Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter Nineteen

Oliver immediately jumped from his seat and rushed towards the servant. “Is she alright? What happened, Tim? We were just there! Is it serious?”

After giving the prince a quick bow, the servant, Tim, stepped to the side to let him through. Oliver strode forward with Jessie following a step behind.

“We’re unsure at this time. Her maid caught her just in time before her ladyship’s head could hit the ground. Everyone was still recovering from your departure while she took a sip of tea, and then fell to one side moments later,” Tim recounted.

“You don’t think it could be poison, do you?” Oliver asked, concerned.

If the count’s daughter had been poisoned at the palace, pandemonia would arise. The nobles would have a field day and start all sorts of rumors. The last thing Oliver wanted was more people gossiping about his potential marriage. He had enough pressure about becoming king, so he didn’t want to add his future bride into the mix.

“I don’t know the answer to that, m’lord. I apologize. I was dispatched to locate you and bring you up to speed, as well as ensure that you were not harmed either,” Tim replied.

Oliver shook his head as they continued down the hallway. “I’m fine. My father? Is he alright? Lady Fiona? Is she harmed in any way?”

“The king is safe and feeling alright. Lady Fiona complained of a headache, but she has yet to report the same symptoms as Lady Christine.”

“That’s a relief to hear,” Oliver mumbled as they stopped in front of a guest room in the housing quarters.

Tim quickly opened the door and waited for both Oliver and Jessie to enter before closing the door behind them. Jessie then took in the lavish room. It was even more ornate than her room. She had thought that her room was a bit much, but this guest room was more than her eyes could handle all at once.

There was a large bed centered on the left wall, in which Lady Christine was propped up with at least a dozen pillows. The canopy above the bed was a soft pink with gold thread dripping off the edges in long tassels. The bed frame was delicately sculpted wood that was painted to match the swirls on the bedspread. Because of the base of the frame, it almost looked as though the bed were a ship afloat the sea. Several attendees were surrounding Lady Christine, offering her different beverages and small plates of food. There was a slightly smug look upon her maid’s face that instantly wiped away when Jessie’s eyes met Mandy’s.

The giant room also held a sitting area directly across from the bed, a vanity to the far left, and a door presumably leading to the bathroom. Though the room was currently holding almost 20 people, it did not feel cramped in the slightest.

The small crowd parted as Oliver walked in, commanding the attention of everyone. He gave Lady Christine a curt smile as everyone bowed to him.

“Please forgive me, Your Grace. I would curtsy, but…” Christine said sweetly, giving her a warm smile.

Gesturing to the bed, Oliver replied, “It’s understandable, given your condition. Please do not trouble yourself.”

“You’re too generous, Your Highness.”

Oliver gave her another brief grin as he took a seat by her bedside. She adjusted herself in the bed in order to be able to face him more directly. She looked every part of a graceful lady, even in a sick bed. Jessie found herself growing annoyed with the woman.

Turning to face the doctor in attendance, Oliver asked, “What are her symptoms? Has she been poisoned?”

The doctor cleared his throat before answering, “While I didn’t detect anything right away, I have sent a few samples of her blood, saliva, and the contents of the tea to my lab for processing. I’ll get down to the bottom of what has done this to the lady. You can trust me, my Prince. In the meantime, she is recovering exceptionally well. Lady Christine is in excellent health and would do well to provide an heir, if I might be so bold as to add.”

“Yes,” Oliver said coldly. “I think that would be too much to add. I did not ask your opinion on how well she could birth a child. Would you like to comment about how to run a military or a kingdom next?”

The doctor visibly winced. “My apologies, m’lord. Point received, and this shall never happen again.”

“Are there any lasting effects?” Oliver then asked, moving on from the awkward moment.

“It doesn’t appear so; however, I will keep a close eye on the lady and monitor her carefully to ensure that she recovers fully. Until we know what was in that tea, I cannot discharge her.”

“Thank you, Doctor Manson,” Oliver said before turning back towards Lady Christine. “Can you tell me what happened? I heard of your accident after I left.”

