Revealing A Marchioness's Heart (The Chronicles of Loyalty)

by Jessie Bennett

  He let out a long breath. His muscles ached, and he was transported to a time when they were together. After a long ride in the country, there had been a hot bath drawn for him to ease all the aches and pains that the horse had caused. Just when he was submerged and relaxing, Mary had walked in, naked, and slipped into the tub with him. Before they had made love, he thought it was the most comforting, safest moment of his life with her in his arms, in the warm tub. He’d never wanted to move from that room, that moment in time. Nevertheless, all too soon, it had been over. He would kill to go back there now.

  “What are your conditions?” he asked and she laughed.

  “Conditions? What makes you think that I want anything out of this, aside from seeing Nora happy?”

  “Because you always have an ulterior motive, Mary,” he said. “Obviously. You had an ulterior motive when you married me for status and money, and there is one now. And who knows how many others in the many lives you have lived.”

  She looked taken aback by this. “Alexander, I married you for love,” she said softly. “I’m sorry that you think otherwise.”

  “Love, and a few other lies,” he answered, and she rolled her eyes. “Your conditions, Mary.”

  “I will find Nora a good marriage, and she will not be in even the slightest bit of danger if I can help it. You will be privy to these choices; I’m sure that you can find out things about these matches that even I cannot.”

  “It is the king’s place to make matches for Nora,” Alexander said and Mary quirked an eyebrow.

  “It is technically not, since we still have guardianship of her.”

  “Yes, I don’t think that applies when we abandon her for her formative years,” he spat bitterly, but Mary wasn’t listening. “You have the king’s ear, then?”

  “You let me take care of that,” she said smoothly, and it sent chills down his spine.

  Had she wormed her way into high society so much that she had the king’s ear? He didn’t put it past her with her smooth voice and twinkling eyes. There was no one who could resist Mary’s charm.

  “Although her relationship with Ricardo is not to my liking.”

  Hearing her actually speak Ricardo’s name made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

  “You will not touch Ricardo,” he said. “He’s a good man and when it comes time for Nora to make a marriage, he will relinquish her.”

  “I will trade you that,” she met his eyes. “For my condition.”

  “Which is?” he asked, as evenly as he could manage. The way her soul worked, he wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted the head of the firstborn child.

  “I want to see her,” Mary spoke softly. “You can bring her to me or direct her to me, I care not. But I want to see her.”

  He laughed cruelly. “Do you think for one second, viper, that I would let you have influence over that child? You won’t ever see her again.”

  “It would be a shame if Ricardo met with a tragic accident,” Mary said, and he saw a knife flash in her skirts. Any other woman and he would have laughed this threat off. However, this was Mary, and she had always been deadly.

  She wasn’t like other wives, afraid to kill a chicken or skin a fish. Whenever they had gone out hunting, she was always the first to draw a bow or shoot a gun. It seemed to delight her to deliver the killing shot, as if she had not just extinguished a life. She was terrifying and he had once found it so very attractive. Now, he was just plain terrified. He knew in his heart that anyone she wanted dead would likely not draw breath past tomorrow morning.

  It was an impossible choice: Nora or Ricardo. He couldn’t make it, not without taking himself down with it. “I’ll think about it,” he said, meeting her green orbs. “How do I know you won’t whisper poison in her ear, turn her against me?”

  Mary cocked her head, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

  “If it was for you, that would be easy,” she answered bitterly. “But Nora needs you in her life, and so she will remain positioned, as you say.”

  He met her gaze for a long moment. He had dreamed about this time for so long, in soberness and in drunken hazes. He had dreamed about it, waking up every morning in a cold sweat, grasping at the false reality. He had practiced in his head, in the best and worst of moments, what he was going to say, how all these feelings would come out. Now that he was looking her in the face, nothing was coming out. So instead, he dipped his head, looking at the ground. He could barely see the pebbles at his feet. Although it was noon, the alley was dark. Trust Mary to find the darkest place in the whole city to drag him into for their conversation.

