Queen's Guard 01 The Queen's Guard: Violet

by Traci E Hall

  ”A demon.” Sarah crossed her arms over her belly.

  “I left a note for Queen Eleanor, but she’s gone for the day. I have to go now or risk angering Raoul. And what would be the purpose? My mission is to get close to him, and he’s instigated this meeting, making it his idea instead of my plan. It’s perfect, really.”

  “I agree,” Mamie said, reaching for her green silk robe by the bed. “No worries. You will be in public and can scream for help if need be.”

  “Or wear the pendant with the fire cream Sarah made,” Catherine said. “One swipe of that near his eyes, and he’ll cry like an infant.”

  “He’s not trying to kill me, for mercy’s sake. If anything, I think he wants to see what I know.”

  “Oh, good.” Fay grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Spying on a spy.”

  “A sharp poke of a hairpin will remind him to keep his distance,” Catherine advised.

  “A hard grip on his balls will do the same.” Mamie rifled through a basket of scarves on top of the trunk until she found two in ivory. “Bella, I know you are still upset with me, but I don’t want you hurt. Be careful while you are fulfilling your duty to the queen. I’m to talk to John Axuch, the emperor’s chief advisor. Do you think I should wrap his wrists in these as I pummel him with questions?”

  “Mamie is right. I see the stiffness in your shoulders. Just listen.” Fay rubbed the tense muscles at Bella’s nape. “The queen is quite talented at sorting through what we think are meaningless words, yet she finds a jewel in the rubble. Enjoy the afternoon if you can.”

  Bella nodded her thanks. “I will listen with all my senses, but I’ll be too nervous to enjoy the day.”

  “Enjoy?” Sarah lifted her hands and glared at Fay and Mamie. “Be on guard, Bella. This man is dangerous, and you will do well to remember that.”

  Raoul’s menacing presence should have terrified her, yet her new life in the Queen’s Guard was more important than her old fears.

  She chose a gown in pale ivory and blue with lace at the bodice and sleeves and low-heeled silver shoes.

  “My arrows don’t go with this dress,” she said, only partly joking.

  Fay helped her with her hair, twisting the thick ebony mass into a tight bun, placing extra hairpins beneath the thin lace veil as weapons.

  “Will you wear the pendant?” Sarah dangled the silver chain over two fingers.

  “Non.” What if she accidentally poisoned herself? “I will be fine.”

  “Of course you’ll be fine. And you look lovely,” Fay said. “I would tell you anything you wanted to know.” Catherine smiled and thrust a shawl at her. “Scrumptious,” Mamie decreed.

  “I will have Jonathon follow you. Stealthily,” Sarah said.

  “My thanks and, non, Sarah, I can do this.” Bella slipped from the room before she could change her mind and hide beneath the bed.

  In all the years of abuse, hiding had never been her style. As her heels clicked against the marble tiles, she remembered the dreadful sound of her husband’s footsteps, the sickening feeling of his abusive touch. An old man, he was cruel with his mind as well as his hands. The queen’s offer of protection had secured Bella’s loyalty forever, and there was no monster she wouldn’t face down to prove the queen had chosen wisely.

  Raoul embodied fierce strength, but he didn’t instill fear in her.

  She stepped into the warm sun, realizing immediately she didn’t need the blue shawl. She considered running it back to the room, but time was of the essence. What would Raoul do if she was late?

  Her husband’s anger had included curled fists and bloodied noses. One time she’d not been quick enough, and it had gained her a broken arm. Shivering, she quickly slung the lightweight fabric over one shoulder and let it drape, taking cautious steps down the grass hill sloping beneath the bridge. Almost there, she tripped on the fringed hem of the shawl.

  “Oh!” She wheeled backward, bracing herself for a fall to the grass but instead felt a hard, male body catch her in his muscled arms. No chest armor bit into her back, no sword clanged against her hip, and the overwhelming scent of sandalwood did not assault her nostrils. She’d slipped past Jonathon in the castle, wanting to meet Raoul without his shadowing presence.

