A Dangerous Destiny: The Pure One Book I

Chapter Thirty-Two

Well, here we are...The end of part II!! For all of you who have made it this far, THANK YOU FOR READING! This chapter will tie up at least one loose end and kinda change EVERYTHING. Hope you enjoy;-)

Henry

Henry had read over Dresden Rearder's report so many times as to lose count. An exercise in self-flagellation, drilling the traitorous activities of Cecil Dirham into his conscious over and over gain until they became real. The only man he had ever trusted was in fact his worst enemy. It was a bitter reality to swallow.

After receiving Rearder's account of Cecil's betrayal Henry worked tirelessly for the better part of a month straight, checking what he could of Rearder's assertions, making certain that the evidence against the High Chancellor was all but unimpeachable. No matter how he wished to deny it, there was no question that Cecil Dirham had sought his destruction.

The note Lord Rearder had brought when making his initial allegation was merely the tip of the mountain of evidence the man had been able to produce against the High Chancellor. Cecil had exchanged correspondence with known associates of the Vox Populi, aiding them in their quest to attack the lives and holdings of those who were Henry's true allies. He had provided money to fund an assortment of small armies of various noblemen, and leaked confidential information regarding security within Auresir at royal arms stores throughout the Empire. It seemed he had even taken weapons for himself, no doubt accounting for the arms the rebels had been able to miraculously obtain.

Always having prided himself on his ability to read others, Henry despaired to have been so deceived. He had been blinded by love for his teacher and mentor. For a man who had raised him and acted as a father more than Fredrick ever had.

The High Chancellor had not been in Auresir through the duration the investigation into the allegations against him. Since Reader had planted the seed of distrust in his mind, Henry had found it too painful to be in Cecil's presence. More importantly, he needed time to find and question those in the Capitol with close connections to the Chancellor to assess the veracity of Rearder's supposed "proof." He knew it would have been difficult to do so without Cecil's knowledge. In keeping the Chancellor clear of the Capitol he could better prevent the Chancellor from hindering Henry's men from finding the truth. While Henry might have simply had the man arrested and questioned himself, somehow he could not bring himself to cast aspersions on his dear friend until he was certain of his guilt.

Instead, Henry suggested that Cecil take a well-earned rest at the Dirham estate in Chestershire for all his hard work. The Chancellor had readily agreed. Apparently entirely oblivious to Henry's distress, Cecil had accepted his temporary leave as a true sign of gratitude from the Crown. The man's ignorance had been telling. Clearly the High Chancellor was far less observant that Henry had always believed.

Yet in spite of everything Henry had still held out hope until the end, when the mound of evidence grew too great to ignore. Since that point however, he had done his best to prepare himself for the confrontation that was unavoidable, throwing himself into the task of fully documenting the truth of each and every allegation Dresden Rearder had sent in his report. And now, the time had come. Cecil had been summoned two days prior from his estate and was due to arrive that very day. Henry had nearly finished Rearder's long document yet again when the knock came upon the door of his study.

"Your Majesty, Lord High Chancellor Cecil Dirham to see you."

Henry laid down the papers in a neat pile and took a deep breath. "Send him in and see that we are not disturbed," he said.

It seemed to Henry that Cecil entered the room with a bit of trepidation, though he knew it might be a figment of his imagination. The Chancellor could have no way of knowing that he had been discovered. If he had, the man would never have returned to the palace so willingly. Apparently, Henry's efforts in preventing Cecil from having any chance to cover up his actions in the course of the investigation had proved effective. The Chancellor did not realize that his death warrant was already signed.