Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(36)

“Water!” Sera said greedily, seeing the pitcher on a nearby dresser. She rushed to it and thankfully, mercifully, it was still half full. She didn’t care how old and musty it was, she drank deeply from it, finding relief at long last. Never had a drink been so refreshing. Joanna stared at her as if she were slightly daft, but didn’t comment on it. There was still plenty of water left after she was done.

“Here, let me help you,” Joanna said. She poured water into the shaving bowl and dipped the towel into it. Sera sat on the cushioned seat by the table. It struck her that this was where Joses must have shaved Rand every morning—before the valet’s death. As part of her fruitless search for Cettie, she had heard multiple reports of that fateful day, the day before Cettie vanished. Joses, Cettie’s childhood friend from the Fells, had been killed by the Fear Liath in front of her eyes. The mental anguish must have been excruciating.

Where are you, Cettie?

The sting of Joanna’s ministrations as she wiped away the encrusted blood on her cheek jolted her from her thoughts.

Wincing, Sera asked, “Did your brother get a new valet after Joses died?”

“No,” Joanna answered. “It’s hard to find someone of quality these days, especially with the war going on. All the young men are off fighting. His room’s a mess, as you can clearly see, because of it.”

“How is Rand? Is he still considering public office?” Sera asked, scrunching her nose. She hadn’t kept up with the Patchetts much since Cettie’s departure, other than hearing about the brother’s failed attempt at politics. And talking would help distract her from the pain.

“Do you really want to talk about my brother?” Joanna said with a hint of doubt. “I’m tending the empress in my brother’s chamber because my keeper is holding us both hostage and killed our steward. This may be normal for you, Your Highness, but I’m a little rattled.”

“This is not normal,” Sera agreed. She looked up, meeting Joanna’s eyes. “It’s hard to trust anyone these days. When I first met you, it was at Pavenham Sky. Do you remember?”

Joanna squeezed the towel over the basin and then dipped it again in the water. “I remember it well. You were being snubbed by everyone during one of Lady Corinne’s teas.”

“You remember that?” Sera asked.

“I said I wished the war had never started. Cettie once told me that you met Prince Trevon there in disguise. He’d dropped a tray and made a mess. Your missing husband.”

The words stabbed into her, but she shook off the pain. “That’s right. It was him. In disguise. A good disguise can make a prince into a pauper, an enemy into a friend. And so you can naturally understand that I’m more than a little concerned about your loyalty.”

“Now we’re really talking,” Joanna said with a small smile. “I’d suspect me too, I suppose. The last time I saw Lady Corinne was when she came here a year ago to thwart my brother’s political ambitions. I was devastated when Pavenham Sky fell. And I’ve lived in dread that Gimmerton Sough may suffer the same fate. She owns it, after all. Why did the one manor plummet to the earth and not the other?”

“That’s not very comforting,” Sera said.

“It’s not supposed to be. I don’t even like this house. It’s gone dark again.”

“What do you mean?” Sera pressed.

“When we first moved here, things were strange. The Leerings didn’t work very well. I didn’t pass the Test, you know, but I did take it. This estate was full of . . . dark beings. Mr. Batewinch couldn’t control the main Leering. No matter what he did, the dark ones kept coming back and haunting our halls. Until Cettie came. For some reason, the Leerings obeyed her. I was grateful to her for that, and for what she did for Rand. He was very low back then. I feared he’d try to kill himself.”

Joanna finished scrubbing at Sera’s cheek. “Well, I think I got the rest of the blood off this scratch. But your arm is an entirely different mess. You were stabbed?”

“Lady Corinne did it.”

“I never would have thought her capable of such an act,” Joanna said. “She was always so mild, in person. But she was very cunning. I don’t know why she made me part of her set. It was almost as if . . .” She hesitated, shaking her head.

“Go on,” Sera pressed. Joanna was trying to pick the bloodied dress away from the wound, but it was a dried, wrinkled mess.

“I don’t want to make this worse. I’m not a doctor. Maybe if I just cut away the sleeve? I’d need a knife, though.”

“I have one,” Sera said, realizing she was still gripping the penknife in her good hand. She wanted to hand it over, but her feelings of distrust throbbed to life again. Sera paused, taking a deep breath, and stared into Joanna’s eyes. “I have to ask you a question first. Do not lie to me, Joanna. If you help me escape, I will reward you and I will forgive any past treachery, but I need to know if I can trust you.”

Her words had shaken Joanna. The young woman blinked rapidly, her eyes large in the dim room, but then she nodded in agreement. “What do you want to ask me?”

“Are you a poisoner?”

Joanna flinched. “A poisoner? Are you serious?”

“I am very serious,” Sera answered. “Look me in the eye and answer me.”