Page 13 of From London, With Love
Gideon threw back his cordial, then set the glass down with a hard crack. “I think we need to discuss what happened at Haver Hall.”
“You kissed me,” she blurted.
“And I apologized for that, most profusely. I had… misinterpreted your intentions and I was swept away in the moment. I should never have dared lay—"
A sharp rap came at the door, startling the pair of them.
The queen swished away from him, looking cool and regal. He hated how she could seemingly wipe the storm of emotion from her face in the blink of an eye—for all his skill with diplomacy, he could never quite manage it.
“Come in,” she called.
Malloryn entered, stark in black. “Your Majesty.” He bowed, then nodded toward Gideon.
“Any news?” Despite his frustration, Gideon got straight to the heart of the matter.
“My men have discovered the cook who laced the cordial and cakes with cyanide,” Malloryn said grimly. “Unfortunately, he managed to take his own life before my Rogues could apprehend him, and we don’t know why he made this attempt.”
“A cook?”
Why would one of the palace servants bear such a grudge?
“I daresay it was a crime of opportunity, and the cook merely a playing piece in someone else’s game,” Malloryn replied. “My crime scene analyst assures me she’s tested the amount of cyanide in your cordial and it’s not enough to have killed you, though the ongoing complications may have made your health suffer dramatically. It was also placed in your cordial on a servant drone’s tray, which anyone could have sipped from. The cook was no expert poisoner, which is a clue in itself—this was either a sloppy attempt made by a desperate man on behalf of someone else; an attempt to incapacitate you, rather than kill you; or merely a disgruntled servant taking matters into his own hands.”
“Doubtful,” Gideon murmured.
“I agree,” Malloryn conceded.
“So we don’t know who was behind all of this?” the queen said breathlessly.
“Not yet. But I will find them.”
“Who would want to incapacitate her?” He didn’t know why, but that option caught his attention. The prince consort had kept the queen plied with laudanum and wine, and while she kept herself severely restrained now, he couldn’t help thinking of the listless way she’d once signed court documents.
“I don’t know.” Malloryn met his gaze. “Yet. If the queen’s health declined, the council would be in control of the empire until a regent could be appointed. But the council would be the one to appoint a regent, and so I cannot see this as a power grab.”
Alexandra turned toward the fireplace, holding her hands out to the fire as if she felt a sudden chill. “It could be a ploy to force my hand,” she whispered. “If I were struck ill, then Britain would be at a disadvantage. And you were right. I have no heir. Someone might be pushing me to forge a marriage as swiftly as possible. Failing that, it might be an attempt to force me to name an heir.”
A thought occurred. “Maybe you weren’t meant to drink the cordial? Unless they were completely inept, the culprit must know you’re surrounded by blue bloods who might be able to smell the cyanide. It’s a noticeable scent. Perhaps it was a scare attempt?”
Malloryn’s brows notched together. “I didn’t think of that. I’ll add those motives to the list.”
The queen nodded, but she looked a little more fragile in the early dawn light streaming through the windows.
It was one thing to know someone had put poison in your cordial; quite another to be coolly discussing why.
He wanted to reach out to her and clap a hand upon her shoulder. To set her mind at ease, somehow, and remind her that she was not alone.
But he did not have that right.
“I’m going to set a rotation of my female Rogues at your side at all times,” Malloryn told her. “Gemma and Lark are both blue bloods, and Ingrid is verwulfen. If someone makes another attempt, they should be able to prevent it.”
“And in the meantime?” Alexandra asked.
“Continue as you were. Let’s not let them think us cowed by this attempt. We want to draw them out and encourage them to make another attempt.” Malloryn smiled. “Only this time, we’ll be aware that it’s coming.”
Chapter 5
The Royal Exhibition began the next day.
