Alabaster Cities (Kings and Thieves Book #2)

Chapter 17

**sorry for mistakes!!**

Chapter 17

Finding Lady Belthrop, as Eli had suggested, didn't take as long as Aveline had expected.

The crotchety old woman was usually found hobbling about the gardens, the servants told them; if not in the dining room.

Aveline wondered why they hadn't thought to talk to her earlier, and then remembered that Dana had told them specifically not to bother the king's aunt.

Since she didn't have a stellar history of following orders, Aveline promptly ignored that, and the next evening, at supper, she made a beeline for the white-haired elderly lady. She sat alone at her table, as usual, spooning stew into her mouth with a bony, slightly shaking hand. Aveline took the empty chair next to her, and Lady Belthrop regarded her distastefully, her lips curling downward.

"Lady Belthrop?" Lyla said politely from her other side. "My name is Lady Lyla; these are my colleagues."

"I remember you," Lady Belthrop said shortly. Her voice was sharper than Aveline remembered, or would have expected from someone her age. "From breakfast last week."

"Yes, um, that was us."

"Why do you always sit by yourself?" Aveline couldn't help but ask.

The royal's eyes were surprisingly clear on hers. "Have you seen me? I'm practically dead." She said it matter-of-factly; not any requests for pity in her voice, but Aveline felt it all the same. "To grow old, my dear, is to fade into irrelevance." Then, her sigh was so dramatic that Aveline found herself holding back a giggle.

"That's not true," Lyla put in. "Last week, you were very helpful. Do you remember? You said something about Verignes pride, and the village mystery..."

"I don't recall."

"Right." Lyla's eyes darted to the side. "Well, er... we were hoping you could help us."

"No one else would, eh? Not even my niece?" Aveline thought she imagined the hint of humor in Lady Belthrop's grainy, croaking voice.

"The princess seems very busy, unfortunately," Ari said flatly. "Planning parties, and all that."

"People seem to think the witch coven is behind these illnesses," Jamie added. "What do you think?"

"I don't know anything about witches."

"Oh."

Lady Belthrop focused back on her soup, and for a moment Aveline thought the conversation was over. She took a bite of her fish, and when she looked back up, Lady Belthrop was leaning towards her, close enough that she could see the wrinkles outlined in her pale face.

"We've got one of 'em in the dungeon," she whispered.

"A witch? Here?"

She nodded solemnly. "Arrested a few months ago. A shame, though... no one can get into the dungeons except for the royals."

Lyla edged forward, clearly trying to keep her eagerness at bay.
"Can... can you get us into the dungeon?"

The old Duchess's chapped lips spread into a wry grin.

-

Lady Belthrop snapped at the guards sharply enough that they let them in with no argument. The door to the dungeon was at the end of one of the many palace hallways; small and wooden, barely tall enough for Ari to duck under.

"In here," Lady Belthrop announced. "I can't go down; it hurts my joints. But you should be able to find the answers you need."

"Which cell?" inquired Ari.