  “I rather feel like a secret operative,” Jacqueline Arienta Xavier murmured, shooting a bemused look at her husband.

  Lord Percival Pettraud shifted in his seat, stretching his legs out from their cramped position. “I know why we’re traveling like this, but Virtues, it’s uncomfortable.” His lavender eyes roamed around the small interior of the carriage.

  The Duchess folded her hands in her lap, too proud to acknowledge he was right. “We didn’t have to leave the palace, you know.”

  He ran a hand through his dark curls. “Yes, we did. You’ve been cooped up in your study for weeks dealing with the fallout from the Isla DeLacqua purchase. We’ve been married three months and have hardly spent any time alone together that wasn’t overshadowed by threats from Duke Savant and Duke Beautraud.”

  “Threats? I’d hardly consider their petition a threat,” she said with a scoff. “As if a strongly worded letter is going to leave me cowering in the corner.”

  Perry leaned forward on his bench, taking her hands. “Jax, my love, you don’t have to keep up the façade when it’s just me. It’s all right to be worried.” His fingers stroked her palm, sending spasms of pleasure to her spine. “I mean, why else would we be fleeing the duchy under the cover of night in a rickshaw?”

  Jax rolled her eyes. “I’d hardly call this a rickshaw, dearest.” Despite the fact their coach was smaller and less cushioned than the opulent, gold-gilded carriage they normally rode in, she didn’t find it insufferable. “And we’re not fleeing the duchy under the cover of darkness. It simply takes time to get to Kwatalar, and it made more sense to kick off our journey now, when the roads are free and clear.”

  “I didn’t mean to sound accusatory,” Perry replied. “I just wish you’d be a little more upfront with me about what’s going on.”

  In the glimmering moonlight, Jax assessed the fine lines sprouting across her husband’s forehead and wondered if she looked as tired as he did. “I don’t mean to keep you in the dark. I just…” she paused, turning her head to look out the small window up at the diamond-speckled night sky, “after a long day of bickering and strategizing with my advisors, it’s nice just to be with you and forget everything else going on in the realm.”

  Perry squeezed her hands before releasing them and sitting back against his seat. “I understand. I just wish I could help you more.”

  “You do help me, just by being here.” She blew him a kiss. “And trust me, we’ll have more than enough time to discuss all the turmoil. The Ogdam Oasis is a week’s ride away.”

  He reached behind to rub his shoulder blade. “I hope they have a hot spring that will be able to work out these knots forming in my back.”

  “A realm-renowned hot spring.” Jax’s amethyst eyes danced with the anticipation of sinking into the healing waters.

  Worry tinged his gaze. “Are you sure this is safe?”

  Jax’s shoulders drooped. “That’s the reason for all this secrecy. Under the guise of a noble Mensina house, we’ll get to enjoy some peace and quiet without having to watch our every step.”

  “Mensina house?”

  “Yes, Captain Solomon thought it would be best if we appeared to have no ties to Saphire. With Grand-Père’s assistance, I’ve arranged different identities for us to use.” Jax glanced at her traveling satchel, containing a scroll signed by Duke Mensina, verifying her false heritage as a noblewoman from his own duchy.

  Perry’s eyebrows arched toward his hairline in surprise. “New identities? You mean, our hosts don’t know they are accommodating the Duchess of Saphire?”

  “No, and for our safety, it’s going to stay that way,” Jax said as she leaned over, rummaging through her traveling bag. “I think our characters are more fascinating than we are.”

  A smirk stretched across Perry’s face. “I highly doubt that.”

  Jax unrolled the scroll her grandfather had sent by guarded messenger not five days ago. “Listen here. You are Arthur Rapaste, son of an esteemed Baron in northern Mensina. You’re an artist on holiday, looking for inspiration for your next masterpiece.”

  “I suppose,” Perry scratched his chin, “I can play that part without too much research. Now I know why you asked Hendrie to pack my easel and art supplies.”

  Jax pictured the straw-haired valet rummaging through the immense paint cupboard she’d recently installed in Perry’s private study. “Yes, unfortunately, Grand-Père took his sweet time getting all our travel papers in order. I would have liked a little more leeway to prepare. I’ve known we’re representing House Rapaste for a few weeks now, but it was only a few days ago the papers with our individual identities arrived.”

  “All right, so I am Lord Arthur Rapaste. What of you,
my wife?”

