The Marus Manuscripts (42 page)

Eventually she reached another wooden door, similar to the one at the bottom. It, too, was slightly ajar. As quietly as possible, she pushed it open and stepped out onto the belfry. It was enclosed on four sides by walls nearly as tall as Maddy and pillars that reached up to the bell encasement. She looked up, expecting to see a large bell, but it had been removed. Pigeons’ nests now littered the wooden slats where a bell had once hung.

A man stood at the opposite end of the belfry, gazing out at Sarum. Without seeing the face, Maddy knew who it was.

“Simet?” she said softly.

He didn’t turn but responded, “Do you see?”

Maddy could. The view was breathtaking. Tall, monumental buildings rose up amidst smaller roofs. Towers reached upward like large pencils. The streets and avenues, obviously based on old horse paths rather than planned roads, crisscrossed like a spider’s web. In the distance was a large bridge that stretched over a river. It was a magnificent sight.

There was more to see than just a view of a beautiful city, however. Billows of smoke rose up like black cotton over whole sections. Every now and then she thought she heard the pop of a gun,
and then she realized it was a cannon. Buildings in some sections of the city lay in ruins.

“It’s more than I can bear,” Simet groaned. Only then did Maddy realize he was weeping. “The Palatian army has broken up the mob. Most of the fighting has stopped. Lord Hector has won.”

“What will happen now?”

“Lord Hector will come down like an iron fist on the dissenters. He will execute those who actively fought against him and then resume his persecution of the Old Faith.”

Maddy felt heartsick at the news. Things could only get worse now.

“Oh, who will come and save us?” Simet implored. Maddy realized he was praying out loud. “Who will be our deliverer? Send us an intercessor. Otherwise, the night will fall and we will never see the day again.” He bowed his head and wept uncontrollably over the city.

Maddy put her arm around his waist, and he pulled her close. Tears formed in her eyes, and she found herself praying along with him. “Help us,” she whispered. “Send us a deliverer.”

S
imet was right. Lord Hector fell on Marus like an iron fist. The jails and dungeons were filled with many of the rioters, and his soldiers raided the homes of anyone suspected of being involved with the Old Faith.

Just as disturbing was the effectiveness of a special group of secret police Lord Hector had created. They worked diligently to spread propaganda that the members of the Old Faith had started the riots that nearly destroyed the city. They claimed that Lord Hector had uncovered a plot in which the members of the Old Faith planned to kill Queen Annison when she returned from her honeymoon. Then the secret police not only spied on the people of Sarum, but they also encouraged the people to spy on one another. Soon neighbor turned against neighbor, reporting suspicious activities or offhand statements that sounded treasonous. Petrad was betrayed by a neighbor and arrested.

Maddy heard all this through Simet as they continued to meet every other day. She worried about Simet. As time passed, he began to look worn out. He seemed to be aging right before her eyes.

“Lord Hector is winning,” he said to her in their latest conversation, his voice old and tired. “In only three weeks, he has brought us to the edge of destruction. I don’t know how many of us will be left by the time Annison returns.”

“But Lord Hector hasn’t executed anyone,” Maddy reminded him. “He’s waiting for the king to come back. You said so yourself.
He wants to hand them over like trophies just to show what a good job he’s doing.”

“But how many will be left by the time the king gets here?” Simet asked. “He tortures them daily. I have no doubt the weak among them will succumb to disease, if not starvation, around the time the king returns. Lord Hector will kill them off before they can be formally executed.”

After a moment of silence, Simet confessed, “I went back to Annigua’s house the other night. It’s been boarded up. I learned from a neighbor that she was arrested and locked in the dungeon. After only a week, she died.”

Together Maddy and Simet prayed. Then Simet said quietly, “I’ve come to realize that Annison may be our only hope. She must persuade the king somehow to reverse what Lord Hector has done.”

Meanwhile, Lord Hector was unrelenting. On the eve of King Willem and Queen Annison’s return, he called the entire palace staff, including Annison’s court, to the Great Hall. He stood before them dressed in his usual black coat, with the usual leer on his face. Many of his soldiers and secret police stood behind him on the stage. One of them was the man with the high forehead that Maddy had seen in the street outside Annigua’s house that night of the meeting. Maddy knew then that he’d been following either her or Simet. The thought sent a chill up and down her spine. How often had she been watched or followed without her realizing it?

