Dark Triumph

“See to the cleanup here. And you, daughter.” D’Albret’s flat black eyes zero in on me and I force myself to meet his gaze with naught but amusement on my face. “See to Madame Dinan. I fear she has fainted.”

As I step away from the safety of the stone wall to do as my father bids, I wish again—so very much—that Julian had not found me up on that tower. If our father finds out what I did, he will kill me as easily as he killed those men.

Although perhaps not as quickly.

Chapter Three

I FOLLOW THE FOOTMEN CARRYING Madame Dinan to her room, my thoughts and movements sluggish, as if I am wading through mud. It takes every last crumb of discipline I possess to keep myself together. I do not dare stumble about half-witted now.

When we reach the chamber, I have the footmen put her on the bed, then order them from the room. I stare down at the older woman. We are not allies, Madame Dinan and I; we merely share each other’s secrets, which is an entirely different thing.

She came into our lives only occasionally, when she would escape her duties as governess to the duchess, the very duchess she has so thoroughly betrayed. D’Albret relied on her to oversee his daughters’ upbringing. Much of that oversight was conducted across distances, with letters and go-betweens, except when some tragedy struck—then she would make an effort to come in person and smooth things over.

She looks older in repose, her face missing the false gaiety she wears like a mask. I unlace her bodice to ease her breathing, then remove the heavy, cumbersome headdress she wears. Not because it has contributed to her fainting, but because I know it eats at her vanity that she has white hair like an old woman’s. It is a small enough punishment, but it is one I can afford.

I reach down and slap her cheek—perhaps harder than necessary—to rouse her. Her breath catches in her throat as she startles awake. She blinks twice, orienting herself, then begins to sit up. I push her back down. “Easy now, madame.”

Her eyes widen when she sees who attends her. Her gaze flutters around the room and notes that we are alone. That gaze lands once more on me, then skitters away like a nervous lark. “What happened?” she asks.

Her voice is low and throaty, and I wonder if that is part of what draws d’Albret to her. Some say their union began when she was in the flower of her youth, a full two years younger than I am now. “You fainted.”

Her long skinny fingers pluck at her bodice. “It grew warm in there.”

Her quick and easy lie pricks my temper. I lean down close and put my face next to hers, forcing my voice to be as light and sweet as if we were talking about the latest fashion. “It was not warmth that caused you to faint, but the slaughter of innocents. Do you not remember?”

She closes her eyes again, and her face drains of what little color is left in it. Good. She does remember. “They were simply punished for their disloyalty.”

“Disloyalty? What of your disloyalty? Besides, you knew those people!” I hiss. “They were servants who’d waited on you for years.”

Her eyes snap open. “What do you think I should have done? It’s not as if I could have stopped him.”

“But you did not even try!” Our angry gazes hold for a long moment.

“Neither did you.”

Her words are like a kick to my gut. Afraid I will slap her, I shove to my feet, cross over to her wooden chest, and begin fumbling through her pots of powder, jars of cream, and crystal vials. “But I am not his favorite, the one voice he listens to. That role has belonged only to you for as long as I can remember.” At last I find a linen cloth. I dampen it with water from the ewer, then return to her side and practically fling it onto her forehead.

She flinches, then glares at me. “Your tender ministrations may well kill me.”

I sit down and busy myself with my skirt, afraid she will see just how close to the truth she has come. Our secrets sit heavy in the room, not only the ones that we share, but those that we keep from each other. Neither she nor Rieux is marqued, and I am plagued by this nearly as much as I am by d’Albret’s lack of a marque.

When I speak again, I am able to keep my voice calm. “And what of the duchess? You have cared for her since she was in swaddling clothes. How could you let d’Albret spring such a trap on her?”

She closes her eyes to the truth and dismisses my words with a quick shake of her head. “He was only claiming what was promised him.”

Her steadfast denial is like flint to tinder, and my temper flares again. “He was going to kidnap her, rape her, declare the marriage consummated, then perform the marriage service after the fact.” Not for the first time, I wonder if he is as rough with Madame Dinan as he is with others, or if there is some softer emotion between them.

