Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
F ootsteps could be heard making their way to the Royal Library, where Novi sat at a table surrounded by dozens of books. As interesting as the different titles were, none of them were intriguing enough to distract her from her intrusive thoughts. Her insatiable curiosity was both a blessing and a curse. It could liberate her on some days, then turn around and hold her hostage on others.
Today was one of those days. It was going to take more than a book to rescue her.
It was almost lunchtime. Fallon would’ve met with the Estellian by now. And although she wasn’t expecting him to come rushing to find her and tell her all about the meeting, she was hoping for some small morsel of news. Even a note or a brief update passed along by Cedric would’ve been appreciated.
So when the footsteps grew closer, her heartbeat kicked up a few paces faster. A pretty brunette came into the room holding a tray of coffee, tea, finger sandwiches, and dainty little cakes. Novi’s eyes perked up as the tray was set down on the edge of the table. She didn’t waste any time pushing a few books aside and grabbing a sandwich.
“Oh Callie…you read my mind! Were you down in the kitchens all this time?”
Her best friend and personal handmaiden gave her a coy little smile.
“I wanted to try a new recipe,” she said with a grin, motioning to the little cakes. “It seemed like the best chance to catch a glimpse of our mysterious Estellian guests.”
“Guests? As in, plural ?”
“Yes. A man and a woman.”
Novi waited with bated breath for her friend to dive into the details, but all she did was prepare a cup of tea and a cup of coffee.
“Seven hells, Callie—you’re killing me here!” she finally blurted out. “What are they like? Tell me everything!”
Callie’s face shifted into an expression of bliss.
“Well, the guards brought them through the staff entrance so nobody of any great rank would notice, but everyone in the kitchens certainly noticed.”
“How come? Were they hideous? Everyone knows Estellians are monsters.”
Callie grinned even wider, teasing out her gossip to the point that Novi was about to throw one of the little cakes at her head.
“The man is elven, but he’s no monster. He’s actually quite handsome. I might even say he’s pretty. He’s got the most beautiful eyes. I think the woman with him is human, although her hair is the most unnatural color.”
“What does it look like?” Novi begged to know.
“A bit like fire,” Callie said with a bewildered look. “And she was wearing the tightest trousers I’ve ever seen!”
“How tight were they?”
Callie laughed. “They may as well have been painted onto her legs. She caught the eye of quite a few guards.”
“Show me!”
Callie gazed into Novi’s eyes, sharing her memory of a long hallway filled with guards at regular intervals. Novi saw it as if she’d been standing right beside her, watching as an incredibly handsome man and a stunning redhead walked past the door to the kitchens. To her surprise, nearly every single one of the guards broke protocol and turned their heads to watch those firm legs walk away.
“You weren’t joking about the pants,” Novi said, stirring the cream in her coffee. “Do you know if they’re still talking with Fallon?”
Callie shook her head before helping herself to a sandwich.
“I don’t know for certain. I heard the guards took the woman to a bedchamber in the East Wing. I don’t know what they did with the man.”
Novi frowned as her highly imaginative brain went into overdrive. Why would Fallon have split them up? Where would he have sent the man? To the dungeons? And why was the beautiful, mysterious woman brought to a bedroom in the quietest section of the castle? If she was going to be interrogated, there were hundreds of other rooms to choose from in Blackwood Castle.
She recalled how it felt to try tempting Fallon into bed that morning, only to have him push her hand away. She thought of the sexual frustration that had been building up for over a month, and the need for release. She’d read about the phenomenon that so often happened to pregnant women, where they were treated like innocent, naive children, rather than the sexual creatures they truly were.
Judging by the last several weeks, Fallon had either fallen into that mindset, or he simply didn’t find her attractive now that she was the size of a small house. Given the stress that he was under, he was in dire need of an outlet.
An ugly thought crossed Novi’s mind, and she shoved it out as quickly as it had appeared. Fallon wasn’t that kind of man. There had to be a perfectly rational explanation for why he’d sent the beguiling, mysterious woman to the East Wing.
“Any other gossip to report?” Novi asked, eager to change the subject. “Mauricio’s been avoiding me all week, and even Jennae’s been acting strange.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Callie replied, and refilled their cups of tea and coffee. “Although I did hear that Queen Laena came down to the kitchens yesterday morning. She wanted to speak with Geeda in private.”
