Excerpt: Suffer a Witch

Chapter Two
New Bristol, Bristolshire, Anno Coventrei 495

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Catherine groaned and cracked open one eye. "What are you doing? It's not even light out yet."

Joan persisted. "It's Mr. Sidney, miss. He says it's urgent."

"Mr. Sidney be hanged." Catherine stuck her head under her pillow. Joan shook her shoulder.

"Please, miss. He seems most upset."

Catherine woke up a little more and discovered a cold, hard lump in the pit of her stomach. Yesterday came crashing down on her like a mass of shattered flowerpots, burying her in sharp-edged smithereens. She tried to shake herself free, but behind yesterday loomed today, equally implacable and equally threatening.

There was no escaping. Better to face it head-on.

"Bring my dressing gown then," she said from under the pillow.

"It's right here, Your Majesty."

And to think she had always admired Joan's efficiency. She groaned and swung her legs out of bed.

The royal secretary did indeed look upset. Shifting from one nervous foot to the other, he stood, along with a small handful of servants, in the outer chamber. Although Coventree had always left its young women a great deal of leeway, access to a princess, for practical reasons, was much more strictly guarded. He would not have dared arrive alone and uninvited in her chambers, even less now that she was Queen. She should order him to come alone next time, she thought sourly, just to watch him sweat.

"What is it, Mr. Sidney?" she said instead.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty, but there has been a most disturbing incident. I've sent for Mr. Goodwin, but his wife's house," she noticed just the slightest curl of distaste on his lips, "is on the edge of town, and it could take a while for him to get here."

"While we wait for him," she said, not inclined to feel charitable, "perhaps you should tell me what disturbing incident precisely has disturbed you, because otherwise there was not much point to disturbing my sleep now, was there?"

He flushed and she felt a corresponding rush of shame. Why was she hectoring the poor man? The last twenty-four hours couldn't have been too easy for him either.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sidney. Please continue." She lowered herself into a graceful but uncomfortable chair and stifled a yawn.

"Chief Robert has arrived. There was a skirmish in the night and several of his men were killed."

He had her attention now.

"Chief Robert from the Southlands? A skirmish? Here in New Bristol?" He nodded unhappily at each point.

"An attempt was made to free Edgar Savile," he explained. "A group of armed men fell upon the guard around his prison cart. Fortunately the Southlanders were able to beat them off, but not without casualties. One of the attackers was captured." He now looked even more miserable, if that were possible. "It was a soldier of Coventree."

"The attackers must have been members of one of the Black Covens in the army," she said thoughtfully.

"You knew about that?" The man positively squeaked. She judged from his expression that he had just found out himself.

"Yes, I did." She was more than half tempted to toy with him a bit, but she'd already been unkind enough to him for one day. "Mr. Goodwin had been keeping me informed of various developments since last year."

Oh, consideration be hanged. "And it's a good thing he did too. If he had left me in the dark like everybody else did, we'd be in an even worse situation today." She was starting to warm to her subject. "And before you brief me any further, Mr. Sidney, let me make it perfectly clear that you are not to make any snide remarks about Mr. Goodwin's wife and you will treat her with the utmost respect when she comes to the Palace - and I shall make very certain that she does come to the Palace - or you shall answer to me personally."

Oh yes, there were advantages to being Queen.