to exonerate her. Oh Lyria, what had
she done?
A dull light suddenly filled the room,
and she blinked rapidly to adjust her
eyes. Bael was standing by the hearth,
naked as the day he was born, staring
in her direction with a rueful smile.
“Step forward, lady, so I may see
the face of the woman who tumbled
into bed with an unknown man,” he
encouraged.
Jaisyn’s head lowered and she made
out her wrapper lying feet away on
the floor. Stepping forward, she
reached down for the wrap and
tugged it on.
“A modest lady?” Bael taunted,
moving in her direction.
She lifted her head, and although
her heart was breaking from what the
situation implied, she faced Bael
squarely. He stopped in his tracks as
his eyes widened. The king then
stared at her as if she were an
apparition come to haunt his life. His
hand lifted to his mouth and he moved
forward cautiously.
“Majesty?” His voice was hoarse.
As if disbelieving she were real, he
reached forward and gently pushed at
her shoulder.
“Bael, I do not remember— What
happened?”
As if recognizing he was still naked,
he turned away from her, walked
back to the bed, and began tugging on
his breeches and his tunic. When he
was decently dressed, he turned to
face her, but made no move to step
closer.
“I did not know it was you,
Majesty,” he said quickly, swallowing
at the thickness in his throat. “I
thought you another lady.”
“It matters not, Bael. You will tell
me everything that happened between
the two of us.”
He shook his head and replied, “I do
not quite remember, Majesty, but our
state of… undress… implies that we
—” He broke off. He might feel
distaste for Vulcan, but had no wish to
increase the distress of his queen.
“I must leave,” Jaisyn’s voice was a
combination of disbelief and urgency.
She headed to the door slowly, and
before she reached it, Bael stopped
her.
“Wait,” he called, moving past her
and opening the door slowly. He
peered out and looked down the
passage way. Jaisyn knew he was
making sure there was no one about.
She should be grateful, but the only
thing she felt was numbness. “It will
not bode well for your reputation if
you are seen leaving my room at this
hour of the morning. Wait a few
minutes before leaving the room.” He
paused and cleared his throat. “I hope
this will remain between us.”
She nodded and looked back to the
flames. If Vulcan ever found out, he
would never forgive her. She’d
accused him of taking Calista as a
mistress, but apparently she had done
him even worse. She’d lain with Bael,
under the same roof as her husband.
Bael stepped from the room and
Jaisyn drew in a deep breath that did
little to calm her nerves. If her
husband learned of these events, he
would have reason to cast her aside.
Her child would remain with him, to
be raised by some other woman that
he took to wife. She could not allow
that to happen. After waiting the
appropriate time, she opened the
door, searched the passageway, and
began to make her way, like a ghostly
wraith through the halls of Morden
Castle, back to her chambers.
***
Vulcan entered his chambers and
proceeded to remove the stifling layers
of clothing that were common to court
life. He was thankful the Season only
lasted for a few months of the year,
during which he attended at maximum
four events, else he would have to
employ a valet full time. The valet
who’d helped him dress for the
evening had returned to his lodgings in
the city as he’d been told the king
would not need his services after
tonight. After fussing with his attire for
many minutes, and shaking his head at
the intricate cravat that took up most
of his time, Vulcan finally had his
clothing strewn about on the floor,
and could breathe.
He sighed and made his way to his
wife’s chambers. He opened the door
carefully in case she were asleep,
before moving over to the bed. A
silver tray with a cup of liquid sat in
the middle of her bed, but she wasn’t
there.
A sickening feeling of déjà-vu settled
over him and he spun, naked, and
bellowed for his guards.
They rushed in immediately, took
one look at their naked king, the
empty bed, and saw their lives flash
before their eyes. The two guards
who’d been positioned before the
passageway
to
the
queen’s
bedchambers turned to look at each
other in confusion. They knew what
had happened to the guards who’d
allowed the queen to be removed from
the castle and didn’t wish to face their
fates. Those men had spent weeks in
the dungeons, only to be released and
demoted when the queen was found.
“Where is she?” Vulcan demanded,
glaring at both of them. When neither
made a move to answer, he strode
closer to the two men, who despite
being armored, took a step away from
their naked and enraged king. “Where
is my queen?”
“Majesty, are you—” Lady Jane
stepped from the adjoining room and
shrieked when she recognized a
naked
man—a
naked
Vulcan—
standing before four armed soldiers.
Immediately,
she
clutched
her
wrapper tightly around her body and
gave them her back. “I am sorry,
Majesty, but I thought you were the
queen.”