“Why would Laena have anything to say to the head cook?” Novi asked.
“Only the gods know,” Callie replied with a shrug. “All Geeda would tell me was that Laena was planning a special dinner. And there were two new pastry chefs this morning. I wanted to decorate my cakes with some piped lacework, but they had commandeered all the decorating supplies for a big project.”
Novi’s brow wrinkled in thought, searching for an explanation.
“A special dinner, and a dessert that’s important enough to hire two new pasty chefs? Is there a holiday coming up that we don’t know about? An anniversary?”
“I don’t think so, but who knows why Laena does what she does?” Suddenly Callie’s eyes lit up and she sat upright so fast that she almost spilled her tea. “Oh! Maybe it’s a celebration for when your daughter is born! She is the first royal bastard in almost a hundred years. The entire city of Sinarya is talking about the new baby. The entire kingdom is, really. That has to be it!”
A sense of relief came over Novi as the pieces fell perfectly into place. While it was completely out of character for the Queen to do anything nice for her son, it was just like Laena to put on the act that she cared.
“You know who can tell us for sure?”
“Who?”
“Lady Jennae. I saw her leaving a Royal Council meeting the other day, and her parents are good friends of Laena’s. It sounds like they’re involved in the plans. Why wouldn’t they have asked me? It’s my baby, after all.”
“Perhaps it’s a surprise?” Callie suggested. Novi nodded in agreement.
“That would explain why Jennae was acting so secretive when I saw her leaving the Royal Council meeting. I could still ask her about it and pretend to be surprised later.”
“Or you could just wait a few more days and be genuinely surprised,” Callie said with a grin. “It sounds like the nicest thing Her Majesty has ever done for you…even if it was by accident.”
“But that could be weeks from now,” Novi complained. She rested the back of her hand on her forehead, pretending to feel faint, then burst out into giggles. “Callie, I’m so restless and bored! I’m so tired of waiting….waiting for this baby to be born. Waiting for Fallon to find me attractive again. Waiting to be treated like I’m a woman who knows her own mind. Everyone treats me like a little kid now that I’m pregnant. They act like I’m some kind of fragile, delicate flower. I’m still the same person!”
“I hope you don’t think I treat you like a child,” Callie said in a soft voice. Novi reached over and patted her best friend’s hand.
“You’ve been magnificent. Honestly, the only thing I want is a comfortable chair nearby at all times, and for Fallon to want me as much as I want him. Is that asking too much?”
“Of course not,” Callie grinned. “You’re a sacred Daiyana, blessed by the gods. You should get whatever you want. Shall we go pay your friend a visit? If anyone knows what’s going on at the Blackwood Court, it’s her.”
Shoving another bite of sandwich into her mouth, Novi nodded, rose to her feet, and grabbed a tiny cake to take with her to Lady Jennae’s apartment.
“Are they having a party in the middle of the day?” Callie asked when she and Novi arrived at the gilded double doors. There was so much commotion on the other side, so much conversation and laughter and music and clinking of champagne glasses, that Novi wondered if she was at the right apartment. She’d been here so many times for cards and tea that she could’ve found it in her sleep, and yet, the footmen weren’t falling over themselves to let her in. Callie had to ask.
Strange.
The doors parted to reveal a room full of well-dressed noble women and a few men talking and laughing at different styles of shoes being displayed for them to judge. Some of the courtiers had little dogs on their laps or sitting on the floor, patiently waiting for a crumb to fall from the hors d'oeuvres being offered by two footmen. Soft, cheerful music was playing in the background while sparkling wine flowed freely. At the center of it all was Esteban, the Royal Dresser, busy taking Jennae’s measurements from where she stood on a small platform.
It wasn’t unusual for the daughter of a wealthy Duke and Duchess to have a new gown being made. It also wasn’t that unusual to make a private party of a dress-making appointment.
It was unusual, however, for the fabric of that dress to consist of the official colors of the Royal Family.
There was no mistaking the signature colors known as Blackwood Red. Royal guards wore cloaks made of it, Fallon’s sash was made of it, and all the banners in the castle were dyed exactly the same. Blood red melted into bright crimson, then fiery shades of orange before bleeding into the palest shade of sunshine yellow. With the exception of the guards who protected them, it was forbidden for anyone outside the Royal Family to wear this color.
