“I thought Ida was coming to help,” I said quietly. I didn’t like the idea of this woman in the rooms I shared with Branford. Though Branford assured me their conversation the previous night had not been about me, I was uncomfortable with her presence. I just didn’t want her here.
“Princess Ida was detained. She’s working on some last minute changes to the decorations or the food or something. Regardless, she can’t be here and sent us instead.”
Nelle shuffled from one foot to the next.
“Come in, please,” I said once I realized I had just been standing there, staring at them. They both flitted past me and went straight to the changing area.
“I see Branford has redecorated since I was last here,” Kimberly said as she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes and then glanced back at the bed. “I suppose that was needed.”
Nelle covered her mouth to muffle her laughter as I felt a cold chill run through my body. I wondered how many times Kimberly had been in Branford’s rooms and just what they had done here.
“I have your dress right here,” Kimberly said, distracting me from my thoughts. “I know Sir Branford will just go crazy when he sees you in yours! The fashion is the very latest, and I can’t believe Ida managed to get all of us dresses in this style.”
Taking the fabric from her counterpart, Kimberly held the dress she and Nelle had brought with them up to my shoulders. I couldn’t really get an idea of the exact look of the outfit as she held it to me and rather assumed there were several layers to it since Nelle walked past us and began to hang additional fabric over the changing screen.
“Come along,” Kimberly said as she turned me by my shoulders and guided me to where Nelle stood. “You can help Nelle and me dress, and then we will help you. You don’t mind, do you? I mean—you have a lot of experience with such things, yes?”
Nelle giggled.
“Yes,” I said quietly as I tried not to feel offended by her remark. It wasn’t that she insulted me, but I felt affronted for Branford, knowing he would not have approved of her words. Determined not to let them know I was bothered, I held up the first dress, still looking around to see where the rest of it might be. All three of the dresses were nearly identical with only the color of the trim signifying the difference. What was most odd was the cut of the dress, which appeared to be very low across the front, and the sleeves themselves didn’t appear to be complete at all.
Doing as they instructed, I first assisted Nelle and then Kimberly into the strange attire, growing more and more uneasy as the efforts continued. Once they were dressed, they both helped me into the outfit while I kept my eyes to the ground, both from my own uncertainty and also because I felt as if I were intruding on their privacy.
Their dresses showed their entire necks and the tops of their chests, even to the point where the slight dip between their breasts was clearly visible. The whole outfit was held up by gathered cloth wrapped around their chests, with other matching gathers around the tops of their arms, but their shoulders were completely bare. The garment’s sleeves ended just below the elbows, and though it fell nearly to the floor, the fabric was light and showed much of their curves when they moved from side to side. When I looked down at myself and saw an almost identical dress barely covering my body, I was truly horrified. This couldn’t be right—it just couldn’t be.
“This is the dress Ida wants me to wear? The one Queen Sunniva hemmed for me?” I asked, incredulity overwhelming me.
“Would I be here with it if it weren’t?” Kimberly snipped back at me. “Come on, now. Let’s make sure it’s the right length.”
She knelt down and fiddled around with the hem, shaking it slightly before letting it billow back around my legs. She declared it of the exact right length before standing again to face me.
“Where is the rest of it?” I asked quietly, for surely I was missing something here. There was no way I was supposed to wear such a thing in public. The garment was much more likely to be reserved for a wedding night, not a wedding reception. Even then, it was far more revealing than the nightdress I wore the first night I was with Branford.
“Don’t be so old-fashioned,” Kimberly said with wide-open eyes and raised eyebrows. Nelle laughed, her hand coming up to cover her mouth again. “This is the latest fashion, and we are all going to be the talk of the court for at least a month. The princess only brought five of these back from Sawyer.”
“Who will wear the fifth?”
“The queen, of course.”
“Queen Sunniva will be dressed like this?”
“Of course!” Kimberly exclaimed. She nudged Nelle, who began to nod emphatically.
“The queen has always had an eye for clothing,” Nelle informed me.
“And she wants me to wear this?” I was really having a hard time believing this wasn’t some kind of jest, and I found myself caught between the risk of not wearing what Ida and Sunniva intended me to wear and how uncomfortable I would be wearing something that clearly showed so much of my skin. Even as I stood there with the other two women in very similar dresses, I couldn’t believe we were all planning to be seen in such things outside these chambers. Would Branford want me to wear such a thing? “I just don’t know if I can…”
“Look, Alexandra,” Kimberly said with an exasperated sigh, “I’m trying to help as a favor to Sir Branford, but you are obviously too stubborn or just too ignorant to understand. If that’s the way you are going to be, then fine, but I’ll just have to tell Sir Branford you are refusing any help.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied, her sharp words stinging me. My mind told me to stop being such a fool—there was a noble here trying to help me, and I was all but refusing her assistance. I reminded myself that this was a different kingdom with different customs from what I had been exposed to before, and I needed to fit in. “I’ve just never worn such a thing before.”