  Heat filled her cheeks as she met his intense stare. She felt the familiar flutter of desire crawl up her back, not resting until it hummed in her chest. She loved when he called her “my wife.” She suddenly wished they were alone in their chambers back in the palace and not in this cramped carriage.

  “Jax?” Perry’s coy smile revealed he knew the spell he’d cast over her.

  Clearing her throat, she brought her bashful gaze down to the parchment. “I am Lady Victoire, by way of a Viscount’s house in Hestes. You and I were married recently at my familial estate on a small vineyard along the Hestian coastline.”

  “I know I’ll be able to pull off my profession as a painter,” Perry said with a doubtful look, “but how in the Virtues are you going to fool someone into believing you grew up making wine?”

  Jax tossed a caramel lock of hair over her shoulder. “I do own most of the vineyards in Savant these days, Perry. Give me a little credit. I’m not completely clueless about what it takes to run one successfully. Besides,” the corners of her lips curled upward, “I’ll have Vita as my shadow, should I be in dire need of her expertise.”

  She referred to her lady’s maid, Vita Bellarose, currently traveling in a carriage five leagues ahead of Jax and Perry, along with Uma, Jax’s lady-in-waiting, and Hendrie, Perry’s valet. Vita had grown up in Savant, the daughter of a noble house who ran an established vineyard. In recent years, dry weather across the entire region had caused many of the winegrowers to struggle, and since their own sovereign, Duke Savant, refused to bail them out, many plantations had looked elsewhere for assistance. Jax, with the mighty treasury of Saphire, had swooped in and helped the region recover from the financial losses of the drought. In return, her wine cellars were stocked with some of the most exclusive wines and meads in the entire Realm of Virtues. Unfortunately for the Bellarose family, their vineyard brewed a wine too bitter for Jax’s palate, and thus, Vita had volunteered her services to repay the family’s debt.

  “What about Uma and Hendrie?” Perry countered. “Do they have false identities, too?”

  Jax nodded. “It would be a mistake not to. It’s widely known throughout the duchies how dear Uma is to me. As the first common-born to hold the position of a royal lady-in-waiting, she’s notable in her own right. People know we’re never far from one another. If she’s recognized, you can bet our ruse will be uncovered.”

  Perry crossed his arms. “How am I meant to relax if I’m trying to keep all our names straight?”

  She could tell he was giving her a hard time, for a burgeoning smile tugged at his lips. “Let me do the talking once we arrive. No one will give us a second thought after the fact. I’m sure our hosts will have more important guests to attend to than the son of a Baron, his new wife, and their small entourage.”

  Their delegation was indeed small. Jax couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone anywhere without a horde of guards attending her. She’d surprisingly convinced George Solomon, the Captain of the Saphire Ducal Guard, that an envoy of soldiers would ruin their plan in a heartbeat. With false identities in place, George was satisfied his protection would be enough during this little respite from court life. He drove their carriage himself, ever mindful of any potential threat.

  As much as all the need for secrecy and deception worried her, Jax enjoyed the prospect of being surrounded by only her closest companions. It had been so long since it was just their small group. It would do them all some good to enjoy each other’s friendship without the pressures and etiquette of court life dictating their every move.

  “I do hope you’re right about us being left alone,” Perry said, a look of longing clinging to his features.

  Jax felt her heart tighten. She had foolishly thought that after they were married, they’d have all the time in the world to spend together, but like so many of her preconceived notions about the way life worked, she’d been wrong. “I am sorry you’ve been left to your own devices so much lately, dearest.”

  Her husband shrugged, and she could tell he was doing his best to appear unfazed. “I know you’ve had your hands incredibly full. I can’t fault you for that.”

  She wanted to correct him, but she held her tongue. It was her fault she had been so distant of late. Her brazen actions had been the final crack to break the tranquil peace the realm had experienced for centuries. Her purchase of Isla DeLacqua, made to save the island nation from financial collapse, had been viewed as a move to expand her power and overthrow the reigning dukedoms of the realm. The Dukes of Beautraud and Savant had even called for her abdication. Their decree darkened her thoughts. If the lords of the land could put their fragile egos aside, they would see the wisdom of her actions. The acquisition of Isla DeLacqua hardly expanded her already enormous influence throughout the Realm of Virtues, for the island duchy provided no natural resources. Everything its citizens needed had to be imported from the continent. If anything, the isles were a plague on the current state of her treasury. Jax had other plans, though. Her senior advisor, High Courtier Jaquobie, was visiting Isla DeLacqua at this very moment, surveying the land to ensure everything was ready for the next phase of the acquisition: restoration. Knowing full well that Isla DeLacqua had nothing to offer in terms of trade, Jax had decided to make the island’s main income stem from travel and leisure.

