Desire and Duty (The Consort's Chronicles Book 1)

by Jarvis, E. C.

  She requested fruit and dry toast for breakfast in place of anything which required cutlery to eat.

  XII – Requests

  Averys didn’t bring Stevens or anyone else into their room that night. He didn’t even ask for her services. At dinner, he had seemed distracted and angry, so she simply kept her head down, the perfectly obedient wife, and followed him around, ready to jump if he chose to bark. Instead, he simply flopped into bed, forgetting to shutter the lamp, and began snoring thirty seconds later.

  She paced the room in the dim lamplight, the cool tile floor helping to balance out her hot, bare feet. It seemed inevitable that she would have to endure Lusk’s attention and put up with whatever odd sexual appetites he possessed. She had the feeling that a proclivity for sticking foreign objects into her was simply the cherry on what might prove to be an extremely unpalatable cake. As much as she told herself to stop imagining what other awful things he would enjoy doing, her mind didn’t listen. Instead, it provided a myriad of vivid images she couldn’t push away, no matter how much she paced up and down.

  Eventually, she settled herself beside the window and looked out at the night sky. In the distance across the city, the lights from the tall ships on the ocean could be seen as they headed out to deeper waters. She pondered the notion of slipping out of the palace, if she could glide past the guards as Nathanial would and slip away through the winding streets all the way down to the docks and stowaway. What kind of a life might wait for her if she tried? She doubted it would be any easier than staying behind. If she tried to steal some trinket to sell at market for money, the buyer might become suspicious and report her, especially as news of her disappearance would probably spread like wildfire. It didn’t seem like a fairly balanced choice. She didn’t even want to think of what might happen to her family if she did leave, and remaining in the palace seemed to hold as much risk of death at every turn as escaping into the world. At the least, she hoped it would be quick and painless if it came to that.

  Lights on the long road leading up to the palace caught her eye, a steam carriage chugging along at a steady pace. She checked the clock and frowned as she realised it was midnight. They didn’t usually receive visitors at that time.

  As the vehicle reached the large, ornate iron gates and the guardsman spoke with the driver, she watched intently. A guard held up a lantern to the back door as it opened, and a figure stepped out. She felt a jolt run from her toes to her heart as the familiar red hair flicked across the lamplight in her vision before disappearing again. She pressed her fingers and nose to the window, watching intently as the dark figure walked the remainder of the journey up the large path, his steps slow and laboured. He may even have been limping until he turned off in the direction of the barracks at the end of the west wing, presumably to report.

  She sucked in a shaky breath and smeared her tear-covered cheek on the windowpane.

  “What?” Averys grunted from the bed.

  “Hmm?”

  “What are you crying about now?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Well it’s a bit late for that. What is it?”

  “I just…it’s the pregnancy.”

  “Hmm. Stop the noise.”

  She opened her mouth to respond and then thought better of it. What would she respond with? Yes, Sire? Yes, Sir? Yes, Oh Indomitably Supreme One? Her eyes rolled and she muffled a laugh at the thought. Laughing at him when he’d expressly told her to shut up seemed like a dangerous idea.

  Then her thoughts returned to Nathanial, relief washing over her tense shoulders. He wasn’t dead. Though, now that she was pregnant, she really had no need to pester him for sex, but every part of her body started to ache for him. She wanted to rush down there and throw herself into his arms and never let go. Logically, the emotion was entirely irrational; there had been no deep declaration of love between them. Still, her heart beat a little faster at the thought of seeing him again, along with the spark of hope that he might be able to deal with her Lusk problem in some way.

  The next day, she found herself wandering in the warm Spring light, idly thumbing the flower buds on the plants in the rose garden. The garden was conveniently positioned next to the barracks, a large building built of red and yellow brick, quite a few years newer than the original palace structure but still ancient in its design. The two buildings linked together underground. From her favoured position in the garden, Lenora could see straight through a small gate in the wall surrounding the garden and into the parade ground. Two soldiers flanked the gate, though they were positioned on the other side of the wall, more to keep soldiers from getting through to the palace grounds than to keep wayward Consorts from getting through to the barracks.