That’s why it was so startling for Novi to find herself staring at bolts of velvet, satin, and silk dyed in Blackwood Red. Amidst the boisterous activity in the room, the fabrics were being paraded past Jennae and her mother and their friends to inspect and admire.
“Novi, what a surprise!” Esteban exclaimed the moment he saw her. His mouth was less of a smile and more of a grimace. The chatter died down to soft murmurs, leaving no doubt that her presence was indeed a surprise. She glanced around at everyone’s expressions before stopping to study Jennae’s face. The beautiful noblewoman’s shoulders fell with a sense of helpless defeat. For someone having this much fuss made over the construction of a new dress, she didn’t seem too happy at all.
Rather than offer Novi a glass of wine or launch into a list of polite explanations, Jennae said nothing at all. Novi scanned the room, picking up some of the courtiers’ private thoughts. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t supposed to know this was happening. Not until after the baby was born. Not until the formal announcement was made.
The painful awkwardness was so palpable that having a stack of library books fall on her head would’ve hurt less. She fought to swallow the huge lump in her throat before she was able to speak.
“Why am I not supposed to know about this until after my baby’s born?” Novi asked, her voice wavering. She kept waiting for someone to groan that the secret was ruined, and beg her to act surprised at the right time…but it still didn’t explain why Lady Jennae was having a dress made from those colors.
Why was a dress being made at all? And why were so many people from court at her dress fitting? Humiliation and pain began to settle in.
“Perhaps we should take a break,” Esteban said to his team of dressmakers. He snapped his fingers and the yards of fabric were wrapped up and carried out of the room in a hurry. While the Royal Dresser had the good manners to leave, the other courtiers merely stood around to see what would be said. They were always in search of the next big drama at court. Now that they were right there in the middle of it, they couldn’t have torn themselves away if they’d tried.
“It’s only a dressmaking party,” the Duchess of Ordeya said, rushing to defend her daughter and send Novi and Callie back from where they’d come. “I apologize for not sending you an invitation. We didn’t want you to overexert yourself. You must be so tired these days,” she went on.
“I’m not an idiot!” Novi snapped, looking at all the highborns who stood watching her in silence. “And I’m not tired! I’m tired of being treated like an idiot!” She maneuvered her large body away from the Duchess and marched up to her friend.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Why are you having a dress made in those colors?”
Jennae’s long lashes fell as she lowered her head.
“As you said, Novi…you’re not an idiot. Surely you can figure it out on your own.”
Pain and anger surged through Novi’s bloodstream, making her shake, giving her tunnel vision. All she could see was that demure, beautiful, elegant woman who’d been her friend since they first day she’d arrived at Blackwood Castle. Jennae had taken her under her wing and taught her how to avoid being bitten by the vipers at court, only to prove that she was the most venomous one of all.
“I want to hear you say it,” Novi whispered. Then the demonborn fire erupted in her heart, until her demand came out in a snarl. “Say it, Jennae! Say it to my face !”
The highborn lady was silent for a few moments before fixing her stoic eyes on Novi once more.
“I’m engaged to be married to His Royal Highness as soon as your child is born. Surely you understand why I didn’t invite you to help design my wedding dress.”
A wedding dress. Marrying the prince. Those things should’ve made anyone happy, yet it clearly gave Jennae no joy to speak the words out loud.
Novi struggled to breathe as the air was sucked out of the room by those words. Her body trembled as all the little morsels of information began knitting together to create a completely different picture in her mind. Of course Laena wasn’t planning a celebration in honor of this tiny baby.
Lucia was only a bastard, a requirement to be fulfilled, a box to be checked, before Fallon took a legitimate bride and sired a legitimate string of heirs to the throne. Ancient family dynasties didn’t make allowances for paltry things like love.
The tears came so hard and fast that Novi didn’t have the presence of mind to wipe them away. They streamed down her face, two thin rivers of heartache.
“Is this why you were acting strange the other day?”
Jennae nodded her beautiful, sorrowful head.
“I promised not to say anything until after your baby is born. We didn’t want to upset you any more than?—”
“Who’s we ?” Novi cried out through her shuddering breath. “I trusted you! Who are you making promises with behind my back? Queen Laena? Or was it Worlic?”
The brunette lowered her gaze again, but only for a second. Lady Jennae knew firsthand how to hold her own in a cruel court like this one.
“No,” she said, stepping off the podium to look her friend in the eye. “I made that promise to Fallon.”