Ladies scream, courtiers shout and scramble away. Men-atarms pour in from the corridor and surround the mummers, who look in shocked silence at the dead hellequin.
Captain Dunois’s eyes widen in admiration. "Excellent shot. ”
I incline my head in acknowledgment of his compliment. “Catch Isabeau,” I tell Duval just before she crumples. But Duval’s reflexes are quick and he snatches her before she hits the floor. "Waroch! De Lornay! Question them. ” He nods his head toward the stunned mummers. “Your Grace, I think we should get you back to your quarters,” he says to the duchess.
Pale and trembling, the duchess nods shakily and follows him as he carries their sister back to the solar. Marshal Rieux stares at me as if he fears I, too, have sprung from the mummer’s drum. "What is the meaning of this?” Rieux thumps his hand on the table.
Chancellor Crunard steps in to smooth things over. “I think explanations are best made in private. Perhaps we should all adjourn to the duchess’s chambers. ” His eyes seek out mine. “You as well, demoiselle,” he says.
Now that the moment is over and the danger passed, my body begins to tremble. So close. Too close. Ignoring the whispers and the pointing, I follow them out of the hall. was the assassin a parting gift from d’Albret? Or an opening shot fired by some new enemy?
Chapter Thirty-eight
"Who is this woman?” Marshal Rieux demands.
I ignore his question, go to the ewer near the duchess’s canopied bed, and pour water into the basin. I grab a linen cloth from the stand nearby, wet it, then carry it to her. “May I?”
She looks at me in puzzlement.
“You have blood on your face,” I explain.
Her eyes widen in horror and she gives a frantic nod. Gently I begin sponging the spatters from her cheek. Now that she is safe, I am calm. The god truly guided my hand, for I could never have made that shot otherwise. Let the others say what they will, they cannot take that away from me.
"Who is she, Duval? we knew she was not your niece. I, for one, did not begrudge you a lightskirt — ”
“Careful. ” Duval’s voice is a warning growl.
“ — but clearly she is much more than any of us guessed. ”
“Some knew. ” Duval shoots a glance Crunard’s way. It is an excellent strategy. This whole idea was cooked up between the chancellor and the abbess, so let Crunard answer to his irate fellow council members.
“Chancellor Crunard? Did you know about this? who is she and what just happened out there?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Crunard’s signet rings flash as he steeples his fingers. “She has been sent to court by the abbess of St. Mortain. ”
I feel all the eyes in the room staring at my back.
“I thought they were the stuff of nightmares,” Rieux mutters quietly.
“But no,” I say innocently. “I am saint sent to aid our duchess and our country, Marshal Rieux. Unless our duchess’s triumph is your nightmare, you have nothing to fear from me. ”
He turns accusingly to Anne. “Did you know her identity, Your Grace?”
The duchess raises her chin. “I knew that she served Saint Mortain and that He had sent her to me in my hour of need. ”
"Why were the rest of us not told?” the marshal asks.
Crunard shrugs. "We thought the fewer who knew, the easier to keep her identity hidden. Surely, Marshal, you do not tell me every bit of your military strategy?”
Rieux’s face reddens, but he cannot deny the truth of Crunard’s words.
“I do not see why you are so angry. ” It is the duchess herself who speaks. “If it were not for Demoiselle Rienne’s quick actions, I would even now be lying in a pool of my own blood. ”
There is a resounding silence, then Marshal Rieux rushes in. “You misunderstand us, Your Grace. we are overjoyed that you were not injured. But are we so sure that poor man was not merely part of the entertainment?”
"We are sure,” I say.
Rieux whips his head around to stare at me. “How?”
My eyes meet his. “Because Saint Mortain guided my hand. ”
Rieux’s lips flatten into a thin line and he takes a step closer to me. I do not know what he intends, but Chancellor Crunard stops him. “Marshal Rieux!”
Nostrils flaring in annoyance, Rieux checks himself. "Whoever this woman is,” he says, “she should not be privy to our council meeting. You are dismissed, demoiselle. ”
I make a great show of ignoring him and look to the duchess. It is she whom I serve, not him. “I await your command, Your Grace. ” I can hear Rieux’s teeth grinding in frustration.
I see plain on her face that she is loath to dismiss me because Rieux has ordered her to. “If Your Grace allows it,” I explain gently, “I have duties I must see to regarding your assailant. ”
She nods her head graciously. “By all means, demoiselle. See to your duties. ”
"Where has the body been taken?” I ask Duval.
His eyes narrow as he realizes what I am planning. “I will show you myself,” he says. "We are done here. ”
"We are not done, Duval!” Marshal Rieux says in frustration.
“I am,” Duval says, then takes my elbow in an iron grip and escorts me from the room. when we are alone in the hallway, I shift my elbow. He immediately lessens his hold and grunts an apology. we go the rest of the way to the dungeon in silence, the twitching under Duval’s left eye discouraging any questions. There is a lone guard standing outside a row of cells. "Where is the body?” Duval asks.