A Feast Most Foul (Ducal Detective Mysteries Book 2) Read online

  Jax waved a hand, shooing her away with playful reproach. “I am perfectly capable, although my makeup won’t look nearly as flawless as it does when applied by your hand.”

  Ducking out of the room, Uma disappeared on her quest, leaving Jax to prepare herself for the rapidly approaching dinner party. Tonight was meant to be a much more intimate affair, with her grandfather hosting only the courtiers traveling with their duchy’s delegation. The thought of being surrounded by stuffy men who would be analyzing and appraising her every move caused a groan of agitation to float out of her lips. If only Perry could be by her side, it would make the gathering more bearable. She wished more than anything that she could sneak down to the fairgrounds and eat with the knights, who were no doubt celebrating the completion of the hunt.

  Just as she placed her selected crown jewels on her loose, flowing hair, a knock on her door startled her. “Jax, are you still in there?” George Solomon’s voice whispered from the other side of the dense wood.

  Unlocking the door, she ushered him inside. “Well, have you found anything of use? They won’t allow me to see Perry, George. I’m getting worried that my grandfather is going to harm him out of spite.”

  Captain Solomon ran a hand through his hair, his face troubled. “I wish I had better news to report. I thought that perhaps money motivated this, but apparently Chalfant recently settled all his debts with his last stint in Savant. He was a man with no known enemies.”

  Jax stomped her foot in frustration, the heel of her golden slipper digging painfully into her skin as a result. “We’re right back to where we started. Hopefully Uma has more luck. I’ve asked her to track down the farcical tourney locations and see if we can clear Perry’s name that way. The Mensina tournament was the first time his father let him travel outside the duchy, so if we can prove their paths could not have crossed before now, then there’s hardly motive for Perry to commit such a deed.”

  “I agree, your logic makes sense, Jax, but I’m beginning to think no matter what we do, your grandfather will find a way to thwart us. We had to relinquish guarding Chalfant’s tent because Roche and his men ordered us out. I couldn’t stay without causing a scene.” George looked quite defeated. It didn’t suit his handsome face well.

  “At least we have several eyewitnesses in our own Ducal Guard who can attest to the state of the tent.” Jax grumbled, pacing around the room.

  “You think Duke Mensina’s men would plant evidence or something?” Captain Solomon seemed shocked by the accusation.

  Jax gave him a cool look. “I wouldn’t put anything past my grandfather if it meant undermining me or Saphire.” She sighed, looking out the window. “We never should have come to this place.” Looking at the time, she rolled her eyes. “I must get going, George. I’ll find you later once I’ve spoken with Uma.”

  Her captain bowed and shuffled aside as she took off for the dining room, trying to rearrange her scowl into something that passed for a meager smile. It was only when she saw Sir Antoine Wincaester’s figure strolling ahead of her did her expression feel genuine. “Antoine? Are you joining us for dinner this evening?”

  Hearing her melodic voice, he turned with a deep bow. “Unfortunately for you, I did not make the cut. Luckily for me, I get to head down to the fairgrounds and spend some time getting to properly know my comrades. I feel like I’ve been cooped up in this palace for too long.”

  Jax’s disappointment in his absence was sincere. “What a shame. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.” She fiddled absently with the ruffles of her gown.

  Antoine gave her a curious look. “Is Lord Pettraud not accompanying you this evening?”

  Reddening at the slip of her tongue, Jax shuffled her feet awkwardly. “Something he ate this morning didn’t agree with him, so he’s indisposed tonight,” she lied with ease. To her relief, Antoine nodded his head in acceptance.

  “Well, do pass on my wishes to him for a speedy recovery.” With a farewell bow, the Knight with No Face departed for the castle doors, leaving Jax to face the evening alone.

  As hard as she tried to suppress them, yawns assaulted her throughout the dull dinner party. If it weren’t for the luscious-looking bumbleberry cake sitting primly on display, waiting to be served for dessert, she would have claimed a headache and left halfway through the first course. The sweet, fluffy frosting was worth a night of suffering, and by ten o’clock, she was strolling back to her room in gluttonous pain, her stomach feeling like it was going to burst through the seams of her ocean blue dress.

