<h4>Chapter 68 - The Banquet (3)</h4>


    ?Oh, I know who has a beauty mark on her left shoulder!? I exim as if I''ve just remembered.


    ?Whose body have you examined so closely?? Alexander inquires.


    He''s not even pretending to be jealous. He''s just inly asking.


    ?I didn''t examine anyone. I just saw it by chance!? I say. Just like the mark on my right shoulder could be seen by chance.


    ?Ah, so that''s it!? my Duke seems to realise. ?I won''t need to kill everyone with a mark on their left shoulder.?


    ?No, my dear. You won''t need to do that. Especially since it was my handmaid.?


    ?It was? You''ve already killed her??


    ?No, you threw her out,? I pout. ?Because you didn''t like the way she wasbing my hair.?


    Well, it''s not like what I''ve said. However, Patricia indeed wasbing my hair when the Duke chased the maids away.


    ?Oh, right. Well, if I knew you were so close to the maid, though...?


    ?I once noticed the beauty mark on her shoulder,? I continue, pointing at a spot on the sleeve. ?About here...?


    ?I can call her back if you''re missing her.?


    What is he talking about, now? Why is he trying to avert the conversation towards torrid waters?


    ?I prefer how things are right now. It''s better when my Duke attends to me,? I mutter. Ha, find an answer to this!


    ?I prefer it as well.?


    Figures.


    ?I don''t,? Princess Lnd interrupts. She crosses her arms and stares at us with aplicated expression. ?From when you dismissed the help, Duke Kyre, your wife becamezy. I can''t meet her in the garden anymore.?


    The poor couple in the middle of the hall is still standing in silence. They''re ignored because of our exchange, and they don''t know how to get back all the attention.


    And I have no reason to make it easy for them to do so.


    ?She hasn''t bezy,? Alexander points out, and I remember that he''s tipsy. And shameless.


    I can''t hit him in front of all these people, so I just pull his sleeve with a warning expression. He smiles so brightly when our eyes meet, and he bends over to nt a kiss on my cheek.


    ?We''re in public,? I remind him in a whisper. The silence in the hall makes my words easy to hear, and some of thedies smile mischievously.


    ?Right, right,? he sighs, desperate like a man that just lost everything. He wasn''t so overdramatic before.


    Still, I find his behaviour kind of cute. Should I convince him to drink more often? Only when we''re alone, though.


    ?Wait, what if they''re confusing me with Patricia?? I exim, trying to focus back on my original goal. I''ll have plenty of time to think about the Duke.


    ?How is that possible??


    ?Well, I was just briefly presented to the court when the Emperor dered the marriage. I wasn''t in my best condition either. I wouldn''t me anyone for not recognising me.?


    ?So, your handmaid has an affair with the same man that hurt you for no reason at all? What have you done to that woman??


    ?Nothing, my dear. Nothing! I''ve offered her to go rest early, several times, but she never epted to abandon her duty. I thought that you ordered her to do so. I''m not so sure anymore,? I continue. ?I feel like I''ve been spied now.?


    I would like to know who was responsible for the leak of information this time. It was one of the maids, but I don''t know which one. Patricia was not in the room, and she wouldn''t have fallen in my trap. She probably knows that I don''t have a mole right where she does.


    She didn''t tell the Marquise details about me, but she did poison the pie. She''s not innocent. More urately: she''s not the only one guilty.


    There are two groups of people observing my moves and attacking me.


    One of them is Marquise Lindell and the anonymous maid that told him about me. Their goal is rather evident: have me killed.


    I''m not sure why they didn''t try by themselves, though. The Marquise hit me when I was on the ground, yet he stopped as soon as someone approached us. He could have cut my throat or something like that way sooner.


    But who''s the other one? Who is Patricia helping?


    ?Other than spied, I think I was defrauded as well,? I add. It''s not toote to try my original n.


    ?Is that so?? the Duke replies. He''s not stopping me, this time.


    ?I noticed that my jewels were disappearing, but I couldn''t be sure of it. The box is so big and so full. I thought it was just my impression.?


    ?But??


    ?But earlier this evening I noticed that some specific ornaments weren''t in the box. I can''t be mistaken, this time! Also, the maids serving me wouldn''t risk stealing under my watch. The only one allowed in the room whenever she wanted was my handmaid. Well, the former handmaid. Her name is Patricia.?


    ?You can''t use anyone without proof, my dear,? Alexander murmurs with a little grin.


    ?I''m not using her, I''m just exposing the facts. If I''m proven wrong, I''ll apologise.?


    There''s no way I''m proven wrong, though. Kate hid the jewels under Patricia''s mattress.


    It''s a dirty method, but I couldn''te up with a better idea. I promised myself not to let Patricia go unscathed.


    ?Your grace,? one of the women from a nearby table intrudes. ?You should ask the guards to search that maid''s room! If you''re right, then there is a thief serving at the Pce! It''s better if we know it now. On the other side, if that maid is innocent, then she doesn''t have anything to hide.?


    Oh, well. It took me more effort than nned to provoke the first one of them. However, the rest will follow suit. It''s how courts work.


    In the end, a couple of guards search Patricia''s room while she observes them more annoyed than frightened. Only when they find the jewels, her eyes widen in fear.


    They''ve dragged her in front of the throne hall. Now, all the guests are surrounding us to watch the show.


    It''s the first time I see that expression on her face. She''s always been the one staring at me with contempt.


    ?Why did you do it, Patricia?? I ask, while her mind is crossed by thoughts of realisation. She''s starting to understand that I am the one behind this incident. Still, she''s impotent. She can''t do anything to me now.


    ?It wasn''t me,? she stutters. Then, she falls on her knees and looks at me with desperation. ?It really wasn''t me, your grace! Please, look at me: I''m innocent!?


    If only I wasn''t the real culprit, I might have been touched by her performance. She''s way better than the Marquise and hisrade, that boy Carl.


    ?How can I, Patricia? I believed you, I let you get ess to everything in my chambers. I also let you help me choose what to wear and how to dress my hair... And you used my trust for this??


    A single, lone, false tear appears on my eye. I wipe it away and turn to another side as if looking at the traitor pains me.


    ?A maid of the Pce, stealing jewels...? someone whispers from the back. It doesn''t even count if she turns out to be innocent. Her name has been stained with the word theft. She will be thrown out first thing in the morning, if not even earlier.


    ?It''s bing so difficult to find some good personnel if even the Pce iscking.?


    ?I''ll check my belongings as soon as I get back to my chamber. Who knows if they managed to snatch away something from someone else...?


    ?I think she considered the Duchess an easy target. She didn''tin about the maid''s arrogance, so the maid thought she could act as if she was the one in charge.?


    ?Wait, that George confused the Duchess with the maid... What if... What if she told him she was the Duchess while wearing her clothes and jewels??


    I didn''t think so far, so these ideas are new to me. However, I''m pleased that my ns are surpassing themselves.


    ?Isn''t that a crime??


    ?I don''t think so. However, I won''t allow something like this to stay in the Pce.?


    I stop listening to the court''s rumours and focus back on Patricia. With a single, cial look, I let her know my true feelings.


    She was just the first to step on my way. If she helped me when I was attacked, or if she didn''t poison the pie... Maybe, even if she just tried being kinder, I wouldn''t have organised all of this.


    I don''t know if I always was like this, or if it''s the Ethiro court that transformed me into a person that I don''t like too much. I''m exactly like them, right now. I don''t have any right toin about my fate if I embrace this way of leaving.


    Still, it was worth the pain. I''m now holding my destiny between my fingers. It''s a nice feeling: to have a bit of control over my life.