  She was in the arms of the man who had threatened Sarah—and her senses. She slowly looked up, blinded by the sun but certain.

  Rather than frightened, she felt ridiculously safe. “Monsieur.”

  “Mademoiselle.” He dipped his head as he steadied her so she could stand on her own. “Shall we officially introduce ourselves? I am Raoul Laskaris, personal guard to Emperor Manuel.”

  “I am Isabella de Lacey, in service to the queen.” She curtsied, then backed away from his imposing body. “Bella to my friends.”

  He raised a dark brow. “Men and women cannot be friends.”

  Ripples of panic threatened her composure as she searched his rugged face. “That is not what Queen Eleanor teaches.” She tried imagining Raoul reclining on a blanket beneath the apple tree, peeling a pear to feed her slice by slice, but all that came to mind was a warrior striding from the ocean as if he’d barely survived it.

  “I’ve heard what she teaches.” He exhaled, his chest heaving.

  Drawing on courage new to her, Bella adjusted her shawl around her shoulders, the thin fabric becoming a protective barrier as she met his gaze. “If you are worried about improprieties, then please use the formal address: Lady Isabella.”

  He gestured to the left with his strong jaw. “This way, Lady.”

  He seemed determined to dislike her, when she needed him under her spell. Maybe Catherine could teach her a few tricks, and though it might sting her pride, she would ask Mamie for help as well.

  How would listening to a man who grunted rather than spoke bring her closer to the emperor’s secrets?

  She needed better skills.

  He turned, walking to the cobbled street at the bottom of the hill. “Come.”

  She watched him, given no choice but to follow. “Where are we going? I am quite content to return to my rooms if this is not a convenient time for you to … do whatever it is you wanted to do.” He strode in silence, so she spoke to his broad back. “I told you I will not have a tryst.” Now where had that thought come from?

  His response was a low chuckle.

  At the base of the wooden bridge, he finally stopped to wait for her.

  Bella’s belly fluttered with dread as she looked at the black cavern ahead. “What’s in there?”

  “A private tunnel leading to the bazaar.”

  “Bazaar?” Place to be beheaded? Torn apart by a hippopotamus? Gouged to death by a rhinoceros? Her mind spun with possibilities.

  “Like the Roman Agora, an outdoor market. You can buy food, spices.” He shrugged. “Trinkets.”

  Bella felt her cheeks burn. “I did not think to bring coin. Perhaps another time?” When I know how to poison you, entrance you, or make you believe I am someone you want to know.

  “You came at my insistence. I will treat you.” He bowed his head. “Emperor Manuel will treat you. He is generous to his guests. Do you not agree?”

  Bella stared at the entrance to the walled tunnel, her pulse beating wildly at her throat. “We have been treated kindly.”

  ”Are you surprised?” His eyes narrowed.

  “Non.” Had she given anything away with her facial expression? Having learned long ago to school her features, she swallowed her fear. “The generosity of the emperor and empress is renowned and is what kept us going during some of the most difficult parts of our journey.” Telling the truth saved her from lying, something she was learning to do well.

  “Then you shall have no issue with accepting a token from the market.”

  She exhaled, briefly examining the tips of her embroidered shoes. What harm would it do? And perhaps it would bring them closer. “It would be my honor.”

  He offered his elbow and she accepted the invitation, placing her fi
ngers on the sleeve of his black tunic. Barely touching his forearm, Bella inhaled nervously, breathing in his scent. She would bet every last coin in her purse, which she’d left in her room, that he wore no colognes. Salt. Ocean. Male.

  She was in too deep already and hadn’t even left the palace grounds. “Should we invite the other ladies?”

  “Do you not trust me?”

  Bella stumbled over a loose stone, but he steadied her.

  The tunnel was black as coal except for the dim sconces they passed every five steps. A fine mist coated the stones underfoot.

  His silence added to her anxiety.

  She moistened her lips, speaking softly. “I am here because you ordered me to join you or you would have Sarah beaten in public.” Bella’s pulse flickered. Remembered angst from being locked in the dungeon of her husband’s castle collided with the real fear she fought now. Was she a fool for putting her trust in this stranger? Even for the queen?