  “I’ll think about it,” he replied again. He was pretty sure that if he looked at her again, his heart would stop. Mary was the love of his life and the bane of his existence. Nevertheless, it was clear that in this moment that he would always belong to her, no matter how much he tried to break free.

  “Good enough for me, love,” she kissed him on the cheek, making his entire face tingle.

  His eyes brimmed with tears, and he didn’t dare look up. He watched her skirts sweep away, brushing gently against the pebbles. He waited a full minute before he looked up again, finding himself alone. Only then did he let the tears spill over, hyperventilating in his emotion. It was overpowering, enough to break his heart all over again.

  He wasn’t sure how long he stayed in the alleyway, but it was at least an hour. His head ached and he felt dehydrated and broken, and he eventually stumbled out of the alley. There was still the ball; there was still duty to finish. The others must be wondering what had happened to him.

  He wasn’t sure what he would say when he got back, to explain his absence or his pallor. However, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

  He walked back to the palace, looking over his shoulder every moment. Hoping and not hoping for one more glimpse of Mary. He wasn't an idiot to think that maybe everything was going to be alright now. Nevertheless, he did have a glimmer of hope that he hadn't seen in a long while.

  7

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Nora was glad to be back at the palace with her full wardrobe. Despite the fact that Alexander hadn’t appeared with any suitable ladies to help her, she managed, with Ricardo’s help, to struggle into a dress and pull her hair up in a knot. Threading a tiara through her hair, Ricardo let out a long breath of appreciation.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said, kissing her on the cheek as he sank onto the bed. Outside, the sun was dying and he glanced at her again. “If Alexander doesn’t get back soon, I’ll escort you to the ball.”

  She grinned, glancing at herself in the polished silver mirror. “You know I’d love that. But aren’t you worried about him?”

  “No,” Ricardo shrugged. “If we don’t have specific duty, Alexander is known for wandering off on his own, lost in his own thoughts.”

  “But do you think he’s alright?”

  “He’s fine,” Ricardo knew instantly that he was. The two were so close that they were practically each other’s twin in battle, never having to look for where the other moved. If anything was wrong with Alexander, he would feel it. “He’s probably just having a drink or two to level his nerves.”

  “Well, I hope he gets back soon,” she replied. “Dinner will start early and the king will not be impressed if I’m late. He’ll probably try to marry me to a merchant if I am.”

  “And what’s wrong with a merchant?” Ricardo cocked an eyebrow and she turned in horror.

  “Nothing!” she cried, aghast that she had insulted him. However, he just laughed, so she relaxed, going to kiss him. “Don’t scare me like that.”

  “I can tell you are born of nobility, love,” he replied, and then deepened the kiss.

  It was that compromising position that Alexander found them in when he walked into the room. Normally, he would make some disgruntled noise of disapproval. However, his head was still with Mary in the alleyway, and he was taken over by the innocence, the purity of their love. Ri
cardo and Nora seemed to know no bounds, no judgment. Then, once upon a time, when he was Nora’s age, he had overlooked everything as well. He knew Mary wasn’t noble born, but he didn’t know much else about her. That had nearly gotten all of them killed.

  He had stayed with Mary far later than he should, and stayed in the tavern much later than that. The still logical part of his mind knew that he shouldn’t be on duty in this state; but he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. He was still deadly, drunk or not, and he wasn’t about to leave Nora alone, especially now. Ricardo or Peter would do their best to protect her, it was true. However, they wouldn’t know exactly how much danger she was in now that Mary was roaming nearby. He wanted to trust her, he did. He wanted to believe her more than anything; that would be easy. Nevertheless, he’d chosen a path that wasn’t easy long ago, and he had to stick to it, even now.

  “Ahem,” he cleared his throat and both of them jumped, looking caught.

  “Alexander!” Nora cried. “Where have you been? Did you head back to Calais to look for ladies for me?”

