The Queen Revealed (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“And Loyalty is a Promise Made to Be Broken”

It wasn’t until well after dinner that Adele had a chance to put her newly made resolution into action. She had tucked the children into bed hours ago and was finishing up some paperwork with Tilburn when Captain Lucky entered the office.

“You called for me, Your Majesty?” The Captain stood to attention in front of her desk, every inch of him polished and neat despite it being close to midnight.

“Yes I did,” said Adele and hoped no one could hear her heart thudding as she screwed up her courage to confront Lucky about the humiliation this morning. “Thank you, Tilburn. That will be all tonight.”

She rarely dismissed anyone who hadn’t already decided to leave and she could see Tilburn was keen to argue with her, but she silenced him with a stern look she normally reserved for her children and it worked just as well on the Majordomo.

Tilburn ducked his head and gathered up all the papers and scrolls into his arms. “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

There was a knock at the door and General Ohrig stepped through just as Tilburn passed him. Adele waited until the door was closed before she sat back in her desk chair and gestured for the two men to sit. The General was just as polished as his Captain, but there was an air of ruggedness about him that made him seem as if he had just come in from the outside. His chin was rough with a five o’clock shadow and his eyes were tight at the edges as though he was squinting into the sun. He was the first to speak over the ticking of the clock in the quiet room.

“Apologies for being late, Your Majesty. I was at a security meeting for the big race tomorrow… there has been a change of plans and security will need to be tightened significantly.” His look was slightly accusing and it puzzled Adele.

“Anything I should know about?” she asked.

General Ohrig shifted to the edge of his chair, his hands planted on his knees. “The Marchant Prince is arriving tomorrow with his horses to join the race.”

Adele had no chance to hide her surprise. “What? Why?”

General Ohrig sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his broad chest. He regarded her with a look she found hard to return. “You weren’t aware, Your Majesty? I thought it might have been one of the many things you discussed with His Highness during our stay at the Grey Palace.”

Adele’s heart dropped into her stomach. “He never mentioned it,” she replied stiffly. “If you are suggesting that I invited him, Ohrig…”

“I’m not suggesting anything, Your Majesty,” said Ohrig politely, but his gaze remained intense, reading her every move. “I merely thought His Highness might have given you fair warning that he was about to break a three-hundred-year ban on Marchants crossing the boundary into Belvoir land and, for the life of me, I can’t think of why he would do that now, unless he has a very good reason.”

Adele’s stomach churned uncomfortably with a mixture of desire and anxiety at seeing Rainere tomorrow. She had a very good idea as to why he was coming to Belvoir but she couldn’t think of anything more dangerous he could do. Surely he didn’t mean to expose their relationship here, with most of the Court attending the big race tomorrow?

“I found the Prince to be very polite and friendly at his home, Ohrig, but I would never presume to know what he was thinking? I don’t know him that well,” said Adele and firmly brought the conversation away from the topic of Rainere and back to the reason she had called the meeting, before she lost her nerve. “In fact, if the truth be told, I don’t know anyone in this world that well, which is why I wanted to talk to you and Lucky tonight.”

Adele turned to the Captain. “Lucky, do you remember the boy you met in my rooms this morning?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, Charlie.” Lucky focused on a point just to the side of her head and his cheeks flushed slightly. Adele almost sighed with impatience. This man was supposed to be a solider for God’s sake!

“That’s right, his name is Charlie,” she nodded and turned to General Ohrig. “Lucky will have told you that there was a boy discovered in my room this morning dressed in my clothing, after he had taken the luxury of a bath in my chambers. What you might not know is that this boy is the exact same boy who was discovered in my bedchamber yesterday wearing a Carparell squire’s uniform.”

She let the silence hang for a moment as both men stared at her.

“I can tell you that Charlie did not have my permission to be there at either time, and both times, he was armed with a weapon.”

Ohrig and Lucky exchanged an alarmed glance.

“Surely not, Your Majesty!”

Adele frowned at her Captain. “It does strike me as fairly odd, Lucky, that a young boy could completely avoid detection despite the fact that my bedroom is guarded at night by my own Queen’s Guard. The boy wasn’t even apprehended until he had almost touched me as I slept.”

Captain Lucky’s blue eyes were clouded with confusion. “But Your Majesty, you were the one who defended the boy. It is not my business to investigate those who you wish to keep secret from us…”

Adele held up a finger. “But it is your business, Lucky. It is very much your business to know exactly who comes and goes from my private rooms while I am asleep! Or my children’s rooms, for that matter. It frightens me to think that a mere boy managed to slip past you twice.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” interrupted Ohrig. “While I understand what you are saying, you also helped to hide this Charlie character from us by giving him an alibi both times. Though I am disappointed not one of your QGs managed to recognize the boy from yesterday, they can hardly be blamed for not examining the situation too closely. But I presume you have a point to make?”

Adele raised her eyebrows at Ohrig’s surly tone. Her instincts told her he was close to boiling over. The bombshell of the Prince’s imminent arrival and this conversation were making him feel very anxious.

Well, welcome to my world,
thought Adele grimly.
My whole life is a dangerous bloody surprise in Evendaar.

“I do have a point actually,” Adele smiled tightly at Ohrig and tried not to let him get under her skin. “Gentlemen, I know that you are both new to your posts in the Queen’s Guard with an actual Queen to guard now, just as I am new to being a Queen. But Evendaar is not my world, it is your world. I do not have the luxury of living as though my life won’t get turned upside down again. I need to be able to keep an eye on things around me where people do not suspect I can see and have ears where people will not expect I can hear them. The safety of my children depends on the fact that I remain vigilant at all times. Charlie is someone I have very recently found who is in the right position to help me in this regard. I kept him secret from you because trust does not come easily to me and I wanted to be sure he could do the job I have given him. But after Leith caught him in my room this morning and Charlie invented the cover of being the Royal Consort I realized it will be impossible to hide him from you.”

