The Dragon Duke's Heir Contract novel · Chapter 11 of 24
Chapter 11: The Cup
Valerian read the cup in silence.
He held it in both hands, and the china began to crack in a thin line down the side.
"Who carried it?" he said.
"A new under-footman," said Fenna. "Hired three weeks back on the commissioner's recommendation."
"He's in my pantry with a bowl of porridge and a very bad conscience."
"Bring him."
The footman was seventeen and shaking so hard that his teeth clacked.
He said a man in green livery had given him two silver crowns.
The man had told him to add a pinch from a twist of paper to the duchess's morning tea.
He said he hadn't known what it was.
He said he would never forgive himself, and then he was sick into Fenna's apron.
Ysolene sat at the table in her robe with her hand pressed to her stomach.
"I want him at dinner," she said.
Valerian looked at her.
"Not the footman. Your cousin. I want Ignatius at dinner, and I want this cup on the table."
His eyes were gold and still.
"You want to confront him."
"I want everyone to see him refuse to drink it."
That evening the great hall was lit with forty candles.
Her father sat on her left.
Fenna stood against the wall with the footman at her side, white as paper.
A dozen servants lined the room behind them.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Dragon Duke's Heir Contract are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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