CHAPTER EIGHT
I T WAS COLD in the north. Claudia had forgotten the icy bite of the wind on any part of her not covered by wind and waterproof clothing. Not for this place the ballgowns and jewels of her brother’s palace. Not for these people the unbearable judgement because she was too confident, too immune to bribery and way too satisfied with her own good self to be of use to those who thought blackmail a legitimate political tool, just as long as it served their greater good.
Or maybe these people of the north had been there and done that with her already and figured she could use a break.
She was second-guessing everything about her world and the people in it. Why not second-guess them too?
Only the doctor, Ana, Cas, Sophia and probably Lor knew she was pregnant, but it wouldn’t be long before solid rumours started swirling. A small but powerful group of politicians and courtiers from her father’s era had already called for her removal from Cas’s court. They said she’d been seduced by the northerners and pressured into being their voice, as if she’d never had a conscience of her own. They called her a survivor of abuse, as if the abuse had originated with her captors rather than her parents. They underestimated her strength and her influence, those little men and women with their fat bank accounts and political portfolios and no interest whatsoever in fairness. They would pull her down at the earliest opportunity if she couldn’t find the strength to withstand them.
Unfortunately, she spent most of her strength these days on getting up in the morning and staying up rather than crawling straight back into bed after a bathroom stop, her mind a fog and her body not her own to command. What did she know about motherhood and babies? Her own mother had been a shadow of a woman—pitiful and broken. Her so-called father—King Leonidas—had been a monster. Her real father had thought nothing of bedding his brother’s wife. What kind of a family tree was that?
As for the people who’d kidnapped and then kept a small child out of pity and a vague idea that one day they could use her to advance themselves, she’d paid them back, hadn’t she? She’d secured their rights and way of life and owed them nothing more. She was square with them now. Surely they could ask for nothing more?
And maybe they wouldn’t want her around now she’d served her purpose, but she had nowhere else to turn to for comfort and support and possible solutions to a problem of her own making.
Why did she no longer know which way was home?
She’d been welcomed with fanfare. Her tent had been set up for her, bursting with warmth and furs and food after her journey. She’d been hugged and lauded—she and Ildris heroes. A feast was happening right outside her door.
And all she could think was that she didn’t belong here either. She wouldn’t wish this duality on her enemy, let alone her daughter, and since when had this baby become a daughter? She didn’t know that for sure. No one did.
‘Claudia, are you in there?’
She knew that voice. It belonged to her not-sister who’d been at Claudia’s side since they were seven years old. ‘Enter.’
Alya entered with a flurry of movement and a dusting of snow on her hair and the shoulders of her cloak. ‘Why are you missing the party? You’re the guest of honour.’
‘Just tired, I guess.’
‘You guess or you know? Because unless you haven’t slept in days, I’m going to drag you back out there. People want to see you. You’re our champion.’
‘I’m pregnant.’ There. She’d said it, but didn’t feel any lighter for sharing her load. If anything, she was waiting for the weight of Alya’s disappointment to rain down upon her.
Alya pushed back her hood, bringing her ebony curls, heart-shaped face and shocked brown eyes into the light. ‘Oh.’
Yes, oh.
‘Change of plan on the drinking front,’ Alya said next.
‘Indeed.’
‘And I guess it explains why you’re looking so pale and worn.’
‘More than likely.’ And she’d tried so hard to add a bit of colour using make-up.
‘Do I, ah, know the father?’
‘You mean is Ildris the father? No, of course he’s not.’
‘Is that because he’s too old for you?’
‘Twelve years isn’t that big an age gap if plenty of other things align. It’s because I don’t care for him in that way and never have, no matter how handy he is to have in my corner. No, Ildris knows nothing about it.’ Or maybe he knew more than she thought. He was a secretive soul, more suited to politicking than she would ever be. ‘I slept with the King’s Falconer.’
‘You mean...you slept with Tomas? The boy hero?’
She could blame childhood confidences on Alya knowing all about him.
‘What can I say? He grew up well.’
