The Indentured Queen

by Carol Moncado

  “For not taking up for you, not coming up with a plan to present the whole story to the people. For not being your champion when you needed one.”

  Whatever she’d expected, that wasn’t it. “Being sorry is fine, but what are you going to do now?”

  He squeezed her hand. “We have an interview scheduled in a couple of days. A reporter is coming here for a wide-ranging conversation, including a frank discussion about how and why we got married, today’s story, and our plan for the monarchy and the family as a whole going forward.”

  “We?”

  “If you’ll stay. You’re not actually needed in Islas del Sargasso for a few more days.”

  Had he found the ring? Did he know she wasn’t planning to return?

  “Tonight, it’s just the two of us and a few staff here. I’m hoping we can spend some time talking, being together. Tomorrow, there will be a number of others here, too. We’ll go over everything with a few members of the publicity team, including Elise, Marty, Marissa, and Harry. Tomorrow night, I’m taking you out for dinner in town, if you want to go. Then the interview.”

  She’d found herself moving closer and closer to him as he talked. Despite everything, Katrín felt a connection to Benjamin, wanted to be his wife in truth and not just for appearances sake, wanted to stay.

  Forever.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  “I want to make this work, love. I know I said that before, and I know I didn’t act like it today. I need something from you though.”

  Her heart stuck in her throat. “What’s that?”

  “I need you to be the sassy, take-no-prisoners Katrín I met that night at the piano. Take me to task if you need to. Tell me what I need to do to be good at this husband thing, because I don’t know how to do it. I need you to help me, and not be scared you’re going to offend me or that I’m going to exile you or something.”

  Katrín leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “I can do that.”

  She felt him take another deep breath. “I need to ask you one more thing, something far more serious.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Can you promise me you’ll never leave?”

  Benjamin found himself holding his breath as he waited for her response.

  “I can do that.”

  His shoulders slumped in relief. “You’ll stay?”

  “Yes.”

  The music drifted to an end. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure how I’m feeling about it just yet.”

  “I can understand that.” He stopped moving and stepped back. With her hand still snug in his, he led her to the door to outside. The balcony overlooked the lake and one of the tables held a simple meal of sandwiches and salad.

  Benjamin held Katrín’s chair for her then sat next to her. He reached for her hand again. “I’ll say grace.” After thanking God for the meal and those who made it, he let go. “I’ve never asked you about your life. Tell me about your favorite teacher?”

  For two hours they talked about everything and nothing, moving from the table to a porch swing. Katrín’s head dipped then rested more heavily against his shoulder, and he knew she’d fallen asleep.

  After considering his options, Benjamin decided on the one he liked best. Katrín in his arms felt right. Once in his quarters, Benjamin laid her on the turned down bed and watched as she curled onto her side. He changed into pajamas and slid under the covers on the other side. As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms as they slept, he didn’t. He wasn’t sure how she’d feel about it.

  Despite the long summer days, the room was dark when he woke up, thanks to the heavy curtains over the windows.

  Without thinking about it, he reached across the bed to find it empty.

  “I had to go to the bathroom.” Katrín’s voice carried across the room as a door closed behind her. The bed dipped as she sat back down. “Thank you for letting me sleep.”

  “The staff have instructions not to bother us until noon unless we decide to talk to them sooner.” He didn’t hold back his yawn. “Then we have those meetings.”

  “Is it bad that I wish we could stay here all day?” She sat against the headboard.

  “No. I wish we could, too. I know I’ve promised several times, but I mean it. I will bring you up here soon when we have no other plans.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position next to her. “Have someone bring us breakfast in bed, lunch in bed, dinner in bed, if we want. Or even just a day with nothing on the schedule.”

  “I like that plan better. As nice as all those meals in bed sound, I don’t like the idea of all those crumbs.”

  Benjamin chuckled. “All right. There’s a table over there where we could eat if we didn’t want to leave the room. Or we could just tell everyone we want to be left alone except for meals.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder. “It would be a bit of a relief not to have to see anyone or do anything for a whole day. I don’t think either one of us have ever done that in our adult lives.”

  He tilted his head sideways until his cheek made contact with her hair. “I’m not sure I’ve ever had a day where I had nothing on the schedule. Certainly not since my father passed.”

  Katrín slid her hand down his arm until their fingers linked. “I don’t think I ever knew. How did he pass?”

  His fingers tightened around hers. “A heart attack, sort of. Not your usual kind. He had a blood clot that got caught on the buildup in his artery. It caused a heart attack. The doctors said he had a little more build up than they would have expected from a man his age, but not enough to actually cause the heart attack. Odds are, if it the clot hadn’t gotten caught there, he would have died of an embolism, either in his lungs or in his brain. There was nothing anyone could have done.”

  “I’m so sorry. Growing up without your father couldn’t have been easy, much less with a crown to deal with.”

  “I had plenty of people around me to help. I wish I’d listened to some of them a little better a little sooner. Then Isaiah wouldn’t have been so entrenched.”