  She’d wandered back and forth, spending some time perched on the edge of an ornate, unused fountain, the water sitting stagnant, to take the weight off her feet between lengthy pacing sessions. The soldiers had been training for over an hour, marching up and down, clutching their rifles in one arm whilst the other swung back and forth in perfect timing with the man in front. She had found it quite mesmerising at first, but now it just seemed incredibly repetitive and monotonous. Her true attention was trained upon the door.

  When she’d first come out, she’d noticed a collection of high-ranking men heading inside, their pace determined and faces sullen. Less than ten minutes after that, Barentyn, Averys, and Lusk followed. There was clearly some meeting going on, presumably regarding Nathanial. But as the hours dragged on with no appearance of any of the men, she started to wonder what the point was of sitting and staring at the door? It wouldn’t tell her much, even if she did see them leave.

  She wished once again for some small measure of Nathanial’s skill and confidence; her chances of getting anywhere near the barracks in broad daylight, above or below ground, seemed slim. Despite being the royal Consort, she had no power or sway over matters of state, and Averys made it clear to everyone that she was not involved in his affairs.

  A shiver snaked down her spine, odd in the warm air. She turned and almost fell straight off the edge of the fountain when she saw Nathanial crouched down in the water behind her. He gripped her wrist to stop her from collapsing to the ground.

  “What are you doing in the water?” she whispered.

  “I’m being discrete. Don’t look at me. You’re being watched.”

  “Of course.” She turned around to face the gate, unable to see who or where her alleged watcher was but undoubting of the fact that there was someone keeping an eye on her. “Are you well?”

  “We do not have time to discuss my health. I have news to share with you. Can you come to me tonight?”

  “No… I can ask Averys to sleep elsewhere so you can come to me, but there is a complication.”

  “And that is?”

  “Lusk has been acting inappropriately.” She cringed at herself; inappropriate seemed an entirely inadequate description for what Lusk had been up to, but she doubted she had time to elaborate. It would have to wait until later. “He is waiting for Averys to leave my room at night so he can do…things to me.”

  Nathanial didn’t respond to that. After a minute of silence, she turned slightly to look at him. He was crouched in the water, head ducked down low so he was visible only to someone sitting right next to him or from directly above. His face was bruised and dotted with angry-looking scars. It made her heart ache to see him so damaged. He looked up at her, his eyes blazing with a terrifying intensity. He looked like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. A guard passing across the gate caught her attention, and she turned away, not wanting to draw attention.

  “Convince the Emperor to leave you tonight, and I will come. Lusk will not be a problem tonight, I promise.”

  Her heart fluttered in her chest at such a simple yet wonderful statement. She turned to thank him, but all that remained was a slight waver in the cool, clear water, not a wet footprint or drop of water to show which way he’d gone or that he’d
even been there at all. It was a wonder how anyone had managed to capture such a stealthy man.

  She waited another ten minutes in the garden, listening to the birds chirping in the breeze, scanning the area for evidence of her watcher but finding nothing. Then, with a languid stretch and a yawn, she returned to the palace.

  The afternoon passed even more slowly than the morning. She watched the second hand of the large grandfather clock in the drawing room as it ticked round, silently willing it to go faster with every second that passed.

  Stevens appeared mid-afternoon to deliver a tray of pastries and tea as she mindlessly picked at a large tapestry piece. His face turned an odd shade of pink from tip to shoulders as he met her scrutinising gaze, and she had to bite down hard on her tongue to stop from sniggering at him.

  “Ma’am.” He nodded.

  “Thank you, Stevens. Oh, wait,” she called as he reached the door.

  “Yes, Ma’am?” His face contorted in a look of horror, which he tried in vain to hide.