Alya shed her cloak and took a seat at Claudia’s table, reached for the untouched wine and poured herself a glass. She reached for a sweet pastry too, giving every indication that she wasn’t going anywhere. ‘Does he know?’
‘No. It was a one-off. I was being my usual pushy self. I don’t even know if he wanted to be naked with me in the first place.’ Not that he had been naked.
‘He can’t have been too much against bedding you if he got the deed done.’
‘I can be very persuasive.’
‘Given that we’re out there celebrating that very fact... I know.’ Alya waved her hand with the pastry in it towards the tent flap, before popping the honey-soaked confection in her mouth.
‘I don’t think this is the result he would want if given a choice,’ Claudia confessed baldly.
The other woman chewed thoughtfully and then reached for her wine, taking her time. ‘Choice is a luxury some people don’t get to have. You of all people know that.’
‘I can choose not to implicate him.’ She’d been thinking about that avenue a lot.
‘No man worth a hero badge is going to let you get away with that if he thinks that baby’s his. He’s going to want to be there for that child. Maybe he’ll want to be there for you too. Let’s call that his choice.’
‘You’re saying I should tell him?’
The other woman nodded. ‘If you’re keeping it, yeah.’
‘I’m keeping her.’
‘Oh, it’s a her , is it?’
‘Only in my stupid head.’ Claudia felt hot tears start to well. ‘I don’t even like my role at the palace. The public are fed this notion that I’m this indestructible princess, back from the dead. Some kind of icon, preferably in a tiara, only the more people get to know me, the more they realise I’m just human and I make mistakes. Fitting in is tough. Cas wants me there but has warned me to back off on some of my advocacy until I’m more settled. Even my parentage is in question—my real father was likely the man I thought was my uncle, which is why Leonidas never wanted my return. And now I’m pregnant. How is that helpful? My position is so precarious. I don’t know how I’m going to be of use to anyone going forward.’
‘Hush, Claudia. You can always stay here. We’ll have you, and gladly.’
‘Will you? Or have I delivered on the water rights and now you’re done with me too?’
‘See, that’s just crazy mixed-up baby hormones talking,’ Alya said firmly. ‘Come back outside and I’ll show you that’s not true. People are in awe of what you have achieved. We love you and we’ve missed you.’
‘I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going.’ She was a compass dial, endlessly circling. ‘I don’t know which way’s home.’
Alya rose and embraced her. ‘I’ll help you find the way. I’ll come with you on that journey, but be warned, I’m going to be the naughty auntie.’
Claudia clutched her honorary sister’s hand and clung with all her might. ‘Thank you.’
‘Don’t thank me yet. I’m going to be a very bad influence. The stories I can tell about what we got up to as kids. There’s the stolen pony story.’
‘Rescued pony.’ Claudia smiled through her tears.
‘The duck egg substitution story. That was one very confused owl.’
‘I now have a great deal of sympathy for that owl. I’d be confused too if this baby turned out to be a duckling.’
Alya squeezed tight and then gently stepped away. ‘Rug up and come back to the feast, at least for a little while. Let’s celebrate new beginnings and the peace and prosperity on the horizon. I won’t even mention your part in the negotiations if you don’t want me to. You can watch me try and fail to catch Ildris’s attention. It’ll be like old times.’
‘He’s taken a position in Cas’s court.’
‘I know.’ For all that Alya tossed those two words around lightly, there was heartbreak behind them. ‘Don’t remind me. I too am not all that happy with reality today. Shall we face it anyway?’
This was the attitude that had guided her way. Try , and know that failure was part of that process. Be honest , with yourself if no one else.
‘I want Tomas to be with me because he wants to be, not just because there’s a baby. I’m afraid he’s going to offer marriage and I’m going to say yes, and I’m never going to know how he really feels about me.’
‘I get it. You’re screwed. He’s screwed too. But, whatever happens, I say this baby is going to be incredibly lucky to have you for a mother, because you have so much love and passion to give, and you’re strong and fierce and capable of making life better for everyone around you. Forged in fire and all that. Be proud of your remarkable journey through life in search of your happy place. One day you’re going to find it. You’ve got this.’