  Katrín seemed to be thinking something over, though she didn’t say anything until he asked her. “Is it awful of me to admit I’m still afraid your uncle is going to come back and cause trouble?”

  His thumb rubbed along hers. “I am, too. More tests confirmed all of the blood found in his house was his, but the body still hasn’t been found. So maybe he could be back someday, though, but for now, we have nothing to worry about.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  They talked for a little bit longer, until his stomach grumbled. He kissed the top of her head. “I think it’s time for that breakfast.” A tap on the button of his phone told him it was after ten. “I’ll have it sent up, then we’ll need to start our day.”

  Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and stood up, moving one of the curtains aside just enough to let some light in.

  “This room’s a lot smaller than I expected for the monarch, even at the lake cottage.”

  He held out a hand and she scooted across the bed to stand up next to him. “That’s because this isn’t the monarch’s room. It’s mine. It has been since my father became king. I never wanted to take over the monarch’s room here, and refused to let my mother make me. I actually pulled rank on her, though she doesn’t use it either. Someday, I’m sure we’ll use it, but maybe we won’t. Maybe, eventually, our oldest child will use it when he or she becomes monarch.”

  They moved to the window and stared out over the lake. “Our child,” Katrín said softly.

  Benjamin turned to face her. “Yes. Our child. We’re expected to have at least two or three, you know.”

  A smile crossed her face. “I know. I’m looking forward to it. Eventually. Not just yet.”

  He chuckled. “I’m okay with that.” With one finger, he pushed her morning hair off her forehead and behind her ear. “Can I kiss you?”

  Katrín reached up and lac
ed her fingers behind his neck. “I wish you would.”

  A first soft brush of his lips on hers wasn’t enough, would never be enough, but Benjamin knew it was too soon to get carried away. After several soft kisses, he moved back and just held Katrín in his arms.

  They might have had a rough start, but he had a feeling they were going to be just fine.

  Epilogue

  The kiss from Benjamin surpassed her memory of all the others. Grateful no one was around to see their reunion, Katrín framed his face with her hands as he easily lifted her off the ground with arms tight around her waist.

  “I missed you,” he murmured between kisses.

  “I missed you, too.”

  “Three days was too long.”

  For some reason, that struck Katrín has much funnier than it should have. Giggles escaped until they overwhelmed the kisses.

  Benjamin chuckled and set her feet back on the floor. “I’m glad I can make you laugh.”

  “I hope you always do.”

  He looped an arm around her shoulders and she slid hers around his waist as they walked toward the door to his quarters.

  Their quarters.

  Her things had been moved in while she was in Islas del Sargasso.

  “Do I want to watch the report?” It had aired while she was overseas, and Katrín had done her best to avoid it.

  “I haven’t watched yet either. Mother did, though, and said it was a good piece.” He pulled the door open and let her walk through. “She didn’t include the question about Darius.”

  “How’d you get her to do that?”

  “I promised her the exclusive when the time came. When I told Edward about it, I also asked him to be my mentor. Thor and Chamberlain are already doing the best they can, but it would be nice to talk to someone who’s actually been a monarch, you know?”

  “I’m so glad he’s willing to help you.”

  “He was there when my parents met. So was Thor. My father and Edward were roommates at university in Auverignon. Thor was young enough to be in my father’s classes with him. Edward met Miriam about the same time. In fact, they’re my unofficial godparents.” His thumb rubbed up and down her arm.

  “Unofficial?”

  “Because Edward was going to be monarch in another country, legally he couldn’t be my godfather.”

  “So he still feels responsible.”

  “I think he always has, he just wasn’t able to help like he wanted to, not until Darius got Esther pregnant. He was able to use the situation and the Treaty of 1703 to insinuate himself into my life and eventually begin to use the connection to begin to override Isaiah’s influence.” He pulled her a little tighter. “It worked.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  “Oh!”

  She looked up to see his face light up. It made her smile.

  “And as Thor’s men were going through Isaiah’s things, they found the original marriage license for Darius and Esther. I can’t overturn the resolution until fall, but it doesn’t matter. They’re legally married in Eyjania, and it’s effective before the resolution was enacted.”

  “That’s wonderful. Will they be coming for a visit soon then?”

  He shrugged as he sat on the sofa. “I haven’t even had a chance to tell them yet. I found out about the time your plane landed.”

  She curled into his side as he pressed play on the recorded program. “I hope I can meet them soon.”

  “I hope so, too.” He hesitated. “I also had a conversation with Laurie.”

  Katrín closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “I knew you were going to.”

  “She did let most of the story slip to someone she didn’t know was a reporter. The guy had picked her to date in hopes of picking up some palace gossip. He picked the right person.”

  “And her consequences?”

  He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “Ten percent garnishment until she pays the fine for violating her nondisclosure agreement. She keeps her promotion to assistant pastry chef.”

  Laurie had won that part of the competition on the show. Katrín had been happy for her.

  “However, she’s not allowed to work on food prepared for the family. At least not for the foreseeable future.”

  Because that was a privilege not given to someone who had betrayed them, even unintentionally.

