Chapter 7
Rowena stumbled back a
steps, her face ashen.
“The whole city’s talking,” she choked out. “They say Prince Edward’s going to marry you. That spent the entire night outside the royal study, begging His Majesty to revoke our betrothal–to make you his Princess instead ”
Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she kept going.
ne noble
“What does that make me, then? I brought in a tutor to teach me court manners for him—and now they say I’m crude, a laughingstock among ladies. But it was him! He said he liked my boldness. Sald 1 wasn’t like all of you–polished, delicate, boring”
Her voice rose, thick with rage.
“And now he calls me undignified? Says I’ve shamed him? Why because of you?
Her gaze locked on mine, venomous and shaking
“It’s you. You twisted everything. Pretending to marry someone else, all just to catch his eye. It worked. Now he’s disgusted by me. If you were gone, he’d love me again. If you were dead–he’d come back to me.”
She lunged.
But before her fingers could brush my sleeve, she was kicked violently backward–sent sprawling to the ground.
Duke Alaric stood in the doorway, calin and commanding
Rowena scrambled upright and yanked a blade from her waist–a slim, curved sword.
“I’ll kill her! If Cecilia dies, the Crown Prince will have only me!”
She didn’t get far. The Duke’s guards had already surrounded her.
“Bind her,” Alaric ordered coldly. “Deliver her to the Crown Prince. And tell him his fiancée just tried to murder his future Duchess.”
Rowena thrashed and screamed.
“Cecilia, I won’t let you win!
My knees nearly buckled. I turned to Alarke, breathless.
“My lord… why are you here?”
Instead of answering, he reached into the cloak of one of his attendants and revealed an exquisite gown–deep sapphire and silver thread, with a golden crest woven at the ben
“The corone belonged to my mother,” he said, his voice lower now. “She wanted by bride to wear it on our wedding day, I believe she would have approved of you ”
We stood there for a moment, the bridal veil and coronet between us. For once, I smiled without restraint.
The day before our wedding, Prince Edward was finally released from house arrest.
He didn’t come in person but he did send several chests of jewelry and gifts, claiming they were compensation on behalf of Rowena’s offense. I accepted, of course, Who refuses silver and pearls?
On the day of my wadding, just as the vows were spoken and i was being led away from the chapel, I heard a voice behind me
“My father sent me,” Edward called, “to deliver a gift for the Duke and his bride. A token of blessing from Its Majesty–may it i
I guard your union well.”
I lifted my head slightly. Through the delicate vell of my bridal headdress, I saw his eyes–burning with something he couldn’t say aloud, And then the veil fell back into place, soft crimson flooding my vision
Later, I heard he drank himself unconscious that night and had to be carried out of the least
The following morning, I accompanied Alaric to the palace to pay our respects,
And there he was.
Prince Edward knelt at the foot of the throne, his robes wrinkled from the chill of the marble flour.
“Father,” he said, loud and clear. “I request to be sent to the southern provinces to ove Allow me to serve the realm ”
oversee flood relief efforts. The region’s been suffering for years.
Ask Al
The King frowned. “You’re due to wed soon. Handle that first. You can travel afterward.”
But Edward shook his head.
“I’m not ready for marriage. Not yet. Let me prove myself in service first. I want to be worthy of my future bride. ”
Before the King could reply, a court attendant rushed in.
“Your Majesty Lord Southwell and his daughter are at the gates. They request an immediate audience.”
The two entered moments later. Rowena fell to her knees before the throne, her face pale but determined.
“Your Majesties, please–grant me justice”
Her voice trembled.
“Prince Edward refuses to marry me. But I-
Gasps rippled across the court.
- me. But I–I’m carrying his child. Does he mean to cast me aside and let his heir die with me?”
The Queen’s voice cracked with alarm. “Fotch the royal physician–immediately!”
After a tense silence, the physician finally confirmed, “Lady Rowena is indeed with child–over a month along. However, emotional distress could endanger both her and the child ”
Lord General Southwell stepped forward, face flushed with fury.
“My daughter is not without suitors, Your Majesty. Had there been no… involvement, I would have arranged a more suitable match. But she now carries the heir’s child. Shall she be cast aside, unacknowledged?”
He turned to the King, eyes blazing,
“I’ve given my life to the crown–bled for it, buried comrades for it. All I ask is that my daughter be treated with dignity. If the Crown Prince refuses to wed her, then I expect an answer,”
Alaric, silent until now, spoke coldly from the side. “Prince Edward. You are heir to the throne, You want to be a king? Then start by owning your mistakes.!!
The King sighed heavily. “Summon the astrologers. Find the earliest auspicious date The Crown Prince will wed Lady Rowena.”
The wedding was set within the week. Rowena was triumphant again,
But on the night of their marriage, Edward didn’t share her bed. He was seen instead in the company of one of the noblewomen recently brought into his household. Yes, he’d orchestrated a spectacle–marrying not just Rowena, but also bestowing formal titles on two others.
Word flew by morning–Rowena bad one of the ladies escorted out from her chamber and shamed her before the household, demanding she apologize publicly for some smagined slight
When news reached the Queen, she was livid. She sent her own governess to rebuke Rowena.
“The Crown Prince’s duty is to secure the succession not to coddle one woman’s pride. If you seek to wear the crown, then carry yourself with the grace and dignity in demands. Pettiness has no place in the royal household.”
Clupter 7