  Uma greeted her in the suite’s sitting room, wringing her hands anxiously as her Duchess strolled in.

  Jax hurried to the woman’s side. “Have you found anything of note, dear one?”

  Uma’s chestnut brown eyes crinkled with worried anticipation. “I did manage to come across a planner chronicling all the different tourneys in the realm. These farcical tournaments regularly pop up in Hestes, Crepsta, Tandora, Beautraud, Isla Relacquer, and,” she paused, her face paling at the implication, “Pettraud.”

  The cake flipped in Jax’s stomach, a wave of nausea flooding in. “No! Virtue’s sake, this makes matters worse for Perry. If my grandfather learns of this connection, he’ll use it against us.”

  “No one was in the archives with me except the curator, and I told him I wanted to view the records because my long-lost brother was rumored to be roaming the lands as a jester.” Uma hurried to Jax’s side in confidence.

  Jax gave her maid a grateful smile, silently praising her for her ingenuity. “Let’s hope no one finds out while we are here that you have no siblings.” Squeezing Uma’s hand with affection, Jax suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired. She was no closer to clearing Perry’s name than when she’d begun this fruitless investigation. “Thank you, Uma. You did well. Share what you’ve learned with Captain Solomon. He’ll want to know. I’d go myself, but I feel a bit out of sorts. Perhaps a good night’s sleep will help me figure things out. I must have missed something.” She lost herself in thought as Uma prepared her for bed, her mind spinning as she lay her head against the fluffed bed pillows.

  She didn’t realize she’d fallen off to sleep until a firm hand gently shook her shoulder, coaxing her awake. “Jax! Jax, I need you to wake up now.”

  Her eyes foggy with lingering dreams, she squinted, staring up at the captain of the Ducal Guard. “George? Virtue’s sake, what time is it? What’s going on?” She sat up, cognition slowly returning to her confused gaze.

  Captain Solomon knelt at her bedside, his brow furrowed. “I need you to come with me, Duchess. There’s been an incident and I need your help.”

  His apprehensive tone launched her out of bed without asking any further questions. Grabbing a robe to cover her nightgown, she threw a traveling cloak over her shoulders, tucking her unkempt hair into the hood. “Lead the way, Captain.”

  He cautioned silence as they stole through the maze of hallways, unable to answer the barrage of questions pummeling through her mind. It was only when the castle air grew cooler that she realized he was leading her into the belly of the palace. This route was unfamiliar to her, so she guessed they were not heading towards the dungeons. She’d been hoping her captain had managed to get her an audience with Perry, but the smells of decay and incense triggered her recognition. They were heading for the catacombs.

  Just as she was about to turn a corner, Captain Solomon held out his arm and halted her, his keen eyes scanning the darkness for activity. Pulling her into the shadows of a doorway, he reached for an iron doorknob. “Forgive all the secrecy, Jax, but we only have a few moments before the physician returns to prepare the body.”

  “Body?” Jax’s shock echoed around them, and she immediately cursed her indiscretion. “What is going on, George?” she whispered, suddenly queasy of what lay on the other side of the door.

  “There’s been another death. A young woman’s body was found in the woods just north of the fairgrounds.” Captain Solomon somberly rep
orted.

  Jax shivered, knowing she’d walked through those woods merely hours before. “Was she attacked by an animal?” she asked in hopeful naiveté.

  Stony-faced, George replied, “I’m afraid not. From what my men and I have gathered, she was strangled. I wanted to see the body for myself.”

  “Was it really necessary to bring me?” Jax asked, her skin tingling with goosebumps.

  “Yes, I think you’ll see why in just a moment. Prepare yourself, Duchess. This will be unpleasant.” The captain noiselessly pushed open the door to the preparation chamber, a hallowed cavern smelling of perfumed flesh and blood.

  Suppressing a gag, Jax followed her captain, her eyes immediately narrowing in on a covered figure lying on a slab in the center of the room. The sight felt like déjà vu, the vision of her father’s body blossoming morbidly in her mind. “Tell me why I’m here, Captain,” she demanded, holding her breath at the stench.

