Chapter 50: Meeting the Family

Joseph found himself standing in the darkness behind his office and remembering the last time he’d taken more than a few steps in these hallways.

His father had unlocked the passages for him and the young priest and ordered them to hide. He had watched his parents’ murders and then slipped away like a ghost down this very corridor. He had not dared to light a candle that day for fear of Wilhelm’s soldiers finding him. He had led Father Dervin past the places he and Elena used to create mischief and to an underground cellar near the vaults. The chamberlain had been shocked to see Joseph and the priest appear as if from the mist.

Joseph had undertaken the task of leading the few souls that escaped the castle to safety. They had come out above the wading pool and made the trek down the side of the hill and outside the walls. They had waited for nightfall to make their way to a ship. Joseph could still recall the chaos in Tyrell when he sailed away. A portion of the town was afire and he still sometimes heard the shrieks of terror in his sleep. He didn’t know if those voices came from his parents or from the others that had fallen prey in the city that night but he heard them just the same.

He had not ventured into the tunnels since his return. He had opened one or two hidden doors to ensure that nothing had been put inside to rot and had been satisfied that Wilhelm had never learned of their existence.

He struck a match and put light to the candle he carried. The walls were covered in cobwebs and slime and the floors were slickened with things he didn’t care to consider. He walked toward the great room to ensure nothing would hinder the passage of a large group of people. Except for the smell of mildew, he found nothing offensive.

He found the tunnel his mother had closed and recalled her having stones placed across the openings so he and Elena could not venture into the family wing of the castle. He knew it wasn’t because they feared the children spying on them. Rather it was because the duo had snuck out of their beds once too often and spent the nights causing mayhem behind the walls.

It took him a moment to locate the opening beneath the wooden ledge. It was only then that he understood how extensive the tunnel system was. The ledge was on the outer wall of the castle – which meant he stood beneath the courtyard. He wondered, not for the first time, why someone had built such an elaborate network of hidden passages. Was it to be able to move about unseen or was it for a more nefarious purpose? He didn’t know and he’d found no mention at all in the records. He supposed this might have been something his father was supposed to pass down via word of mouth.

Now the secret was lost forever.

He could hear voices in the great room when he slid a section of wood aside. He saw a foot in front of him and he reached out to grasp the ankle.

Bianca let out a screech and jumped to her feet, dagger at the ready. Joseph quickly pulled his hand backward before he lost several digits.

He saw Julia’s upside-down face enter his line of sight.

“Clever,” she said.

“Is anyone sitting on the ledge?” Joseph wondered.

“Not now,” Julia answered. “Poor Bianca!”

“I thought it was you,” Joseph said. He looked for purchase and found a place to put his foot. He found reaching the keyhole to be far less arduous than it had been when he was a foot smaller. He unlocked the passage and slid the wooden perch sideways. The wood was still as heavy as he recalled. It took a bit of effort for him to pull himself upward and into the room.

“I apologize for frightening you,” Joseph told Bianca – who had sheathed her dagger but was still a bit pale. “I told Julia where to find the opening and I thought it was she sitting there.”

“No,” Bianca said, casting a glare at the Lady Trimble. “It was she that told me to sit there!”

“Poor Bianca, indeed,” Joseph said, shaking his head as Julia attempted (and failed) to look contrite.

The entire group was in the room – including Victoria and Lucretia.

“I truly thought she was making up a story,” Victoria admitted. “Since she told us of the opening behind your office, I have turned the suite upside down looking for where one might be. I found absolutely nothing. To be honest, I didn’t see this one here, either.”

“Someone went to a great deal of trouble to keep them concealed,” Joseph said. “They are almost impossible to find from the inside the rooms. Elena and I spent several weeks in the tunnels before we knew where to look. The opening is beneath Amelia’s bed in the suite you share with her.”

“How do you know where my mother sleeps?” Julia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Your mother is an adult so you don’t get to ask that question,” Liala answered. “Now, I’m interested in learning what we can about what lies beneath the castle. Julia says some of the areas are unsafe?”

“Potentially,” Joseph said. “The stairs were never of very good quality. That said, the underside of this opening is still solid. We’ll just have to see.”

“Why can’t we find the pool from here?” Octavia asked.

“My mother blocked every doorway on that side of the castle,” Joseph admitted. “You can go into the openings but they lead only one place.”

“How did you learn of these?” Elizabeth wondered. “I know your parents indulged you but surely they did not simply turn you loose in there.”