  “Um,” he managed, remembering that he was supposed to have found her a few suitable ladies. “I was…delayed, I’m sorry. But you seem to have gotten ready all by yourself.”

  “I had some…help,” Nora blushed, glancing at Ricardo. “Are you going to the ball like that?” he still wore the grime of the road, and she wasn’t sure the king would let him in, even as a guard.

  “Would you prefer I dress as the marques?” he asked, and both their jaws fell open.

  “No…” Nora stuttered, but Ricardo could sense that there was something terribly wrong.

  “What were you delayed by?” he asked, moving off the bed to step closer to his friend.

  Alexander shook his head. “Nothing,” he replied. “A drink or two.”

  “Alright…” Ricardo didn’t believe him for a moment, but he held a hand out for Nora just the same. “Come on. Leave Lieutenant Grumpy alone for a bit.”

  When Nora got a little bit closer to Alexander, her eyes widened and she froze. She, like him, recognized the familiar scent. There was no mistaking it, even if it lingered on him in minuscule amounts.

  He saw her pallor change and he knew that she had figured it out. Without thinking, he grabbed Nora’s arm. “She’ll stay with me, Ricardo,” he said. “The marchioness and I need to discuss security concerns at the ball.”

  Ricardo’s brow furrowed. “What security concerns?” he asked, glancing between Alexander and Nora. “What has come up?”

  “I will discuss it with you when you need to know,” Alexander held his gaze steadily and evenly. “Until then, rest assured that I can keep the marchioness safe.”

  Nora took Alexander’s arm, wavering slightly on the spot as she glanced between him and Ricardo. Eventually, she swallowed, glancing at Ricardo. Ricardo was watching his best friend like a hawk; he knew the truth already. Too many times, Alexander had showed up worse for wear.

  “Ricardo, it’s fine,” she tried to reassure him. Ricardo didn’t believe either of them, but he could sense that something was going on, and it was something serious. He was a bit hurt that Alexander was keeping him out of the loop. For years, it had been Ricardo who was in the loop, listening to his best friend’s darkest secrets. Now, he was clearly part of the outsider crowd.

  Resolving to find out later, he nodded, giving the two the space they needed. However, he took up a post outside the door; half to make sure no one entered and half to eavesdrop.

  Once alone, Nora met Alexander’s eyes. “You found her,” she said, recognizing the perfume, but also the haunted look in his eyes. What else could make him look like a ghost? “You found Mary.” Her eyes lit up, her voice hopeful. It nearly broke his heart to see the happiness in her eyes. For Nora, this was a happy thing; something that would make her excited. Her eyes sparkled and she gripped his arms. “Where is she? Is she alright? Is she well? Can I see her? Of course, I need to see her. Oh, you have to tell me everything. Where has she been, what has she been doing, how is she? Does she need anything? Does she have a place anymore? Of course, I could probably find her a room here, or somewhere nearby. I know that you didn’t give her any money, I understand that of course, but it wouldn’t be so bad if I helped her out, would it? Does she still have her title?”

  By the time Nora actually stopped to breathe, Alexander felt his head spinning. He didn’t know what question to answer first, it was overwhelming. Therefore, he gave her the answer that he felt would be the most accurate to all of her questions.

  “No,” he said simply. Her eyes were confused as she tried to figure out exactly what he meant.

  “No?’ she asked, confused. A lock of hair fell into her eyes, and he brushed it back, the same way he had done when she was a child. “No…to everything?”

  “No to most things,” he replied. “Including the fact that you are out of your mind if you think that I would let you see her. She is a monster, Nora, and you don’t know who she really is.”

  “She’s Mary,” Nora said, and there was a crack in her voice. He didn’t want her to cry, not in the moment where he felt like he would break himself.

  “You know, it never even occurred to me to ask if that was her real name,” he said, breaking their proximity and sinking onto her bed. It was luxuriously soft, and although he would never admit it, far more comfortable than the beds in the barracks. This was just one more thing he had given up when he hid his title from the world. “You need to understand, Nora, that sometimes, the idea of hope is enough. The idea of love, the idea of happiness...it's almost all we nobles have.”

