Page 62 of The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary

‘Before she assaulted me yesterday,’ he continued as if nothing had happened, ‘with a weighted net that many have sought to outlaw in the keeping of teacup dragons no less, Lady Moorland publicly accused Lady Portia Starling unjustly and without actual evidence of the intent to commit a heinous crime. It transpires that the truth is even worse. Dr Turner?’

Noah drew in a breath to steady himself before speaking. ‘She enchanted me, first to force information from me with a truth spell, and then in an effort to make me poison the teacup dragons from the Starling sanctuary so they could not compete in the show. That’s where the Dewsalt came from. She made me take it. Then she told me to forget everything she’d done.’

‘This is ridiculous,’ Virginia interrupted. ‘He was working for me. When he had nothing for me, and I refused to pay him, he obviously decided to ruin me instead. Blackmail or… or… revenge, I don’t know. He’ll do anything to get the money he wants. They’ve probably offered to pay him more. He’s a mercenary to the core. He’ll say whatever he’s told to say.’

And he had been working for her. Even if she didn’t have proof of that… but he didn’t have any proof otherwise, did he? Who was going to end up ruined here?

‘One doesn’t tend to announce blackmail in public though,’ Portia said, her fingers threading with Noah’s. She squeezed his hand in reassurance. ‘You’re trying to twist what happened again. I was there. I saw you, heard everything you said. You used magic to force him to obey you, and then to forget what you had ordered him to do. It’s expressly against every law relating to magic we have. It’s the worst kind of assault.’

Virginia sneered at her. ‘And what does it matter what either of you say, Starling? A discredited scholar and her pet veterinarian from Alincourt of all places? He doesn’t even have Academy training and not a scrap of magic to his name. He’s no one and you’re an exile from the court. Who will believe a word either of you says?’

A horrible silence hung over the terrace.

‘Well, I do,’ said the ambassador.

‘So do I,’ August chimed in.

‘And me,’ Milo added.

‘And so does the king,’ Iris finished. ‘You forget the innate magical abilities of the great dragons, Virginia dear. Our little teacups carry a trace of it, Jade more than most as we all saw. But someone like Gilden? Magic leaves traces everywhere. It’s messy. Always had been. And when people use it, well… Gilden will be able to follow it back to you from the remnants left behind on the bottle. Not to mention back to whoever made the wretched substance.’

Captain Zacarius cleared his throat uncomfortably.

‘My lord ambassador,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, the bottle was destroyed in the scuffle when Dr Turner was apprehended.’

Noah’s heart fell. The bottle was the only thing that might link Virginia to what happened, that might incriminate her. Otherwise, it was just his word against hers. He looked from one face to the next. They all realised that.

Without the bottle, what evidence of her evil doings did they have?

The captain went on. ‘If you would present any further evidence, any of you, I am happy to hear it. I would much prefer to have this sorted out quickly.’ He sounded so fed up.

‘So that’s it?’ Virginia smiled, that horrible triumphant smile she’d worn when she had him locked in her spell. ‘That’s not evidence, but hearsay. You cannot arrest me on suspicion of using magic. What tangible proof do you have?’

She had a point there, Noah realised. They could show anyone what happened, but she could always claim it was an illusion. A lie.

‘In the interests of diplomacy,’ said Portia, ‘in a time when we are trying to reopen relations with Elanholm, who do you think the king will believe, tangible proof or not? We may not have enough to arrest you, but you will never be able to show your face at court again. I’m going to make sure everyone knows what you did, and what you tried to do.’ She took a step forward. ‘If you try to ruin his reputation, I’ll leave yours in shreds.’

‘You can try, Portia,’ she said poisonously. ‘Now, I suggest you give me back my dragon and⁠—’

‘Absolutely not,’ Noah interrupted. ‘You have no business with Jade or any other living creature. You ought to be banned from keeping so much as a potted plant.’

But she just stood there, unrepentant. ‘I think you’ll find, Dr Turner, that I can obtain and keep whatever I want to. I have more contacts than you will ever know and there is not a single thing you will ever be able to do about that.’

Something in her arrogance tugged at the back of his mind. Contacts… why did she need special contacts? He turned to the captain of the guards.

‘Wait, those papers… can I see them? The ownership papers she produced.’

As Virginia protested and raged, the papers were brought out and Noah spread them out on the table in the sitting room, studying them carefully. Jade’s formal name was there, and she was identified as a fenland, with her sire and dam clearly marked. One of Harvey’s brood… except…

‘The dates can’t be right. She’s younger than this.’

Jade danced around on the edge of the table and Portia tried to calm her, lifting her onto her shoulder and stroking her gently. Gilden joined Noah, peering over the papers, as did Iris.

‘That isn’t her dam,’ the older woman said solemnly. ‘Can’t be. He sold that poor old lady last year, to Barnaby. He’s still trying to nurse her back to some semblance of health.’

‘This whole thing is a tissue of lies,’ Noah told them. ‘There’s no way these are Jade’s papers.’

‘I knew something didn’t add up with her,’ Gilden said. ‘Her bond with Portia, her magical connection… she was born wild, wasn’t she? Up on the borders of Elanholm I suspect, trapped and trafficked and⁠—’