“No,” Joseph admitted. “Elena and I found these by accident. It was a couple of years before ... everything happened. We were roughhousing and I fear I put my foot through one of the hidden doors. Of course, that immediately captured our attention so we pulled and twisted until it was big enough for us to slip through. It was a great fun – until we got lost. Our candle died and it was black as pitch. Thankfully we were just outside of her parents’ suite.

“We started hammering our fists and screaming our fool heads off until my father unlocked the passage and let us out. After about the third time of that happening, he finally gave me the key and told us we could play in there so long as we told them where we were going. That didn’t last very long either. We would sneak out of beds and spend half the night wandering through the hallways. That’s when my mother blocked the passages on that side. Elena’s room and my room were off the throne room. We couldn’t sneak out without the guards seeing us. At least that kept us in our rooms at night.”

“You do not stay in the same room as when you were a child?” Catherine asked.

“I cleaned out an old storage room,” Joseph admitted. “Wilhelm had appropriated my parents’ room and I’m certain many disgusting acts took place where I used to lay my head. It was set up ... It resembled a bordello. That entire section houses nothing now. My chamber was once used for the chamberlain’s office. It is sufficient for my needs.”

“Is it accessible from the hallways?” Liala wondered.

“It is not,” Julia answered for Joseph. “The hallway acts as a barrier underground. It separates the lower chambers just as it separates the upper. Queen Melina had the chambers on that side closed.”

“I believe we shall have to find the king a new chamber,” Octavia said with a laugh.

“Ladies, I fear you embarrass Victoria,” Joseph said.

“It’s not embarrassment,” Victoria clarified. “I’m a bit jealous.”

Joseph managed to stifle a gasp but the look on his face still showed his discomfort.

“Not that we will lay with you,” Liala cut in. “She is jealous because we discuss such things so openly – among ourselves and with you.”

“If I were given any choice in the matter, I would be as reticent as Genrico,” Joseph noted. “But if I am to spend time with people I enjoy, I must adapt to their subjects of conversation.”

“Genrico is not hesitant to talk about such things,” Victoria said. “He ... we ... simply do not know the subject well enough to discuss it.”

“Another problem I find,” Joseph explained. “You know how Genrico and I were raised. Topics such as these were typically broached by one’s father. Neither of us had a father to speak of. Father Dervin knew less than I did; Garten was rarely around to deliver any sort of instruction. What we know we learned ... we learned in ways that are not suitable.”

“You snuck into the ladies’ baths,” Octavia said brightly.

“No,” Joseph said, shaking his head. His voice was heavy. “We learned by finding women alongside roads. They had been raped and discarded. We learned by storming into camps where men were forcing women to do terrible things. We learned through witnessing violence. We both are wise enough to know the proper way to treat women we care about. We knew enough to know that what we’d seen and heard had little to do with affection. We could not speak to others of it so we remained ignorant. Even now, I am naïve about the subject. I know that how we converse is not how many people speak to one another.”

“It should be,” Elizabeth interrupted. “We are clear about our expectations and our desires. We do not hint or flirt. We are not coquettish. I saw the way that my mother manipulated my father. I saw the way that women in our village manipulated their suitors. They often played one against the other, promising their charms to several while pursuing someone completely different. We do not do that.”

“But Victoria and Genrico require subtlety,” Liala said, frowning slightly. “They are to be wed and raise a family. There is a sense of propriety that comes along with betrothal. It is the same with your brother and Elena. Actions they might have taken together at your manor have a different perception here at the castle.”

“Yes,” Victoria agreed. “That is the greatest problem. Genrico is perceived by most as ... a fearsome soldier with no emotion. It is just that people fear him because of his position in the government. It would not be proper for him to dote upon me in public.”

“Ridiculous!” Joseph said angrily. He held a hand to his waist. “I have known Genrico since I was this tall. Yes, in battle, he is a ferocious warrior. In private, he is a thoughtful, gentle man. I have never before met a kinder soul than Genrico.”

“He says the same about you,” Victoria said with a small smile. “Almost word for word, in fact.”

“And he believes this rubbish?” Joseph asked. “I will disabuse him of the notion very swiftly!”

“He does not believe it,” Julia said. “She believes it!”

She gestured to her sister. Joseph looked to Victoria and found confirmation on her features.

“Is that why you agreed to marry him?” Joseph asked. “Do you desire the prestige of being the wife of a man feared by all?”

“Of course not!” Victoria replied angrily. “I got to know him during our time in the southland. I saw beneath the veneer of violence – and I saw through it far more rapidly than Julia saw through yours.”

