“You said you were drugged. What happened? Did he poison your food?”
“No.”
Aleric pulled out another sugar cube for Mighty. He might as well tell Jaime in case Gautier decided to go that route again, although he wouldn't be leaving his drinks unattended again.
“One of the lords from Moria was going home to be married to a woman he met here, and he had a party for his friends in the Hall. I was invited too. It was so the men could drink and play cards, and everyone kept joking he'd never have fun again once the shackles of marriage were clamped on his wrists. The bride and her friends were celebrating out in the back garden. I didn’t drink a lot.”
He’d still been on his first whiskey after he’d lightened a few coin purses. It was easy with the other men drinking a lot more and making stupid decisions at cards. Luck helped too. Gautier had been there that night, and Aleric had ignored him like usual.
He’d gotten up to grab a bit of food from the snacks laid out and left his second, fresh whiskey unattended without thinking. Gautier hadn’t come close to him so far that night, but he’dbeen waiting and hoping for the right moment. Somehow, he’d managed it without anyone seeing.
When Aleric had finished his second drink, and everyone was quite loud and rowdy, he’d started feeling too light. By the time the room was spinning, which hadn’t taken long, he’d figured it out, although it was too late then to do anything about it.
Poison had been added to his drink because two wouldn’t have him slurring and weak in the limbs. One of the men had asked him a question, or that’s what he’d thought. He hadn’t been able to string enough coherent words together to ask the man to repeat himself. Another had laughed and said Aleric needed to slow down.
“Gautier took my arm and said I had to go to bed. He’d take me.”
Jaime’s eyes widened. “He got you alone?”
“No. If he’d taken me upstairs to my room, he could’ve put a pillow over my face or forced me to drink another poison. I wouldn't be here now. It’s not like I was in any state to fight back. Whatever he slipped into my whiskey, it wasn’t intended to kill me right there. He just needed to incapacitate me.” Aleric waved a hand. “They would have found me in the morning dead with no marks, and the cause likely would have been marked as alcohol poisoning. Or if another poison made me puke, they’d say I vomited while drunk and choked on it. What an unfortunate accident. Nobody would be blamed because most of the men were ripped. If anybody remembered Gautier hauling me out, they would have said I could barely walk, and it was clear I’d gotten myself utterly trashed. He’d merely put me to bed so I wouldn’t shame myself worse in front of everyone.”
“What happened?”
“I tried refusing him, and he managed to get me into the entrance hall since I couldn't fight him off. Thank Elira, Father happened to be coming downstairs. He hadn’t intended to jointhe party, and he’d changed his mind later, thinking he’d play a couple of card games. I managed to stumble over to him and loop my arms around his neck. I had enough sense to be terrified, and I tried telling Father my drink had been tainted. I’m pretty sure he only heard slurred nonsense, and since he thought I was drunk, and that's why I was clinging to him, he took me upstairs. I don’t remember that part.”
“Why didn’t Gautier go to your room later? I don’t think Father would lock your doors, right?”
“He put me in his bed and stayed up all night to watch me. He was afraid I’d puke in my sleep and choke on it.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I got mad when you asked if my Father is a part of this,” Aleric said with a slight edge. “He’s blind about certain things, and he won’t listen at times, but he’s not a bad man. He loves me, and he truly wants what’s best. I’m not going to listen to anyone insult him.”
And while he was no longer the hero Aleric thought of him back when he was a child, Father was all he had left.
“I’m sorry. I won’t.” Jaime leaned on the door of the next stall which was empty. “Did you say anything?”
“I said my drink had been tainted the next morning. He told me I’d had too much, and I needed to take responsibility instead of lying and pretending I only had two. I said Gautier had slipped something into my drink, and why else would he haul me out? I don’t know what it’s called, but I’ve heard there’s a poison you can add to alcohol, and when the victim can’t walk or talk, the other can rape or kill them. Anyway, Father grew angry at my ‘wild tale.’ Oh, and at my age, I need to know how to pace myself instead of acting like a teenager on his first night out at the tavern. I’ve never been the sort to get sloppy drunk, and he thinks I fucked up.”
“Where was Zacharie?”
“At the other end of the Hall as far as I remember. He didn’t appear to be paying attention to me since he was playing cards with a few young courtiers and losing.”
“Has Gautier tried to kill you any other way?”
“No. Gautier has no real position anymore since he was accused of rape and sacked. Nobody here believes he’s guilty, and he’s never done anything untrustworthy in the eyes of the court. Every time he came to visit before he was sacked, he’d been nothing but pleasant. After living here, he saw the way to an Earldom. He went after Zacharie and snagged him because my brother is an idiot.”
Aleric was an idiot too.
“If he gets me out of the way, he’ll be the Earl with Zacharie later. It won’t be his old hold, but it’ll be good enough.”
“That might be a while. Your Father could pass in ten years, Elira forbid. Or he could live for another thirty or whatever. He seems well. I’m sure he’ll abdicate in fifteen or twenty, and shit happens. Lord Gautier might not have much time to enjoy his position. What if he ends up feeble or sickly? It’s not much fun being the lord when you can’t walk or get out of bed. Oh, and if Zacharie doesn’t like being around sick people, I’m sure that’ll put a giant crack in their relationship unless he grows up.”
Aleric stroked Mighty’s nose. “Except for his knees, Father is fine. A little time is better than nothing, and if Gautier marries Zacharie in a couple of years, he’ll have power and influence. And who’s to say Father won’t have an accident later? It’d be a while because if I die, Father can’t die too quickly afterward. It’ll appear suspicious.”
Jaime cast him a look before focusing his gaze elsewhere. “An older man who manages to dazzle a younger one and snare him would have quite a bit of control. As long as Lord Gautier keeps up the sweet attitude, and Zacharie remains pliable, he’ll probably end up making most of the decisions later.”
If Jaime thought something else lay behind Aleric’s words, he was right. Aleric couldn’t reveal it because the second the words came from his lips, he could imagine Jaime’s thoughts.
