by Tilly Hart
A shuffling noise behind me startled me. I span around, expecting Diego to be there to tell me to get back inside.
It was Dante.
My heart all but stopped as he approached. He pulled his mask off and stood before me. Every muscle in his arms and chest seemed primed, ready to hunt. My head barely met his shoulders as he looked down at me. He was beautiful. As dark as Diego in looks, but with hissoul burning in his eyes. He reached out and pulled my mask away from my face.
I wanted this, so badly. But it would be the ruin of us both. I needed to get ou—
I didn’t have time to finish the thought before he claimed my mouth, his tongue slipping between my lips as I moaned. The masks clattered to the stone floor as he pressed me roughly back against the wall. In that moment there was nothing but him, and the taste of wine and fruit and heat and lust. My hands spread across his chest, swelling over his muscles. Our kiss turned from heated to burning. His hands explored my neck, my spine, my buttocks, his hands scorched me wherever they touched. He pressed me harder against the wall, the cold stone a stark contrast to his hot body.
‘Simone.’ He sighed against my lips.
And his voice jolted me out of the lust fuelled moment. If Diego saw us, I’d have no choice but to follow through with his demands. And I couldn’t. Not tonight. Not when my hair was full of his touch, and my body aching withdesire for him. His taste still on my tongue and my head filled with a burning need to be in his arms.
I pushed against his chest and stepped out of his arms. It pained me to do so. The moment I left him, I ached to be with him once more.
Not tonight.
I can’t.
‘I’m sorry.’ I whispered at his confused face, his mouth agape with a thousand whys.
I fled. I didn’t look back.
When I was safely back in my room, I ripped off Diego’s cursed dress and threw the bottle he’d so cleverly sewn into the bodice into the fire.
I collapsed onto the bed and cried silently into the pillows until the blackness of sleep consumed me.
CHAPTER FIVE
There was a cloud hanging about me, grey and thunderous. Damn Diego and damn his soirees. Going had been a mistake. I had opened myself up to Simone, acted upon the urges which sang between us, and she’d rejected me. She had every right to refuse me but it stung all the same, even days on. Had I read her signals so wrongly?
I fastened my thick, fur-lined cloak about by neck and stomped out a side door, intending to clear my head with the great outdoors. The inner courtyard would be warmer on a cold day like today, butnobles and courtiers would crowd it desperateforsmall chat, or seeking some favour or another. That was the last thing I needed. So I walked around behind the palace, where the kitchen doors opened wideto let the fresh air into the sweltering rooms, and servants stood beating rugs and washing clothes in steaming basins. It wasn’t a kingly route, but the servants were far less likely to bother me than nobles, they had too much to do, and a great deal more respect.
The busyness was comforting in its way. The cook’s voice shouting directions to her underlings, the repetitive splash of clothes being dipped in water, the pleasant cluck of nearby chicken. It all filled my head with enough noise that I needn’t think too hard. I continued my pace, taking in frosty winter air in long-drawn breaths which settled my soul.
It hadn’t been embarrassment or the rejection which had hurt; it was the fact I felt her giving in, wanting the kiss as badly as I. She was riled up, panting against me, her mouth as hungry as my own, yet she had pushed me away and ran without an explanation. I hadn’t seen her since. If I wanted to, I could have her brought to me on command, but if she was avoiding me,it wouldn’t be fair to strong arm her. She owed me nothing, not even an explanation.
Maybe it was easier this way. I could excuse her from court and she could go, rather thanhide out away from me. She was still at court, that much I knew. A courtier required my blessing to leave court, and she hadn’t requested a dismissal.
The sound of children’s laughter sent a surge of happiness through me. It would forever send me right back to the golden moments of my childhood. The giggles drifted toward me and I sought the source of the hilarity. I rounded a corner and found a huddle of small children seated on the ground, wrapped in a variety of patched blankets and all enraptured by the performance before them.
A performance by none other than the source of my angst no less.
Simone.
