Chapter 437: The Sleepwalking Duke

Chapter 436: The Sleepwalking Duke

Dorian and Robin bowed with proper respect.

Then Dorian spoke, though he addressed himself to Sir Aldous rather than to Corvin, who had spoken first.

"I beg your pardon," he said, "but we cannot open these doors without leave. Should his lordship, Marquess Hale, have lost some article requiring our lord’s chambers to be searched, you need only inform us what it might be, and we shall assist in the search ourselves."

Corvin drew himself up.

"Do you dare question my authority?" he demanded.

Neither Dorian nor Robin offered a reply.

Sir Aldous then spoke, stepping forward.

"I am Aldous Greaves, Captain of the Royal Guards." He produced the parchment with which he had been furnished, holding it forth that both guards might behold the royal seal on it.

"We come upon no account of anything stolen belonging to his lordship," he said. "Rather, we are here upon reports of certain candidates having broken the rules of this competition. His Grace the Duke of Blackmere is among those named. Marquess Hale has been appointed to assist me in this investigation."

Corvin stood taller still, his chest swelling with self-importance.

"Do you dare defy the King’s own orders?" he asked.

The guards exchanged a glance between themselves.

Then Robin shook his head.

"We shall admit you to our lord’s chambers," he said, "but you must proceed with the utmost quiet. For even a single sound might wake him, and he grows exceedingly ill-tempered when his rest is disturbed. Upon one occasion, I very nearly lost my head entire for having roused his grace from sleep."

Sir Aldous gave a nod.

"We shall bear that caution in mind."

Robin opened the door, and Marquess Hale and Sir Aldous entered the chamber, followed by the guards who had accompanied them. Robin and Dorian came last, closing the door softly behind them.

Upon the bed lay Duke Valenridge, sleeping in perfect peace.

The windows stood shut, sealed against the storm raging without. The chamber was dim, lit only by the faint glow of a single candle and a hearth built up, it seemed, with rather more wood than usual, that the room might be kept warm.

Corvin turned towards the guards.

"Search everywhere," he said, his voice loud and quite unmindful of the warning given him. "Should you observe anything — a cloak, perhaps, or even perfume, anything that might hint at impropriety — you are to inform me at once."

Dorian and Robin exchanged a glance, though neither spoke.

The guards commenced their search, moving quietly through the chamber. They opened wardrobes and examined boxes. They inspected chairs and looked beneath the bed. They were thorough in their labour, yet silent, taking every care not to disturb the sleeping Duke.

After some while, they returned to Sir Aldous, shaking their heads.

"There is no sign of anything whatsoever, Captain," one reported. "We took care to examine even his footwear, for any indication he had been abroad this night, but found nothing at all."

Sir Aldous was upon the point of taking his leave when Corvin spoke again.

"Search once more," he said. "There must be something. There has to be."

The guards turned towards Sir Aldous, who sighed and gave his consent, and so they searched a second time and still found nothing.

"There is nothing here, sir," one said softly.

Corvin did not credit them.

"You are all being remarkably obtuse," he said. "Search everywhere again. There is something to be found — a cloak, or a perfume, something. I am entirely certain of it."

The guards exchanged yet another glance.

"There is nothing suspicious here, my lord," one said. "Nothing whatsoever."

Corvin rolled his eyes.

"Very well, since you have all determined to be so thoroughly unhelpful, I shall conduct the search myself."

He proceeded to search places already thoroughly examined. He opened boxes and inspected chairs. He rifled through garments and peered into wardrobes. He was certain that his own guard had done precisely as instructed, while Princess Jacinta had first met with the King and Queen. A perfume, or a cloak, had been planted within each suspect’s chamber, and he knew full well his guard should not have failed him in the matter.

He approached the bed to search it, but had scarcely reached it when there came a sound — the soft, unmistakable whisper of a blade drawn from its scabbard.

Before Corvin might react, a sword lay pressed against his throat, and he froze in utter shock.

He looked up, and found himself staring into a pair of sleepy green eyes.

Corvin swallowed audibly.

Dorian’s voice came from somewhere behind him, thick with alarm.

"I told you to keep silent!" he said sharply, caring not in the least that he addressed a gentleman of considerably higher rank than his own.

Robin’s voice followed, trembling.

"This is precisely how I very nearly lost my own head."

"Your Grace..." Corvin called out, his voice shaking with fear.

But he had no opportunity to complete his words, for the sword rose once more, and Dorian rushed forward at that very instant, seizing Duke Valenridge by the shoulders and holding him back, while Robin dragged Corvin away.

Corvin’s eyes went wide.

"What in heaven’s name is happening?" he demanded.

Robin answered, his voice pitched high with panic.

"His Grace walks in his sleep. It is for this very reason we never disturb him whilst he rests."

Just then, Duke Valenridge broke free of Dorian’s grasp.

His sword swung towards Corvin once more, and Corvin scrambled backward, crawling across the floor in his haste to escape it. The blade came down, missing him by the narrowest margin, and he scrambled the faster for it.

Sir Aldous’s lips twitched, though he mastered the expression at once.

"I do think it best you all take your leave now," Robin said, "lest someone among you lose his head entirely."

Sir Aldous nodded, then gestured to his guards, and they began filing from the chamber.

Corvin crawled after them in a panic, the Duke’s sword narrowly missing him once more as he fled through the door. He burst into the corridor, breathing heavily, his heart pounding hard against his ribs.

A few seconds passed.

Then Robin hurried out after them, bowing low.

"I do apologise for that," he said. "Our lord loses all reason entirely when he walks in his sleep. I beg your pardon most sincerely."

Sir Aldous waved this off.

"It is no matter at all. I thank you for your compliance with this investigation."

Robin bowed once more, then hastened back within.

Sir Aldous turned to Corvin.

"He is not guilty of the charge," he said, with no small emphasis.

Corvin huffed, and adjusted his disordered garments.

"On to the next, then," he said, turning from the Captain — for though he had failed to implicate Duke Valenridge, there yet remained four others to pursue.