  She smiled and waved a beckoning finger at him. His face turned an even deeper shade of pink as he stepped closer. “Stevens, I would like to ask a favour of you.” She pulled him down to whisper in his ear, “I could use a good sleep this evening. My husband snores quite loudly.”

  “Yes, he does, Ma’am.” Stevens made a choking noise at the back of his throat, probably embarrassed by admitting to the knowledge.

  She could feel the heat radiating from his face on her cheeks. “Could you possibly…proposition him?”

  “You want me to proposition the Emperor?”

  “I’ll admit, it’s an unusual request, but we’re a little beyond the mundane, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. It’s just that…he’s usually the one who asks when he wants—”

  “Oh, I’ve no doubt that he’s usually in charge of what happens and when and in what manner.”

  “Indeed, Ma’am.”

  “I’m sure you can think of something creative. You’re his favourite. I don’t think it would take much effort on your part to seduce him.”

  “You think I’m his favourite?” A smile appeared on his face, and Lenora returned it with affection.

  “I’ve never seen him go giddy in the presence of anyone else. Do your best for me, would you?”

  “I shall, Ma’am.” He pulled away and headed to the door again, pausing for a moment. “Thank you, Ma’am,” he said with a bow before scurrying away.

  Satisfied that her plan might actually work and oddly titillated by the idea of Stevens delivering the Emperor’s afternoon tea whilst wearing nothing more than an apron, she returned to the dullness of poking at her tapestry and clock-watching. A moment later, her mind ticked over, and she remembered the few times she’d snuck into the room beside Averys’ study to spy on him. Listening to Stevens proposition the Emperor would be far more entertaining than counting the minutes until bedtime and her encounter with Nathanial.

  She stuck the needle into the tapestry, gulped an unladylike mouthful of tea from the delicate china cup, and stuffed a small pastry in her mouth, wiping sticky fingers down her pink chiffon dress before heading into the corridor.

  Outside, a guard stood by her door, his eyes turning suspiciously in her direction as she emerged. Was he the informant sent by Averys or Lusk, or even Barentyn, to keep an eye on her? Or could it be someone subtler? The thought of escaping prying eyes sent her heartrate to a fast tempo as she floated down the hallway.

  She reached a turn and gave a glance back toward the drawing room as she went around the bend. Sure enough, her guard followed, a look of determination on his face. As soon as she was clear of the bend, she ran, feet thumping along the floor. She swung open a door to her left which lead down to the kitchens, then bolted to the opposite end of the corridor and hid around a corner. The guard appeared, his pace picking up when he found the empty corridor, and in a heartbeat he reached the door just as it was swinging shut. He took the bait and headed down to the kitchen.

  Lenora’s heartbeat thumped in her ears and a smile tugged on her lips. The small victory felt monumental in the scheme of things, even if all she’d really done was play hide-and-seek with an inept guard. She tiptoed through the maze of corridors, avoiding soldiers and staff alike, unsure if she could trust anyone apart from Nathanial.

  The door to Averys’ room was closed. She peeked into the room beside it and found it to be as it had been the last time she’d snuck in there—empty save for a few pieces of furniture covered in dust sheets. She slipped inside, taking care to keep the door from banging shut. She headed to the empty fireplace, hopeful that Averys wouldn’t have his fire roaring on the other side today, as it was quite warm.

  Lenora tucked herself into the empty space and checked the back with the tip of her finger. It felt cool to the touch, so she pressed her ear to it. The back of the fireplace gave no insulation to the other side, and it was surprisingly easy to hear everything being said in the room, though the few times she’d done this before she’d never learned anything of importance. Perhaps her timing was poor, or perhaps he discussed more private or pertinent issues somewhere else.

  For a long time, she heard nothing except the occasional scrape of a chair leg on the floor as he shifted about. Eventually, someone knocked.

  “Come,” he barked.

  The door closed and footsteps headed towards his desk. She heard the sound of something being placed down—a tray?

