Chapter Fourteen
WHEN INES WOKE the next morning, there was very little news. Evelyne had passed along Gabriel’s assurances that everything was okay, a plan was in place, and ideally Vinyes would be arrested by nightfall.
Gabriel’s parents were kind and attentive and did their best to take Evelyne’s and Ines’s minds off things.
They arranged a picnic in their pretty vineyard while they took care of Gabri, and Jonet joined the two women and attempted to chatter about all matter of things that had nothing to do with Alis or revolutions.
Ines tried very hard to set aside her trepidation and enjoy the sunny day, the pleasant company. To think of it as a holiday instead of running away from revolution. Instead of worrying if she wouldn’t even get the chance to stand by Alexandre. To get under all his walls, all his traumas.
The day passed with no news. Ines grew more tense, but she thought she hid it well. Evelyne on the other hand… Well, there was nothing hidden about her nerves, her worry, her anger.
After dinner, they sat in the pretty, cozy living room—Gabriel’s parents and Jonet having retired to their own bedrooms. But Evelyne paced while Ines rocked Gabri, finding the rhythmic movement and the baby’s warm weight soothing.
Ines knew Evelyne was concerned because Gabriel hadn’t sent an update, but no doubt arresting a general took some time and careful doing.
Or he’s leading a successful overthrow and Alex is somewhere hurt and—
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the anxiety loop of her own thoughts. It was pointless. There was nothing she could do from here. There’d be nothing she could do at the palace. This was military and such.
This was a king’s duty. Not a man’s.
The fact that she understood that distinction better now than she ever had before was painful. Not only because she understood, but in understanding she had no idea how to get through to him. How to convince him he deserved to be a man too. Not when so much rested on him being a king.
He thought love a weapon, and his title armor. How could she ever foment her own successful revolution against that?
Footsteps sounded quietly in the hall, and then a man appeared in the entryway.
Evelyne stopped her pacing, then in the next moment crossed the room at a jog and flung herself at Gabriel, who caught her and held on tight. They murmured words to each other, too soft for Ines to hear—but it was not a moment for her.
Ines stood—Gabri still in her arms, her heart in her throat.
There was no Alex with Gabriel.
“Everything is well,” Gabriel said loud enough that Ines was able to hear this assurance.
“Vinyes has been arrested. Alexandre is currently interviewing and figuring out punishments for those who followed him. Vinyes will remain in jail until his court-martial. With the evidence stacked against him, his punishment will no doubt be swift and just.” Gabriel, still entwined with Evelyne, moved over to peer down at Gabri.
The baby wasn’t asleep yet but was getting there, with drooping eyes. Still, Ines handed Gabri over to his father with a shaky smile. All was well. Alexandre was busy, but safe. Safe. That was all that mattered now.
Gabriel held Gabri close with one arm and Evelyne with the other. Safe. Everything all right.
Except Ines felt very, very alone.
She pressed a hand to her stomach, reminding herself she wasn’t alone. Perhaps her child was not born yet, but the baby still needed her for right now to take care of herself. And soon to hold and nurture and love.
“We will spend the night here and return to Alis in the morning,” Gabriel said.
“Will Alexandre be all right?” Evelyne managed to ask the question which Ines hadn’t been able to find words for.
Gabriel nodded. “Vinyes did not have as many followers as he would have needed to truly enact his plan. He believed more would follow than did. Many he thought would follow stood with Alex instead.”
Ines felt her knees go weak, but she locked them. Her husband was a good king. He deserved such loyalty. If only he could take that on board. His goodness, his strength, all grown in spite of what he’d been given. If only he could see how amazing he was.
Instead, he hid behind a crown.
Evelyne let go of Gabriel and squeezed Ines tight. “Let’s get some rest. We’ll get up very early and head back home.”
Ines nodded and even managed to keep her smile in place as the small family left to go to their room. Ines found her way to hers. She dressed for bed, then simply lay down in the guest bed, her phone in her hand.
She stared at the screen. She could call him. She could reach out and take that step. She so wanted to, and yet the fear of hearing that clipped, detached tone of his had her staring at the phone in her hand until she fell asleep.
