Trusted (15 page)

“Yes let’s. There is much to talk about,” her mother said.

Chapter Fourteen

“What do you mean you told him you would think about it? Have you gone completely mad?” her mother cried.

Sarea looked to Isobol, who was sitting there looking as if someone had punched her in the face with a pillow.

“The king…asked you to marry him?” she echoed for the third time since Sarea had told everyone the news.

“And she didn’t say yes!” her mother cried in disgust. “I never knew I raised a total idiot!”

“Mother!” Dakon said sharply. “That’s not fair. Can’t you see she is in shock? We all are.”

“Shock? I am not in shock! I am delighted. Grateful!” Julea said. “As you should be, young lady. The king pays you great compliment, singling you out from all others, asking to make you queen when he has not even so much as entertained the thought since his first queen passed of fever. Don’t you see how special and fortunate you are? Don’t you see what this could do for this family? Why, your bride price alone would see this family put in comfort for many yana to come! And perhaps your father would be made council member. And your brother would most certainly become Trusted!”

“I don’t want to become Trusted just because my sister is married to the king!” Dakon burst out. “But that is what everyone is going to think now! They will think I did not earn my place!”

“Enough!” Isobol shouted, the normally even-tempered girl jumping to her feet and clapping her hands together sharply. “You selfish, selfish people! Is that all you can do? Sit here worrying about how others will perceive you or how much fortune you can gain? Get out! Every one of you! Leave the girl to think and consider and weigh the possibilities very carefully!”

“You
will
marry the king!” Julea insisted sharply before Isobol ushered her out of the room. Isobol shut the door, closing everyone else’s opinion out.

“Thank you, my dove,” Sarea said to her friend, holding out her hand to her. Isobol came and took it, squeezing it tightly.

“I am here for you, whatever you decide I will support you.”

“I know you will. But now you must help me to decide!”

“This is a choice only you know the solution to,” Isobol said gently.

“I know…but you must help me to see it from all sides.”

“I can certainly do that,” Isobol said, taking a seat beside her.

“Am I mad for even considering turning him down?” she asked her friend.

“Not at all. If it were me…I do not think I would want to be queen. The highest woman in this kingdom will have to put up with a great deal…especially from high blooded women who think they deserve to be queen instead.”

“Gersa does not bother me any longer. But she does worry me. What if Tyron takes insult that the king chooses a bride from the country over his well bred daughter? It could incite a civil war!”

“If Tyron wants to start a war with the king, he will find a reason…whether it is you or something else. No. I refuse to let you add that weight to your considerations.”

“Very well. Let us consider the most pressing of matters. That I would become
queen
! Who am I to be placed above all other women…and
men
...in this kingdom?”

“You are a smart, good-hearted, trustworthy, strong-minded woman which is exactly what a queen must be!”

“I am also afraid of many things, I shy away from confrontation. A queen must be of strong opinion and not be afraid to voice it.”

“You are so wrong! You are not the fearful thing you make yourself out to be! Would a fearful woman have put herself in the king’s path the way you did? The only thing you are afraid of is…sex with the king! You have been afraid of him tarnishing your self worth and so have fought him for it tooth and nail. Does that not sound like the sort of nature that would make a good queen? Someone who knows her morals and is willing to fight anyone,
including the king
, to see them met with honor?” Isobol patted her hands. “In this marriage there will be things you disagree on. The one thing you must not do is give way to his opinion over yours just because he is king and husband. He will respect you more if you stick to your position.”

“But do you think I would make a good queen? Surely the king has considered this himself and…I guess he thinks I would be…otherwise he would not have asked me to be his wife.”

“I think you would make a perfect queen,” Isobol gushed. “Just think of all of the projects near and dear to your heart that you would now have the power to see done!”

“Like public schooling!” Sarea said with excitement. “Oh just think of all those children, girls included, who could benefit!”

“And then there’s the farmers and farms themselves. You could bring attention to so many issues. And think of the city. There are tons of things being neglected in the city that could use more support. And you would have the king’s ear every night.”

“Oh but…I would not want to always use my position as wife just to sway him. I would not abuse him in such ways.”

Isobol smiled at her. “You would be such a good wife to him. Think of all the troubles on his head day in and day out. Imagine what burdens you can lift from his shoulders when he comes to bed every night.”

That made Sarea color. “Garrick…” She paused to hear herself say his name so familiarly. “Garrick says that I am passionate. That together we would share great passion. But…how is he to judge? Our trysts together have been quite innocent…until tonight. How is it he judges so definitively on one moment of heat the rest of our lives? How am I to know if he would make a good lover?”

“Would you have known had your parents married you to Hectore? We are never able to tell. Unlike men we are unable to try every man until we find the right one. There are women who do, but none that are respected in polite society. You must go by what you have experienced so far. What do your instincts tell you? Because, as an outsider looking in, I have to say you would be a very very lucky woman to have such passion with your husband! Just watching the way you kiss one another makes me warm in special places!”

“Isobol!” Sarea exclaimed. Then she laughed as she pressed cool hands to her warm cheeks. “It is true. Kissing him and having him touch me…it is more passion than I ever dreamed was possible. No other man could possibly compare to him after this. But,” she said biting her lip, “what I feel is one thing. Just as important is how he feels. How do I know I can content him? How long would it be before he would be searching outside of our marriage for someone to better satisfy his needs?”

