Planet Mail (11 page)

Douglass allowed Sven to guide her from the hall. She knew she should feel happy for Marcus but somehow she couldn’t. Something seemed off about the girl’s announcement and Marcus’ reaction to it. Would they allow her to sit in on the private meeting? Ignoring the stares of the people from
Hammersford
, she entered Marcus’ private chamber as if she owned it.

The older woman who accompanied the girl tried to block her way. “Who is this woman, Sire? By what right does she enter your chamber?”

Marcus glanced at Douglass as she tried to outstare the other woman.

“Mistress
Freya
, Douglass is my acknowledged consort. She has a perfect right to be here.”

“We’ll see about that,” Mistress
Freya
hissed as Douglass winked at her and sashayed past.

Marcus sat down and studied Lillian. “Are you sure the child is mine?”

Lillian didn’t bother to hide the gleam of victory in her upturned gaze. “Of course, my King, I was a virgin when you bedded me. Who else could be the father but you?”

He stared into her eyes until she looked away. Beneath her delight all he could sense was the slick stink of terror. Had her family forced her into this position? He tried to remember the details of the night they had met. She’d drugged the wine she gave him and forced herself on him. He glanced around the small room at his attentive audience. If she truly carried his child, did he want to reveal such shameful details of their coupling? He wasn’t worried about how he would be perceived; he was more concerned about the effect on his future child and its mother.

He tried to reform the scattered memories in his mind.
Lillian’s body gripping his cock, the pain of her fingernails digging into his biceps.
He frowned at the thought. Had she even been a virgin? He had no recollection of it and no memory of any spilled blood. He looked up and caught Douglass’ interested gaze on him.
By Thor.
He loved her. How in hell was he going to explain this mess?

She gave him an encouraging wink. He straightened his spine.

“If it pleases you, Lillian.
I will ask my physician to examine you before we make this news more widely known.”

Sven grinned. “I should imagine it’s too late for that, Sire.”

Marcus bowed. “I still wish to make sure.”

Mistress
Freya
put her arm around Lillian’s shoulders. “Are you saying my daughter is lying?”

To Marcus’ relief, his chief minister,
Thorlan
the Peacemaker, stepped forward, his calm face wearing a smile.

“Of course not, Lady
Freya
.
The king meant no insult. You must understand that claims are made each year that the king has fathered a child. It is our duty as the king’s Council to make sure that each particular claim is fully investigated.”

Marcus waited until Lillian and her entourage was escorted from the room before he sat back in his chair. He should be feeling excited at the prospect of fatherhood. He’d dreamed of it all his life but the bitter taste in his mouth refused to leave. Why now when he believed he’d finally found a woman he could love?

Thorlan
cleared his throat. “My King, you do not seem overjoyed by this news.”

Marcus studied him. “Is it that obvious?”

“Do you deny having sex with this woman?”

“No. She was offered to me as tribute when I visited
Hammersford
.” He noticed Douglass frown at his words. She’d expressed her opinion of his planet’s outdated views on women on more than one occasion.

“Then what is the problem?”

“The woman drugged my wine. She believed the rumors that I was incapable of performing and that I would kill her if she didn’t conceive.” His lip curled in self-disgust. “She gave me a powerful aphrodisiac to make sure I managed the job.”

“But, excuse me, Sire, you penetrated her, yes? You left your seed in her?”

“I was so desperate for release I must have.” Marcus couldn’t bear to look at Douglass now. What would she think of the rumors that he was not only impotent but a mad despot who killed when he didn’t get what he wanted?

Thorlan
sat down with a thump, his robes swirling around him. “Are you suggesting she duped you in some way?”

Marcus rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t know. She seemed too desperate for my liking. I tried to send her away but after the drug took hold of me, all I could think about was fucking.”

A heavy silence unfolded over the room.

“If she was that desperate to have sex with you, perhaps she had something to hide.”

Marcus looked up as Douglass spoke.

Thorlan
intervened before Marcus could reply. “King’s consort, your opinion is not required.”

