Tabitha looked down at her hands. "We were at Theodora's household when one of her maids dropped a folded paper. It was an accident. The girl was carrying linen and moving too quickly, and the message slipped from beneath the cloth. I picked it up before she realised." Her eyes lifted. "It was written by Theodora."
"It detailed how the maid was to carry contaminated linen into the princes' rooms," Tabitha said.
Livia felt a chill move through her.
"I found the letter," Tabitha said, "and I sent it to His Majesty."
"The late king?"
"Yes." Tabitha swallowed. "I was told afterwards that the letter reached him. What we heard next was news of his death."
Livia's brows drew together. "He died because of the letter?"
"I cannot prove that. I was only told that after he read it, he suffered a violent seizure of the heart.."
"Who found him?"
