Page 23 of Hemlock & Silver
But the king looked at me with sudden hope in his eyes and said, “Yes! Exactly! And I could not bear the thought of locking my daughter up in a guarded cell for the rest of her days. If sheistruly dying, regardless of what we do, then it would be monstrous to deny her the sun and the wind and the stars.”
“It might work for a little while if it’s actually poison,” I admitted. “But I’d want to be sure it was first. And if she’s lived this long, it seems unlikely that it will suddenly grow worse, unless the poisoner… err…”
“Sees that we have discovered their work. I know. And I cannot decide if someone is dragging her death out to torment me or if this is simply the best they can do.”
“It may be that there is no malice here at all, Your Majesty,” I said. “A nurse could be giving her an herbal tonic—oh yes, you would not believe the tonics that I’ve seen! Made with wolfsbane or sweetened with lead, with the best intentions in the world. Or it may be something she is taking herself, all unknowing.”
The king frowned. “How do you mean?”
I made a helpless gesture with my free hand. “Perhaps Snow got hold of some old cosmetics. There are foundations made with white lead, and others made with mercury, to whiten the skin, or cinnabar to provide a blush.”
“Cosmetics?” His frown deepened. “Snow is achild.”
“Young girls are often eager to play at being grown-up,” I said. “Did her… did the queen use cosmetics?”
The king had to stop and think. “I suppose she could have,” he said slowly. “I never thought about it.”
No,I thought wearily,no, you probably didn’t. Noblemen notice beauty mostly by its lack. Women know that they are only as powerful as their face, and so they will slather poisons into every wrinkle, merely to keep what little power they have.
Aloud I said only, “It’s possible that Snow acquired some but, being unskilled in the usage, has managed to poison herself in small doses. I would suggest that we search through her belongings, just in case.” I grimaced at the thought. It seemed cruel to dig through a sick child’s private treasures, particularly if one of them was a reminder of a lost mother.
A mother who tried to cut out her sister’s heart. And anyway, it would be much crueler to let her die.
“And this is why I came to you,” the king said, smiling wryly. “I would never have thought of cosmetics, and I will wager that the physicians did not either.”
Then your physicians were fools.I did not say that, though, because I had the sneaking suspicion that I would prove the biggest fool of all.
CHAPTER 7
At dinner that night, I sat beside an older man who oozed military out of every pore. I was intensely relieved. I didn’t know if I could face Lady Anonymous again.
To my surprise and delight, General Matthias proved to be quite a good conversationalist. When I told him that I was a natural history tutor, he fixed me with twinkling gray eyes and said, “And what part of nature do you specialize in, young lady?”
From most other people, I would have resented the title ofyoung lady,but he reminded me so much of my late grandfather that I only laughed. “Plants, mostly,” I said. “Though I have a great fondness for snakes.”
“Snakes!” It was his turn to laugh. “Well, that will certainly wake your students up, won’t it? I was on campaign many years ago now, in Mindigal, far northwest of here. Spent most of our time in a swamp, and it was simply lousy with snakes. All kinds, but there were these skinny green ones, as long as a horse, that used to hang down from the trees like vines. I’ve forgotten the local name now, but we called them ‘vine devils.’ Those were the worst. The big brown ones that swam everywhere were supposed to be poisonous, but they never gave us any trouble. They just wanted to get away.”
“Most snakes are like that,” I said. (I didn’t bother being pedantic about the difference between venomous and poisonous. If someone screams,Help, I’ve been bitten by a poisonous snake!we all know perfectly well what they mean.) “Probably the green ones were just startled.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it.” He toasted the absent vine devils with his wine. “I can’t imagine I’d be very friendly if I was minding my own business and a pack of young fellows with machetes camebarging into my garden. Still, it’s not the sort of thing you think of when there’s one fastened on to your cheek.”
“Oh dear…”
He grinned. “No, no, I was too ugly for a snake to want to bite. Saw it happen three or four times to other fellows, though. Still not as bad as the mosquitoes, though. We were all glad to get out of that swamp.” He laughed ruefully. “Listen to me rattle on! Is this your first time traveling with the court?”
I nodded glumly.
The general laughed at my expression. “Ridiculous, isn’t it?” He gestured with his fork at the crowded lower tables. “I’ve made better time with a thousand infantrymen in full kit than with this lot. But you’re lucky, young lady. Most of them won’t be going to Witherleaf at all. I’m stuck with them until we reach Cholla Bay.”
This was news to me. I sat up straighter. “They won’t?”
“Nah, nah. The king leaves and goes to Witherleaf with just his own staff. Even kings need a break now and again.”
“Hear, hear,” said the king, on my right. I hadn’t realized he’d been listening.
The general grinned at him with a charming lack of formality. “The rest of this lot will head straight to the bay, and the king will meet up with us in a few days, or thereabouts.”
I had been delighted at the thought of fewer people around who were speculating that I might be the king’s mistress, but that delight was immediately doused. A few days! Was I expected to solve Snow’s problem by then? What if I couldn’t? If I had to comb through everything she ate and every one of her possessions and eliminate them one by one, it could take weeks. Months, even.
