“Lady Caris seems to wish nothing more than to rescue your son from certain poverty,” Henry continued. “Poverty, and perhaps a future filled with lawlessness that could only end in his destruction.”
“My lord,” Effie began.
“Have you been in contact with Thomas Annesley?”
“No, Your Grace,” Effie managed to answer. “To my knowledge, I’venever met him.”
“That sounds very much like a half-truth to me, Euphemia,” the king chastised, but went on. “Is it true that it was you and your band of thieves who started the fire at Darlyrede House, which resulted in the deaths of Lord Vaughn Hargrave as well as several servants?”
Effie’s breath caught in her throat. “No, my lord! We had nointention of—”
“Did you shoot and kill Lord Adolphus Paget in the wood the day prior to the fire?”
Effie’s blood turned to ice—was this a trial? “I…I cannotsay, my lord.”
“You cannot say? Was it you who shot Lucan Montague, my own knight, on thatsame occasion?”
Effie’s eyes reflexively flicked to Lucan. His normally serious expression was grave, and it gave her no comfort. She looked back to the king.
“Itwas, my lord.”
“Hmm. So we have a confession,at last. Good.”
The situation was spiraling out of all semblance of reason or control and Effie felt unable to draw sufficient breath.
“We shall deal with those charges at a future time,” the king continued calmly. “I assume Sir Lucan will be more than happy to cooperate with your prosecution. But the matter at hand is more pressing, and that is the apprehension of the fugitive, Thomas Annesley.” He looked to Lucan. “I would now address you both.”
The knight rose and came to stand next to George Thomas. “My lord.”
“I assume you are not hiding the previously recognized Baron Annesley inyour gambeson?”
“No, Your Grace.”
“Can you remind me, Montague, of your charge when you lastleft my court?”
“To gather evidence against Thomas Annesley and locate any heirs.”
“The latter part of your duty you seemed to have taken quite seriously, if the Scottish mob infesting my court is any indication.”
Lucan held his tongue.
“However, even when you were alerted that Thomas Annesley had escaped the Crown’s custody, you did notapprehend him.”
“He couldn’t belocated, lord.”
“You couldn’t find him.”
“No, lord.”
“I surmise you did not exert yourself in that task. But where is the evidence you compiled in the stead ofhis presence?”
There was a slight pause and this time it was Iris who frowned a clear signal to her brother. Effie wondered what other secrets floated just above her head inthe grand hall.
“All that I had gathered was consumed in the fire at Darlyrede House, my lord.” Lucan cleared his throat. “But if I may, lord, I would state that it is my personal belief that Thomas Annesley is not guilty of any of the crimes of whichhe is accused.”
Henry did not seem surprised. “Well, that is a problem,” he mused. “I am not accustomed to looking like a fool, nor do I wish to have any further accusations of madness cast upon my rule. Therefore, before we can continue in untangling this convoluted mess casting knots from here to the farthest reaches of that vile country to the north, we must put end tothe beginning.”
A sense of dread swept over Effie like a wash of fire, her skin flushed and tingled, herstomach turned.
