Chapter 6 #2
Lorne shook his head, holding out a hand to halt Orvyn before he said anything out loud.
As if remembering himself, Orvyn clamped his mouth shut, even as he remained kneeling before Lorne.
Once the guards closed the door, leaving them alone, the others hurried closer, even as their eyes remained wide.
Godwin, a gray-haired man with dark brown eyes set in a weathered face, knelt next to Orvyn and bowed his head. “Sir. It is good to see you alive. We thought…we were told…”
“When they didn’t bring you back, we feared the worst.” Burchard, his brown hair also peppered with gray, spoke in a choked tone as he knelt beside Godwin. “Then the guards told us you were dead. They taunted us with it. They knew how we would despair.”
Lorne squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He should have asked Adeline to send word that he was alive. But he’d been out of his mind with fever, and she’d been busy with becoming queen. He was honored that she’d even remembered her promise to release his men as soon as she could.
But he should have remembered them. He should have guessed that the guards wouldn’t tell them the truth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t send word. And that I wasn’t able to get you out of the dungeon sooner.
” Lorne opened his eyes, taking in the men before him.
Godwin and Burchard, the oldest among the royal guards assigned to him.
Arne and Emil, the two strongest among his guards.
And Orvyn, a young man around his age. When he had been assigned to Lorne’s guards, he had become a good friend.
“I’m thankful you are all right. I was worried. ”
While they bore the bruises and bandages of their time in the dungeon, they were moving far easier than he was.
“What happened, sir?” Godwin remained kneeling before him, as if he couldn’t bring himself to move.
“Please, sit. It will take some explanation.” Lorne gestured to the other couches and chairs in the room.
His men slowly took seats, their eyes still fixed on him as if they didn’t dare look away.
“That day, I was brought to the torture room. But instead of torture, Princess Adeline of Kelverny waited there.” Lorne picked his words carefully, his stomach clenching.
The Kelvernese guards were likely listening at the door, and he couldn’t guarantee all of them were loyal to Adeline.
But he was also strangely nervous about telling his men what he’d done.
“She had a proposal for me. She wanted to marry me.”
“What?” Both Arne and Emil surged to their feet, their mouths hanging open.
Burchard grimaced, and Godwin eyed Lorne rather grimly. Only Orvyn grinned as he met Lorne’s gaze. “I’m guessing you said yes?”
“Of course I said yes.” Lorne waved toward the connecting door. “She wished to marry me in order to help bring about peace between our kingdoms. As I’m also committed to peace, it seemed a good way to achieve our mutual goal.”
“But does she…” Returning to his seat, Arne eyed first the connecting door, then the outer door, before he leaned closer, his voice going so low it barely carried even to Lorne. “Does she know who you are?”
“No. No one does.” Lorne met Arne’s gaze. “And they must not find out. Not until peace has been achieved.”
“Yes, of course. But, sir, are you sure this was a good idea?” Godwin leaned his elbows on his knees as he searched Lorne’s face. “The political ramifications…”
“I know. It’s going to be complicated.” Lorne waved his hand again. “But it might be the only way to gain peace.”
“Is it, though?” Emil glanced around at each of them, lowering his voice. “I hate to suggest it, but he’s now rather uniquely positioned to, uh, end the Kelvernese royal line.”
Just hearing those words was a punch to Lorne’s chest. He was shaking his head vigorously before he’d even put much thought behind the gesture. “No.”
“You have to admit, it would be one quick way to solve our problems.” Emil shrugged.
“I’ve had the chance to get a better feel for the political situation here.
” Lorne tried to keep his voice level. Logical.
“If Queen Adeline were killed, the warmongering lords would be the ones positioned to take over. They would continue the war, and they’d use the death of their queen to call for blood, just as they did with the deaths of their crown prince and princess five years ago.
Killing her would only make our situation worse, not end the war. ”
“I see.” Emil nodded, bowing his head slightly. “Then should we escape? We have a better chance, now that we aren’t in the dungeon.”
Lorne shook his head again, although without the frantic vigor of a moment ago. He couldn’t leave his wife to fend for herself against all that was arrayed against her right now. “No. Leaving will just put us right back where we started.”
“Then what are your orders, sir?” Orvyn’s smile tipped slightly, his eyes twinkling, as if he’d already guessed what those orders would be.
“We need to keep Queen Adeline alive.” Lorne met each of their gazes, not looking away until he saw agreement written there.
“She’s Lalsacia’s only chance for peace.
But right now, her position is tenuous. She has far more lords plotting against her than she has on her side.
And as we know, Kelverny is not above assassinating their own to perpetuate this war. ”
That was something he had yet to tell Adeline. He had been about to, before he’d collapsed.
But he had to tell her. Soon. No matter how much the words would wreck her.
“Very well, sir.” Godwin bowed from the waist from where he sat. “We will do our best to keep both of you safe. But you are still our priority.”
Lorne nodded. If his men suspected that he was in too much danger, they would smuggle him out of Kelverny and back to Lalsacia without any care for who he might be leaving behind.