The low winter sun gleamed gold in her white-blond hair as it tumbled freely about her face, looking like a halo about her head. Her outfit was simple, not like the cinched, embroidered and bedazzled fitted gowns adorned with ample skirts I’d seen her in previously. She wore a loose dark blue gown, gathered at the waist with a plain leather belt, and a simple woven cloak about her shoulders. If she was outstanding in the finery, the plain clothes made her shine all the more. No rouged cheeks or painted lips, no perfectly coiffed hair. She looked radiant. The pink in her cheeks was entirely real, brought on by the cold air and the raucous act she performed for the children. I raised an eyebrow as she stood up and spread her arms wide above her head fingers pointed into claws. She let out a most undignified snarl and started chasing after the children in a rendition of the big bad wolf, or perhaps some other beast.
She caught one small girl and picked her up, tickling her as she dissolved into giggles in Simone’s arms. Right as she blew a raspberry on the child’s side, our eyes met. To her credit, she didn’t drop the child, instead she cleared her throat and placing her gently on her feet. A hot blush spread from her chest to her cheeks as she caught sight of my grin.
She ushered the children back toward the palace too much sighs and pouts.
‘Please, Lady Simone, you didn’t finish the story.’ One stomped her little feet and crossed her arms.
‘Oh, sweet, I shall come back tomorrow, I promise.’
The girl must have been five or six,and she shot me a dark look. ‘It’s all your fault, you ruined our story.’
One of the other children nudged her and muttered, ‘He’s the king! Be quiet Mary.’
‘I don’t care if he’s the king or the blacksmith, he ruined our story.’ Her lip trembled as the boy took her hand and led her away.
Simone crouched before her and wiped a falling tear from the girl’s ruddy cheek. ‘Don’t worry, I will come back, and we will finish the story. I shall even bring a few of the fine pastries cook makes for breakfast and we shall have our own little feast. Deal?’
Mary sniffed and nodded, her eyebrows drawn together in a scowl directed at me.
The children slowly trooped back toward the door leavingSimone and I in an awkward silence, which she broke first.
‘Your Highness, I am sorry, I didn’t see you there. I wouldn’t have been so…’
‘Fantastic. You were fantastic. Those children adored you. But what are you doing here with the servant’s children?’
‘Mostly avoiding the other ladies.’ Her eyes slipped to the palace as she spoke.
‘And me?’
‘And you.’
‘Why?’
‘I shouldn’t have let you kiss me, it was a foolish decision.’ She walked over to a low wall and sat on it, tilting her face to the last embers of the setting sun. A guard shifted in my peripheral vision. I was so used to them that often I forgot they were there in the palace’s hubbub, but out here, they stood out.
‘It was foolish. But aren’t all the best things in life?’
A smile lifted her sweet lips, and I wanted to placea thousand kisses upon them. Foolish or not.
‘Perhaps in your position they are, but they haven’t proved so for me.’
She wore her sorrow openly on her face as she closed her eyes and soaked up the last of the winter light.
‘Did you love him?’ The words were out before I thought about them and I snapped my mouth closed, cursing myself.
Her eyes opened, and she met my gaze wide eyed. ‘No. He wa
s comfort and so was I. We were solace for one another in a time of bitter loneliness. He never promised more, and I never truly hoped for it.’
I nodded and sat down beside her.
‘Have you ever been in love?’ she asked.
‘No. I’ve had passing infatuations, idolisations when I was a youth. But nothing concrete. No great love stories. I have a duty to my kingdom, a marriage to the state. So many lives depend on my choices, it can be a heavy burden. It’s a burden lined with great riches, I cannot complain, but it can be very lonely to be the king. Everyone wants something, wants me to push a law that benefits them, or a particular parcel of land, or a marriage of note for their children. People want me not for the person I am, but for the power I hold.’
Her fingers grazed against mine on the wall and my breath caught in my chest.
‘Why haven’t you chosen a wife, it’s been months since your coronation, you could have any woman you choose?’
God, she was frank. It was both infuriating and refreshing. Was it just in her nature to be so candid, or did her close relationship with another royal render her so familiar?