“I have an announcement,” Lord Hector declared. “Tomorrow, when the king and queen return, I will inform them that I want to celebrate their new reign in Sarum with a cleansing of the kingdom. We’re going to scrub out the old ideas, the old ways, and the old faith once and for all. We will have a final
purge
of those who resist the new ideas, the new ways, and the new faith in the supremacy of our king!”

Some of the Palatians in the crowd cheered. The rest listened in stunned silence. Maddy felt her heart drop to her feet.

Lord Hector continued, “I want the entire city—no, the entire
nation—
to join in as we dig up the last of the weeds in our beautiful garden. What better way to present the kingdom to His Majesty!”

The Palatians applauded, many of them nudging the rest of the crowd to join in. Soon the room was a roar of applause. Maddy kept her hands at her side. Giving her a sharp elbow in the side, Tabby whispered, “Even if you don’t agree, applaud. People are looking.”

Maddy didn’t care and stubbornly kept her fists clenched. She thought only about that phrase “a final purge.” She imagined the frenzied soldiers riding through the streets, trampling or bayoneting their suspects; the mobs of sympathizers setting fire to the homes and buildings that were suspected havens of the Old Faith; and innocent people being dragged out and beaten, probably killed, by anyone with a desire to do so.

She looked around the room for Simet but couldn’t see him anywhere. What was his reaction to the news? Maddy then saw him standing near the doors. He was stone-faced, his expression empty, betraying nothing. She wanted to go to him, to find out what he thought they should do. But she knew that Lord Hector or one of his men would be watching.

Their eyes caught each other. Maddy wanted to see some sense of hope in his expression. But he simply shook his head and walked out.

The despair in his expression filled her with dread.

King Willem and Queen Annison arrived at the palace early the next afternoon. Protocol demanded that the staff line up in the
front hall to present themselves to the returning couple. They applauded as the king and queen stepped through the front doors.

King Willem took a dramatic bow. He looked happy and rested. He had begun to grow a beard and mustache while he was away, which made him look more mature. And he had gotten rid of his wild wigs and now let his own hair be seen. He looked like a proper king, Maddy thought.

Queen Annison looked as beautiful as ever. Her raven hair was longer and pulled back in an unfamiliar style. “She’s been to one of those awful Palatian hairdressers,” Tabby whispered to Maddy. “We’ll put that right in no time.”

Apart from that, nothing about Annison’s appearance made Maddy think anything had changed. She had the same gentle smile, and her eyes reflected an inner resolve, a strength, that comforted Maddy.

“Do you think she knows what’s been happening here?” Maddy asked Tabby.

Tabby shook her head. “Probably not,” she replied. “The king wouldn’t think it’s a woman’s place to know or care about the affairs of government. In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Lord Hector kept even the king in the dark about what he’s been doing. But the king will find out soon enough.”

Maddy stood by, barely maintaining her patience, while Tabby gave Annison a tour of her new chambers.

“They’re larger than the others,” Annison said, pleased. She went out to the balcony. “And I believe I like the view of these gardens better than our other view.”

Maddy realized that even if Annison hated the new chambers, she was too kind to have said so.

“Tabby, please be sure to thank everyone for their hard work in moving all my things so efficiently,” Annison instructed.

“Of course, my queen.”

Annison giggled. “Don’t be silly,” she chided gently. “When we’re in these chambers, I am, and always will be, Annison. You may save the formalities of calling me
queen
for the formal places.”

Tabby bowed slightly. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Annison laughed and waved her away. “Leave me with Maddy for a few moments.”

Tabby frowned. “I think you’d be wise to allow me to inform you about—”

“No, Tabby. I want to speak with Maddy first, and then you can tell me all the latest news and gossip.”

“As you wish,” Tabby said unhappily and retreated from the room.

Annison sat on the edge of her bed and patted a spot next to her. “Come, Maddy. Sit down and tell me everything. Is Simet well? When can we exchange messages again?”