She lifts her small, pointed chin. “She betrayed him! Lied to him! She had been promised to him by her father. He was only doing what any man would when such promises are broken.”

“I’ve always wondered what you tell yourself so you may sleep at night.” Afraid that I will say something to break our precarious truce, I rise to my feet and head for the door.

“It is the truth!” The normally elegant and refined Dinan screeches at me like a fishwife. While getting under her skin is no small accomplishment, it does little to wash the bitterness of the day from my tongue.

It is no easy or pleasant thing to examine d’Albret for a marque. Ismae claims it is a way for the god to keep us humble, marquing men where we cannot easily see. I say it is the god’s own perverted sense of humor, and if I ever come face to face with Him, I shall complain.

But after today’s spectacular bit of treachery, d’Albret must be marqued for death at last. It is the one reason I allowed myself to be sent back, because the abbess promised he would be marqued and that I could be the one to kill him.

For once, luck is with me: the chambermaid is none other than Tilde, Odette’s sister. Which means I have something with which to bargain. I find her in the kitchen, filling up jugs with hot water for his bath. When I tell her what I need, she looks at me with the frightened eyes of a cornered doe. “But if the count sees you . . .” she protests.

“He won’t see me,” I assure her. “Not unless you give me away by looking at my hiding place. Do not be so stupid as to do that, and we will both be fine.”

She begins chewing her lip, which is already ragged from her constant worry. “And you will get Odette away from here? As soon as possible?”

“Yes. I will get her away tomorrow morning when the first delivery comes to the kitchens. She will be hidden in the cart as it leaves.” I will smuggle the girl out even if Tilde and I do not reach an agreement. The child reminds me far too much of my own sisters, who, if not for my desperate machinations, would be here in this vipers’ nest with me now.

It was the biggest argument I had with my father since the convent forced me to return to his household six months ago. Last autumn when he made ready to travel to Guérande to put his case before the meeting of the barons, he was planning on bringing all his children. He wanted them nearby, where he could use them for his own ends and needs. I argued long and hard that little Louise was too young—and ill—to make the trip. And that Charlotte was too close to young womanhood to be near so many soldiers. He ignored me and had their nurse administer them each a sound beating—simply to punish me—then ordered their things packed.

But I would do anything to keep my sisters from d’Albret’s dark influences. Including poison them.

Not too much. While I am not immune to poisons as Ismae is, I did pay careful attention to Sister Serafina’s poison lessons and used only enough to make both my sisters and their nurse too ill to travel.

I blamed it on the eel pie.

Little Odette is in every bit as much danger as my sisters but has none of the protection afforded them by virtue of their noble blood. So I will get her to safety regardless, although I do not tell Tilde that.

“Very well,” Tilde says at last, her eyes taking in my borrowed servant’s gown and headscarf. “You have certainly dressed the part.”

I give her an encouraging smile when what I want to do is wring her skinny neck so she will quit talking and get on with it. That would not, however, reassure her.

She thrusts a copper jug at me. It is full of steaming water and so heavy I nearly drop it before I can settle my grip to the handles. Together we begin our climb up the back stairs to d’Albret’s bedchamber. We meet no other servants on the way. Indeed, since d’Albret has taken over the palace, most of them stay out of sight as much as possible. They are nearly invisible, like enchanted servants in a hearth tale.

Once inside the room, I set my jug down next to the tub in front of the fire and look for a hiding place.

Two of the walls are covered in carved wooden paneling and two are covered in fine crimson and gold wall hangings. I make for the wall hangings, a spot just behind an ornately carved chest, which should hide my feet from view should they show beneath the curtains. “Remember, do not look over here, no matter what happens.”

Tilde glances up, a new flare of alarm in her eyes. “What would happen, demoiselle? You said nothing would happen, that you just wanted—”

“I merely meant that no matter how nervous you get or what the baron does, do not look over here. It could mean both our deaths.”

