Having completely lost all sense of reality, Lydia blew her nose and looked at the stranger.
“Why are you so kind to me?”
“I have a daughter,” Lily calmly explained. “She is slightly younger than you.” Lily modestly kept silent about the fact that it was her stepdaughter. “Do you mind that I don’t use titles?”
Lydia shook her head. “No.”
In another time and another place, Lily would've gotten slings and arrows for her directness. Lydia was strict about her privacy. Yet, at that moment, her soul was hurting. She was in pain and screamed from desperate misery, so she was grateful to any selfless person who soothed her. Lily made her feel like someone cared.
If it weren’t for her own anxiety, Lily would've never approached Lydia. But there was something similar—perhaps a shared sense of loneliness—that drew her to comfort the crying girl. She couldn't tell that Lydia was a princess.
“It’s a pity there isn't any water. You need to drink and wash your face.”
“I w-would like to sit here for a while.”
Lydia began to stutter from the shock.
“Should I leave?” asked Lily. She didn’t want to intrude.
“N-no.” Lydia didn’t want to stay alone. Lilian expressed her interest and participation. She comforted her when Lydia needed it most.
“I will stay then. What’s your name again?”
“Lydia, and you are?”
“Lily. Call me Lily.”
Lydia nodded. What she understood was that the woman had no idea that she was talking to a princess. She twisted her signet ring toward her palm to hide the crest. That woman was a countess, not a maid. There was nothing damaging for her reputation to share her worries with a countess. Thankfully, nobody heard them.
It took them fifteen minutes to get Lydia in order. Lily somehow managed to fix the girl’s hair and even tried to put some powder on her face. She shook her head because there was not much she could do to get her in order.
Lily complained about the balls that she said she despised. Lydia eagerly encouraged the topic. Like Lily, she couldn’t stand attending balls. The princess couldn't refrain from complaining about her fiancé who didn't seem to be interested in her anymore and spent time with her rival. He didn’t even think of giving her at least a formal greeting, out of politeness.
Lily sympathized with the girl. They spent the next twenty minutes discussing the eternal female topics—fashion, make-up, and men. Lydia complained, and Lily comforted her. Lily expressed her indignation, and Lydia sympathized.
“Why does everyone care so much for appearances?”
“Because a person is greeted by their clothes.”
“But even if I was beautiful, everything else inside me would remain the same. The aldons say that the soul is the most important.”
“It’s true, but people look at the cover first.”
“It’s not fair!”
“It’s life. I will tell you a story.”
The story was very simple.
“Once upon a time, there lived a princess. She was pretty, kind, clever, so everyone called her “miss sunshine.” The time had come for the princess to marry. Different suitors came wooing to the palace. The first one was the most handsome man alive, the second was the best warrior, the third had a lot of money, and the fourth was a crippled prince. Every one of them was nice and sweet with her. The young girl was torn and didn't know how to choose between them until her nanny advised her. The next day, the princess dressed in rags, smeared her face with dirt as best as she could, turned her face away, and sat on the floor begging at the gates of the palace. Some scolded, others took pity on her. The handsome groom drove past in the carriage and gave her a haughty look. The warrior on the horse almost ran her over. The rich man was near to pulling out his whip and giving her a beating. Only the crippled prince passed her a coin and said, “Come to my household; you can work as a servant there. It’s not fit for anyone to beg on the streets.” This was the man that the princess chose in the end. She was happy. The other candidates were only nice and kind to a beautiful and titled lady, but the crippled prince was kind to every human.”
At first, Lydia couldn't understand how the story was relevant. Lily began explaining.
“This story isn’t true, but there’s some truth in it. Look, only one of the four men looked into the princess’ soul. There are very few people like that, the rest judge by appearance.”
“I see.”
“Why would you want a husband who lacks the wisdom to appreciate your soul?”