  Along with several master builders, Jax and her advisors had drafted plans for beautiful homes, inns, bathhouses, and palaces that would be constructed all over the isles, giving the people of the realm the ability to escape their everyday lives, regardless of their financial standing.

  When she presented her designs to the other ducal leaders, she had been expecting a mixed reaction. Her strongest allies—the Duchies of Mensina, Pettraud, Cetachi, and Lysandeir—had praised her ingenuity. After all, she intended to propel the realm’s prosperity upward by carving out a space in the world where even a common-born citizen could live like an Earl. She had already done so much to change the normally restrictive social guidelines in Saphire. No longer was a man’s fate tied to his birthright. In the world she envisioned, a commoner could become a Duke if he was the best match, or a common-born woman could rise to the station of a lady-in-waiting, as her dear friend Uma had done. Jax dreamed of this new world day and night, and she was excited by what she planned to build.

  Yet, all her colleagues did not see eye to eye with her vision. Duchies like Savant and Beautraud seemed to view the change as a threat, and thus tried to poison the minds of the realm regarding Jax’s well-laid plans. Even Delphinia, the Duchess of Tandora, whom Jax had always considered to be a reasonable woman and fair leader, had recently sent her a letter berating the upheaval Saphire had caused. Jax eyed the satchel next to her containing their travel documents, as well as other important papers she trusted no one but herself to look after. Delphinia’s letter was safely tucked away from prying eyes. Only those in her inner political circle knew how dangerously close the Tandorian Duchess was to turning her back on an ally.

  Duke Beautraud claimed Jax’s recent actions threatened the security of the noble houses across the realm. He was not wrong. If a common-born person showed they were worthier and more just than those currently in positions of nobility, then those titles would indeed be vulnerable. It encouraged noble families to rise themselves out of their entitled stupors, to be better, kinder, and smarter, knowing their livelihood was at stake. But none of the other sovereigns seemed to understand this part of her plan. They seemed to hear nothing past Duke Beautraud’s concerns about the danger of noble families losing their status, families who provided a majority of the gold filling each region’s reserves.

  Jax knew for a fact that Duke Savant was in such a situation. His nobles, having suffered from drought, could not pay the taxes they owed, and thus his own treasury was on the brink of collapse. Together, Beautraud and Savant formed a coalition, the sole purpose of which was to prevent Jax from creating the future she envisioned.

  “What are you smirk
ing about?” Perry’s voice sliced through her array of thoughts.

  Jax focused her attention on his curious gaze. “I find it humorous that Beautraud and Savant think their little political alliance could really stop the changes coming to the realm. Whether by my hand or not, social change is coming. I’d rather welcome it with open arms, but some of the old guard seem intent on fighting it.”

  “You aren’t concerned their combined strength may be enough to stop you?”

  She choked back a laugh. “Strength? There’s hardly any strength left between those two. Savant is nearly bankrupt. And the common-born in Beautraud protest daily for the same rights I have given my people by allowing them to elect village and town premiers.”

  After a peace summit in the Duchy of Lysandeir opened Jax’s eyes to the issues facing her world, she had organized elections for local officials to oversee the day-to-day functions of their domain. Instead of her court advisors traveling all over to settle disputes and enact change, this was now left to the will of the people. The elected premiers acted on behalf of their constituents and in turn, if they veered away from public opinion, they were replaced by someone willing to work on behalf of others. While the premiers still reported their progress and issues to the palace, Jax was no longer in the weeds when it came to running her duchy. Her time was now fully devoted to ensuring that trade agreements were fair and profitable, that the treasury was growing, and that her people were kept safe.

  “What do you plan to do about Savant’s finances? Are you going to make the same offer you did to Lord Brunovaris?” Perry’s eyebrow cocked with an inquisitive flair.

  Lord Brunovaris, the former Duke DeLacqua who had managed his duchy’s treasury so poorly that he ran it dry, had signed over the deed to the isles in exchange for a lordship in Saphire and Jax clearing all his debts. Lord Brunovaris and his daughter Carriena, one of Jax’s closest friends, had settled into their new life quite well. “I doubt he would accept it even if I did make the offer,” she replied. “Lord Brunovaris was sensical enough to know when he was in over his head. Savant’s ego, on the other hand, blinds him.”