Maddy didn’t sit down but stayed where she was near the window. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly felt a ball of tears rise in her throat. She swallowed hard to make it go away.

A shadow crossed Annison’s face. “Maddy, what’s wrong?”

“You were gone such a long time” was all that Maddy could say.

“We were at the king’s cottage in the southern mountains of Palatia,” Annison explained. “The king received regular reports from one of his servants, but he never shared them with me. Has something happened? Is Simet all right?”

Maddy went to the bed and sat down next to the queen. She couldn’t look Annison in the eyes and lowered her head.

Annison touched her face, lifting her chin with a gentle hand. “Tell me what’s wrong, Maddy.”

Then, like a dam bursting, the words came—as did the tears—and Maddy told Annison everything that had happened after she left for her honeymoon.

Annison’s face went pale as Maddy spoke, but she struggled to
keep her composure. Agitated, she then stood up and paced, wringing her hands, her eyes darting back and forth as her mind tried to work through the terrible news.

“Where is Simet now?” she asked once Maddy had finished.

“I don’t know. But one of the last things he said to me was that you are the only hope. You must persuade the king to undo what Lord Hector is doing.”

“Me?” Annison paused again to think. Then she returned to the bed, sat down, and took one of Maddy’s hands in hers. Her voice shook as she spoke. “Listen to me, Maddy. Now is not the time for tears. We’ll weep together later. Right now we must do something to avert this horrible plan.”

“Do what?” Maddy asked helplessly.

“I need more information . . .” Annison’s sentence trailed off as an idea came to her. “The passageway.”

“Passageway?”

“Yes. If you go to the king’s reception room now, you may hear what Lord Hector is reporting to him.”

“There’s a passageway from these chambers?”

“Yes.” Annison was on her feet again. She went around the bed to the side nearest the wall. In the corner, she felt along the edge of one of the panels, then pressed her hand down. The edge gave way, and the panel sprung open.

“But I don’t know the way,” Maddy complained.

Annison held up her hand and went to a small end table. She picked up a piece of paper and a pen and quickly scribbled the directions. “This will take you to the same main passageway where you were before. You’ll remember it.” Annison thrust the paper into Maddy’s hand and guided her to the entrance. She reached up into the passageway and retrieved a torch. After lighting it, she gave it to Maddy and sent her on her way.

Annison had moved so decisively that Maddy didn’t have time
to think about what had happened in the passageway with Lord Hector. But the memory returned as she crept through the dark shadows. In a few minutes, she reached the peephole she had used to watch Hector and the king before. She slid the cover back and peeked through. The king, dressed in lime green, was sitting on his throne, looking bored as usual. And Lord Hector, in his black coat, stood in front of him, his hands clasped behind his back. He was talking about the finances of the region and how much money was in the king’s treasury. This went on for a few minutes.

Finally the king said, “I’ve heard enough about money and economics, Hector. I want to hear what you’ve been doing to this city while I was gone.”

Lord Hector smiled. “Of course, Your Majesty,” he replied. “I was saving the best for last.”

The king frowned. “I was greatly troubled by the reports of riots.”

“No more than I was when they happened, sire,” Hector said innocently. “But I’ve learned that they were incited by members of your nemesis, the Old Faith, and I’ve been working with particular diligence to capture them.”

The king rested his chin on his hand. “Tell me everything.”

With great embellishment, Lord Hector told the king how he had sent his soldiers to suspected meeting houses to break up illegal worship services. He claimed that many of the members actively resisted the soldiers, even resorting to violence, whereupon his men had to use greater force. “A few of the culprits died before we could bring them to justice,” he said, as if saddened by their deaths. “One or two of our soldiers were scratched and bruised.”

Maddy was astounded by the unflinching way Hector lied. She wanted to scream at him from where she was but resisted the temptation.

“As a result,” Lord Hector continued, “I issued a decree forbidding
the Old Faith in your kingdom and stepped up our efforts to rid the land of the vermin. They retaliated by causing riots among the gentler and good citizens of Sarum.”

The king scratched his chin. “It still puzzles me. I was certain the believers in the Old Faith were against violence.”

“As I’ve told you, Your Majesty, they seem peaceful enough until threatened. And then they come roaring forth like lions.”