“But—”
“With such a husband, your life would be terrible. Only imagine! You marry your prince and rub it in your rival’s face, only she would be one of many! It’s better to give away such treasure and rejoice. Let her suffer her whole life with him if she wants to.”
“But I also want to—”
“Make him realize his mistake? Make him crawl on his fours and beg for your forgiveness? You want to reject him? It’s not a good thing to do. Don’t destroy the man’s illusions. He would make himself unhappy anyway.”
When Prince Miguel came looking for his sister, he saw two happy women. Although one of them had a slightly red nose, the smile on her face was bright and wide. They talked about different hairstyles for Lydia and agreed to arrange her visit to Lily’s fashionistas. Lydia was a woman after all, and she dreamed of looking good and natural, without too much pompousness.
“Lydia, are you here? We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“We got carried away talking,” Lydia was calm and cheerful. “Miguel, meet my friend. Lily.”
Lily bowed.
“And this is my brother–– his Majesty Miguel of Ivernea.”
Lily felt like a complete fool, but seeing happy sparkles in Lydia’s eyes, her only reaction was to take a bow in acknowledgment of her own defeat. You tricked me well, Your Majesty!
The girlfriends quickly agreed on a visit and parted. The countess slipped back to the Royal Hall and was immediately seized by Alexander Falion.
“I am glad to see you, Lilian. I missed you. Shall we dance?”
Lily accepted his invitation, and the marquess spun her across the ballroom.
“Are you with your husband here?”
“Yes.”
“A family reunion? Reconciliation?”
Lily frowned. That information was only between her and Jess.
“Aldonai works in mysterious ways.”
Falion turned gloomy. He got the hint and stopped sticking an oar in Lily’s private life. They danced until the end.
Soon, Jess returned and expressed his wish to introduce Lily to Anna, only his wife politely refused. Lily couldn't contain her anger. She was ready to kill that whore for what she had done to Lons.
The rest of the evening was perfect. The couple drove home in the carriage. Jess complimented and entertained Lily on the way back. He kissed her hand when they parted. The earl didn’t expect anything more, and Lilian took notice of it. She appreciated his patience. A clever man wouldn’t rush when it came to seduction.
Lily went to her room, pushed the dogs out of her bed, straightened the blanket on Miranda’s side, moved away the ferrets, and immediately fell asleep. The ball had left her completely exhausted.
***
His Majesty Richard of Ativerna went to bed even later than Lilian. He had a good reason for it. To be precise, it was a scroll left by someone on his bedside table. It was addressed to the prince, confidential and urgent. Richard shrugged and called the servant.
“Did anyone enter my bedroom?”
“Nobody, Your Highness.”
“What about this?”
The questioning of the servant revealed that he was absent from his guard for some time. Perhaps it was then when the stranger had managed to leave the scroll near his bed. Richard spread his arms and ordered the servant to open the scroll as a punishment. Perhaps it was poisoned. The man obeyed the order. He w
aited for a couple of minutes and went out. Richard skimmed through the lines of the confession. The contents of the scroll made him knit his eyebrows. Halfway through, he had an urge to smash it against the wall but stopped himself. He read till the end, carefully placed the scroll on the table, sat on the bed, and froze for a couple of minutes.
“Bastards, scumbags, miscreants! Quarter them! Treason!”
Damned, be the day! Of course, it’s a lie! But what if it’s true?
Richard took a couple of sips of wine from the bottle and waited for another fifteen minutes. He read again through the confession. He had to admit to himself that even if it was a lie, it sounded very probable. A strange man, but not a stranger—Lons Avels—described his relationship with Anna of Wellster. He talked about being kidnapped, about his return to the capital, and his meeting with his wife. He also wrote that if they killed him, the confession would appear on Edward’s desk. He put the rest in the hands of Aldonai.
Richard wasn’t going to let this out. He didn’t want to start a war, although making this woman a queen was also out of the question.