  Pulling back the stained sheet, George Solomon revealed the victim to the flickering torchlight. In the uneven darkness, Jax could tell the woman was of slender build, no more than twenty years of age, but with the weathered skin of a hard life making her appear older and more mature. Her blond hair was streaked with dirt, darkening its shade, and in the stoicness of death, it looked as though the woman had been very pretty. “The poor girl.”

  The captain nodded in agreement. From the corner of her eye, Jax could have sworn George’s face paled uncharacteristically as he assessed the body. While the woman’s death was tragic, the captain’s intense reaction surprised her. “What’s wrong?”

  Captain Solomon’s brows raised in incredulity. “Does she remind you of anyone?”

  Frowning in concentration, Jax looked back at the woman’s face, trying to figure out what George was hinting at. The woman was quite beautiful with her high cheeks, full lips, and dark, honey colored hair…

  “She looks like me.” The disturbing realization crushed the breath from Jax’s lungs. Staggering back, she clasped a hand to her dry throat. “What have I done?” She thought back to her adventure down to the fairgrounds, disguising herself as a tourney wench, alluding to the galley master that she was pregnant with the dead man’s baby. Tears obscured her vision and guilt ripped through her chest. Someone had come after this woman because they thought she was Chalfant’s mistress. This woman was dead because of a story she had made up on a whim. “The murderer thought she was with Chalfant’s child.” Jax croaked, looking to her captain for forgiveness. “She was killed because of me.”

  Captain Solomon replaced the sheet reverently, taking a few moments to gather his thoughts. “We’re dealing with a dangerous man here, Jax. This woman was killed because of her suspected connections to Chalfant.”

  Feeling dizzy, Jax backed further away from the morbid table, leaning on the cool stone wall for support. “What is it about this Chalfant character that we’re missing? To kill him is one thing, but to murder a woman solely because she knew him intimately is another.”

  George came to her side and guided her into the hallway, away from the guilt and blame plaguing her. “You told me that the Savant delegation said Chalfant mostly kept to himself and that they were incredulous to hear the rumor he’d befriended a tourney wench,” he recounted.

  Eager to preoccupy her mind with a puzzle, Jax followed along. “Yes, and it seems our killer heard the same rumor.” She gazed down the dark corridors leading back to her apartment. “Maybe he was afraid that Chalfant had found a confidant and shared something.”

  “Something worth killing her for?” George mused. “Like what?”

  Jax shrugged dejectedly, but felt she might be on to something. “Chalfant was obviously killed for a reason. And if our killer thought someone else might be privy to that reason, what would stop him from killing again to protect it?”

  “But how does framing Lord Pettraud fit into all of this?” Captain Solomon asked, pointing out a large gap in their understanding of events.

  “Well, it really doesn’t at this moment. Besides, Perry was only framed for Chalfant’s murder. The young woman was an afterthought.” Jax cringed, shame and regret clawing at her. “Her murder was a loose end the killer had to tie up after he heard the rumors generated by my appearance at the fairgrounds.”

  “Do you think your grandfather will believe these two deaths are connected, and committed by the same person?” George’s heavy tone told her what he believed to be the answer.

  “My grandfather has had it out for Perry this entire time, so I don’t expect him to listen to our theory, especially since we don’t have a suspect of our own.” Jax scowled as she folded her arms. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was somehow orchestrating this whole thing himself.”

  The captain let out a low whistle. “You think he’d stoop to murder?”

  “That’s how he wanted my mother to deal with my father, did you know that? I doubt he’s mellowed in his old age.” Guessing from the shock in George’s eyes, Duke Mensina’s assassination plot came as news to him.

  By now, they had arrived at her suite and paused at the door. “We should consider any connections Duke Mensina may have had to Chalfant,” Jax said. “Perhaps the man did something to affront my grandfather and he took it as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.”

  “I’ll have my men look into it in the morning. Meanwhile, I want you to stay out of this for now, Jax. It’s not safe for you or for the duchy if you get caught stirring the pot with your grandfather.” Captain Solomon gave her a pointed look. She knew he was fighting the urge to mention that her thoughtless meddling had resulted in the death of an innocent young woman.