  She’d promised to gain Raoul’s confidence. “In a situation such as this, I would normally have a chaperone. Surely you don’t allow your ladies to wander the streets alone.”

  “Never. Yet you came.”

  His cool tone seemed to mock her, awakening her anger.

  “Oui. Here I am, flouting rules and convention. You may kill me if that is your wish. Nobody will know where I am or what happened to me.” Breathing in, Bella caught the faint odor of fish. “You could throw me out to sea.” She spared him a quick glance. “You seem comfortable there.”

  He chuckled. “I would just as soon feed you to the leopards. More practical. And your body won’t wash up to shore.”

  Bella’s gasp echoed off the damp walls. “Those giant spotted beasts sitting near the emperor last eve?” She’d seen the large teeth, the sleek muscle, their predatory golden eyes. And Jonathon had said they walked freely in the city. She had also noticed Raoul had no fear of them.

  “They aren’t beasts.”

  Was he offended? Bella lightly bit her lower lip. “I would take my chances in the ocean, please.”

  He stopped suddenly, pulling her to face him. A lock of onyx hair fell over his brow. “I am not going to kill you.”

  Her heel slid on the wet stone, and again Raoul held her upright.

  Bella sensed he did not make a habit of lying. He was so large a man he had no reason to run from the truth. She believed him. “My thanks.” For not letting me fall and for not killing me.

  “Take care. It’s damp here. Cisterns run beneath the city’s ground level, with aqueducts bringing fresh water to all parts of the city.”

  Bella studied the cobblestone road, imagining a flooded river beneath her feet. Is this the information the queen looked for? “Are we almost to the ba—market?”

  “A bit farther. You’ll smell chicken kabobs and roasted goat before you hear the jangle of castanets and coins being spent.”

  She trembled at the unknown. Not with apprehension but with—she examined her feelings closely—unsullied excitement. An emotion she barely remembered from childhood, before her parents died, before the convent, and before marrying an abusive old man.

  “You shiver.” He paused, then fitted her shawl snugly across her shoulders.

  She held back her denial, remembering he liked his ladies demure. Dipping her head, she whispered, “Thank you.”

  “You have nothing to fear with me, Lady Isabella.”

  His kind action belied his earlier gruff behavior. Who was he really? She dared not let herself fall too far beneath his spell. Bella smiled, allowing her mouth to quiver. “You’re the most feared man in Constantinople. The servants speak of your temper.”

  “The servants need their tongues torn out.”

  She prayed he wasn’t serious. “I’ll never say who told me.”

  “A woman who can keep a secret?” He dropped his arm, letting her hand fall to her side.

  “And why not?” Bella was good at keeping secrets. She’d hidden her husband’s abuse their entire married life; she concealed her fear of being alone. “Tell me a secret, and I swear upon the Virgin Mary that I shall never say a word.” She felt a chill come not from the wet stones but from Raoul.

  “I would rather feed you to the wild cats than trust you with a secret of mine. Watch your step, Lady.” He crooked an arm again, bouncing the elbow so she would accept it.

  She shook her head, blinking as his charm fled and wondering at the depth of loathing she’d heard in his voice. Was it for her? For all women? She didn’t want to probe a wound, but then she heard Eleanor’s voice at the back of her head suggesting she heed the subject and explore it.

  “Monsieur, it is not my place to question.” She kept her gaze on the road and bit her cheek to keep any hint of sarcasm from her tone. “But am I to believe you are walking me safely through this tunnel simply to prove Emperor Manuel’s goodwill by buying me a ribbon?” Perhaps she shouldn’t have dared to tease him in his angry state of mind. She held her breath, waiting. Her hands clasped the edges of her shawl, prepared to let it fall if she needed to run away from him.

  “No.”

  His short reply gave her no clue. Stay? Go? She waited, her heart racing, her nerves urging her to escape.

  “I am showing you the emperor’s power.” He walked so close to her she could feel the heat of his skin. The pounding in her ears was her own heart, not his. It was possible he didn’t have one.