Richard wasn't a fool, and the letter sounded way too convincing for it to be a lie. In the letter, Lons described Anna’s castle in all possible detail. He listed every detail he knew about her, including her personal features, such as a mole in the form of the battle shield on her lower back. He talked about the pastor who conducted the marriage ceremony and the kidnappers who took him away shortly after. The only thing that Lons Avels didn’t mention in his letter was how he managed to stay alive and reach Ativerna. This he explained by the fact that his master wasn't aware of his past. Lons was grateful to him and couldn't afford to put the honest man at risk.
The story sounds probable, only what should I do with this information? The easiest thing was to wait until the morning.
Richard was too anxious to wait. He took the scroll with him, and ten minutes later, was knocking on the doors of his father’s chamber.
The king’s personal valet opened the door.
“Is my father asleep?”
“Not yet.”
“Ask him if I can I come in.”
Richard did not stand on ceremony with the old man, but that didn’t mean that he was disrespectful. On the contrary, the prince rated the man who devoted his whole life to the Crown very highly and treated him like a distant relative, with a degree of warmth at a certain emotional distance. The valet disappeared into the king’s chamber. He reappeared shortly, letting the prince enter the room.
The king’s bedroom looked the same as before. The only new thing that struck Richard was the smell of fresh mint. The prince was astonished to see everything so clean and tidy with bunches of fragrant plants in vases.
Richard found Edward in bed. Tahir sat at the king’s feet, rubbing his legs. It was hard for His Majesty to throw balls.
“What’s the matter, son?”
“Here,” uttered Richard and handed the scroll to the king.
Edward began reading. At first, he was reading fast, but as the letter progressed, he slowed his pace and scowled. He folded up the scroll and sat in contemplation. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the doctor.
“Do you think it’s true?”
Richard shrugged.
“I do not know what to think. It seems probable.”
“Have you noticed anything unusual about Anna?”
“Even if there was something, I didn’t notice it at the time. I am not going to try and interpret in retrospect.”
“That’s true. Are you in love with her?”
Richard shook his head.
“That’s good. However, what about Lydia?”
“I pray you, anyone but her!”
Edward looked sad and solemn.
“Let’s consider. We don’t want Lydia in any circumstances. As for Anna, she’s not a suitable candidate either. As a result, we are left with nothing.”
“But—”
“If this letter is true, Anna cannot be your wife. It’s not because she was previously married, no.”
“It’s because she is capable of betraying her husband. I understand.”
“She is also a perfect target for blackmail. I am myself not without sin, but neither Imogene, not Jessamine would ever—”
“I know.”
“We shouldn't get on Gardwig’s bad side.”
“Maybe we don’t need to.” Richard theatrically spread his hands. “I don’t want to fall into a marriage trap yet. I could wait for a few years and maybe marry his younger daughter. Meanwhile, we could announce my engagement with Anna. If the confession were true, Gardwig would watch her with an eagle eye.”
“Hmm.” Edward pondered. The solution was pretty decent. Only one thing remained.
“How do we brush off Lydia? Bernard would have understood had you preferred Anna, but since there will be no marriage, it will be tricky to explain.”
“I don’t know how we are going to get out of it, but I know for certain that I don’t want to marry this mouse. She’s useful for nothing.”
“She is quite smart.”
“That’s true, only her dowry is too small. Ivernea is further away from us than Wellster, plus we don’t want to spoil our relationship with Gardwig.”
“I will figure out tomorrow whether this confession is true.”
“How?”
“I will meet with Gardwig and show him the letter. If it’s true, too bad, if not, any midwife would be able to tell us if Anna is a virgin or not. We will find a few midwives just in case.”
“If she isn’t a virgin, do you think she lied to me?”
Edward gave his son a wry smile.
“It’s not hard to fake virginity. Screams, chicken blood—some women tried to fool me like that a couple of times. Maybe she was planning to do the same during your first night.”
“Maybe. I’ll refrain from making assumptions. So, the plan for tomorrow is to talk to Gardwig, gather a commission of midwives, and wait, am I right?”