‘You make me feel better than I’ve felt in weeks.’
‘That’s because I know what you need.’ Alya stood and linked her arm around Claudia’s. ‘Come outside for a while and let us love you.’
‘One hour, and then I’m coming back in.’
‘One hour,’ the other woman agreed. ‘And I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning.’
‘I don’t do breakfast any more.’
Alya’s glance was full of concern. ‘When do you breakfast, and what will tempt you to eat?’
‘Around eleven and soup is good. Thin and brothy.’
‘Have you seen a midwife? Let’s do that tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow,’ agreed Claudia, relaxing just a little bit.
Maybe things would be better tomorrow.
Claudia lasted an hour, and then another, with Alya at her side, bubbling over with festive good humour and cloaking Claudia’s forced enthusiasm. She was glad to be back, even if she knew in her heart that her status here had changed and there was no going back to her old life. Not easily. She had become a creature of politics, with the same pressure here as the one she felt in her brother’s court, namely that she couldn’t please everyone all the time. And what then? Who would even want her?
Bleakness had bled into her bones and she didn’t know how to reverse the condition.
She’d settled before the open fire, Ildris to one side and Alya on her other as the celebrations continued and the fire began to show a hint of embers. There were a million stars above her head, a cloudless sky and a waxing crescent moon. She had shelter nearby and warmth on her face and there was simple comfort in that.
Take the simple, fleeting moments of comfort and security and be grateful, Claudia.
Make every breath, every moment, count. Just like old times.
She didn’t know at first why Ildris rose to his feet so suddenly. It was late, she was weary, and she’d begun to let her mind drift.
But a woman was heading towards them and behind her strode Tomas, big and solid and contained as only he could be. He wore ordinary outdoor work boots and trousers and a warm winter jacket with wide cuffs made of leather. The firelight did little to soften the sharply drawn planes of his face and jaw, and his eyes were narrowed and not just against the smoke from the fire. He was set against Ildris, regular observation had told her that much, but he was usually somewhat better at hiding it. Hostility had a hold on him now, though. And then he saw her, and his hostility increased tenfold.
Maybe Ildris wasn’t the problem after all.
‘Well met, Master Falconer, Lord Sokolov,’ Ildris began. ‘What brings you amongst us?’
‘I’m here for what’s mine, mountain lord, and you can object to my claim, but know that I’m already disposed to think of you as my enemy. My grievance spans decades .’
Alya squeaked, Ildris crossed his arms in front of him and held his ground as Claudia scrambled to her feet and stepped between the two foes. ‘Have you lost your mind?’ she demanded.
‘Not yet. Have you?’ The next minute, she was viewing the world upside down on account of being slung over Tomas’s shoulder, bottom up and head down, as he strode away from the fire, the crowd parting for him like butter, with him the hot knife.
‘Are you kidnapping me?’
‘Yes. You should be used to it by now. Or I could be rescuing you, or saving your life, who would know?’
‘You! You should know what you’re doing! And you can’t just take me. You’re outnumbered. People will stop you.’
‘They can try.’ Tomas gave a piercing whistle, the one he used to call birds down from flight, and a short time later she heard the flapping of wings as a majestic golden eagle landed on his outstretched forearm.
She looked up. The bird looked down. ‘Oh, aren’t you a beauty,’ she cooed. ‘Tomas, where have you been hiding her ?’
‘Stop trying to win over my attack bird.’ He had his hands full so there was nothing to stop her rooting around in the pocket of his trousers for a strip of dried meat that would surely be stuffed somewhere on his person.
Front pocket, deep, deep down.
Hello.
‘Feed my bird that particular bit of meat and I may not be able to forgive you,’ he warned.
A man of humour, how lovely. Claudia withdrew, but not before trailing admiring fingers along his delectable length. She found the food in his inside coat pocket and held it out for the eagle, praying that her odd position and all the jostling about as she held the food up for the bird wouldn’t encourage it to take a finger as well.