Douglass ignored
Thorlan
, her gaze fixed on Marcus. “Perhaps she—”

Thorlan
stood up. “Sire, this woman is your lover. Anything she says could be biased. Of course she doesn’t want to have her position usurped by your future queen and mother of your child.”

Douglass got to her feet and marched toward
Thorlan
. She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Listen up, buster. I’m a woman, I know how women think. I’m perfectly capable of having a balanced opinion.”

Thorlan
kept talking. “With all due respect, you are an outsider. The Council is here to advise our king as to what is best for our planet. We cannot allow our personal preferences to influence a decision that might be vital for the future prosperity and very survival of our race. The hope of a child for the king would bring hope to everyone.”

Marcus stood up. “He’s right, consort. Perhaps we should allow my physician to examine Lillian first and determine whether she is with child or not.”

“That’s a great idea,” Douglass said. “And if she is pregnant the DNA results will be able to confirm whether Marcus is the father or not.”

“What is DNA?”

Douglass looked at Marcus for a long moment. “You don’t have the technology to determine who the father of this child is?”

Marcus closed his eyes.
“Obviously not.”
He glanced at his Council. “As I said, let’s confirm the pregnancy first and take it from there.”

Douglass waited until all the men, including Sven filed out. She crossed the room to Marcus’ side.

“This woman, Lillian.
Did you meet her before you met me?”

He wouldn’t look at her.
“Aye.
I was leaving her village when I saw your craft crash into the desert. She was given to me as tribute. As king I have the right to procreate with any willing woman on the planet.”

Douglass tried to smile even as pain stabbed behind her eyes.
“How nice for you.”

“Believe it or not, it becomes tedious after a while. I didn’t want to touch Lillian. I wanted to send her away.”

“Because she didn’t please you?”

He groaned then, his head still in his hands. “Because I knew she didn’t want me. I knew she’d been forced to offer herself to me by her village. By Thor, I’m almost old enough to be her father. I could see it in her eyes. She truly believed I would kill her if she didn’t conceive.”

Douglass put her hand on Marcus’ knee. He gripped her fingers hard. “For the good of my planet, I have to believe that, however the child was conceived, the babe she carries is mine.”

She recognized the desolation in his tone. She was right. He would make an excellent father. It echoed the sadness ringing through hers. She gathered her courage. “Do you want me to leave? I can go and stay at the hotel by the spaceport until my ride comes.”

Marcus looked at her then, a faint smile on lips. “What ride would that be? So far we have received no response to our requests for help.”

Douglass got to her feet and began to pace. “Perhaps we need to boost your signal. If I could return to the crash site and find the black box, I might be able to fire off another distress call.”

She gasped as Marcus pulled her roughly into his arms.

“Nay, I don’t want you to leave me. I need you.”

She fought against the appeal of his hoarsely muttered words. He was a king. To admit his uncertainty and desire to her was a weakness. His mouth moved down her throat, kissing her with a savage intensity that made her knees give way.

“At least wait until my physician has confirmed the pregnancy. Then you can decide what you want to do next.”

Douglass sensed his attempt to gather himself as if to negate his impassioned plea. She turned her head and kissed his cheek.

“I will stay for a little while.” He drew back, his face composed once more. “Thank you.”

* * * * *

“I’m sorry, consort, but Mistress
Freya
has commandeered my services this morning.” To his credit, Harlan didn’t look thrilled at the prospect of leaving Douglass. “She wants me to assist Lady Lillian in her bath.”

Douglass scowled at him. “But she’s already borrowed
Bron
. Am I no longer allowed to see my own pleasure servants?”

Harlan bowed and headed for the door. Douglass got slowly off the bed and glanced at Sven who stood, arms folded, leaning against the wall. “Are you supposed to go and lick Lillian’s precious feet too?”

Sven shook his head. “Nay, the king has asked me to stay with you.”

Douglass waited until the door closed behind Harlan. “She is trying to undermine me, Sven.”

