The Queen's Poisoner

Owen swallowed, keenly listening to the story unfold. He was too young to understand the ways of kings and kingmakers. He didn’t know any of this history.

Ankarette continued. “King Eredur escaped his confinement and fled across the sea to Brugia with his youngest brother, Severn. They were in exile, living on the grace of others. After biding his time, Eredur returned with a trick he had learned from one of his ancestors.”

“What trick?” Evie asked with keen interest.

“The trick was this. He returned and went to the North. Rather than reclaim his crown, he said he merely wanted to be Duke of North Cumbria again. Your grandfather’s role, my dear. It surprised everyone, and the uncle was furious, of course. Very quickly, King Eredur gathered enough supporters to fight his uncle. Warrewik and Lord Dunsdworth fled Ceredigion soon after. What a turn of events! King Eredur wasn’t secure, though. His enemies were abroad, causing trouble. And so the uncle made an alliance with the wife of the king he had helped Eredur depose, promising to restore that king to power. It was a cowardly act. To preserve his own power, he forsook his entire family. How do you think his son-in-law, Lord Dunsdworth, felt about that? And here is where my part comes in.”

Owen and Evie looked at each other.

“King Eredur sent me on a secret mission. I was very young, not even eighteen years old. He sent me across the sea to find Lord Dunsdworth. The king asked me to persuade the younger man to relent and join forces with his king and brother. If I could not persuade him, the king ordered me to poison him. That was my first assignment as the royal poisoner. It was a difficult thing to do.” She bowed her head, breathing softly. Then she looked up at both of the children. “But I succeeded. I had the badge of Warrewik’s house still, so I was able to infiltrate my way to Lord Dunsdworth. I persuaded him to rejoin his family loyalty. When the uncle returned to Ceredigion with a huge army, he was shocked to learn that his son-in-law had betrayed him and joined his forces with King Eredur’s. The uncle fought in a battle and was killed. The brothers were reconciled. For a time.

“I still worked for Lord Dunsdworth’s wife after that,” Ankarette said. “To keep an eye on the brother and make sure he remained loyal. During that time, the brother grew more and more upset that he was not going to become the king his ambition demanded he be. He did some things in his own household that were terrible. He was not a gentle man. He beat his wife and his son. But then he learned something. He learned from rumors, from men who fed his itching ears, that King Eredur had married someone before wedding his queen. If that were true, then all the king’s children were bastards and he, Lord Dunsdworth, would be in line to be the next king. You can imagine how the bad blood between the brothers grew after this. I do not know whether the rumors were true or not. Dunsdworth believed they were. He began plotting his own rebellion.”

She stopped, rubbing a hand along her arm, and shook her head. “This part is difficult to talk about. Only the queen in the sanctuary of Our Lady knows the whole story.” She sighed. “The king, fearing another rebellion, ordered me to poison his brother.”

Owen stared at her. It was so quiet in the room they could hear her every breath.

“It was not the only time the king had asked me to act against his enemies. I knew by then that attempting to reason with Lord Dunsdworth would be a waste of breath. He was so ambitious, so determined to take the throne for himself. When I began to prepare myself to finish this hard task, I poisoned his cup of wine, knowing that he loved to drink it. Unfortunately, he did not get the cup. His pregnant wife did.”

Ankarette’s shoulders slumped. “The poison”—she swallowed, trying to master her emotions—“was subtle. Even I didn’t realize what had happened until it was too late. It brought on her contractions early. I was trained as a midwife, but I could not save the child . . . or the mother. My mistress died in my arms.” Her eyes were haunted, her mouth grim. Owen had always wondered why Ankarette was so sad. Perhaps this was the reason.

“Lord Dunsdworth was devastated. I returned to my family to grieve. I could not bear to tell the king how I had failed him, but I told the queen. She promised to protect me. It was to protect her children and their rights that I had been commanded to act as I did.” She sighed deeply, smoothing her skirts. “Lord Dunsdworth went mad with grief. He sent his officers to arrest me, accusing me of poisoning his wife. Before the king could find out, I was tried and found guilty of murder. I assumed the royal guard would come for me in time, which is why I allowed myself to be arrested.” She shook her head sadly. “I was tied up in a boat and thrown into a river at the head of a waterfall.”