Burning for Love (Kindred Tales)

The Duke considered himself especially clever for his construction of the lie about Lady Mildew’s involvement in the incident.

“She has always been jealous of my darling Ka’rissa’s youth and beauty—the Princess told me so!” he had cried dramatically, pointing at the confused old woman, whom he had told the guards to drag out of bed in the middle of the night. “She threw the only key to the Princess’s Chastity Device into the fire and declared that she should burn! And so she did—before I could save her!”

He had pointed with a shaking finger to the pile of ashes he had swept up from the fireplace and heaped carefully onto the golden rug in the middle of the honeymoon bed chamber floor. He had sobbed noisily—a new husband overcome with grief at the loss of his lovely young wife.

The guards had marched the bewildered Lady Mildew away to the dungeons to await her fate and the Duke had immediately set his plans in motion for a swift coronation. Today, with the planet still stunned and grieving for the lost Princess, he would take the crown and claim the throne as his own.

“And then all will be right with the world,” Duke Grabbington muttered, smiling smugly.

“Your Highness, the ceremony is about to begin,” murmured his personal Valet. “Are you quite ready?”

“I am.” Duke Grabbington rubbed his hands together, eyeing the golden throne with avarice in his eyes. “Ready to claim what is mine. By all means, let us begin.”

62

“…and so,” the Steward droned as he stood before the golden throne, holding the heavy, ceremonial crown in his hands. “Though we all miss our beloved Princess Ka’rissa, we must accept the reality of her untimely death. Thankfully, she does not leave us completely without leadership. For the late Princess’s new husband, Lord Shammington, does indeed have the blood of the Very First Family flowing through his veins. Enough so that he is, in my estimation, more than eligible to be crowned the King of our fair planet, Regalia Five.” He turned to the young, handsome Lord, who stood looking modestly straight ahead into the communications devices, which were picking up his straight, well-formed figure and broadcasting it around the planet. “Your Highness, do you wish to say anything before you receive the crown?”

“Indeed, I do.” Duke Grabbington disguised as Lord Shammington—soon to be King Shammington—nodded gracefully. “First, I wish to assure the people that the evil woman responsible for my beautiful wife’s death shall answer for her crimes.” He pointed across the stage and all the cameras zoomed out in order to include the hapless Lady Mildew in the shot.

She was standing with her hands bound behind her back and a hangman’s noose already around her neck. She was gagged as well, so that she couldn’t interrupt the ceremony.

“This horrid creature was the Princess’s Constant Companion for many years—but her heart was black with corruption and jealousy for the lovely young Ka’rissa’s beauty and status,” the Duke went on, his voice breaking touchingly on his late wife’s name. “The moment I take the throne, she shall swing from the gibbet you all see before you and my darling Princess Ka’rissa shall be avenged.”

There was an approving roar from the crowd of Nobles who were standing around the golden stage, waiting to see both the coronation and the hanging. It rebounded from the ballroom’s high ceiling, making the noise even louder, so that it sounded like thousands cheering instead of just hundreds. None of them had liked Lady Mildew—the contentious old creature—so they were delighted to see her hang for the supposed murder of the late Princess.

The disguised Duke smiled in satisfaction. Surely everyone at home was cheering too, glad to know that the murderess who had killed the lovely young Princess would have her comeuppance and that the planet would soon be safe in the hands of a qualified King. Not the dithering old Steward and not a flighty young woman but a man who would do things right.

The first thing I shall do is raise taxes planet-wide, he thought, as he nodded calmly to the cameras. And maybe enact a few more laws to put women in their place. There is entirely too much freedom for the female sex on Regalia Five at the moment.

He was mainly thinking of how Ka’rissa had been allowed to reject his suit in the first place. It seemed to him that law number one should be that no woman should be allowed to reject a man who asked for her hand in marriage. And several more laws that made wives completely subservient to their husbands would be nice as well…

“Thank you, Your Highness,” the Steward said, breaking his train of thought. He lifted the heavy crown with trembling arms and nodded.

The Duke bowed and then kneeled upon a golden velvet pillow, which had been provided for the purpose. He held his head straight, ready to receive the crown.