Anya moved swiftly through the halls of the castle and found Lady Daphne in the first place she looked.  She was lounging on a sofa in small room by a half played game of chess.  "Lady Theresa is looking for you," Anya said tentatively.

"Where is she?" Daphne asked.

"In her rooms."

Lady Daphne rolled her eyes.  "Did the king take Lord Wildwood off to his meeting too?  That man can be so inconsiderate.  Let's go."

Anya obediently followed Lady Daphne through the halls.  They passed Missus White and the woman barely even acknowledged Lady Daphne's presence.

Lady Daphne pushed open the doors to Lady Theresa's room.  "I don't know how you tolerate her," she exclaimed dramatically.

"Who?" asked Lady Theresa with a raised eyebrow.

"That wretched housekeeper.  She's absolutely rude to anyone who isn't good enough for her precious estate.  Lord Wildwood would fire her if you asked him to."

Lady Theresa shrugged.  "If we fire her, we'll have to replace her.  I'll talk to her about her attitude.  Is she nasty to you, Hanna, Anya?"

Hanna shook her head feebly and Anya searched for adequate words to express their interactions.

Lady Theresa exhaled deeply.  "I'll talk to her later about her attitude.  Where's Thomas?"

Lady Daphne sat down on the chaise opposite her sister.  "He's meeting with the king along with Lord Wildwood and the Wizard Jim.  It seems that our previous adventure brought them into the king's line of sight."  She looked almost as sour as Lady Theresa at the prospect.  Hanna moved towards the back of the room and Anya followed her.

Lady Theresa frowned.  "I don't know why he doesn't get his other subjects to do something."

"It sounds as if loyal subjects are in short supply," Lady Daphne supplied.

"What?" Lady Theresa asked sharply.

"You haven't heard?"

"What haven't I heard?"

"I guess you were tucked away with Lord Wildwood all day so you would not have heard," Lady Daphne said with a bit of a smile.  Lady Theresa turned her face away while Lady Daphne continued in a more subdued tone.  "It's really quite terrible.  Lord Reid was murdered."

"Lord Reid?  Why does that name sound familiar?"

"He's the Duke of Reid.  He came by Waldwick a couple of times when we were young.  He was really old even then.  He had that mop of grey hair.  I only remember now because I was thinking about it all morning.  The memories are still really fuzzy."

"I think I remember him.  Didn't he give us candy that one time?"

Lady Daphne nodded.  "Hmmm.  I think I remember that.  Aunt Francine must have been livid.  Anyway, Thomas tells me that that his lands are in the eastern part of the kingdom and that he was a vital part of the defense.  He was also apparently an unfailingly loyal supporter of the king," Lady Daphne explained.

Lady Theresa looked concerned.  "Do they know who killed him?"

"The rumors say that it was his heir, Heathcliff.  He's like a first cousin once removed or something.  Anyway, Thomas doesn't think it was him though, or at least not him alone.  He thinks that it is a move to destabilize the king," Daphne added helpfully.

Lady Theresa face looked weary when she looked back at her sister.  "And that's why the king summoned them, isn't it?"

"I'm guessing so."

"Why would someone take the risk of killing Lord Reid?  He would have likely been dead anyway within a decade at his age.  It doesn't make sense for his heir to take the risk of murdering him," Lady Theresa said with dawning dread.

"Exactly why Thomas doesn't think that Heathcliff did it.  He would risk losing everything he would have wanted over a couple of years.  Of course, Lord Reid did seem to be in rather excellent health for his age, so I'm told.  It sounds as if he also had all his wits about him even at his great age."

"Why would someone be attempting to destabilize the king?  He's not a bad ruler, I think."

"He's not.  Thomas thinks that someone wants the throne.  He fears that they are trying to remove anyone who might be an obstacle to their plans."

"Anyone who supports the king?  Like Wildwood?" Lady Theresa asked with a growing note of worry in her voice.

"His involvement is not well known," Lady Daphne reminded her.

"People will have seen the connection with the queen," Lady Theresa said.

"The queen is just a woman," Lady Daphne said sarcastically.  "No one will think that a woman is capable of being a threat."

Lady Theresa gave a short derisive laugh.  "You're right."

Lady Daphne smiled.  "Now let's just relax until our husbands come back and then harass them with questions until we know exactly what is going on.  It always works with Thomas."

Lady Theresa gave a half smile.  "That's an excellent plan."

"Would you like tea?" Hanna ventured.

"That's an excellent idea.  Thank you, Hanna," Lady Daphne said decisively.

Anya's mind spun through the conversation that she had just heard.  She couldn't help but wonder if her problems with Thorne and her terrible task were not somehow connected to what had happened to Lord Reid.  What were Thorne and his employer's absolute aims?  Were they really reaching for the crown?

Anya's knees felt weak and shaky.  She had gotten mixed up in things that were far too big for a simple peasant.

Why had Thorne chosen to plague her?  If everything was so serious, why would he allow revenge against her brother to throw an amateur like herself into such a complex situation?  Did his plans depend on her?  Did Thorne think her love for her sister and brother was enough to motivate her to succeed?

