Free Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe Page A

talk about work. “I met Queen Jennifer earlier. Are you on good terms with her?”
    Iris answered the question as casually as I asked it. “As good as anyone, I suppose. As long as you do your job and don’t make any mistakes, she’s easy to get along with. If you screw up, though, she’ll eat you for lunch. Right, Tommy?”
    As expected, Gillian did not comment, and I didn’t look up to see if he raised an eyebrow. I said to Iris, “That sounds kind of harsh.”
    Her face, serious and so focused, was starry-night beautiful. “I’ve attended her during her miscarriages. That sort of thing brings out a woman’s true nature. Hers isn’t terribly pleasant.” Iris looked down suddenly. “Forget I said that, will you? That was confidential doctor-patient information.”
    “It’ll go no further unless it absolutely has to.”
    Iris smiled wryly. “You’re good, though, you know that? I’m not easy to draw out.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment. Do you think she’s capable of killing someone with poison?”
    “Jennifer? If you mean does she have the resources, yes, of course. If you mean as a person … no. Not like this. Not watching them die. If she truly planned to murder someone, she’d arrange it to happen far away from her. But being bad-tempered isn’t the same as being amoral.”
    “Lots of moral people have been murderers.”
    Iris laughed. “You are cynical, aren’t you?”
    “I’ve seen a lot of people’s true natures, too.”
    “Well, if I were you—and I realize that’s saying I’d suddenly be stupid enough to punch one Knight of the Double Tarn in the face while I was under suspicion of murdering another one—I wouldn’t waste my time looking at the queen. I’d look around her, for someone who wants to make her look bad. And who doesn’t care if someone dies to do it.”
    Her theory matched my own, a sure sign that she was brilliant as well as beautiful. “You think that was the main reason? Not to kill my bodyguard here?”
    She snorted. “Tom could be killed anywhere. No offense,” she asided to him. “He’s a soldier. But to kill him here, under the queen’s nose, using the queen’s gift, clearly means they want to implicate…” Iris paused, then smiled. “Now come on, you can do it…”
    I grinned at her teasing. “The queen?” I closed my fingers gently around hers.
    She glanced up sharply, and for a moment I was afraid I’d crossed a line. Then she smiled. “Ah, Mr. LaCrosse,” she said almost wistfully. “I’m flattered.”
    “And interested?”
    She looked down almost guiltily. “Yes, and interested.”
    “But?”
    “No but . Except that you are, after all, a prisoner. And my patient.”
    “I’m very patient.”
    She chuckled. “And if you’re here tomorrow night, we might be able to pursue it.”
    “Why tomorrow night?”
    She looked up at Gillian. “Turn the other way for a second, Tom.” I felt him do as she asked. She released my hand and put her forearms on my shoulders, her wrists crossed behind my head. She stepped so her body was against mine and her face close. Since she was standing, I had to look up at her, which I certainly didn’t mind.
    She said quietly, “Because right now it’s late, I’m exhausted, and my feet hurt. And even though I’ve worked on you, you’re going to be in some real pain soon.”
    I started to protest, but she continued, “And since I do want to see you tomorrow to check on your hand, perhaps—and that’s not a promise—we can arrange something less professional. If you’ve managed to clear your name by then.”
    “Are you this hard to get for all your patients?”
    She laughed and tossed that bothersome lock of hair from her face. “Mr. LaCrosse, I work around eligible young men every day, and you’ve gotten farther than any of them ever has.”
    “She’s right,” Gillian said calmly, and we both looked up in surprise. He still had his back to us.
    “Besides,” Iris continued, “no