Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
A trumpet blared a slow, solemn tune as the casket was lowered into the ground in the Evenshold family burial plot. A small crowd circled the pit, all clad in black. Jade noticed Marguerite at the front, her arm looped through her sister’s as she sobbed quietly into a handkerchief.
Jade’s heart crumpled at the sight. Lord Grannam may not have been a totally upstanding person, but he was a beloved father and husband.
Marguerite didn’t deserve the pain and heartbreak that came along with burying her father earlier than she should have, and in such a manner.
As Jade lingered in the shadows of a gazebo not far from the burial grounds, she hurt for the woman she had grown close to, false identity or not.
The normally bubbly, cheerful, radiant Marguerite had transformed into someone unrecognizable, pale and quiet and miserable. Her distress pierced Jade’s heart.
The crowd began to disperse as the caretakers shoveled dirt over the top of the casket. Marguerite remained with Sylvie, their mother blotting her nose nearby. Phillipe, the new Duke of Evenshold, stood on their mother’s other side and clutched his wife, his head bowed in respect.
No one paid any attention to the small gathering of military personnel in the gazebo.
Their presence had been explained as a safety precaution for those members of the royal family in attendance, which of course wasn’t true.
At the reception following the memorial service, Grand General Devereaux and Commander Matherson would confront Lord Marchand in front of everyone.
Jade wasn’t required to be here. In fact, considering how close she had become to members of the royal family while undercover, she probably shouldn’t have been here in order to maintain the confidentiality of her identity.
But she had requested of Grand General Devereaux that she and Theo be in attendance with the desire to see the assignment through to the end. And because of how instrumental Jade had been in bringing about this conclusion, Devereaux had granted her request.
With the suspect behind the murders identified and the only remaining contenders in the Conflict of Succession being those in the true line, Jade’s assignment had come to an end, which meant Lady Elena Tavigne was no more.
Jade wished she could have gone to Marguerite with comfort, but she wasn’t here as Elena and she still had to keep her identity as an intelligence agent secret.
The military officers and troopers remained in the gazebo until the last of the family departed the gravesite, then followed them at a distance toward Evenshold Palace. Grand General Devereaux led the way with Matherson and two other troopers, with Theo and Jade hanging behind.
“Any idea what’s next for you?” Theo asked in a murmur, keeping his voice low enough for only Jade to hear. “I mean, Matherson still hasn’t given you a punishment yet.”
Jade sighed. “I know. Things are too critical right now. I’m low on his list of priorities, which isn’t a bad thing.
” She shrugged, a half-smile tugging at her lips as she stared at the back of Matherson’s head before her.
“It’d be nice if he got so busy he forgot about it, but I doubt that’ll happen. That man’s memory is a steel trap.”
“Maybe it won’t be too bad. He might remove you from active duty for a while, but that wouldn’t be the worst thing.” Theo nudged Jade’s shoulder with his own. “You could use a holiday.”
She chuckled once, an ironic sound. “I doubt his definition of time off would equal a holiday.”
They quieted as the group strode inside Evenshold Palace, following the family to the ballroom.
While a sitting room or parlor might have been more intimate a place for such a gathering, the number of extended royal family members in attendance would have made the room cramped.
So the Evensholds had opted to set up a reception in the ballroom, complete with staff carrying refreshments and chairs for the weary to rest in.
Jade’s stomach clenched as she stepped foot in the ballroom, and with Theo at her side, no less.
The last time she had been in this room, she had met Nicolas for the first time.
Danced with him. The melody of the orchestra rushed back to her mind, as did the grasp of Nicolas’s hand on her waist and the closeness of his body as he pushed her around the dance floor.
A gasp hitched in Jade’s throat at the thought, and she suppressed a shiver.
Theo must have caught the gasp because he glanced over at her. “You okay?”
Jade nodded quickly, brushing off Theo’s concern. “Just caught a draft.”
He eyed her, likely not falling for her bluff. The ballroom was stuffy, if anything, between the bodies and the summer heat. But Jade dipped her head toward the back of the room opposite Devereaux and Matherson, where she and Theo were to take their positions with the other two troopers.
