Before he could respond, she left the room.
She thought Katrín was the reason he’d finally stood up to Isaiah? He’d let her continue to believe that. In reality, he’d heard what his uncle said to Princess Margaret of Mevendia. He’d seen his uncle bring his fist up to strike her with his backhand.
And he’d put himself in between his uncle and the future queen of one of their most important trading partners.
He hadn’t thought about it in quite those terms, of course. He’d just known he couldn’t let Isaiah hit her. When he’d seen the look on Isaiah’s face, Benjamin knew it was time.
For years, his uncle had been telling him he was due certain things, like respect, because of his title. Because he had been crowned King Benjamin the First, he could expect things like what he’d requested of Katrín the first time they met. But the look in his uncle’s eyes as Benjamin stood up to him for the first time was something he’d not soon forget.
“Get out.” Benjamin had never heard his own voice quite so low or dangerous.
“Let go of me.” Isaiah’s tone matched Benjamin’s. “I am your uncle. Show some respect.”
Benjamin didn’t let go, but held on tighter as he forced Isaiah to move away from Princess Margaret.
Prince William, future king of Mevendia, put himself between his wife and the confrontation.
“I. Am. Your. Uncle!” Prince Isaiah bellowed. “You. Will. Respect. Me!”
Benjamin didn’t back down. It had finally come to this. “And I am your king.” His tone was far more controlled, but no less menacing. “Tonight, you have disrespected your country, your king, and yourself. I am through with your behavior. I am under no obligation to allow you to live under my roof, or to represent me in any business dealings. I am certainly under no obligation to allow you to represent my people. You have seventy-two hours to get your things out of the palace, or you will be arrested for trespassing unless you have specific permission from me. Not my mother. Not your sister. No one but me. If you want to come see any of them, you come through me. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”
Isaiah stared into Benjamin’s eyes and must have decided his nephew was far more capable than he previously believed. “Crystal,” Isaiah finally said.
Within two hours, all of Isaiah’s access had been revoked. There was still no indication of who sent the press release or when.
Benjamin reached for the phone and pressed the intercom button. “Please have Katrín sent to my office immediately.”
“Yes, sir.” Chamberlain was already gone for the night. The afterhours clerk would have to do.
And Benjamin would have to at least sort of officially propose to the woman he was going to marry in just a few weeks.
He wouldn’t be ready. Would she?
Katrín wondered if she should have changed before going to the executive offices again. Pajamas and fuzzy slippers didn’t exactly scream “I’m meeting with the king.” She had a hard time bringing herself to care, though. After sitting through an evening tea with the Queen Mother and Princess Genevieve, she’d changed into comfortable clothes, plugged her headphones into her keyboard, and started playing.
She’d been so engrossed in her music that she’d nearly jumped out of her skin when the knock on the door came. The messenger told her the king required her presence. When she’d glared at him, he’d stammered the clarification that the king required her presence in his office immediately.
“Immediately” meant she didn’t have time to change.
The man sitting at the small desk off to the side, looked her up and down, unable to hide his disdain. “The king will see you now.”
Katrín bit back the snarky remark that threatened to roll off the tip of her tongue. Instead, she put her full weight into opening the gigantic door.
King Benjamin stood staring out the wall of windows on the far side of his office. She didn’t know what he could be looking at with days still being fairly short this time of year.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked, foregoing pleasantries and formalities, including an attempt to curtsy in her pajamas. He hadn’t turned, but surely he could see her in the window-turned-mirror.
“There’s a box on the desk. It’s my mother’s engagement ring. It is yours for the duration of our marriage.”
Katrín blinked. The Queen Mother’s ring? “Sure you don’t want to get one out of a box of Cracker Jacks? That would be more suited for this farce of a thing.”
“My mother insisted.”
Great. Indebted to the Queen Mother.
“She will also want to know about the proposal and how I asked you to marry me.”
Katrín crossed her arms over her chest. “She did seem a bit appalled when I said I didn’t have good proposal story. She told me how your father proposed to her.”
“One knee and everything.”
And there it was. “But a king isn’t supposed to kneel before anyone? Is that it?” She half-snorted and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll make up some good story about how we met accidentally and that you gave me every girl’s dream proposal tonight, in your office. The only place more suitable would be the throne room, though everyone knows this is where business is actually conducted and therefore the seat of power around here.”
“If she asks, that would be a good story to tell.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure your mother has far more important things to do than hang out with the palace dishwasher. But if it ever comes up in conversation, I’ll make it sound good. I’ll make you sound as impressive as a king should.”
He didn’t turn around.
“Am I dismissed?” she asked, barely concealing the snark.
He turned, hands still clasped behind his back. “No one knows the nature of our engagement and marriage. My family, especially my mother, is not to ever find out.”
“So leave the ring behind when I die. Got it. Which means everyone will think I left you and offed myself, right?”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask you to let your family think you committed suicide.”
“Just that I disappeared, accidentally not wearing my mother-in-law’s priceless engagement ring, and am presumed dead. Much cooler.”