“Exactly,” Joseph told her. “I asked those questions only because I knew the answer beforehand. I did not mean to incite your wrath. I want everyone to know the Genrico I know – you know. Just as I want everyone to see that Elena is playful and funny. I want them to see that Alexander has a marvelous wit. I want them to know that Choran is a marvelous artist and that Jonathan is warm and caring. That is how I want this government perceived. The might we put forth comes in the form of our army. That is only a small part of our true purpose. Yes, we will protect the citizens at all costs. We will also nurture them and provide for them when we can.

“We cannot make life idyllic. That is beyond the means of any mortal man. But we can make it better for everyone. Do not forbid Genrico from showing his affection toward you for fear they might think less of him. Permit it so that the men and women of Azkoval will come to show the same to their mates. Permit it because it makes you happy to receive it and it makes him happy to show it. Permit it because it makes others happy to see love shared so freely and openly.”

Victoria found herself nodding.

“And do not be ashamed to experiment together,” Octavia said in a serious voice. “Perhaps it would not be proper for you to experiment with us but there is nothing wrong with finding enjoyment together.”

“You forget that I have been shunted off to sleep in my mother’s suite,” Victoria groused.

“I will return to living with Amelia if you prefer,” Lucretia offered.

“I would join you there,” Bianca proposed. “I find her company most enjoyable.”

“That is a recent development,” Julia noted. “A few weeks ago, you would have found her overbearing. I do not know what transpired between the king and my mother but she has altered her outlook.”

“We had a private conversation and shared some memories,” Joseph told them. “Your mother suffered greatly at her manor before she suffered greater abuse from her husband. I only wished to point out that her time at the castle was enjoyable – for her and for me.”

“It is now enjoyable for all of us,” Catherine said. “Why don’t you bring Genrico with you this evening? I’m certain, as Defense Minister, he would be able to make great use of the hidden passages should the need arise.”

Victoria looked at Joseph for his permission.

“I was thinking about seeing if Elena and Jonathan wished to join us,” he admitted. “I’m certain that a trip through the catacombs would bring back many memories for her.”

“And I’m certain she will have many stories to add to our collection,” Liala offered. “Do you think they would wish to join us at the pool later?”

“I ... I have no idea,” Joseph said. He almost told them that he doubted it but reconsidered after a moment of consideration. “Elena recalls the passage to the pool. She confirmed that to me. I do not know if they have already partaken of the waters. I also do not know if Elena would wish to have Jonathan around so many unclad ladies.”

“We’re his sisters,” Julia pointed out as she gestured to Elizabeth, Victoria and Catherine.

“Octavia, Liala, Bianca and Lucretia are not,” Joseph noted. “Victoria, how would you feel about Genrico sitting in a pool with the women in this room?”

To her credit, Victoria did not answer immediately. She pondered the question before replying.

“I have no issue with him seeing anyone in this room bare,” she decided. “They do not wish to steal him from me and he does not wish to push me aside for them. I am a bit concerned about him seeing me without clothing. We have not progressed to anything near to that.”

“I do not know if Jonathan and Elena have either,” Elizabeth said.

“We can only make the offer,” Liala stated. “The decision will rest with them.”

Elena, Jonathan and Genrico were only too happy to join the entourage behind the castle walls. Like Joseph, Elena was insistent they keep their meandering to the lower floor.

“What, exactly, did you see up there?” Catherine wondered. Even in the dim light from the candles, everyone saw Elena look to the king.

“We saw a lady from one household in bed with a lord from another,” she said after Joseph refused to speak. “They were friends with our parents and, even though we were young, we understood what they were doing was wrong. I ... I told my mother about it and she grew angry. She wasn’t angry at the adulterers; she was irritated that Joseph and I had spied on them and then failed to remain silent. That is something I have come to understand as time has passed. Welton’s reign had a great many secrets. Many of the families had arranged the marriages when their children were young. As adults, the children found they desired the company of others instead of the person to whom they were pledged. I fear that many of the children Wilhelm put to death might have come from liaisons instead of from a marital bed.”

“As I said, some things cannot be unseen or unheard once you see or hear them,” Joseph added. “That is one of the perils of sneaking about. We also have many people we consider friends or family staying up there. I would not wish to intrude upon their privacy any more than I wish them to intrude upon mine.”

“Yes,” Elizabeth said with a nod. “I fear that I didn’t consider that fact. The thought of being able to sneak around unnoticed is enticing but I would not want to violate the sanctity of a closed door. I would be irate if that were to happen to me.”

“As I well recall,” Jonathan said, smiling at his sister. “I walked in on Elizabeth in her chamber one morning. She almost knocked me unconscious with a book she threw at me.”