“You’re not even married yet and already you are worrying about him taking a mistress? Sarea, I do not think he would do that to a wife.”

“But he has been used to quite a variety of women. I am just…me. He says I will be enough, but how are we to know for sure?”

“Again, I ask you, how would you have known this if it were Hectore asking for your hand?”

“I wouldn’t! But the king is not Hectore!”

“You must look at him as a man, not a king in this instance.”

“He says the same. But you cannot separate the two.”

“No, but they are two parts of him.”

“He says he will only accept my refusal if I say it is him I do not want. He will not let me use my fear of being queen as part of my decision.”

“And he is right to do so. Your father has every right to demand you marry the husband he has chosen for you. You would have no say in the matter. You may not have say in the matter if your father presses you. But the king does not want you forced to his hand…that is why he is allowing you time to consider. You must see that for the kindness and consideration that it is. If he is equally as kind and considerate in all things, then you will have a very blessed and happy marriage.”

“I just wish I knew him better.”

“Knowing will come with time. And you are not strangers. You have learned a great deal about him. You have learned enough to recognize a slander against him when you saw one.”

“Not immediately. I allowed doubt to creep in,” Sarea said. “But I will not make that mistake twice.”

“So…” Isobol squeezed her hands. “Do you know your answer?”

Sarea nodded. “I do. I want to make everyone happy. My parents. My king. Myself. The only one who will be unhappy about this is Dakon.”

“He will recover from it I am certain,” Isobol said dryly. “And he is not the only one who will be unhappy. You must be prepared for some negative reactions to this news.”

Sarea nodded. “I know. If you promise to stay by my side, be my counselor, help me to right the world when it has gone askew…only then can I say yes to being queen.”

“Then you will say yes, because I will never leave your side as long as you want me there! You will make many babies for me to cuddle in my arms and we shall watch them grow together.”

Sarea gasped. “Babies! I had not considered!”

“Well what did you think would happen when you got married? It is your duty to create children with him. He needs strong sons to be his heirs.”

“I know. And I will gladly provide them…if I am so fortunate.”

“You will be. You come from good stock. Look how many brothers you have!”

“I suppose you are correct.” Sarea shivered. “So…I guess I am going to be queen!”

Isobol clapped her hands together in delight. “When will you tell him? Should we go tonight?”

“No. Let us wait until morning. I want to wake up tomorrow and know I still believe in my decision.”

“Very well. That is provided you can sleep! I doubt I’ll get a wink I’m so excited for you!”

Garrick prowled his rooms, moving from the sitting room to the bedroom and back again. He then walked to the adjoining door the led to the queen’s suite. The door had been locked when the queen had died, but now he held the key to it in his hand.

He unlocked the door and entered the dark rooms. He walked over to the windows and threw open the drapes, releasing a shower of dust into the early morning sunlight. He looked around the rooms and frowned. They did not look warm and inviting. They had no cheer, no personality. He must change that right away. He would not have his queen coming home to cold rooms.

If indeed he had a queen. He still had not heard response from Sarea. When could he expect to hear from her?

Garrick left the rooms and rang for Jatt. The manservant appeared almost instantly.

“Jatt, see to it the queen's rooms are stripped and dusted down to the barest of bones. The drapes are to be removed…everything. I don’t want to find a single speck of dust anywhere.”

“Yes, my king. I shall have the housekeeper get onto it right away,” Jatt said.

To his credit the man did not ask any questions. Nor would he put forward any speculations to the rest of the staff. But speculations would stir nonetheless. They were bound to when considering the rooms hadn’t been touched in ten yana. But he did not care. Let the staff gossip and speculate all they wanted. There would be a queen for these rooms. He would see to it.

But for today he did not want to press her. He would let her think…even if it killed him.

So he went to the conservatory and slowly went about his morning routine, letting the act of watering the plants comfort and soothe him…as best they could.

When he was done with that he searched for Jesso. He found him in the Trusted’s main living quarters. The Trusted’s rooms all surrounded the king’s, keeping the king insulated with their presence. But there was a large area set aside just for the Trusted to gather or relax, with a fireplace and many comfortable chairs within it.

“Ah, here’s comes the prospective husband,” Jesso said, making Killium and Jun, who were also there, laugh.

“I see you’ve shared information with the others,” Garrick said with a frown. Not that it truly mattered. They were all Trusted and there was no reason why any of them should not be trusted with information, but Garrick wasn't sure he was in the space of mind to be ribbed by his friends.

“I figured it was only a matter of time, so I stole your fanfare from you.”

“Everyone knows?” he asked.

“Every last one of them. So if she does turn you down, your humiliation will be complete.”

“Jesso…I’m not really in the mood for this,” Garrick warned.

“Which makes it all that much more amusing,” Jesso said. He had been sitting rather indolently in a chair, but now got up and walked over to Garrick. “Do not worry, brother,” he said, putting a forearm to Garrick’s shoulder, “we will console you if she keeps her senses and refuses you.”

“I do not think she will refuse him,” Jun said with a grin. “Who would not wish to be queen? It is every girl’s fantasy.”

“To be queen perhaps, but to be married to this?” Killium indicated Garrick.

“There is many a woman in this kingdom that would give her right eye to be queen,” said Jun.

“She would have to…to better keep from seeing this face when she woke up every morning,” Jesso said, indicating Garrick’s face. “But, all and all, he’s not that bad to look at. He has a fine square jaw, a silky mane of hair…and such pretty eyes.”