His icy stare made her want to back out. “You knew the terms when you agreed.”
Instead she stared right back. “Yes. I did. And I’ll go through with it, exactly as we discussed. That doesn’t mean I have to be happy about my family thinking I’m dead, even in exchange for them being comfortable financially after my death.” A thought came to her, a bit diabolical for sure, but if she could find a way to have a conversation with the Queen Mother, possibly with the king in earshot, she might be able to make it work. “Maybe we should go tell your mother all about it right now.”
He raised a brow. “Dressed like that? You do not go see the queen in your pajamas.”
“I came to see the king in them, didn’t I?”
“I haven’t worn pajamas in front of my mother since I turned five.”
It took everything in Katrín to retain her composure. “Not even on Christmas morning?”
“No. Only if I was sick in bed, then she came to visit my rooms to check on me. I was not required to dress for the occasion if I was ill.”
Could that be pity Katrín felt? The Queen Mother seemed to care deeply for her children, but to always have to be “on” even in front of your parents? With a sigh, she walked to the desk and picked up the box, sliding the ring onto the correct finger.
Romantic.
“I’ll leave you to your work.” She started to turn.
“Thank you.”
Katrín looked back at King Benjamin. “Pardon?” Had he actually just thanked her?
“I said...” He stopped and looked behind her.
“Benjamin...”
The voice behind her made Katrín’s heart thud to a stop.
What was the Queen Mother doing there? She took a deep breath and turned, pasting a smile on her face.
“Your Majesty.” She dropped into a curtsy, something she hadn’t done for the king.
The older woman studied Katrín with a half-smile on her face. “I thought I told you to call me Eliana, but I understand how difficult that transition can be. I made it myself once. After the wedding, there will be no need for such formalities. I will be your mother-in-law.” She smirked - the Queen Mother actually smirked! - in the general direction of her son. “I never curtsied to my husband in private. He actually forbade it. In public is different, of course.”
“Of course, Mother.” King Benjamin’s voice startled Katrín. She looked up to see him standing far closer to her than he’d ever been, even the night they met, except when he was kissing her.
Time to put on a bit of a show. “Thank you so much for the use of your ring, ma’am.” Katrín held out her hand then glanced up at the king with what she hoped was an adoring smile. “Your son is so kind. He was actually just telling me how he’s going to make sure my mother is taken care of as soon as the wedding’s over. She won’t have to work anymore so she won’t have to find someone else to look after my brother.” She fluttered her eyelashes at the king whose expression hadn’t changed. “He already knows me so well, to know that’s a huge weight off my shoulders.”
4
Had Katrín really just said what he thought she did? Benjamin tried not to let his irritation show. She’d backed him into a corner, and she knew it.
He pasted a smile on his face, but kept looking at Katrín in hopes his mother might not notice. “Of course I want to take care of your family. They’ll be my family, too, after all. I know you and your mother both stress about making sure there’s someone competent and reliable taking care of your brother. Who is more competent and reliable than your mother?”
“I know she will appreciate it. I can’t wait to see her and tell her all about it.” If he didn’t know better, he would buy Katrín’s lovesick grin. Hopefully, his mother did.
“You haven’t seen your mother since the announcement?” His mother frowned. “She didn’t know about the two of you either?”
Katrín turned to look more directly at him. “Oh, no. No one knew until Benji sent out the announcement the other day.”
Benji?! “We thought it better to keep it close to the vest. We didn’t want anyone to know and harass her family until we knew for certain this was going to last.” He kept his eyes on Katrín. What was her end game?
“I do hope you’ve sent security to her family’s house, Benjamin.” His mother’s worried tone made him look away from Katrín’s dark eyes.
“Of course. Security was dispatched about the time the news came out.” Thor had seen to that, or so Chamberlain had reported.
“My sister works for Princess Margaret of Mevendia, so I’m certain they’ve made sure she’s taken care of.”
Benjamin couldn’t let his mother know he wasn’t aware of her sister’s employment. Had he met her sister when he visited the Mevendian home? Unlikely. He hadn’t really interacted with any members of their staff.
“Benjamin, you need to make sure she isn’t so busy wedding planning to spend plenty of time with her family before then. If history is any indication, the first few months as the wife of a member of the royal family are bound to be a whirlwind.”
He clasped his hands behind him. “I’m afraid the wedding planning is going to be a whirlwind in itself. We didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary.”
“I know. Three weeks. That’s less than I had with your father, though we didn’t make the announcement until several months after he proposed. You don’t have long and many of the dignitaries from other countries are not pleased at the lack of notice. My office has received several calls already from those who anticipate being invited.”
“The invitations will go out tomorrow,” he promised.
“Good.”
“And speaking of tomorrow.” Katrín seemed to practically bounce in those ridiculous pajamas of hers. “I have a busy day and need to get to sleep.” She took a step away from him. “Thank you again for the ring. I will cherish it until death us do part, and then some.”