“Where
is
your queen?” Vulcan felt
his control slip. He’d been in this
situation once before and had taken
exacting precautions to make sure it
would not happen again. And now,
there was a possibility that someone
had taken his queen from right under
their noses…a second time. He
reached to his hips, searching for his
sword, but his hand grazed naked
flesh. Looking down, he remembered
himself.
“When Lady Anne and I entered our
chambers,
my
liege,
she
was
preparing for bed,” Lady Jane replied
quickly, her back still to the men.
Vulcan had spun and was heading
back to his room when the door was
pushed open, and Jaisyn entered.
***
Jaisyn stopped abruptly after seeing
the crowd gathered in her room, and
clutched at her wrapper. Her eyes
went to Vulcan, who stood naked by
the adjoining door, and her lungs
constricted.
Does he know?
His face was set in grim lines when
he stalked over to her and she braced
herself for the blow she would
willingly take. Her eyes remained
open, and she stared calmly into the
angry grey that pierced her.
“Out!” Vulcan hissed softly, but
everyone heard the command. The
guards returned to their stations. Lady
Jane stole a quick glance at her queen
before stepping into the adjoining
room, and pushing the door in. As
soon as they were alone, Vulcan
moved forward, hauling her against
his chest. Jaisyn sighed deeply and
held onto his shoulders, fighting back
the urge to cry.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he
murmured against her hair. Clutching
at his back, she nodded, afraid her
voice would be too shaky and hoarse
if she replied.
“Where were you?” He pulled away
to look into her face.
Jaisyn removed herself from his
arms and made her way to the bed.
She bent down and removed the tray
from the bed, placing it on the
adjacent stand.
“I was with Lady Lydia,” she
replied, biting her lip for that partial
lie. She turned to face Vulcan and
noticed that he was staring at her
curiously.
“Could it not wait until tomorrow?”
he inquired slowly, eyes narrowing as
he moved closer.
She shook her head. “No. It was
important, Vulcan.”
He was now standing before her,
close enough to read every expression
that might flit across her face.
“What was important?”
Jaisyn felt her heart began a loud
thump in her chest and stepped away
from him, tugging the wrapper off as
she did so. “I’m so tired, Vulcan.
Please, can we speak of this in the
morning?”
She moved aside the curtains and
slid under the covers. Eventually,
Vulcan did the same, moving to pull
her against him. Her buttocks spooned
into his hips, and a hand went around
her waist and rested gently against her
belly.
He began that slow and comforting
caress,
but
Jaisyn
was
more
frightened than tired. She couldn’t
remember anything after walking
along the corridors with Lydia.
Vulcan’s breathing suddenly evened
and the hand at her belly became still.
She snuggled closer into him.
As soon as she woke tomorrow, she
would find Lydia. She would not tell
Vulcan’s step-mother where she had
awoken, but she would ask the
woman questions to find out exactly
how she’d come to be in that man’s
bed.
Bael.
No doubt, Lydia would be
able to give some insight to what had
happened. Still, she wondered at how
much insight the lady could give that
would excuse her queen waking up in
another man’s bed?
***
Isolde spent the day searching out
Varian. She refused to believe that he
had left already. He would not leave
without saying goodbye to her. So
from the moment she stepped into the
courtyard after having a late breakfast
in bed, her eyes longed for a glimpse
of him. She had moved to the stables,
thinking to find him there when she
ran into Bael and his party. He gave
her a quick smile, which seemed
forced, and bowed.
“Princess,” he acknowledged.
“King Bael,” she returned, curtsying
and smiling at him. She’d seen Bael a
handful of times over the Season and
had grown accustomed to his easy-
going flirtations. While she found him
attractive, and laughed at his wit, she
did not think of him in the way she
reserved for Varian. She thought of
none other that way.
“Are you leaving already, my lord?”
she asked after noticing that some of
the servants around Bael were tying
bags onto the backs of saddled horses.
Bael nodded immediately and an
expression she could not place
crossed his face. “I have neglected my
kingdom for many days, Princess. I
must go back.”
She smiled. “I believe that I will miss
your conversation.”
Bael laughed and bowed his head.
“Since you will miss my conversation,
my lady, I will try to make it a habit of
indulging you at least once every few
months.”
Isolde glared up at him, before a
reluctant smile formed. “Safe journey,
my lord.”
With those parting words, she
curtsied and turned away from the
stables, still searching for Varian.
***
“Varian, darling boy, you cannot do
that. Why, it was only one waltz.
There is no need to take such drastic
action over one, short waltz. It will be
forgotten with the closing of the
season.”
Lydia stared at her son as if he’d
grown two heads. Varian simply
smiled and relaxed against the chair
that his tall frame dominated.
“I am aware of that, Mother. I wish
to take such action.”
She sputtered and glared at him.
Familiar blue eyes turned stern and he
prepared himself for the lecture she