AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ye comin’ with me?” Fin asked.
“I ken ye can ‘andle this on yer own,” he replied. “I’m goin’ tae make sure there’s no assassins lurkin’ in here.”
Fin chuckled but could not blame him for wanting to hang out in the kitchens. Not only did it smell wonderful, but the cooks were also pumping out platter after platter of delicious food. If Fin had his way, he’d stay here and eat his fill too. But he had to content himself with the chicken legs in his hand, which he finished and tossed into a bucket.
“All right then,” Fin said. “I’ll be back. Daenae do anythin’ stupid.”
“Me?”
“Aye. Ye.”
Hollis chuckled as Fin turned and headed for the larder. He moved aside as a pair of liveried servants came bustling out, their arms loaded with burlap sacks of foodstuff bound for the kitchen. Fin stepped in to find a tall man with thinning gray hair in the Duke’s livery counting items on the shelves and making notations on a piece of parchment attached to a writing board. When Fin walked in, the man gave him a once over.
“Who’re you?” he snapped.
“Me name’s Fin, Mr. White,” he introduced himself. “I’m ‘ere on the Duke’s bus’ness.”
The man sighed and set his writing board down, his face pale and drawn as a look of sorrow crept into his eyes.
“And a nasty business, that is,” he said. “The Duke’s a good man. Don’t deserve to have this happen to him.”
“The physician says he should recover,” Fin informed him.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Thanks be to God.”
“Aye. Me tae,” Fin replied.
“What can I do for you?”
“I need tae know who handled the Duke’s wine b’fore he drank it.”
The man sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Could’ve been anybody in the kitchens, to be honest,” he replied.
“Coulda been but I daenae ken so,” Fin said. “But I want tae start with yer wine stewards and cupbearers.”
The man shook his head. “All of them have been with us for years,” he said. “They’re good lads. Loyal to the Duke. All of them.”
“Ye’ve nae ‘ad any new lads come tae work for ye?”
The steward screwed up his face for a moment as if thinking and then turned to Fin.
“Now that you mention it, we did take on a new cupbearer a few weeks back,” he said. “He is the son of one the household smithies.”
“What’s ‘is name?”
“Marcus,” he replied. “Marcus Long.”
“And where can I find Marcus Long?” Fin pressed.
“He is in the grand hall. I have him polishing the formal goblets,” he said. “You don’t really believe he could have something to do with this, do you?”
“I daenae,” Fin said. “But I’ve some questions I need tae ask ‘im.”
“He is a good lad,” he argued. “I can’t see--”
“I’m nae sayin’ he’s involved,” Fin cut him off. “Nae yet. But I need tae ask ‘im some questions.”
White seemed genuinely stricken by the idea that one of his charges could have been involved with the Duke’s poisoning. Though he seemed like he could be a harsh man to Fin, he seemed to genuinely care about the men who worked under him.
