THORNS SIX
Jamie Collier opened the cell door.
"You're wanted upstairs, mate. Prime Minister Fairhead wants to see you."
Mr Jacob got up and followed Jamie, a morose expression on his face. Jamie led him to Sir Charles's apartment and knocked at the door for him. Jamie was a kind lad and could see that Mr Jacob's hands were shaking.
"Come in!" snapped Sir Charles, who could hardly be blamed for his bad mood. It's not every day your Archbishop is devoured by a wolf.
Mr Jacob entered the room, knees trembling.
"Ah, Jacob. You can't know this, being incarcerated in a cell, but Prince Caleb has returned to the kingdom alive and well. His boots have been removed and burned. Upon further investigation, we have decided that you were enchanted by a dangerous and powerful woman, who our army is doing its best to capture and restrain."
"So I'm free to leave?"
"No" replied Sir Charles with the ghost of a smile, "Your sentence has been commuted to six months for sheer gullibility. Take him back, Jamie."
"Excuse me, Sir Charles?" came a soft female voice at the door.
"Enter!" snapped Sir Charles who had hoped that if he waited one more minute Mr Jacob might actually grovel and kiss his feet.
Mistress Duffin entered.
"At your service, Sir Charles. I am Mistress Lisa Duffin and I am a witch – for the power of good, of course."
Sir Charles considered her. She was a very attractive lady but looked as if she could be difficult when crossed.
"What is the purpose of your visit, Mistress Duffin?"
"I understand you have a prisoner here called Iain Dean."
Sir Charles looked stern.
"We have. He's in the condemned cell. Do you know what he-?"
"He supposedly ate the Archbishop."
"Madam, there's no 'supposedly' about it. His fiancée Rita was a witness."
"He was possessed by a demon. You remember the demon Meyer?"
Sir Charles shuddered.
"I don't wish to add to your problems but Meyer has illegitimate children scattered around the world. This looks like the work of one of those children. If you execute Captain Dean, you could be guilty of a grave miscarriage of justice."
"Madam, we cannot release him."
"Who said anything about releasing him? Commute his sentence, keep him under lock and key, and I'll work on a spell that will disenchant him."
Sir Charles wanted to tell Mistress Duffin that she was stepping out of line. But something made him say:
"Very well. His sentence shall be commuted to guilty but possessed, and I'll leave it to you to provide the treatment for him."
He looked at her earnestly.
"Please don't get eaten."
Rita stood in the town square, with the others who had heard there was to be a forthcoming announcement about Iain. She was in turmoil. He'd eaten the Archbishop, he'd tried to eat her, but she still loved him.
"Granny!" Rita ran across the room happily, "They've discovered that Iain was possessed by a demon! He's going to be kept in jail but not beheaded. A witch is going to help him."
"In my opinion" Granny said severely, "A man who tries to eat his fiancée once will do it again."
"It's going wrong again" sulked Queen Constance, "Lily White has her husband back. Princess Sophie and Prince Ethan are just waiting for the Prince's former marriage to be annulled and then it's puppies and rainbows all round for them."
Louis smiled.
"Don't be so defeatist, my little porcupine! The Archbishop of Scandia in the Far North is travelling towards Passionara to work on the annulment, true, but who's to say he won't meet a tragic fate before he gets there?"
"Mistress Duffin" Elle spat, as if the name tasted vile in her mouth, "I've been doing quite well as an enchantress, thank you very much, and along comes this red-haired frippet and usurps me. Do you know Prince Caleb has found her a place at court?"
"It's not right" Honey snapped, "I were only a trainee but I were getting to be a good one."
"You was indeed" replied Elle.
Dylan watched Ben playing with the ex-workhouse children and laughing at their antics. He knew that his relationship was wrong in some people's eyes but he loved Ben. He loved his generosity, his open-heartedness, his kindness. So why did he, Dylan, feel so apprehensive about their future?
"Hello" said the stranger. Dylan looked round and saw who was standing there.
"Don't you 'hello' me! You're the son of Duke Grayling, aren't you? What the hell are you doing over in Passionara?"
"I am allowed to travel" Sebastian said with a little pout.
Dylan couldn't help thinking how attractive he looked when he pouted.
"The thing is" Sebastian explained, remembering the instructions his father had given him, "My father and I are not on good terms, so I wish to avoid him for a while. I wonder… I'd like to see Cardiff myself. Would it be possible for me to travel back with you when you return, and even enjoy your hospitality for a while there?"
Dylan gave a small smile.
"You've run away from him, haven't you?"
Sebastian remembered to look shame-faced and nodded.
"You can be our guest in Cardiff for a while, then. We shall be leaving on Friday and you may travel with our party."
Sebastian bowed.
"Thank you."
Ben came over, smiling.
"Ah – aren't you the Duke's son?"
"It seems that Sebastian has had enough of Grayling Castle. I've said he can travel back with us and stay in Cardiff for a while."
"Excellent idea" Ben grinned. And wondered why he'd gone suddenly cold.
"I wish this Archbishop would hurry up" Sophie grumbled. She was sick of this waiting. Because of propriety, she and Prince Ethan could no longer be alone together. At this very moment, she and Ethan were being chaperoned by none other than Elle and Honey, who were all too glad to be offered new employment.
"Everything comes to them who wait" said Honey, trying to sound wise. Nobody replied to her.
"I'm tired of waiting" said Ethan with uncharacteristic petulance, "I just want to be married, for goodness sake! It's hardly too much to ask, is it?"
Sophie wanted to take him in her arms and distract him from his misery with kisses. But with two chaperones sitting there, she wasn't even allowed to do that.
"I miss our thieving days" grizzled Grabby.
"Ah come on, at least our necks are safe now" Lightfoot reminded him.
"I'm bored. I loved it just after Prince Ethan was found but now it's got dull."
"Miseryguts!"
While the little cloud of discontent, carefully released into the air by Louis himself, floated around Passionara, the Archbishop of Scandia was travelling with his retinue across a narrow mountain pass. It was only when the Baron of Flambard said uneasily:
"I swear I heard a bear growling" that the group suspected anything was wrong.
By then it was too late to flee. The bear was a very hungry one and soon made short work of the Archbishop's party.
To lose one Archbishop could be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two Archbishops looked like carelessness. Louis, safely hidden behind his cloak of invisibility, sniggered.