‘What’s her name?’
‘Never you mind.’
‘Claudia!’ Alya had come up beside them, almost running to keep apace as she bent to look Claudia in the eyes. ‘What’s happening?’
‘I’m being kidnapped.’ Claudia felt oddly cheerful. ‘But thanks for asking.’ Tomas still hadn’t broken his stride. ‘Alya, meet Tomas. Tomas, Alya.’
But the other woman was having nothing to do with formal introductions and Tomas didn’t seem that interested either.
‘Do you want to be kidnapped?’ Alya sounded anxious.
‘I’m thinking about it.’ The eagle took the meat. Her fingers stayed attached to her hand.
‘Because if you need saving, I’ll save you. His nethers are currently unprotected. He’ll likely drop you and the eagle will pluck out my eyes, but I’ll do it.’
‘And I will never forget such a beautiful offer,’ Claudia assured her just as earnestly. ‘But I’m very comfortable, really.’
Tomas made a noise that sounded a lot like pure frustration, and Alya squeaked again. ‘Did he just growl ?’
‘He does that. And yet I’ve still decided I’m willing to be kidnapped. Again. Or rescued. Or taken to dinner. Whatever.’
‘If you’re sure...’
‘I can paddle your backside if you don’t take this more seriously,’ Tomas warned.
Ha! Stretch goal. ‘What with? Your third arm?’ They were slowing down. They’d reached the edge of the camp, where a group of horses were staked out. ‘Are you planning on stealing horses for us too? Because I’m not sure you’ll get away with that .’
‘He shouldn’t push his luck,’ agreed Alya.
‘I brought the Range Rover.’ He deposited her on her feet and opened the back doors and set about containing his golden eagle.
Claudia took a moment to embrace the sister of her heart. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she whispered.
‘He’s glorious,’ Alya whispered back.
‘I know. Good luck with Ildris. He was not tempted by anyone in the capital and you’ve more than enough soft power and courage to make him a very good match.’
‘If you’ve quite finished planning the next generation of leaders,’ said Tomas from behind them. ‘Well met, Lady Alya. Princess, we’re leaving now.’ He opened the front passenger door and handed her in and buckled the seatbelt for her, and was it her imagination or did his hand linger over her stomach? Did he know? Was that the reason for all the theatrics? The very definitive swooping in to take what was his?
‘Tomas...’ She couldn’t hide the hesitation in her voice.
‘Not now.’
Call me , mimed Alya as the door closed. Claudia heard more voices outside and then he was getting in the driver’s side and starting the engine. Her bravado—what was left of it—fizzled away, leaving only the occasional bubble of confidence in a sea of flat bewilderment.
Five minutes went by in silence. Ten. Another ten. Apparently, he’d used up all his words when claiming her. He didn’t seem at all eager to reveal why he’d done so.
‘Why did you come for me?’
He didn’t glance her way. Never even took his eyes off the road ahead, but his hands tightened on the wheel and the tension in his body was contagious. ‘Because you have something to tell me.’
He knew. Somehow, he’d discovered her condition.
‘Who told you?’
‘Sophia.’
Hard to take revenge on a little girl.
‘And you think it’s yours?’
He spared her a scathing glance. ‘Don’t even try that line. It won’t hold.’
Possibly not. Everyone knew where her interest lay.
‘My head was covered last time I was kidnapped. My hands were tied and travel was by horseback. This is a luxury abduction by comparison.’
‘There are blankets and pillows on the back seat.’
Now he was making her feel ungrateful.
‘I would have told you.’ Maybe. ‘Eventually.’
‘Big of you.’
‘I’m not trying to make the problem go away, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘It’s not a problem , it’s a baby.’ Oh, he could sound vicious when he wanted to.
‘Right. I’m not trying to make this baby go away. I’m adjusting to its unexpected presence. I was protected. I thought I was. It wasn’t a trap.’ She wanted to make that clear. ‘I’m...’ Would honesty suffice? Could she say she was scared this baby would ruin her life and his? ‘I’m trying to get my head around what it means, going forward. I took some time to shore up my defences.’