Her eyes widen and for a moment I think she will lose her nerve altogether. “For your sister’s sake,” I remind her, hoping to strengthen her resolve.

It works. She gives a firm nod and turns to the task of filling the tub. I slip into my hiding place behind the silk wall hangings and pray they will not also serve as my shroud.

The stone wall is cold against my back, and the curtains part just the slightest bit. If I bend my knee a little, I do not even need to touch the silk to be able to see into the room.

I have not been in place longer than a handful of moments before there is a noise at the door. Tilde freezes, then resumes pouring water from the ewer into the tub.

The chamber door bursts open and Count d’Albret strides in, followed by a handful of retainers, my half brothers Pierre and Julian among them. Although they share the same parents, they look nothing alike. Pierre takes after our father, with a thick build and coarse manner, while Julian favors their mother, with more refined looks and manner. D’Albret unbuckles his sword, and Bertrand de Lur steps forward to take it from him. “I want another score of men riding for Rennes tonight,” d’Albret tells his captain. “I want them in the city as soon as possible, hiding among the citizens. I’ll need reliable eyes and ears there if we are to retaliate against her treachery.”

My pulse quickens.

“As you wish, my lord.” De Lur takes the sword and lays it on one of the chests.

D’Albret shrugs his massive, bull-like shoulders, and my brother Pierre jumps forward to take his mantle before it can fall to the ground. “I want them to report on the city’s mood, the garrison, the provisions. I want to know if the city can withstand a siege, and for how long. They are to find out who is loyal to the duchess, who is loyal to the French, and whose loyalty is still for sale.”

“Consider it done, my lord,” de Lur says.

Pierre leans forward, his hooded eyes bright. “And what of your message to the duchess? When shall we send it?”

Like a striking snake, d’Albret reaches out and clouts him across the mouth. “Did I give you leave to speak of the matter, whelp?”

“No, my lord.” Pierre dabs the blood from his split lip, looking resentful and sullen. I could almost feel sorry for him, but he has worked so hard to become just like d’Albret that I feel nothing but contempt.

The room grows quiet and I angle my eye to better see d’Albret. He is studying Tilde, who is concentrating very carefully on the steaming ewer of water she is pouring into the tub. “Leave me to my bath,” d’Albret tells the others.

With a knowing glance or two in Tilde’s direction, they quickly disperse.

I can see Tilde’s neat linen veil tremble as she shakes with fear. D’Albret takes two strides toward her and comes fully into my view for the first time. He grabs her chin between his fingers and pulls her head up so he can look into her face. “You know better than to speak of what you hear in my chamber, do you not?”

She keeps her gaze averted. “I am sorry, my lord. You will have to speak up. My father boxed my ears so often I am fair hard of hearing.”

Oh, clever girl! My estimation of Tilde grows, but this ruse will not be enough to save her.

D’Albret studies her for a long moment. “Just as well,” he says, and Tilde cocks her head to the side as if straining to hear him. He studies her another few seconds before letting go of her chin.

D’Albret holds his arms out to his sides, a silent order to remove his shirt. When Tilde steps forward to lift it over his head, d’Albret’s eyes roam up and down her slender body, and I see the exact moment his desire awakens. The rutting pig will bed her before he orders her death.

Now I will need to find a way to smuggle Tilde out of the palace as well as her little sister. Unless I have an opportunity to kill d’Albret before then.

Tilde removes his shirt and steps away.

D’Albret’s chest is shaped like an enormous wine cask, his flesh the pallid whiteness of a fish, but instead of being covered in scales, it is covered with coarse black hair. I ignore my disgust and force myself to search his body. Mortain must have marqued him for death.

But nowhere among all that hair is the marque I seek. No smudge, no shadow, nothing that will allow me to kill this monster with Mortain’s blessing. My hands grip the silken wall hangings, and I crush them in my fists. It would be too dangerous to attack him head-on. Perhaps Mortain intends for me to stab him in the back or pierce the base of his skull with a thin, needle-like blade.