“Who, consort?”

“You know damn well who. In the last four weeks since Lillian’s pregnancy was confirmed, Mistress
Freya
has been determined to get rid of me.”

Douglass moved restlessly to the window. In the courtyard below she saw Lillian, Marcus at her side, promenading in the vine-covered walkways. A wave of nausea curdled her stomach. Marcus looked attentive, his head bent toward Lillian as if he were interested in what she was saying.

A well of unaccustomed tears pricked at Douglass’ eyelids. She’d promised Marcus she would stay, but things had changed. Lillian’s pregnancy and Marcus’ part in it made Douglass feel like an aberration, an embarrassment. She bit her lip as Lillian disappeared into the palace, headed for her bath and the tender ministrations of Harlan and
Bron
.

She shuddered as Sven came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. With a sigh, she leaned back against his solid chest. It was strange that the gruffest of her servers had become her closest ally.

“The king hardly visits me any longer. Does he visit Lillian’s bed instead?”

Sven kissed the top of her head. “Consort, you know I cannot answer that. The king has the right to visit any bed he chooses.”

She pushed away from him, hastily wiping at her face to conceal her tears. “Then perhaps I should find myself a different bed as well. I have a perfectly good one at home.”

Sven held up his hand, a frown gathering on his face. “That is not a good idea. Speak to the king before you decide anything.”

She glared at him as she pulled clothing out of one of the gilded chests. “He doesn’t own me. I have a perfectly satisfactory life on another planet. I have a family. Perhaps I have simply outstayed my welcome.”

With her head held high, she left the room, knowing that Sven would probably follow her but desperate to escape the stifling luxury of her empty suite. As she started down the stairs, she saw Marcus coming up them. With all the courage she could muster, she swept by his outstretched hand and ran as fast as she could.

He caught her by the stables and maneuvered her against the wall.

“Where do you think you are going? You are not supposed to come down here alone.”

He looked tired, the lines of strain obliterating his forced attempt to smile.

“I am busy, my King. I have to arrange transport to the spaceport.”

His eyes darkened and his grip on her arm increased. “You promised me you would wait.”

“For what?
You’ve obviously decided that Lillian is fit to be your queen and bear your child. Why should I wait around until she or her mother tosses me out on my ear or sends someone to poison me?”

“You are being ridiculous. I haven’t decided anything.”

Douglass gritted her teeth. “But you’ve allowed your Council to make the announcement for you. You’ve allowed Lillian to believe she is invincible.”

“I had no choice. You do not understand.”

“I understand all right. You chose what was best for your planet. Good for you.” To her horror, her voice cracked and tears flowed down her cheeks.

Marcus tried to stop her tears with his fingertips, his expression appalled. “I didn’t mean to do this to you. I am in hell. For the first time in my life my heart and soul are at war with my duty.” He pressed his face against her throat and brushed her skin with his lips. She couldn’t stop herself from touching his hair.

“Sire…”

Sven’s warning came too late. Douglass looked up to find Lillian and her mother gaping at them from the end of the passageway.

Marcus straightened and moved away from her. “Is there something you wanted, Lady Lillian?”

Lillian smiled, her hand resting on her slightly swollen stomach. She pouted in Douglass’ direction. “I thought you were coming to watch me bathe, Sire.”

Douglass stared fixedly into the gloom of the stable wing. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Sven bowed and stepped between her and Marcus, shielding her from the other women. “I will escort your consort to the stables, my King.”

Dimly, Douglass heard Marcus’ quiet reply before he moved away. She took a stumbling step forward. Sven caught her arm and steered her into a dark empty stall which smelled strongly of dung.

“Consort…” She walked into his arms and let him hold her until the storm of weeping subsided.

After her moment of weakness, Douglass found she was ready to fight again. She spoke to the king’s stable master and found out about transport to the only spaceport. It seemed her options were limited to using one of the
wulfruns
or the more traditional female route of being taken in a closed litter carried by four men and surrounded by an armed guard.