‘Honestly? I’m afraid to.’
‘Afraid of a wife?’
‘Not exactly, I’m afraid of turning into my father. He loved my mother with a fierce intensity, and when she died, there was nowhere for him to pour that emotion. It turned him mad. I’m sure you’ve heard of his many terrible deeds.’
She nodded and her hand covered mine fully. I dared not move lest she removed the slender, cold fingers.
‘You cannot judge your life upon your father’s. Many men lose their wives, and many men love as fiercely as your father did. They don’t all crack under the pressure. You are a good man, you care about Latania, you wouldn’t fall down that path. Plus, perhaps your wife will outlive you, and then you shouldn’t need worry at all.’
‘So I have bled my heart unto you, can you tell me why you are spending your days at court running around with the servants’ children?’
She sighed and turned her face to mine, swiping a loose tendril of hair from her eyes. ‘While men have the freedom to rut where they please, us women do not have the same privileges. That day in the forest, one lady slapped my horse to spook it. Other instances have happened in the palace. Spilled wine, snide comments, dirty looks. I’m not well liked here. And I miss my family. I have two young sisters at home, and I miss them dearly. After the years I spent away from home, I would do anything to be telling them these stories. I miss their laughter, and their heavy, sleepy bodies curled up in my arms. I detest my step-mother, but I thank the stars each day for her bearing those two sweet girls.’
I didn’t want her to leave; I wanted to get to know her, despite my fear at my tumbling emotions, but to see her so pained wasn’t fair. ‘Then why are you here? You only need ask and I can dismiss you from court to go back and see your family.’
Panic flashed in her eyes and she withdrew her hand, her mouth opening in protest.
‘No. Thank you, but I have business that I need attend to here. And I would love to have the chance to see the winter festival, I’ve never been to one in Latanian court before. It looks so magical already. Like a fairytale.’
‘After the festivities then, you need only ask.’
‘Could I bring Mary and Edward?’
‘The children?’
‘For a little while at least, there is nothing quitelike experiencing the magic of something through the innocent eyes of a child. I’m sure their mother would give her permission.’
‘They’ll need suitable attire.’
Before I knew what hit me, she flung her arms about my shoulders in a sudden display of thanks. And she felt good pressed against me. As she withdrew, I placed my hands on her hips to stop her. Her lips were an inch away from my own and our warm breath misted between us. A surge of desire hooked me and I needed to taste her. Just once more. Once more…
Then my lips found hers and she melted into my arms. A soft moan greeted my kiss, like the sigh of the sea meeting the shore. Her dress amplified every curve beneath my hands without the rigid material of the formal wear and the voluminous skirts. It as all her, all real, all magnificent. All it took was her responding to my kiss with eager abandon and I was straining against my breeches. I dropped my lips to the creamy, tender skin below her ear and nipped at it before smothering it with kisses.
The tension between us hummed like the string pulled taut on a harp. I wanted to pluck at that tension until she sang a pretty moan for me. I wanted to rip off her dress and touch every ounce of her.
This time it was I who broke the kiss. If I wasn’t careful, I’d be tearing her clothes off right here in the cold and darkening outdoors. And she deserved more. So much more.
Her breath came rapidly as she stood before me, her eyes searching my face.
‘Sit by me at the winter feast? Dance with me? I would like your company, if you would give it.’
She planted a tantalising kiss upon the edge of my jaw and smiled.
‘It would be my pleasure, your Highness.’ She dipped into a low curtsy, but there was a glint in her eyes and mirth upon her lips.
I took her arm and led her indoors, parting ways as she headed for the courtiers quarters.
Even the way she walked set my blood racing. I reluctantly accepted it. Like it or not, I was falling for Simone De Beauchamp.
And no-one else would compare.
CHAPTER SIX
My legs hit a cold spot in bed and I rolled into a ball, curling up around the warm spot where I had been sleeping. I groaned at the cold night,sorely tempted to put a log on the last burning embers in the fire. The thought of the frozen air stealing about my legs had me abandon the idea. I’d need to huddle down until morning when the servants would come in and light the fire anew.