“Trust me,” Kimberly purred as she leaned a little closer to me and tilted her head. “I know exactly what Branford likes, and this is going to drive him wild.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but her tone and emphasis on Branford’s name without his title did not leave me with a feeling of comfort. However, I didn’t want her to think me ungrateful, so I nodded quickly.
“Let me fix your hair a bit,” Kimberly said as she adjusted the combs and smoothed out a few escaped strands.
“We’re ready in record time!” Kimberly exclaimed. “You should wait about an hour, and then come in the main entrance. Do you remember how to get there? Or do you want me to send an escort to bring you?”
“I remember, Lady Kimberly.”
“Good!” she exclaimed, and her eyes brightened. “We’ll see you at dinner, then.”
She quickly hustled Nelle out the door and closed it behind her, leaving me in this most revealing dress with no idea what I was going to do to occupy myself for the next hour before I was to enter the main hall. Since I couldn’t bring myself to even look down at my dress, I stared at the wooded area visible from the windows closest to the bed I now shared with Branford. I couldn’t even bring myself to think of what he might do with me later that evening, for when I did, I was mortified to see my blush was not just on my face, but on the top of my chest as well. If I blushed during dinner or while we were dancing, it would be clearly visible to anyone who looked.
I forced thoughts of the dress out of my mind. If this is what the ladies of the court, Ida, and Queen Sunniva herself would be wearing, I wasn’t going to insult them by not wearing the gift they had provided even if it terrified me to be seen in such a state. Still, when it was finally time to join everyone else in the great hall, I found it difficult just to open the door.
There was no one in the hallway, thankfully, and I assumed most everyone was already in the hall, waiting for my entrance. I looked down at my exposed skin once more and grimaced a little. I took a deep breath, sealed my determination to at least look fashionable even if I still didn’t know exactly
what would happen during the feast. Branford has assured me all that was required was my entrance, eating, and dancing. As long as he was leading the dance, I thought I would be just fine.
I made my way to the entrance and saw the two guards standing outside the huge pair of doors leading to the hallway. I dropped my gaze to the ground as they looked first at me, then at each other. Trying to keep my nervousness in check, I walked up to the center of the two doors and glanced up at the guard on the left side. I felt my teeth trying to puncture my bottom lip and made myself stop.
“Are you…um…ready to enter, my lady?” the guard questioned quietly.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice equally as soft.
He nodded once, then met his counterpart at the center of the doors and swiftly pulled them apart. I took one last deep breath, tried to hold up my head, and walked quickly into the grand room.
As soon as I entered, all eyes turned to me, and the room was drenched in complete and total silence.
Not knowing if the quiet was to be expected or not, I continued walking swiftly, but as my eyes met the expressions of some of the people in the room, my stride began to slow as a chilling sense of dread started at my shoulders and cascaded over my body, making me feel heavy, as if I had donned a suit of armor.
Indeed, I was beginning to wish I had.
On the far side of the table, away from the others, was Kimberly with Nelle at her side. They had both changed their dresses and now wore matching cream and rose-colored dresses with high collars and long sleeves. Nothing but the very tops of their necks was exposed.
As soon as I saw them, I knew. I knew before I ever shifted my gaze to Ida’s shocked expression, the look on the face of the King of Silverhelm, the wide-open mouth of his queen, and my husband’s furious eyes.
“Excuse me a moment.” Branford’s dark voice floated over the table and down the hallway to my ears. He stood, tossing whatever had been in his hand down to the table as he shoved his chair back, circled the end of the table, and stalked toward me. I took an involuntary step backwards as he approached and cringed as he reached me, took me roughly by the arm, pulled me down the hallway, and yanked me through the doorway. Once we were in the corridor beyond, Branford turned abruptly, his fingers digging into the flesh of my arm through the sleeve of this obviously inappropriate dress, and hauled me up the stairway toward the private wing of Branford’s family.
“There can only be so many accidents, Alexandra,” he hissed low in my ear. “I don’t know what it is you are trying to accomplish, but we’re going to have to have a little discussion regarding your loyalties.”
And that is when I knew some people truly couldn’t be trusted.
Chapter 2—Profusely Apologize
Branford half walked, half dragged me back to our chambers as my mind whirled. His harsh words under his breath sent shivers down my spine—and not the same kind of shivers I had experienced the night before. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t swallow, and I could barely draw breath. I couldn’t hear every word he said, growling under his breath, but what I did hear chilled my heart.
Scheming.
Traitorous.
Liar.
When we reached the door to our rooms, Branford threw it open and pushed me inside. My body screamed for me to run—either back out the door or at least to the other side of the room—but my mind knew the action would be fruitless. With a push from Branford’s palm on my back, I was jarred against the wall in the morning room.
Before I could turn, I heard Branford’s roar followed by a crashing sound, and I nearly threw myself right out the eastward-facing window. He had lifted one of the couches and thrown it into the wall near the fireplace, breaking off chunks of the wooden legs and causing it to collapse in a heap. I could see his hands grabbing for the small table next to the door right before he flung it toward me. It splintered into pieces against the stone, and I finally found my voice long enough to scream.