  Nora gave him a look, drifting to sit beside him. Then she asked the fatal question that she had asked when they first met. “Are you alright?”

  “Oddly,” he tilted his head. It may have been the liquor, or the exhaustion, unable to process proper emotion, but he actually felt better than he had before he had run into her. The past five years had been a frantic search, an acid pit in his stomach and a constantly beating heart, hoping in every new place for a glimpse of her. Now that she was here, and he knew she was alive, it was like a weight off of his shoulders. He still was angry with her; still couldn’t stand to think of the two of them together. However, it was a different kind of peace now.

  “Yeah,” Nora said, after a moment of silence. “I think I understand.”

  They sat for awhile, two kindred souls, in silence until she realized the time. Struggling to pull herself up, she held out her hand. “We should go. It wouldn’t do me any good to be late, it’s not like I can claim the journey was rough.”

  He pulled himself up, feeling weariness beyond his years. “Are you alright?” he asked. “Knowing that she is alive and well? Because I know you loved her, Nora, and I know you missed her. But you also have to live with the knowledge that I won’t let you see her; I can’t. With my dying breath, I will keep you two apart, lest she does any more harm.”

  Nora took a deep breath, searching his eyes. “So what are you two plotting then?”

  “Huh?” he asked and she smiled.

  “Really, you expect me to believe that you are never going to see her again, after all this? I know that you have plans, even if they aren’t for a romantic reunion.”

  It was his turn to sigh, averting his eyes out the window to the dying sunset before he spoke again. “Mary has risen high in the world, apparently, and her political contacts are numerous. I shouldn’t like to guess how she got them, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. She has agreed to assist in your husband search, and she won’t settle for a baron.”

  That made Nora grin, her eyes lighting up. “Mary always did understand.”

  “Nora,” he tried to convey the seriousness of it, but it was difficult to speak through two bottles of wine. “This is alarming, that she knows who you were sent to see, and when we were getting back. Even if in some alternative universe we trust Mary, it means that there are many others out there with this information. Your security
needs to be tightened.”

  “Tightened?” her jaw dropped. “How can it possibly be tightened? I’m not even allowed to stand in the garrison courtyard, occupied by other guards, I might add. How can I possibly have more security?”

  He thought on this for a moment, before speaking. “Your movements are too public, if they are dictated by the king. The king, his whole council of advisors, the servants, so many people in the room are there to hear plans like that. Logic says that one of them could easily be a rat. We trust Jerrico; we could add him to our group of regulars. And Nathan Rambles, you've met him before, should be brought in on this plan. If anyone is going to come up with something foolproof, it's him. ”

  “So how exactly are you going to tell the king that he can’t know his own plans to marry me to someone who won’t threaten him?” Nora was curious as to the logic of this one idea. She had always trusted him, but this time she wondered if there was just too much wine in the way. “Tell the king that I’m really honestly not interested in his throne? Tell him that I just want to go back to my country estate and have things the way they used to be?”

  “I’ll re-claim my guardianship over you,” he said, calmly and evenly.

  Her jaw fell open at that. She had expected many responses from him, but she had thought that this was no longer an option. After all, he had made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with his old life anymore. Looking into his eyes, however, she found that he was serious. “Really?” she asked, just to be sure that she hadn’t misheard.

  “Don’t look so surprised.” His voice almost sounded sad. “Have you ever known me to shirk my duties? I know that we tried before, and it didn't work, Nora, but this is different. The king didn't approve the marriage, but he will approve the guardianship, he has to. Besides...” Alexander took a deep breath. “Since we've been away, the country has basically fallen to the Crown Prince anyways. And a new rule gives us a new lease on life. On hope. Do you think that I have forgotten your smile? Do you think that I have forgotten how much I want to keep you safe?”