Nothing.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, mainly to fill that awful silence with something other than tension.
‘Home.’
She laughed, short and sharp. ‘You might need to factor in the Claudia effect. Too bold for my brother’s court. A weapon spent as far as the north is concerned. I have no home. I seem to have run out of options.’
‘I’m taking you to the manor. And if it’s not home to either of us yet, I trust that in the years to come it will be. A bolthole like the room we had in the fortress wall. Our place. A safe place. We can make it happen this time.’
Oh, those words and the memories that followed. The promise of safety was her Achilles heel.
‘We’ll be married as soon as it can be arranged,’ he added gruffly.
It wasn’t a question, but still...
‘You want to marry me?’
‘Who knows?’ He hadn’t looked at her once. ‘But there’s a baby coming so we’re doing it. It’s the only way.’
Dogged chivalry. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but it wasn’t love, and it was love she craved, almost as much as safety.
‘Actually, there are many other ways to approach impending parenthood.’ Probably best not to say impending doom . ‘You’ve had a shock, I understand that, but what if I don’t want to marry you?’
‘I think you’ll choose to do so anyway.’ Was that the voice of reason? She hated it. ‘Our child will be legitimate and loved and I will protect you both with all that I am. Any political opponents that seek to undermine you will suffer for their sins because I’m a vengeful man and my aristocratic veneer is thin.’
Well, when he put it that way...
‘You’re quite a forceful guy when you decide you want something.’
He smiled tightly. ‘I have no idea why you sound so surprised.’
‘I like it.’
‘How fortunate for us all.’
She fiddled with the delicate ring on her finger, a diamond and pearl Art Deco concoction from the royal collection. She had a few vague memories of her mother wearing it, and it served to keep her tethered to her duties as the Princess Royal of a nation. The thought of wearing Tomas’s wedding ring alongside it gave her pause, because she knew she would treasure his ring more.
‘Do you even like me?’ She hadn’t meant to voice the question. She’d meant to keep those doubts locked in her subconscious, hidden from scrutiny. Clearly, her heart had other ideas. ‘I mean, it’s a starting point, right? Liking each other.’
‘Correct.’
‘I’d take my wedding vows seriously,’ she said next. ‘I’d give it my all.’
‘As would I.’
‘I’d take no other lovers.’
‘Fewer bodies for me to bury.’
‘I can’t quite tell if you’re being serious or not.’
He smiled at that, wide and wicked. What a weapon. It made her feel all jelly, not that he needed to know that.
‘Still can’t tell,’ she informed him loftily.
‘I’d probably just feed them to the birds. No grave-digging at all.’
‘The fact that you’ve even thought about feeding people to the birds is giving me pause.’
‘So it should.’ He’d relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and his upper body looked less stiff. ‘I’m joking. But I’m also a proud, possessive man and I don’t share. If I’m going to surrender to my emotions, I aim to do it properly. I’m calling it the Claudia effect.’
And, oh, how she adored this accessible new side of him.
‘So, it’s a proper marriage you’re suggesting. None of this in-name-only business.’
‘Definitely not.’
‘What happens when I have to do my brother’s bidding and be a princess for the people?’
‘Do you want to do your brother’s bidding and be a princess for the people? Because, to my way of thinking, you give them too much unfettered access. With a child on the way, I’d expect you to pick your battles carefully and create more time for personal home-building.’
‘At your manor.’
‘ Our manor. Correct.’
She was beginning to feel very hopeful about this unexpected kidnapping with marriage attached.
‘I hear make-up sex is really intense. We should try it.’
‘I’m sure we will.’
‘Although not too often,’ she hastened to add. ‘Upon reflection, sex with you is already intense enough. I loved it.’ Maybe if she used the word love around him enough his subconscious would get the hint and associate the word with her. She closed her eyes and conjured the memory of him striding towards her in the light of the campfire. His certainty. His utter willingness to stride into camp and claim her, as if he had every right to do so and an army at his back. ‘The golden eagle was an exceptionally nice touch,’ she murmured sleepily. She hadn’t slept well for days, possibly weeks, and for the first time in weeks she wanted to surrender to the dark, knowing that Tomas would be there when she woke. ‘What’s her name?’