But he was right.  She had to do it because Damani and Kallie were both so young and innocent.  They did not deserve to be hurt by Thorne because Anya could not do what he had forced her to do.  Anya would find a way to succeed, and soon.

Anya's frantic thoughts were interrupted by the return of Hanna with a tea tray.  It was a good thing Hanna took care of basically everything, because Anya felt as if she was in no state to do it.  Hanna set down the tea and then began to putter around in Lady Theresa's wardrobe.

Anya knew that Hanna would ask for help if it became necessary, so she remained standing as unobtrusively as possible in the background.  What she really wanted was to run and hide, and it would likely have been perfectly fine to excuse herself from the room, but Anya wanted to hear if anything was said about the meeting when Lord Wildwood returned.

What if the meeting had not been about the murder as Lady Daphne had suggested, but rather about the attempted poisoning of Lord Wildwood?  What if they suspected her?

Anya's stomach felt as if it had been transformed to stone.  It was a most terrible relief when the door finally opened and revealed Lord Wildwood entering the room.  Anya's heart beat frantically.

He did not even look at her but rather focused on his wife.  His face looked rather grim.

"What does he want you to do this time?" Lady Theresa asked with a frown.

Lady Daphne glanced between the two.  "I'll just go find Sir Thomas," she said as she darted from the room.  Anya was quite tempted to follow her.

Lord Wildwood glanced after his departing sister in law.  "Just a short trip," he said carefully, watching Lady Theresa's face.

"A short, dangerous trip, Wildwood?" she repeated in a clipped tone.  She still sat in a chair.

"It won't be dangerous," he reassured her.

"I want to know exactly what is happening.  I'm not having any more of these secret little trips for the king.  You managed to trick me into staying here before with that nonsense about me needing to plan the wedding, as if Missus White could not have handled it on her own and now you want to take off the day after our wedding?"

"Theresa, it will take at least a few days to plan—"

"No."

"I can hardly refuse a request from my king in his hour of need.  You don't know—"

Lady Theresa stood up and stared straight at her husband.  "I know exactly what the problem is.  One of the king's most loyal subjects—Lord Reid—was just murdered and he's running low on loyalty at the moment.  So what does he do?  He finds someone who should be spending time with his wife who he just married and—"

Lord Wildwood spoke over her.  "It's not something frivolous that—"

"And I'm well aware of that!  Is there rebellion in the air?  Who is trying to overthrow the crown?  This is terrible business and I have no plan to be a widow so soon, or ever, for that matter!  Do you hear me, Wildwood?"

Lord Wildwood somehow managed to look both pleased and frustrated.  "Yes, I understand you.  But you have to understand that I want to protect you.  I'm more than capable of taking care of myself and I can hardly say no to my king.  He is a decent ruler and anyone trying to dispose of him will certainly not be.  And I've no intention on being separated from you."

Lady Theresa smiled with phony sweetness.  "Excellent, then you can take me with you."

He looked severe.  "I don't want you in any danger."

"I won't be.  Like you said, you can take care of yourself and no doubt me as well.  Besides, I've been studying magic lately on my own.  I could be a help.  I don't want to sit here and worry about you."

Lord Wildwood pulled Lady Theresa down beside him on the chaise.  "That's why I gave you this," he said, pulling on a chain around Lady Theresa's neck.  "You'll know that I'm safe, because my spell is still on it."

Lady Theresa looked as if she would give up, but then she narrowed her eyes.  "No.  I am coming with you.  This necklace won't help at all if something does happen.  I'll never forgive you if you leave me behind."

"Never?" he asked in an amused voice.

"Never.  I'm coming whether you agree or not.  I know that it's dangerous."

"Remind me to chastise Sir Thomas for telling Lady Daphne everything," Lord Wildwood grumbled.

"He had little choice, I think."

"Fine.  Come with me.  We'll use going to Waldwick as an excuse for leaving so quickly after the wedding."

Theresa smiled.  "I really should go there and begin to sort out my affairs."

"It's better if we also do what we say we will do," he agreed.

Anya had been listening to the argument while feeling uncomfortable yet transfixed.  It seemed that it had nothing to do with her, at least not directly. 

She suddenly realized that perhaps they would not be pleased if they realized that she was standing there listening to their conversation.

Anya made her way as casually and quietly into the wardrobe as she could.  Hanna was absently folding cloths with her eyes wide open.  She met Anya's eyes and a grin split across her face.  Anya forced her frozen cheeks to return the smile.  She hoped that Hanna did not see how wooden and fake it really was.

Anya heard the door open in close in Lady Theresa's room.  Hanna moved to the doorway and peeked out.  "That was..."

"Yes," Anya agreed.

"You don't look very good," Hanna commented.  "Kind of pale."

"Yes," agreed Anya again.  "All the spells..."  She wondered how long she might convincingly use the excuse of maintaining spells before people questioned it.

Hanna glanced at her with a worried look.  "Maybe you should go and lay down," she suggested.

"Thanks," Anya said gratefully and fled the room.