“So the boy is not, err…?” Captain Lucky asked cautiously, still not able to say the words.

“So the boy is not my consort, no, Lucky.” Adele grimaced in disgust. “Rest assured I much prefer men to children in my bed. But unfortunately it was the only story that Charlie could think up on the spot to match the circumstances he found himself in, as humiliating as that was for me.”

Lucky nodded and Adele was surprised at the expression of relief on the young Captain’s face, and how much it affected her. She understood now how much he needed her to be a perfect woman, as well as a perfect Queen. She could only imagine how his idealism would falter if he knew about her and Rainere. Adele looked back to General Ohrig. His expression was shrewd and combined with something that looked like admiration.

“I understand your position completely, Your Majesty,” he said. “In fact, I think it’s one of the wisest things you could have done, and in your place I would act in the same way.”

Adele almost smiled and enjoyed basking in the glow of Ohrig’s tacit approval for a rare moment, though she could hear the “But” too loudly in his voice to ignore it.

“But with all due respect, Your Majesty, you are choosing to trust a young man who was stupid enough to get caught in your bedchamber in the night, with you in it. I hardly think that this Charlie is capable of the discretion that you are entrusting him with. Perhaps you should allow me to choose a better candidate for the position. There are organizations who deal in such things and you need someone with proper training and connections.”

Adele frowned at Ohrig and he frowned right back. It was disconcerting when Adele realized with a start how quickly she had got used to people agreeing, no matter how dishonestly, with every word she said. But General Ohrig’s face was free of guile. He was just as concerned about her safety as she was, maybe more so as he didn’t even trust her to vouchsafe for herself.

“I want to meet this Charlie, and have a chance to interview him before you get in much deeper with all this,” said the General. “It could be that the boy is working well for you or it could be that he is selling your secrets on to the highest bidder.”

“Ohrig, I don’t want you scaring him,” said Adele. She panicked slightly at the idea of Ohrig interrogating Charlie, but also at the idea that he might be right. Adele knew nothing about Charlie except that he worked for Rainere. “Charlie and I have a delicate relationship based on a simple understanding. I don’t know how he would react to an interview with you.”

She cast a glance at Lucky to gauge which side he was on, but the Captain had become fascinated with the patterned carpet at his feet. It was clear he had no desire to add to the heated discussion.

“Is that a no, Your Majesty?” Ohrig asked and his eyebrows beetled even more tightly down over his pale blue eyes.

Adele forced herself to take a breath and calm down. She had too much to lose to reveal her whole hand to Ohrig now. Rainere was coming to Belvoir and who knew what that could mean for her in the days ahead.

“It’s not a ‘no’, General, but it’s not a free run with Charlie, either. I will speak to him and explain the situation before you meet him,” Adele relaxed back into her chair. “Thankfully, only the QGs saw Charlie coming out of my chamber this morning and I would like to keep it that way. I don’t want to hear any gossip about me having a taste for teenagers traveling through the manor while we are here. Can we rely on the discretion of your men, General?”

General Ohrig looked very much like he would like to say something else, but he held his tongue and for that Adele was grateful. “Yes, of course, Your Majesty.”

“Your honor is safe with your Queen’s Guard, Your Majesty,” agreed Captain Lucky a smile coloring his formal tone.

Adele couldn’t help but be pleased by his rekindled pride in her. She felt a rush of maternal responsibility to her young Captain and smiled back. “Now, are there any changes to the schedule to discuss, with His Highness coming tomorrow?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Nothing that can’t wait until morning, Your Majesty,” replied Ohren and his tight tone let her know he was still upset with her. “I’m sure Mr. Tilburn will be able to inform you about any changes to the day and the Welcoming Ceremony that will be held in the Prince’s honor. I believe Prince Bertrand is still working out all the protocols now for breaking the ban.”

“Wonderful,” said Adele, pointedly ignoring Ohrig’s attitude and stood up to let both men know the meeting was over. They followed her lead.

“But, please be assured, Your Majesty, that even though his Highness the Prince will be rendered powerless by the Curse on Belvoir, we will not underestimate his strength in other ways.” Ohrig gave Adele a knowing look which made her stomach clench. “We will keep eyes on the Prince at all times of the day and night. He has no legal authority here, so we will be able to accompany you with him at any, and all, times.”

“Great,” Adele forced herself to smile at the General.
Ohrig doesn’t know anything
she consoled herself,
there is no way he would be able to keep quiet about it if he did.
As bad as she felt lying to Ohrig she knew she needed to protect Rainere more. If anybody knew about them, he would be the one who would bear the brunt of the danger.

The General and Captain Lucky both bowed and took their leave.

Adele sat back down in her chair and absently stared at the desk before her, her fingers tracing the whorls of the wood, dark and light grains blending and separating again in a natural paisley. The meeting had not gone as well as she had hoped. Adele only now realized how much she had wanted Ohrig to support her decision to trust Charlie, and that it hurt her feelings that he obviously did not. Being more honest with the General had also left the door open for Ohrig to be more honest with her, too, and she wasn’t sure she was going to like where that door led. It was going to be very difficult to laugh off this last disagreement they now had with each other.

A warm breeze blew in through the open window and lifted the damp stands of hair at the back of her neck.

Oh God, Rainere is going to be here tomorrow!
A heady flash of desire shook her body and she felt a pulse of pleasure deep inside as her Magic responded to the thought of seeing Rainere again.

Adele grabbed the waste bin just in time as she heaved violently.