She awoke to the bustle of everyone getting ready to travel back to Alis. Gabriel and Evelyne were cheerful, though baby Gabri was grumpy—which gave Ines something to focus on. She helped Evelyne and Gabriel try to cheer him up in the car and on the plane ride back.
When they returned to the palace, Ines excused herself and went to her rooms immediately. As much as she was desperate to find Alex, to hold on to him as Evelyne had held on to Gabriel last night—just to assure herself he was alive and well—she knew she wasn’t steady enough for any kind of rebuff.
So she settled into a warm bath and tried to wash away all the worry and stress and focus on what came next.
She couldn’t make Alexandre believe in love. Perhaps with time she could, but the misery she’d spoken of before they’d left the palace wasn’t something she could stand. She had spent her entire childhood unloved, unwanted. A pawn. Perhaps she’d even thought it her due.
Until this new life had taught her otherwise. But it hadn’t changed her parents. It hadn’t changed anyone. She couldn’t. People had to change themselves.
Just as she had made the decision to change herself.
Perhaps she would always be a little miserable Alex could not believe in love, but she could hardly condemn her daughter to the same fate. But what other options were there? She was a queen. Their baby would be a princess. What would Ines do if not this?
For the first time she thought she fully understood why Alexandre had worked so hard to be only a crown. To eschew anything that was more. By marrying into the royal family, she had made everything so much more difficult.
Trying to be a person within a title was complicated, difficult, and had no easy, perfect answers.
Or maybe that was just life—for everyone. A title was just a more concrete inanimate thing to blame the complexity on.
When she got out of the bath, Ines considered simply putting pajamas on and spending the day in bed, but the day after an attempted revolution would no doubt require the queen’s presence. So she dressed to be seen.
Maybe she was reluctant to see Alex face-to-face today, but she still supported him, and anyone who came into her orbit would know it.
Once she was happy with her hair and makeup and had found a skirt with an elastic enough waistband to wear over her ever-expanding middle, she forced herself to leave her bedroom.
She came to an abrupt stop as she walked into the sitting room to find Jonet waiting for her. Jonet had her phone in one hand, a tablet in the other, a clear sign she was in assistant mode.
Nerves jittered in Ines’s stomach.
“I have received a message from the king’s assistant,” Jonet said, her smile somewhat apologetic. “He has an announcement regarding your pregnancy he’d like sent out today, if you could approve it.”
Approve…
Alexandre wanted her pregnancy announced today? After everything yesterday had been, he was thinking about this?
Jonet held out the tablet. Ines took it dutifully, read the short statement.
King Alexandre would like to share the happy news with all of Alis that he and his queen will be welcoming a child to the kingdom in the coming months.
Ines found herself frowning at the words. Happy news? He had yet to act particularly happy. Of course this statement wasn’t about Alex. This was royal business. “Yes, that’s fine,” Ines said handing the tablet back to Jonet. “I think I’m just going to go back to—”
Jonet cleared her throat to cut her off. “The second part of the message was that the king would like to see you now.”
A message through assistants. She didn’t have the wherewithal for that. “I’m exhausted, Jonet.” She had only slept in fits and starts, and she knew she would need strength, true strength, to deal with Alexandre. Especially if this was how he was summoning her.
“Yes, but his assistant did say it was an urgent matter. I can put him off—”
“No.” She might as well get this over with. Alex wouldn’t claim something urgent if it wasn’t. “I’ll go.” Maybe she didn’t know what to say, but if he had an urgent matter, then they would deal with that, and maybe she could get away with not knowing what to do for the time being.
She walked through the palace. It had changed in the months since King Enzo had died. Alexandre had allowed Evelyne and Ines carte blanche to redecorate whatever they saw fit, and they’d mutually decided to move away from austerity and military, while keeping the historical integrity of the castle.
So Ines walked down carpeted hallways, taking her time and enjoying the art on the walls—landscapes and royal portraits, instead of bloody war scenes.
And, okay, yes, she was stalling. She wanted to find some center of strength—like Alexandre always seemed to have. She wanted to put on her queenly mask, but she was afraid the moment she saw him she’d throw herself into his arms. Relief that he was okay.
She just didn’t want to be pathetic. Not because she cared so much about herself, but she had to start thinking about what her daughter was going to see. Alex had been incredibly harmed by what he’d seen as a young boy. She wouldn’t do the same to her child.