Jade cast a glance at Marguerite as she passed her sitting in a chair, her face in her hands.
Her heart broke for Marguerite all over again.
Jade knew the pain of losing a parent—both of them, in fact.
Even though she’d been six years old at the time of her father’s death, the pain of his loss had never left her, creating a scar on her heart that she’d carried into adulthood.
And then losing her mother at fourteen .
. . the wounds still cut deep, even now.
Alanna brought Marguerite a drink, taking a seat beside her cousin.
How different this moment was from the last time they had all been in this room together, reveling for Marguerite’s birthday, breathless from dancing and dressed in an array of colors.
Today, black painted the ballroom, save for the charcoal gray of the military uniforms.
Marguerite lifted her face to Alanna, refusing the drink, but her eyes continued past her cousin to Jade and Theo where they walked.
Jade dropped her face, pulling the visor of her cap lower over her eyes.
She rarely wore the thing, only pulling it out for true ceremonial attire, but right now, she appreciated how it helped keep her face hidden.
Devereaux’s one condition for allowing her to attend was that she remain unnoticed.
Prince Reynauld struck a crystal glass with a silver utensil, drawing all attention to him. Jade took her place with Theo on the opposite side of the room as Devereaux and Matherson, who stood a few paces behind Reynauld.
Reynauld held his glass in the air and spoke.
“Grannam Venemer was my cousin and my friend, despite our differences in recent years and this feud that has all but torn this family apart.” The prince’s voice carried throughout the ballroom, echoing off the high ceilings and drawing Jade’s gaze to the magnificent chandeliers above them.
Nicolas had pointed them out to her at the ball, how Grannam had had them all wired with electric light—an ostentatious and costly endeavor.
Jade mentally shook her head, dropping her eyes again as he continued.
“He did not deserve this end, and neither did any of the other family members, advisers, and supporters, who lost their lives amid this conflict. It is my duty, my obligation, my privilege to serve you as our next king, and I will not fail you in that role. I strive for unity in our family and our kingdom, for peace, and for security. And now, with the mastermind behind these horrible murders identified and presently apprehended, we may rest more easily in the coming days and know that our future is secure.”
The royals filling the ballroom turned to each other and murmured among themselves as Reynauld raised his glass even higher. “To the Duke of Evenshold!”
“The Duke of Evenshold,” the crowd repeated as glasses were brought to their lips.
That was the cue for the other two troopers to move. They split from their positions by Jade and Theo and slowly wove through the crowd. Devereaux and Matherson took their places slightly to Reynauld’s front, commanding the attention of those in attendance.
“Members of the royal family of Marran,” Devereaux began, “my name is Grand General Irenn Devereaux. Some of you may know me or have seen me in the castle, as I am the highest-ranking military official and directly serve our beloved king.
“For months now, we have investigated the murders of your kin and supporters as they have all fallen to the same fate—death by the poison rienevoir, which is undetectable in food or drink that the unwitting victim consumes. This poison is formed from the combination of morsbane and the root of the firra plant. Neither are native to this part of the continent and must be cultivated together to allow for poison production.”
Jade watched the troopers take measured, even steps through the crowd as people were focused on Grand General Devereaux, though some turned and whispered to their companions as Devereaux spoke.
Their goal was to appear as inconspicuous as possible while approaching Marchand, but both were prepared for him to bolt.
Devereaux’s high voice rang out through the open room.
“Though the mastermind behind these murders evaded us for some time, having employed a skilled assassin to commit these murders rather than sully his own hands, we have been hot on his trail for weeks.
A recent mission was successful in obtaining evidence to pin on the perpetrator of these crimes.
“We are here with you today, at the memorial service of Lord Grannam, Duke of Evenshold, murdered on orders from one of your own, to take that person into military custody.”
The murmur of the crowd rose as they looked around wildly, trying to determine whom Devereaux was speaking of. Jade resisted the urge to get closer for a better line of sight as movement fluttered through the crowd.