“Some said he was drunk when it happened and didn’t shield properly to protect himself when he was thrown from the cart, and that’s why his neck broke and killed him. Others said the way his neck broke didn’t fit being thrown from the pony cart—and some swore that aristo was alive for a minute after he landed.”
Saetien swallowed hard. “You think someone killed him?”
“Well now, some said that aristo had aimed for a group of girls standing on the side of the road, and some saw Caitie, who had just acquired her Birthright Yellow Jewel the week before, use Craft to shove her friends out of harm’s way, which is why she was the only one who was caught when the cart tipped.” Ryder stopped and looked at her. “It was dusk, you see. After sundown.”
“Maybe the aristo didn’t see the girls in the fading light?”
“Maybe the person who snapped that neck had a lot of experience with killing,” Ryder said quietly. “And maybe he didn’t bother the High Lord when it came to calling in the rest of the debt after that aristo made the transition to demon-dead.”
Saetien couldn’t seem to draw in a breath.
Butler. Ryder was talking about Butler.
“People who make the mistake of thinking he’s tame because he’s old don’t often have the chance to make a second mistake.”
“Thank you for telling me.” She looked back at the stables. “Caitie stays there?”
Ryder smiled. “After the third time her parents found Stormchaser tucked into bed with her without any idea of how he managed to get into the house and up the stairs to her room, we turned a box stall into a bit of a room for her so the two of them can spend time together. For Stormchaser it was love at first sight, and there’s no keeping them apart, so this suits everyone. Besides, it’s easier to muck out a stall than a bedroom.”
“Oh.”
“Aye.”
Bits of information suddenly came together. “Kieran said a man had caused trouble in the village. Did he try to harm Caitie?”
“He did. But Prince Liath took one of his balls, stopping him from doing her harm. As for the rest of him . . . He disappeared without a trace, and Kieran says it’s best to let it be.”
“Who killed him? Butler? Or my father?” Saetien asked.
Ryder gave her a long look. “Leave it be, Saetien. No one in Maghre wants the answer to that question.”
She went to her room to wash up and braid her hair before joining Kieran’s family for the midday meal.
As Kieran turned away from his brother and those blue eyes fixed on her, predator to prey, it occurred to her that there was a third possibility regarding what happened to the man who had tried to harm Caitie—and that was the reason Kieran had told Maghre’s residents not to ask questions and to leave it be.
Kieran stopped the pony cart within sight of Butler’s cottage. “We’ll wait for you here.”
“This might take a while,” Saetien said, “and you shouldn’t have to miss supper with your family.”
“We’ll all be back in time for supper.”
She didn’t waste time arguing with him. She walked up to the cottage, and reached the gate at the same time Butler opened the door and walked down the flagstone path. He didn’t invite her to come inside. Didn’t even open the gate and invite her to stand in his front yard that was bordered by deep flower beds.
He used Craft to create a ball of witchlight that illuminated the area around them. “You have the list?”
Saetien called in the two sheets of paper and thrust them over the gate.
Butler took them, read them. Finally, he said, “Half of what you’ve written down is inaccurate.”
“I know everything I need to know about her.”
The look in Butler’s eyes made her want to step away from the gate. He’d warned her about being disrespectful, but it was so hard when you resented someone so much.
“You want to know nothing about Jaenelle Angelline, so I will tell you nothing about her or anything connected to her,” he said, handing the papers back. “Wilhelmina Benedict.”
Yes!
“She was twenty-seven when she came to Kaeleer during the last service fair. She signed a contract with Lucivar Yaslana, which allowed her to stay in the Shadow Realm. Signing a contract to serve in a Queen’s court or signing a contract with someone like Yaslana, who ruled his own territory on behalf of his Queen, was the only way someone from Terreille could stay in Kaeleer. She had very fair skin, raven hair, and eyes that were a smoky blue rather than a clear blue. She was considered beautiful, although there were times when she looked emaciated. The Purple Dusk was her Birthright, and she wore Sapphire after she made the Offering to the Darkness.”
“Why did she come to Kaeleer?” Saetien asked.
Butler said nothing.
“Why did she move to Scelt?”
He said nothing.
“Maybe I should ask Uncle Lucivar about her instead of troubling you.”
Butler smiled. It wasn’t a kind or an amused smile. “After she left SaDiablo Hall, Lucivar saw her just once. He came to Scelt and informed Wilhelmina that in order to fulfill her contract with him, her sole duty was never to set foot in Dhemlan or Askavi again. If she did, he would rip her to pieces and then escort what was left of her to Hell.”
Saetien took a step back. “Why did he say that? What did she do?”
He said nothing.
“Who were her parents? Did she ever see them again after she left Chaillot?”
Silence. Finally, “You ask questions but have already declared that you don’t want the answers.”
“Of course I want the answers! That’s why I’m here!”
“You said you know everything you need to know about her. All the answers to your questions are connected to her. Therefore, you do not want the answers.”
“Isn’t there anything else you can tell me about Wilhelmina Benedict?”
He stared at something in the distance. Something only he could see. “My opinion? Everything has a price. She made choices that eventually made her hollow of heart. But they were her choices.”
He started to walk back to the cottage.
“Anything else? Anything?”
He stopped. After a moment, he turned to look at her as the witchlight faded. “Saetan never forgave her for some of those choices.”
“You had a chat with Prince Butler today,” Eileen said as she added mounds of whipped potatoes to plates that held thick slices of beef.
“I’m not sure he knows anything useful,” Saetien grumbled as she added a spoonful of peas to her plate. “He told me what she looked like and what Jewels she wore. That’s nice, but it doesn’t tell me who she was. Oh, and Uncle Lucivar threatened to kill her if she returned to Dhemlan or Askavi, and the previous High Lord never forgave her for something she’d done. But Butler didn’t know what she’d done!”
Everyone focused on filling their plates, and silence was a stern presence in the room.
“He does know?” She stared at her plate and fumed.
“Did you set any requirements or conditions that might hobble his answers?” Kieran finally asked. “Because you’re right; he does know.”
“I just want to know about Wilhelmina Benedict.”
“I’m guessing that’s Butler’s point. Jaenelle and Wilhelmina were sisters. There’s no way to know about the one without knowing about the other. No way to understand about the one without having some understanding about the other.”
They ate in silence. After the maid cleared the table and brought in coffee, tea, and the sweet, Kildare said, “What are the important things you need to know when you cross paths with one of the Blood? You need to know what Jewels the person wears, their caste, and their bloodlines—their family connections. Someone might try to take advantage of a witch who wears Tiger Eye because there’s nothing she can do to you, but if she has a cousin who is an Opal-Jeweled Warlord Prince, he’s the one you’ll be meeting on a killing field for whatever pain you caused her, and make no mistake about that. So maybe that should be the place to start when you next see Butler. Jewels, caste, and bloodlines.”