His mother smiled. “As I have. Perhaps one day you will pass it on to your child or grandchild to use.”
“Perhaps, but in the meantime, I’m afraid I must take my leave. Good night.” She turned and kissed her fingertips before blowing the kiss his direction and wiggling her fingers as she walked to the door. “Goodnight, love. It won’t be long until we don’t have to say that anymore.”
He managed to wave his fingers the same way she did, just a bit of a wiggle. “Goodnight.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, his mother turned and arched an eyebrow his direction. “Seriously, Benjamin? You can give the poor girl a kiss goodnight. She is your fiancée after all. And I know I told you to propose to her as soon as possible, but in her pajamas?” Both of her eyebrows lowered in unison as she frowned. “She lives here?”
What could possibly concern her about that. “Yes, she does.”
“The two of you haven’t been sneaking off together to...” She didn’t finish the sentence.
Benjamin wasn’t in the mood for his mother’s riddles. “To what, Mother?” As soon as he said it, he knew that was the wrong tone to use with her.
“To practice making an heir. I taught you better than that. That is for after the wedding.”
“No, Mother. We have spent absolutely no time alone together in any location where we weren’t fully aware that someone could walk in at any time.” To be honest, the possibility that he’d be expected to produce an heir with Katrín hadn’t crossed his mind outside of the conversation with Aunt Louise.
He’d have to explain to his aunt why he’d given his mother’s ring to Katrín. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Though he was beginning to understand that his aunt had his best interests in mind the whole time she acted as his regent, unlike his uncle since the day Benjamin’s father died, he didn’t owe her anything but gratitude and what was due her as a former regent.
His mother’s hand on his arm brought him back to the conversation at hand. “Good. I hope the two of you have the kind of marriage I had with your father. It wasn’t always easy, especially the first year after he ascended the throne when his father died, but I always knew how much he loved me.”
“Everyone knew how much the two of you loved each other, Mother. One only has to look at any picture with you both in it or at the number of siblings I have.” He was fairly certain that irritated Isaiah, despite one of them being named for him. The more children Benjamin’s parents had, the further down the line of succession Isaiah was sent.
The smile she gave him was the sad one, the one that meant she was missing his father more than usual. Swallowing his exhale, he embraced his mother.
“It doesn’t matter if everyone else knows you love her, Benji.” His mother hadn’t called him that since he was a boy. No one had, until Katrín a few minutes earlier. “It only matters that Katrín knows.”
“I’ve never made a secret of how much I love her.” Benjamin hated that his mother would get the wrong imppression, but she could never know the deal he’d struck with Katrín. It would break her already fragile heart. “Just like you always knew how much Father loved you.”
She stepped away. “I hope you love her far longer than your father loved me, Benji. I pray neither one of you go through what I did when he left this earth. That kind of heartache should be reserved for after you’ve lived a lifetime together, not only a few years.”
Conviction rolled over Benjamin in waves. He would have to fake that kind of grief sooner than he cared to think about, but if his mother knew the truth, it would break her heart even further.
He had to make sure she never found out.
Katrín had no one to walk her down the aisle.
Benjamin hadn't asked. Neither had the event planner.
What Katrín wanted had nothing to do with how the wedding would go. Her dress, her hairst
yle, the veil, the shoes that pinched her feet and made her want to cry.
There were no flower girls or pageboys in the bride's room with her.
Just Katrín.
No maid or matron of honor, though she'd been told one of the princesses would stand up for her. Prince Josiah would stand with King Benjamin. No mention had been made about why Prince Darius, the next oldest of Benjamin’s brothers, wouldn’t be there.
The clear sliver of the stained-glass window showed her person after person, couple after couple, walking into the cathedral.
There had been no response to her letter to her mother. Or her sister, though the Mevendian Crown Prince and his family no longer made Akushla their home. Was Nína even still in Eyjania? And Katrín had no access to a phone in the palace. Was her family even in attendance?
Did they know she was the one marrying the king? Or would they find out on television with everyone else? Surely, they'd seen the press release, but would King Benjamin, or more likely the event planner, have considered them acceptable to end up on the invitation list? Katrín was inclined to believe the Queen Mother would throw a fit, in her regal, queen mother, sort of way, if she discovered Katrín’s family wasn’t in attendance for anything other than medical reasons.
The small room, with its colored light filtering in, and its small sliver of clear glass seemed familiar to Katrín. A little bigger than her quarters in the palace, she didn't feel claustrophobic like she might have expected, but rather she felt safe. Comfortable.
And she felt that way until the door opened and someone told her it was time.
She would walk down the hall, take a deep breath, and, in front of hundreds of people and on television in front of millions, marry a man she'd spoken with exactly three times.
Her existence wouldn't change. The ring wouldn't stay on her finger. The dishwater would still ruin her hands now hidden by elbow length gloves. She wouldn't share quarters, much less a bed, with the man she would speak vows to. Her in-laws wouldn't hug her or laugh and share confidences or accept her as one of their own.
The Indentured Queen Page 3