“As for now, yes. Meanwhile, think of how you can get rid of Lydia.”
“Fine.”
“I will order my people to check the letter tomorrow morning.”
“Deal.”
Richard left the scroll with his father and headed back to his chamber. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. An unpleasant feeling weighed upon him.
***
The king didn’t give the job to Hans but chose another royal trustee instead, who immediately began to dig.
Chevalier Avels—the agent was first going to ask about him in Wellster. He wanted to inquire about the pastor who wedded the couple. The only name that was given in full was the Count Altres Lort. Every secret agent of the Crown knew that the count was the head of the secret service of King Gardwig. In other words, he was the perfect person to question about Anna. However, one risked losing his life if he contacted the count directly.
It was hard to make inquiries about Avels in Ativerna. Chevalier Avels didn’t mention where he lived, where he worked and wherefore he came from. Therefore, it was almost impossible to trace his steps.
As for Anna, the agent could start with her. He could ask if they met at the ball. It was possible. On the one hand, the ball was a highly secure public event where everything was regulated. On the other hand, it was very easy to lose sight of a single person. Provided one took to certain tricks, it wasn't hard to escape the public gaze. A woman could set her servants with little tasks, leave the hall to fix her stockings, and dissolve in the palace corridors, go inside the rooms or out to the park.
The agent could make his final verdict only after receiving information from Wellster and the conversation with Gardwig.
***
After the events of the previous day, Lily had no idea how to behave next to Lydia. The princess resolved the tension by paying the countess a visit without unnecessary ceremonies.
“I am a guest here. Therefore, I can let myself overlook the rules of p
rotocol,” she explained. At first, the women felt uneasy remembering the events of the previous night, but soon the ice was broken. Lydia praised the meringues, Lily made a compliment about the princess’ hair, Miguel, who came with his sister, expressed his admiration for the Virman watchdogs. Little by little, the tension disappeared.
Women could become friends if they have no self-interest. Neither Lilian nor Lydia was competing with the other. Lilian was married; Lydia was soon going back to Ivernea. She was intelligent and resolved to make the most out of the visit to Ativerna despite everything. Lily realized this and didn’t mind taking advantage of the opportunity to advertise her trademark in Ivernea.
Lily carefully suggested helping the princess unlock her full potential and her feminine charm. Lydia turned sulky, but Lily asked her to try. Miguel also encouraged his little sister to try. They had plenty of time, and Miguel wanted to talk with the Virmans for a little longer. Lily dragged the princess to Marcia and the maids, and they set to work. Although Lydia didn’t believe in the result, she refrained from complaining. The events of the previous day still made her sick at heart. She accepted that she would lose Richard, but she wanted to retain at least the remnants of her pride.
They used Basma powder on Lydia’s eyebrows, which made her features more defined. Marcia selected a dress from the royal collection. Although it was pink, the color suited the princess. It enlivened her white face and gave her ash-color hair a glossy shine. The hairstyle they selected was quite fresh and simple—a slanting fringe and a few loose curls. Her new shoes had a little heel, which was unusual for Lydia. When the young woman looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't believe her eyes.
My father would never let me show up like this! What a disgrace! And yet, I am beautiful.
Her reflection in the mirror showed a beautiful woman. She was a tall beauty with splendid posture. Her ash-colored locks were naturally loose and came down to the pink lace. The eyebrows in the mirror raised in amazement, for everyone could now appreciate their beauty. Her eyes shone from under her darkened eyelashes. Her skin didn’t seem dull anymore but could be described as translucent. The faded rose color of the dress was flattering. The gown emphasized her little but high breasts and thin waist, successfully masking her narrow hips. Everyone could tell that the legs under the skirts were long and slender. Her lips were shining pink (thanks to the Khangan tints), and her chin didn’t look massive anymore.
The Price of Happiness: A Strong Woman in the Middle Ages (A Medieval Tale Book 5) Page 30