  “I want you to report back to me on your findings no later than lunchtime, Captain,” Jax commanded without acknowledging his statement before closing her door for the night.

  Chapter Nine

  A knock at the door pulled Jax from her late morning reverie. She was relieved to see Captain Solomon poke his head into the room. Her hopes quickly deflated when she saw his dour expression. “No news, I take it?” She motioned for him to take the chair next to her.

  Shaking his head, he sat down in defeat. “Word amongst Roche’s men is that the woman’s death is entirely unrelated to Chalfant’s, considering Chalfant’s killer is already imprisoned.”

  Jax’s blood boiled at the preposterous belief of Perry being a murderer. “I’ll speak with my grandfather this afternoon and present our case to him.”

  At this, the captain’s head whipped up, his eyes dark with warning. “No. It is too dangerous for you, Duchess. Considering the possibility that Duke Mensina might be in on the whole thing, I want you to keep him at an arm’s distance.”

  Jax snorted, her disgust quite unladylike. “That’s going to be hard with the ball this evening. I’m supposed to sit next to him at the ducal table.”

  Captain Solomon rolled his eyes, as if he were dealing with a child. “You know what I meant. I don’t want you facing off with him until we have a better understanding of what’s going on and whether or not your safety is at risk.”

  Not one to take a reprimand sitting down, Jax stood from her own plush chair. “Then I suggest you figure this whole debacle out.” With a dismissive strut, she fled her apartment, needing a moment to collect her thoughts. Wandering idly down the hallway, she came to Perry’s abandoned suite, which she remembered the moment she laid eyes on it, was not vacant. Hendrie was to have taken up residence to keep a watchful eye on things. Knocking on the door, she rearranged her face to a regal expression just as the young man opened the door, surprise in his eyes at having a visitor.

  “Your Grace! I was just on my way to see you. I may have found something that might prove of interest to you.” Hendrie’s eyes were wide with excitement as he ushered her inside the large room.

  Jax sat down, drumming her fingers on her thigh as the valet retreated into the bedroom. He vanished only a moment before he returned with something in the palm of his hand. “I foun
d this in Lord Pettraud’s closet. It must have fallen into one of his slippers. I only came across it because I was polishing his dress shoes.” Holding out a trembling hand in anticipation, Hendrie presented Jax with his find.

  At first glance, it looked like a bronze medallion, the award of a contest or some such thing. Jax picked it up, turning the small piece over, spying a large, lavish X engraved in the precious metal. The other side simply boasted a name, “LeDuke,” etched in scrawling writing. What was this, some type of crest? “Have you any idea what this is, Hendrie?”

  Looking dejected, the valet shook his head. “None, my lady. I thought you might know. Perhaps it’s a symbol of a noble house?”

  “This does not belong to any noble house I know of,” Jax murmured, more to herself than to him. She wracked her brain, visions of the realm’s extensive family trees flooding her well-trained mind.

  The door to Perry’s apartment opened behind them, and a chastened-looking Captain Solomon appeared. Whatever words he planned to say died in his mouth when his keen eyes narrowed in on the object in Jax’s hand. “Where did you find that?” His curiosity was mixed with hesitance.

  Hendrie explained once more how he had stumbled across the bronze piece in Perry’s closet. “You’ve seen this before, haven’t you, George?” Jax coaxed, seeing the flash of recognition in the guardsman’s suspicious eyes.

  “Yes, I have, although how it came to be in Lord Pettraud’s rooms, I have no idea.” Captain Solomon plucked the medallion from Jax’s hand, holding it up to reflect in the streaming sunlight. “This is known as a Shadow Seal. It’s the official crest of the Shadow Brethren.”

  “Shadow Brethren?” Jax repeated. “I thought they were a myth.”

  “In Saphire, they are. Your father ran them out a long time ago. However, other duchies have not been as successful. The Shadow Brethren’s power has been festering for years. In the beginning, it was merely a guild for thieves and bandits, but as their power and influence grew, so did the scope of their crimes. Nowadays, the best assassins are protected by the Brethren.” Captain Solomon’s teeth gritted as he clenched the seal. “This is very troubling.”