I burrowed down into the blankets, gathering them right up to my nose to warm as much of my body as possible. Sleep gathered me once more at the precipice of its inky depths and as I drifted off I felt a cold hand snake over my mouth. My hands came up to try toprise the icy fingers from my face and I struggled against the strong arm. A dark figure swung up onto my bed, his legs pinning my torso as he sat astride me.
‘Shut your mouth. If you scream, I will smother you.’
Diego.
How had he gotten into my room? I locked the door. He must have snuck in and hidden earlier. Him skulking in the room while I changed and washed made my skin crawl.
He lifted his hand away slowly and leaned close, his wine fuelled breath sour in my face. The blanket stretched over my chest with his knees pinning it at either side. I could barely breathe, far less scream.
‘What do you want?’ I spat the words at him, anger searing through me at his intrusion.
‘You know damned well what I want. What’s taking you so long? I thought you were skilled in the art of seduction. A two-bit whore could have seduced him quicker than you.’
‘Fine, use one of them.’
A hard slap landed across my cheek and I winced, tears springing to my eyes. He wasn’t just angry; he was drunk. Dante worried about himself spiraling out of control, while Diego was there following far more closely in their father’s footsteps. ‘Quiet, you stupid bitch. I warned you. You knew the consequences.’
My pulse quickened in my throat. No. Surely he hadn’t?
‘My sisters?’
‘Gone. Hidden. Taken. My men will look after them, unless you keep disobeying my orders. You have one week. After that, you won’t have any sisters to save.’
‘You’re a monster. They are children.’
Fear and loathing overtook my every beating vein, I would kill him if he harmed even one hair on their head.
Madness danced in Diego’s eyes as he watched me. ‘Children are nothing but pawns touse in this grand game we call life. I was a pawn, you were a pawn. It’s no different.’
He ran a finger over my lips and dread surged in my chest.
‘So pretty.
Such a waste.’
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, only to heara low chuckle.
‘Don’t worry little bird. I like my women much more interesting than you.’ He raised an eyebrow as I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘You like him, don’t you?’
It was dangerous waters; I didn’t want to madden him in case he took it out on my sisters.
‘I… think he’s not the man you painted him to be.’
Diego chuckled again and leaned in close, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered, ‘I don’t care if you enjoy fucking him, take what pleasure you can. Just do what I’ve told you to.’
Despite my best intentions, fear caused me to tremble beneath him. I didn’t want to show him any weakness, it would only make the situation worse.
‘The winter feast,’ I whispered, barely having enough air in my lungs left to speak. ‘He’s invited me to dine as his guest. I will seduce him then. I have your word that you will release the girls unharmed to my Father? After.’
‘Yes.’
I hoped his word counted for something; I had little choice in the matter though. He had the leverage to direct me like a puppet on a string.
In the blink of an eye he strode away into the night, unlocking my door with the key I’d left in the inner lock, and leaving it wide open. I cursed and got out of bed, the cold air nipping at my tired limbs as I moved to lock up the room. I threw some wood on the fire as I passed, taking the time to fan the flames into a crackling roar.
My time was running out, the feast was tomorrow.
It was the beginning of the end.
My end.
The railings and ceilings in the grand ballroom had great bows of foliage suspended from them, and the whole room glittered with the light of a thousand candles. Mary’s mouth gaped as she squeezed my hand.
‘Lady Simone, it’s so grand!’
‘That it is, King Dante has left nothing undone.’
Long tables heaved with candles, flowers, crockery and cutlery. All about servants stood with jugs of wine, ready to top up cup upon cup for the nobles. While Mary paid little heed to the fine dress I’d bought for her, Edward’s lifted his headhigh and his stance filled with confidence. It was a strange quirk that your path in life was all but determined by the class of your parents. These children did not differ from noble children, perhaps physically they were even superior with the vast time they spent running and playing instead of cooped up inside singing and sewing and learning. If I had the chance, I should have loved to aid their education, but my time was coming to a close.