Emily Rodda - Ilse Of Illusion

Sharn hesitated, unwelcome thoughts rushing through her mind.

‘Marilen,’ she said at last. ‘Do not take this amiss, but I must know. You and Ranesh have become … good friends. Is it possible that you have given him a hint of the reason for your presence here?’

Marilen blushed to the roots of her hair. ‘No, I have not!’ she cried angrily. ‘Ranesh knows I am of Tora, certainly, but anyone who looks at me must know that.

He has never asked why I am here, or what my future might hold, and I have never told him.’ She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘I have every reason not to do so!’

Those last words ringing in her ears, Sharn looked into the hurt, troubled eyes, and knew the girl was speaking the truth. She sighed, her heart very heavy.

‘I am sorry to have caused you pain, Marilen,’ she said quietly. ‘But we must face the truth. Of all the suspects, Ranesh and Josef are the only ones who know you are here, and who were also present in the kitchen when your tray was being prepared.’

‘Then however difficult it may be to believe, Josef must be guilty,’ said Marilen in a hard voice.

‘It cannot be Josef, Marilen,’ whispered Sharn.

‘Why not?’ Marilen snapped, suddenly reminding Sharn vividly of Jasmine. ‘Because he is old and frail? Because he says he saved The Deltora Annals ? Surely we in Deltora have learned by now that wickedness can wear a smiling, deceiving mask?’

Indeed, thought Sharn, as they left the room of death, locking it after them. But I fear, Marilen, it is a lesson that your own heart has made you forget.

As they turned towards the stairway, they saw one of the library guards hurrying towards them. In his hand he held a folded sheet of paper, heavily sealed with wax.

‘What are you doing away from your post, Follin?’ Sharn asked sharply.

‘It is my rest period, ma’am,’ said the guard. He thrust the paper into her hand with an air of relief.

‘The old fellow—the librarian—gave me this soon after you left the library with the young lady, ma’am,’ he said, bowing distractedly in Marilen’s direction. ‘He said it had to be delivered to you urgently.’

Marilen stiffened. ‘A message from Josef?’ Sharn said faintly.

The guard nodded. ‘He has been plaguing the life out of me ever since, ma’am, to carry it to you. But, as I told him again and again, I could not leave my post until my replacement came. Those were the orders, ma’am.’

He looked at Sharn anxiously, plainly worried that he had made the wrong decision.

‘Quite right, Follin,’ said Sharn, forcing a smile. ‘Thank you. Go to your rest now. You have earned it.’

The guard made a clumsy bow, turned and lumbered away. With fingers that felt stiff and cold, Sharn broke the seal on the note and unfolded it.

13 - Treachery

Sharn’s heart was beating painfully as she ran up the stairs to the library. She dreaded hearing what Josef had to tell her.

Marilen was close beside her. Marilen had read the note also, and would not hear of being left behind. ‘It could be a trap, Sharn,’ she had said fiercely. ‘You must not go alone! And in any case, I want to face him.’

There was no help for it. Whatever Josef had to say would have to be said in front of Marilen.

And perhaps it is for the best, Sharn thought despairingly.

She found Josef hovering by the library doors, watching for her under the stern gaze of the guards on duty. The old man’s face crumpled in relief as he saw her approaching. And at the sight of Marilen, tears sprang into his eyes. He did not seem to notice how coldly the girl answered his greeting.

‘I have set Ranesh a task on the other side of the library,’ he whispered, leading the two women through the huge, echoing room. ‘I would prefer that he did not hear us.’

He ushered them into his own small chamber, and closed the door. His hands were trembling as he turned to face them. Plainly, now that the moment had arrived, he did not know how to begin.

‘What is troubling you, Josef?’ Sharn asked quietly, though her mind was boiling with fears.

Josef’s mouth quivered. He took a deep breath. Then he said the last thing Sharn expected to hear.

‘I have betrayed my trust,’ he muttered. ‘I let my pity for an old friend and protector sway me. And in doing so, I did great wrong.’ He bowed his head in misery.

‘Why, Josef! What do you mean?’ exclaimed Sharn, very aware that Marilen was holding her breath.

‘I wished only to comfort poor Amarantz. To tell her that Lief was sure to return to the palace,’ whispered Josef. ‘So—I wrote upon her slate that he would certainly return, that he had to return, because his Toran bride was here.’

Marilen made a strangled sound.

‘What ?’ gasped Sharn, gripping the girl’s arm.

Josef’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. ‘The message was only for Amarantz,’ he choked. ‘But then—suddenly—the giant, shaved-head woman, Lindal, burst into the room with the man, Jinks. They might have seen the message. I think they did.’

‘Ranesh was in the kitchen too, Josef, was he not?’ Sharn asked quickly.

‘Ranesh ?’ Marilen’s face was scarlet.

Josef looked confused and fearful. ‘Do not blame Ranesh for concealing what I did, madam,’ he cried. ‘Ranesh knows nothing of it! I had wiped the slate clean by the time he arrived, and I did not tell him later. I was too ashamed, and fearful of his anger at my betrayal of our precious secret.’

He bowed his head. ‘It is unforgivable,’ he mumbled. ‘Why, Lief himself entrusted us with the lady Marilen’s care. He did not say who she was, of course. But the palace was buzzing with the news that he had gone to Tora for a bride, and naturally, when Ranesh and I met her, we put two and two together.’

‘Naturally.’ Sharn’s head was spinning. Palace gossip. Of course! How could they have left this out of their calculations?

The blush had slowly faded from Marilen’s cheeks, leaving her deathly pale. ‘I am going to my bed chamber,’ she said stiffly to Sharn. ‘I have … tidying to do, as you may recall.’

She bowed shortly to Josef, and left the room, walking very quickly.

Josef looked after her with anguished eyes. ‘Will she flee—back to Tora?’ he whispered.

‘Perhaps,’ said Sharn slowly. ‘She has had a great shock.’

‘Ah, I would give anything to take back what I did!’ Joseph moaned. ‘I have been in torment, in terrible fear that some harm would befall her. But that, at least, has not happened.’

Sharn made no reply. She was too occupied with her own thoughts.

‘I am ready to go,’ Josef added miserably.

Sharn looked up. Josef was standing before her, a small cloth bundle in his hand. For the first time she noticed that the little room had been stripped of every personal possession.

‘Josef—’ she began.

The old man hung his head. ‘If you feel you can trust me not to disgrace myself again, I will return to my old home,’ he mumbled. ‘I would prefer it to a dungeon, though there is not much to choose between the two. But I will do whatever you—’

‘Josef, do not be absurd!’ cried Sharn. ‘There is no question of your going away.’

He stared at her in disbelief

‘No question!’ Sharn repeated. ‘You made a mistake, certainly. But surely we can all be allowed one slip?’

Josef’s lips trembled. ‘The results of my … slip … could be grave,’ he said. ‘The man Jinks—I do not think he can be trusted. And Lindal …’