  “Thank you, Stevens.”

  “Sire.”

  She smiled and smooshed her cheek into the back of the fireplace, hoping to hear more. It went quiet for a moment; it didn’t sound like Stevens had left, but he wasn’t talking, either. She cursed the fireplace for not having a hole through which she might see.

  “Is there something else you need, Stevens?” Averys asked, his voice terse and not very inviting.

  “Sire, I was hoping…we might…well, I was wondering, Sire, if you would want to—”

  “I’ll have to ask my wife,” Averys responded.

  Lenora almost slipped onto her backside in the fireplace. Ask my wife. When had he ever done that? Never. Why was he so concerned about her feelings now? Or was it that he enjoyed her watching so much that he wouldn’t want to do it without her there? That would make getting rid of him difficult.

  “Very well, Sire.”

  “Ask her to come here, will you?”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  Footsteps faded away and the door opened.

  She stumbled, falling onto her backside finally. Scrabbling to her feet to flee, she then froze in place as a second set of footsteps entered Averys’ room, the feet thumping heavily on the floor.

  “Your woman has slipped past my guard.” She heard Barentyn’s voice. He had given up all sense of propriety, no Sire, no may I speak, nothing. Technically, Averys had every right to berate him for it, but he did not even seem to notice. She wondered just how long Barentyn had been so insolent with him. It didn’t surprise her that he referred to her as your woman, but it didn’t stop her from feeling slightly offended by his brazen rudeness.

  “She can’t have gone far, Commander. I’ve just asked Stevens to bring her here. I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “You think that oily little shit can do better at finding her than my men? She was watching the meeting earlier today, I’m told.”

  “Watching it from where?”

  “In the rose garden.”

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? The rose garden is hundreds of yards away from the barracks and outside. Unless she has developed an ability to see and hear through walls at such a distance, I don’t see any problem. Is that all you wanted?” Averys sighed.

  “The men will leave tonight. The threat should be eliminated before morning. Lusk is joining them.”

  “Good.”

  “If your woman shows up, I suggest you chain her to something to stop her wondering about.”

  “She’s not a dog, M
ontague.”

  “I’d like to know what it is she’s done to win you over. A month ago, you were considering getting rid of and replacing her.”

  “You were the one pushing for that. Now there is no need. She is a sufficient wife, and I’ll thank you to leave me to make the decisions on what I will or will not do with her.”

  Lenora scooted out from the fireplace and padded across the room to the door, not wanting to risk hiding in there any longer in case she got trapped. She pulled the door open and almost shrieked when she came face to face with Stevens. He shushed her and waved her into the corridor.

  “Ma’am, the Emperor would like to see you.”

  “I…how did you know I was in there?”

  He pointed to the door handle, which was covered in sticky honey from the pastry she’d eaten earlier. She rolled her eyes and grunted in frustration. Simple dumb luck had allowed Stevens to spot it instead of someone else. Her stealth skills were severely lacking.

  “You should be more careful in future, Ma’am.”

  “Thank you, I will.”

  “You were listening, weren’t you? Did I do all right? I’m not very natural when it comes to this sort of thing.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “The propositioning? I was expecting him to give a straight yes or no, as it is his manner, so I was a little shocked when he said he wanted to speak with you first. No offense.”

  “That makes two of us. You did fine. Thank you for trying.”

  Barentyn stormed out of the room up ahead. His face pulled into a scowl the minute he spotted Lenora and Stevens.

  “You,” he barked, waggling his finger in her face once he’d come close enough. “Where have you been?”

  She smiled sweetly and looked up and down the corridor. “The gardens, the drawing room, the water closet, the kitchens, and now Stevens found me to say that the Emperor wants to speak with me. Why?”

  Barentyn’s face scrunched up and the skin on his neck turned an angry shade of red. He looked as though he were about to say something, or maybe just snap her neck. Instead, he marched forward, giving neither of them time to move aside and barging between them.