‘Alhena.’
‘You named her after a star.’
‘I did.’
‘You’ll wake me when we get there? It’s just... I’m so tired.’
‘Then sleep.’
She loved his voice, his presence, everything about him. ‘Don’t make me wake alone.’ She remembered that from her long-ago abduction, and the terror that had invaded her soul. ‘I don’t like waking up alone in a strange place.’
‘I won’t let you wake up alone.’
‘Promise me.’ She barely knew what she was saying. Fatigue had a hold on her now, slurring her words and robbing her of caution. ‘I’m scared I’ve done you wrong and that you’ll come to your senses and leave.’
‘On my word, you won’t wake up alone.’
Tomas drove through the night and kept his eyes on the road, never mind that they felt full of ash and grit. He’d never carried a more precious cargo. He’d never felt more sure that this was the road they should be on. No matter the fallout—and he expected plenty—he could not sit back and do nothing, not this time. He had another chance to do right by Claudia of Byzenmaach and he would not let her down. Not this time.
Claudia roused only briefly when he pulled over and took the pillows and blanket from the back and tried to make her sleeping position more comfortable. Was this normal? Was he going to spend the next many months worrying about her health and that of the baby she carried, and doing everything in his power to make her feel at home?
Yes...yes, he was.
He called Caitlin and arranged a room at the tavern, and a hearty breakfast for two, and said he’d be there in the early hours of the morning, and that he wouldn’t usually ask for someone to be waiting up for him but it couldn’t be helped. He’d pay double the rate. Triple.
‘Da sleeps light, Lord Falconer. Will you have birds and horses with you again?’
‘Just a golden eagle.’
‘Holy sh—moley!’
‘Are you sure you don’t want to be one of my apprentices?’
‘If wishes were horses, Da would be able to afford to employ enough people to replace me. Then I could.’
‘If the opening of the manor brings in enough people, Aergoveny will grow and he’ll be able to.’
‘Keep dreaming, my lord, and so will I. Come in the side door closest to the stables. There’s parking there. Gotta go. Tables won’t clear themselves and it’s Friday night.’
She rang off before he could murmur his thanks. Claudia stirred as he reached out to turn the phone off—he didn’t like those things tracking him, and no one could tell him they weren’t. He caught the gleam of her eyes in the dashboard lights.
‘Who was that?’ she murmured.
‘I called the tavern in Aergoveny. They’re keeping a room for us.’
‘But who were you speaking to? It sounded like you knew them.’
‘The innkeeper has a daughter, Caitlin. She’s about, I don’t know, fifteen or so. Does the work of three people, alongside her father. She has the best instinct for my birds that I’ve ever seen since, well, since you.’
‘Did you offer her an apprenticeship?’
He nodded. ‘She considered it for a wistful heartbeat and then informed me she couldn’t be spared. She probably can’t. But circumstances can change.’ He tried to gauge how Claudia was feeling after her two-hour nap, but the low light made it difficult. ‘How are you feeling? There’s water here and some of Lor’s sweet pastries.’
‘Maybe later. You said we were going to the manor. Why are we now staying at an inn?’
‘Changed my mind when I remembered I only had tinned beans and bitter coffee in the cupboard. This way, you’ll get breakfast.’
‘It really wouldn’t have mattered,’ she offered dryly, sitting up straighter, tucking her hair away from her face and looking out of the window at the darkness thrown by a quarter moon and a cloudless night. ‘How far away are we?’
‘We’ll be there in an hour.’
‘I need to call Cas. Ildris vouched for my safety when we went north and I don’t know where my guards are. I don’t want to start another war.’
‘Call him by all means, but your guards are a couple of miles behind us and have been all the time. Cas knows where you are, even if he doesn’t know the why of it yet.’ Silently, he gestured towards his phone. ‘You’ll have to turn it on again and hope for a signal. And it’ll come up as me when you dial anywhere so don’t expect to have a direct line to the King.’
