A king must marry for advancement, whether it be for a treaty of peace, more wealth or lands, the people will expect it. I had no desire to ever put on the trappings of marriage.
I could make this child of ours my heir. I could take her as my mistress. I’ve been giving it much thought. But it would be remiss of me to let the truth of our dalliance be known.
Not that it hasn’t been done before, but I would not do that to her. I will not make her the brunt of innuendo and vile gossip. Yet I regretted more and more the thought of everyone thinking my child was my brother’s. But what was to be done?
In any case she was very well composed when out and about the palace grounds and within the court, but behind my closed chamber doors was another matter.
It was easy keeping our trysts secret. Since she still occupied my dead brother’s rooms, which adjoined mine, her comings and goings were well hidden. If anyone wondered at my many absences they would do well to keep their wonderings to themselves.
As I sat on the throne perusing the room, I saw lady Georgina flitting about with much gaiety and could only surmise that she had found some unsuspecting young fool on whom to bestow her charms. I had since learned her game, again through palace intrigue and gossip. But she was no longer of any consequence to me.
I beckoned my sister Lillian to me and she came with a smile, much revived these last few days. In between bouts of breeding Cecile I had spent some time with my sister and my attentions seemed to have brought her out of her melancholy.
“And how are you this evening little princess?” She curtsied prettily and beamed at me. “I have a favor to ask my lord.” Uh-oh, I wonder what treasure she would ask from distant lands. Like every female throughout time the princess was known to lose her head over something as simple as silk ribbon.
There was a ship just docked and the ladies were all atwitter. “Yes?” I smiled at her indulgently and indicated that she should sit on the throne beside me. No one had sat there since I had when my sire was alive.
“I wish to marry.”
“You what?” My cup of wine was stopped halfway to my lips as I stared at her in surprise. Bloody hell she was of age. Where had the time gone?
“And who pray tell does my sister wish to marry? Do you not know that it is the duty of your brother the king to find you a match?” Not that I was in any hurry to do so. The thought never even crossed my mind.
“Your trusted friend, lord Nicholas.”
I had been ready to deny her no matter who she named, but hearing his name fair near gave me an attack of the vapors.
I searched the room for my ex friend. If he had laid one hand on her I would take his head. “Go to your chamber.”
“But Jul….”
“Now, I will deal with you later.”
She fled the hall in tears and that bloody knave’s eyes followed her before turning to me. With anger! I did not need to tell him to follow me as I left the throne in a huff of anger.
As soon as the door to my chambers closed behind us I swung at him. “You dare?” He wiped blood from his lip but did not retaliate. It would not be the first time we’d indulged in fisticuffs but that hadn’t occurred since I’d become king and then only in jest.
“I dare what? What is it that you accuse me of?”
“You seduced my sister. I should run you through right now and be done with it you bloody knave.”
“I did no such thing.” I watched his face. I can always tell when the bastard is lying, and he wasn’t now.
“How did this happen? I had no idea you two had occasion to become that closely acquainted that she would think of marriage to you. What exactly happened on the way here when I sent you after her?”
“It has been going on for a while. It started after Frederick’s death. You were so busy dealing with other things and I found her in the gardens one day crying her little heart out. I sat with her and we talked. Since then she has sought me out at every turn.”
“I should’ve discouraged her, but I found that I liked her company. She’s rather delightful.” The ass grinned and backed away.
“You encouraged her you mean.” The sod.
“No, no I didn’t. But the more time we spent together the more I came to adore her. I would never have asked for her hand in marriage out of respect for you. I know you have to marry her off to some foreign prick.” His hands fisted until he got ahold of himself and relaxed them again.