Christine smoothed out a few of the wrinkles from her bedsheets. “Well, it all happened so fast, Your Highness. I’m sure Mandy can help fill in the gaps. But, I watched you leave with your servant and–”

“Assistant,” Oliver interrupted to correct.

Jessie couldn’t help but flash a small smile at his back. Christine looked mildly flustered by the comment, but cleared her face of any negative emotions before continuing.

“Assistant,” she continued as graciously as possible. “The King stayed with me and Lady Fiona, apologizing for your abrupt behavior and rude departure. Though, please know, Your Majesty, that those were his words.”

“I’m well aware. Go on.”

“Well, we then continued on with our polite conversation. The king was being rather funny and making jokes. I took my first sip of tea, and though it tasted a little more unusual than I was used to, I just thought that it was a unique palace tea or something of the sort. A few moments after I swallowed the liquid, I felt dizzy and unwell. I–I don’t really remember what happened next, I’m afraid.”

“Let me take over, my lady,” Mandy chimed in, taking a step forward.

Oliver raised a hand. “Wait, you said you had taken your first sip of tea after I left?”

“Uh, yes, Your Highness. I–I did. Why would that matter?”

“I suppose that gives ample time to slip something into your tea cup. Who handled your tea? Perhaps there was already something in your cup before the tea was even poured. I’m sure Doctor Manson will be looking into it extensively.”

“I think Mandy poured my tea? But, I can’t really remember,” Christine said softly. “Everything is a bit fuzzy.”

“M’lady,” Mandy piped up. “It was not me who poured your tea. It was a palace maid. I didn’t catch her name, though. I’m sure I could point her out, if given the chance.”

Oliver nodded. “We can do that. Jessie?”

“Yes, Your Highness?” she called out from behind him.

“Get a list together of the maids that were at the tea party today. We’ll have Mandy take a look at them tomorrow. I’m sure we can fit that in.”

“Of course.”

Taking another moment to organize his thoughts, he then asked Mandy to continue her account of the events that had transpired.

“Well, I was watching the four of you talk, and then you left, so it was just Lady Fiona, my lady, and the King. As my lady took a sip, she set the teacup back down, hesitated for a second and then began falling out of her chair towards the ground. I dashed forward and just barely caught her before she could hurt her head. She didn’t regain consciousness for several minutes, and a few men were called to place her here in this room.”

“Did anything look out of the ordinary? Anyone else at the table take ill or seem to have similar symptoms?”

Mandy shook her head. “Not that I can recall, Your Highness.”

“Alright, well, if you think of anything else, please let my assistant know. Until we meet next, Lady Christine, I hope you recover quickly,” Oliver said, standing from his chair.

“Thank you, m’lord. I will do my best,” Christine smiled pleasantly. “And I so appreciate you stopping by to check in on me.”

“It’s my honor as your prince,” he said.

After motioning for Jessie to follow him, the two the their way back to his office. Once there, Oliver settled behind his desk and had a pensive look on his face.

“What is it?” Jessie asked, curious.

“I was just musing over their story of events. I could have sworn I saw Lady Christine drink her tea before we left.”

Jessie gasped. “Me too! I thought it was odd how she stated that it was her first sip of tea and not that she took a sip of tea.”

Oliver grinned at her. “I might have to put you on the detective’s team if I’m not careful. I hope he doesn’t catch wind of your sharp skills. I wouldn’t want to lose you.”

“Never, Your Highness. Maybe in a year or so, but certainly not just yet, especially when we have such an interesting case unfolding before us.”

“Yes. We’ll have to go to the lab and see what they find. It’ll take time to process the samples, but in the meantime, we’ll keep vigilant and see what we can uncover.”

Jessie smiled back at him and promptly returned to her work as he did also. She was thrilled to see that the prince didn’t completely buy Christine’s story either. Jessie had a hunch that there was something more going on than the obvious, but she didn’t know how to figure it out. She promised herself to dig at Lady Christine’s story whenever she got the chance. Clearly, the king had been enamored with her, and she was worried the prince would fall for her too.