‘Okay.’
Casimir picked up on the first ring.
‘Huh,’ she murmured. ‘I guess you have a direct line to the King now too. Fancy that.’ She put the phone on loudspeaker—a courtesy Tomas hadn’t expected. ‘Cas, I’m with Tomas.’
‘So I heard. Ildris says your abduction was quite the spectacle.’
‘I enjoyed it,’ she answered dulcetly. ‘We’re almost in Aergoveny. My fiancé—that would be Tomas—has arranged a night at the inn for us before we travel on to the manor.’
‘So you’ve told him about the baby.’
‘Well, someone told him and I confirmed it, so yes. Let’s not sweat the details. He knows. We’re eloping. Think of the money you’ll save.’
‘I see.’ Cas didn’t sound impressed.
‘As if you’ve never got ahead of yourself,’ she reminded him.
‘Put him on.’
‘I can’t, he’s driving. Very safely, I might add, if I wanted to ram home the point that I’m in good, safe hands. We’re working out our future and it’s a delicate negotiation, as you might imagine. Can you tell the guards to keep their distance?’
‘You wouldn’t be sitting there if I hadn’t already done so.’
‘You’re a wonderful brother. The best.’
‘I’m glad you think so. I’m also Byzenmaach’s King, so put your fiancé on the phone and turn the speaker off. I want a private word.’
She hesitated. Tomas didn’t, reaching out to pick up a set of earphones from the console and handing them to her. She gave it all back, set up for privacy, and he sighed and put the earbuds in his ears. He’d known he was pushing his luck. It was a measure of the King’s trust in him that no one had yet interfered. He wanted to keep it that way.
‘Your Majesty.’
‘Ballsy move, Lord Sokolov.’
‘Unavoidable. Your sister was being uncommonly indecisive.’
‘That or she’s playing the long game and has you exactly where she wants you.’
‘Maybe.’ He hadn’t ruled that out. ‘Makes no difference to me. I need special dispensation to wed. The innkeeper’s a celebrant.’ He’d discovered that on his last visit. ‘It can happen tonight if required.’
‘Hey!’ said Claudia indignantly. ‘That is not required.’
Tomas liked to think he quelled her with a glance, but it seemed unlikely. ‘Tomorrow, then.’ Look at him, changing his plans at a moment’s notice. And they called him intractable.
‘Sunday,’ she countered.
Two days away.
‘Your sister says we’re marrying on Sunday. I say tomorrow evening .’ There he went, being tractable again . He shot Claudia a swift narrow-eyed glance. ‘That’s it. I’m done negotiating.’
‘I’ll clear my weekend,’ the other man offered dryly.
This was his king . ‘My apologies, Your Majesty. I was speaking to your sister.’
‘I think we shall just turn up at this inn of yours tomorrow afternoon and take it from there. It’ll add to the mystique. Ana says she’ll bring Sophia, Silas and Lor, and clothes for us all, and will inform your apprentices and the horse master.’
‘I appreciate it.’ What else could he say? He was being given far more leeway than he deserved.
‘Make her happy, Tomas. My sister deserves to be loved for exactly who she is. She’s a remarkable woman. A unique treasure. I don’t surrender her lightly.’
‘Noted.’
‘Several of my father’s old guard politicians are trying to tear her down because of the progress she represents, and they’ll come for you as well. No more flying under the radar. You’re going to be too close to the throne. They’ll shred your reputation and try to ruin whatever you attempt to build. You need to learn to play the power game.’
‘Not a problem.’
‘One last question. Do you love her?’
What was love? He was attracted to Claudia beyond measure. He wanted to spend time with her, laugh with her, fight with her, and be that person she turned to in the darkness. He wanted to see her cradling his children, teaching them the names of the stars and mountains nearby. He would die before he let any harm befall her. No matter how unruly his feelings, they were fixed on her.
‘I’m getting there,’ he muttered. ‘And, as you can imagine, it’s quite the trip.’