  “Even Thor and Chamberlain pushed for a demotion, but it’s their job to look for the threats, physical and otherwise, but I thought your idea for mercy fit this particular situation better. She knows she won’t get another chance.”

  “Thank you.” Katrín snuggled in closer. “I appreciate that.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Shh. It’s starting.” Another kiss let her know he wasn’t upset.

  “King Benjamin knows as well as anyone that his family, and the monarchy in general, isn’t nearly as popular as it was during his father’s reign. He also knows the recent stories about his relationship with Queen Katrín haven’t helped matters any.” The reporter stood in front of the lakeside cottage. “Here, at the royal family’s Lake Akushla residence, I sat down with the king and queen to discuss both of the recent news stories with them, as well as a wide range of other subjects with the king.”

  The picture changed to the two of them seated on the couch. Katrín couldn’t help but contrast the slightly awkward looking couple on the screen with others she’d seen - like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when they announced their engagement or at their wedding. They were clearly in love and loved being around each other. Would she and Benjamin ever be so comfortable together?

  For fifteen minutes, she watched as they told their story, every detail, except the plan for her to disappear and Benjamin’s claustrophobia. Katrín was proud of herself for managing to avoid devolving into a blubbery mess as they’d talked to the reporter. She’d been in tears, but not nearly as bad as she’d feared.

  The next twenty minutes were spent in the palace with Benjamin the day after Katrín left, talking about all manner of topics.

  “There are a couple of priorities inside my own walls,” Benjamin on the screen told the reporter. “One thing I learned from Katrín was that some of the staff members aren’t given adequate time off. It was written in her contract, one I approved five years ago, but clearly didn’t read carefully enough, that she only got two half-days off a month. That’s completely unacceptable. I realize her situation was a bit different than most of those who work for the palace, but all of the contracts need to be looked over again. I’ve appointed Katrín’s mother, Mrs. Jónsson, to go through all of those, outside of the executive staff, to make sure there aren’t any others that need to be renegotiated.”

  “Why Mrs. Jónsson?”

  “Prior to the incident we discussed yesterday, she was my father’s server. He trusted her implicitly, and she’s proven again that she’s trustworthy. She and Allen, my brother-in-law, are moving onto the property to be closer to Katrín which necessitates a job change for her anyway. I offered her this one, and she seems especially suited it.”

  Katrín found tears spilling down her cheeks. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “It wasn’t definite when you left. I meant to tell you when you returned, but we kind of got sidetracked kissing.”

  The program started to wind down, but the reporter stood in front of the palace with a sly grin. “There’s one other thing. With the way their relationship started, there was one thing King Benjamin never did. He didn’t tell me why he had the engagement ring first worn by the Queen Mother, since Queen Katrín has worn it since before the wedding.”

  The picture changed to Benjamin and Katrín walking on the dock. Katrín knew what was coming, but she felt her heart in her throat anyway.

  Benjamin-on-the-screen dropped to one knee and held up the ring. Katrín saw herself gasp and nod, knowing she’d said yes several times. He’d slid the ring back on her finger and picked her up and swung her in a circle. The video changed back to the reporter before Ben
jamin kissed her.

  “And there you have it. King Benjamin on one knee asking Katrín to be his queen, our queen, for life.” The reporter smiled. “The headlines last week called her the indentured queen, but the truth is she’s become a chosen marriage partner, and eventually, the mother of our next monarch.” The picture changed again to the two of them on the dock after the kiss ended. “Seeing the two of them together, I can tell you, whatever their beginnings, they are the real deal. A match the late King Alfred could be and the Queen Mother will be quite proud of.”

  Benjamin turned the television off and reached for something on the side table. “I have something else for you. First, the piano has been moved into our room. If you’d like it somewhere else, just let me know, and I’ll see it gets moved.” He handed the paper to Katrín. “Second, this.”

  She opened it and read the legalese, trying to make sense of it. After a few seconds, it sank in. “My contract?”

  “It’s been paid off.”

  Katrín twisted until she could give Benjamin a kiss. “Thank you. I didn’t realize until just now how much this was hanging over my head.”

  “I realized something the night you almost left.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I stood in front of King Alfred’s dagger and realized I’ll never be worthy.”

  She started to interrupt him, but he stopped her with a finger to her lips.

  “And I thought about what you said about him at my age, how he probably wasn’t the person history has made him out to be, not yet. I realized the truth is that none of us are worthy. The men knighted at Wulfen Castle passed every test the Wulfriths could give them, but even they needed a Savior. I’m sure if we dug deeply enough into their lives, we’d find out they failed, maybe even failed often. But they didn’t stop striving to be worthy.” He kissed the side of her head. “And that’s all I can do.”

  Katrín turned his words over in her head. “That makes sense. It’s all any of us can do. We all need mercy and grace, from God and from each other. We’re all works in progress.”

  “I know, but I should have done that a long time ago. We both know I never should have offered you that stupid deal, but my first priority should have been to take care of this legally. Can you forgive me for taking so long?”