“I just want to know how”—Branford snarled as he slowly stalked closer—“how in the world did you do it? How did you get me to pick you? Did Edgar plant nothing but spies in his audience? Tell me!”
He grabbed a large log from the stack near the fire and flung it into the shutters of the window, causing further damage as he marched across the room. He towered over me as I raised my arms up to protect my head and face.
“Please, Branford!” I cried. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
Branford’s fist slammed into the wall right next to my head, and I screamed again. There was no point in trying to explain—it would have been the same as when the carriage driver had begged for mercy, and there was no one here to stay Branford’s hand. I had no doubt that he was going to kill me.
“Tell me how!” he screamed right next to my head, and I jumped. “And to think I was buying that innocent little servant girl act of yours!”
“No…Branford…I didn’t…I swear…”
“No more lies!” Again, his fist hit the wall next to me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks, but I made no move to stop them. I tried to cover my head with my arms, but Branford grabbed my wrists and held them to my sides. “How did you do it? How did you get past all my senses?”
Before I could even consider trying to either answer his questions or beg for his mercy, a shout from behind him startled me nearly as much as Branford’s own yelling had.
“Branford Sterling!” I heard the Queen of Silverhelm’s voice but couldn’t see her from my position up against the wall. “Get away from her this instant!”
“I don’t think so!” Branford shouted without turning toward the queen.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that was a request, Sir Branford.”
Immediately, the grip on my wrists relaxed. I pulled my arms back up and covered my face with my hands as I tried to turn away from my husband, seeking comfort from the cold, stone wall. I could not turn though, for Branford’s body was still pressed up close to mine, and his rapid breaths blew over the bare skin of my shoulder.
“You hadn’t even shown me this much of you.” Branford’s low whisper burned my ear as his hot, rapid breaths coated my skin and caused me to shiver. My skin went cold as he stepped back, and I dropped to the ground, curling my legs up underneath me and holding my arms protectively over my head. I tried to remember if he was already wearing his sword or if I would have to wait for him to retrieve it before he cut me down. Sunniva’s voice registered in the back of my head, but the meaning of her words didn’t penetrate as I waited for the final blow.
“Have you lost all your reasoning?”
“I’m just seeing the light, Mother.”
“Seriously, Branford? You think inappropriate dinner clothing is a plot against you?”
“It’s not that simple!” Branford yelled. “There was the carriage driver, her behavior when we arrived, and our wedding night…”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not being—”
“You most certainly are! I don’t know if I have ever been more angry and disappointed in you than at this moment. You keep pushing your wife onto everyone around you and then fly off the handle at her when things don’t go the way you expected!”
“Mother, I—”
“Did I give you permission to speak, Sir Branford?”
“No…my queen.”
“Then don’t do so again unless I ask it of you. Understood?”
“Yes, my queen.”
“Down! Now!”
Daring to peek from between my fingers, I watched from the corner of my eye as Branford first held the queen’s stare and then slowly dropped to his knees in front of her. He placed his hands, stilled balled into fists, on his thighs and bent his head down. I quickly hid my face again as my heart continued to pound.
“You listen to my words, Branford Sterling, Lord of Sterling, and listen well.” The queen’s voice was low, and I could hardly hear her words. “This has been a complete and total
disaster, and there is one person and one person only who is responsible for it.”
“I think I’ve figured that—”
“SILENCE!”
“Yes, my queen.” His words to her were soft, but the queen spoke loud and clear.
“You, Branford,” Sunniva said. “You are responsible for this. You brought a young, lost, commoner child here as your wife and expected her to know how to behave like a princess. You’ve spent no time with her, apart from your nights, and you know nothing about her. It is obvious I know more of her character than you though I’ve spent barely a handful of hours in her company. Did you think she smuggled that outfit in here herself? You presented her to me, covered in mud because she had nothing else to wear. How can Camden and I trust you with the crown—with the leadership of your people—if I cannot trust you to lead your own wife in her new life?”
“Mother, I—”
“I have not given you permission to speak.”
“Yes, my queen.”
I heard the queen sigh heavily. The volume of her words dropped, but the tone remained just as hard.
“This is your own doing, Branford. You’ve practically abandoned her on her own since you arrived. What kind of a king will you be if you can’t take care of the needs of your own wife?”
“She could be a traitor!” he said, and I heard a whimper come unbidden from my throat.
“Branford, in the name of God! Are you even listening to yourself? You chose her from an arena full of maidens! That was your whole plan to avoid treachery, was it not?”
“You knew about…?”
“I know a lot of things, Sir Branford. There is very little that happens here without my knowledge, including what you believe to be your secret meetings to plot war on Hadebrand. I allowed your wedding scheme to occur because it is time for you to take on more responsibility, and I was thrilled you were considering a wife. And now, to see you shirk the duty of her care the very first day is beyond disappointing.”
“It wasn’t a good time for—”
“You will make the time, Sir Branford. In fact, for the next three days, that will be your sole focus.”