The Daughters Daring (The Daughters Daring & The Enchanted Forest Book 1) by Steven J. Thompson

Author:Steven J. Thompson [Thompson, Steven J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: KECELJ Publishing
Published: 2015-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Duchess Daring was enjoying the sunlight while working in her garden. If the duke was known for his collection of weapons and his adventures, the duchess was most certainly known for her amazing garden. It stretched easily over a third of their estate, with tall hedges creating paths much like the maze outside the king's castle. There were flowers of all shapes and colors and sizes, but her garden's value came from more than just its beauty.

The duchess had learned from her mother the importance of growing herbs with medicinal and even magical effects. She had simple herbs like basil and rosemary out in plain sight, while the more mystical—even dangerous—plants were kept hidden deeper within the hedges. The untrained eye would not know what they were, anyway.

The day she met the Duke, in the Enchanted Forest, she had been gathering a particularly rare herb known for its powerful healing effects against the worst of poisons. She had carefully collected both the petals and seeds so that she could grow it in her own garden, should its need ever arise.

Her thoughts drifted back to that day with the duke. Then, as though summoned, she heard his hearty laughter as he showed off a fresh sweetberry pie as if it were some kind of baked trophy. Joseph clapped with joy and followed his father into the house. After weeks of going without, her husband had finally acquired his favorite treat from the guards at the city gate. She could hear him rambling on about how gnomes weren't such bad little people, after all.

The duchess smiled. The duke loved a good sweetberry pie and would waste no time serving himself a generous slice. She wondered if he would give a piece to Joseph first, or just start in before sharing his spoils. She could picture them both grinning from ear to ear with sweetberry all over their faces.

She put away her gardening tools and made her way inside. She had just entered the hall when she heard a loud thump in the next room, followed by Joseph crying for help. She rushed in to find the duke slumped over on the floor, snoring loudly. On the table were two pieces of sweetberry pie, one with a large bite taken out of it. Joseph hadn't eaten any.

“What happened?” she asked Joseph, checking her husband to make sure he wasn't choking.

“Papa was going to give me the first piece, but then he took a bite of it!”

Her mind raced as she comforted Joseph and tried to wake the duke, to no avail. She checked the pie on his plate but couldn't see anything strange. Then she saw something in the pie plate. There, just in the middle of the pie, was a rolled piece of paper that had somehow been stuffed inside. She unrolled the paper to see the word POISON. It was written in a small handwriting that she knew all too well.

How did a note in Elizabeth’s handwriting get into a pie delivered by gnomes? She wondered.

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