  ”Emperor Manuel’s power?” She exhaled, the dim surroundings magnifying the sound.

  “You make the same mistake all westerners do when they visit the Eastern Roman Empire.” He muttered something in Greek. A curse? Then he reverted to Latin, their common language. “The rules are not the same here. Chivalry and knightly codes of honor mean nothing. What matters is brute strength. A man must be able to protect what is his.” His last words were so sharp they stabbed at the tenuous peace between them.

  Bella forced herself to release the scarf, letting it slide down around her arms. She remembered the talks between their rulers, the promises made. Would they not be kept? Hair rose on her neck as she imagined the danger of Emperor Manuel’s enmity. “Your liege swore we would have safe passage through his land.”

  “You’ve had it, and you shall again. Not that your army has cared much for the ground it’s trampled. Or the people.” His accusations ricocheted in the tunnel.

  “You don’t understand.” Bella could empathize with his misplaced anger, and she sought to explain. “We offered to pay for supplies but were turned away, fed with paltry amounts dropped in baskets from city walls—not near enough for an entire army. And what we could purchase came at a high cost.” Bella’s voice rang as she defended their army.

  Raoul scratched the dark stubble along his jaw. “You had the misfortune of following Emperor Conrad’s army. They pillaged and raped without cause. You cannot blame the Greeks for protecting what was left in their towns.”

  Bella heard the underlying compassion as Raoul spoke, so at odds with his devil-take-it demeanor. She stepped away, cool in the face of his passion. “I meant not to provoke an argument but to clarify that our journey was not all spiced wine and roses. We thought—we were promised aid from Emperor Manuel that didn’t come.”

  Raoul’s body suddenly straightened.

  Bella winced at the unexpected movement, ashamed of her reaction and grateful for the darkness. What would he understand of shame, anyway?

  “Many promises have been broken.” The way he said it was the death stroke of their conversation, and they walked on in silence.

  She lifted her nose when the first of many unusual spicy scents wafted down the tunnel. Tarragon? Chicken? They had to be close to the market. Being near gave her the courage to ask, “Why is there a separate tunnel leading from the palace through here?”

  “Privacy.”

  “But it’s open.” She looked over her shoulder, back where they’d begun. Not a person was around.

  “Only on one side, Lady Isabella.”


  They rounded the bend, and she thought she heard music. With relief, she realized that if she screamed now, surely someone would hear.

  Instead of an opening in front of her, though, a dark wooden gate blocked them from sight. That explained the muffled sounds and scents.

  She was no closer to escape.

  Raoul slipped to the side, fiddled with something she couldn’t see, and suddenly a small door opened to the right. He pointed to the narrow entrance, and Bella took a deep breath. For all she knew, there could be an arena filled with hungry leopards on the other side.

  Should she trust him? Should she run the other way? She wished for the poisoned pendant, just to have something in her limited arsenal. She should have brought her arrows or sword. And I, a guard for the queen, she chided herself.

  The sounds of merriment and bartering in an unfamiliar language came through clearly, pulling her toward the chaos of humanity. But part of her—the part learning to spy for the queen—held her back.

  Bella shyly placed her hand on Raoul’s forearm, feeling the hard muscle beneath her fingers. “Queen Eleanor is no fool, monsieur. She saw what the armies did to Greek land and is sorry for it. King Louis has prayed for guidance and salvation every morning, noon, and night. Our cause is honorable, coming from a desire to see Edessa return to a Christian state.” Bella let her eyes fill before blinking away tears. “Yet your emperor has just signed a twelve-year truce with the Turks, our enemy and once yours. Tell me, monsieur, what we are supposed to think of that.”

  CHAPTER 6

  With effort, Raoul kept his hands unclenched. “That is the royal’s concern and none of yours.” The twelve-year truce had been signed in a moment of desperation by Manuel. With King Roger of Sicily fighting on one side and the Turks on the other and now the German and French armies marching disrespectfully through his land, Manuel was doing what a ruler must to keep his citizens safe behind the walls of not only Constantinople but all the Eastern Roman Empire.