The Broken Crown

Chapter 12

Jeffroy

On the morn two days after the second coronation, a dove arrived in the dovecote. Attached to its leg with far more strings than needed, there was a letter in a black box. When Jeffroy drew it out, he saw that it was sealed with the mark of house Denver.

Although obliged to bring all letters to the Head Servant, Henri Lamarck, he knew that would not suit the Queen – who was no longer a queen, he reminded himself as he hurried down the hallways. His toga seemed to have caught fire when it flew around his legs.

He found her in the living room of her new, sparser apartments. She seemed out of place there; so dignified and powerful, in a room meant for women from houses like Denver. Even now, with her black hair let loose, only the front of it tied back, and wearing a loose everyday dress, she looked like a queen. So that was what he called her.

“My Queen,” he said as he entered, and he could tell by the light that ignited in her eyes that it had been the right thing to say.

“Jeffroy,” she greeted.

“A letter arrived this morning.”

She frowned, but walked towards him nonetheless. “Should you not deliver those to the Head Servant?” Her eyes wandered across the room, settling on all the servants and at once, the room was emptied.

Jeffroy did not bother answering her question. He had reported to her because he reported to her. “It is marked with the seal of house Denver.”

She did not give voice to any more objections; instead, she gave a slight nod, took the letter and changed the topic of their discussion. “And Adrianne? How about her?”

“We have spoken at more than one occasion, most recently at the feast, although I doubt she remembers that particular conversation.” A small smile appeared on Lucretia’s face, even if she was possibly the only one who had thought of the Lamarck girl’s behaviour that night as vulgar. “She has shown interest in our religion.”

“That is good.” The appreciative tone in her voice made him relax slightly. “You must win her trust. I fear losing Raphael once the King’s Council gets him into that secret room of theirs and start whispering lies in his ears.”

“Your fear is justified.” There were as many automatic responses when you worked for Lucretia. Sometimes he meant them, sometimes he did not. It did not matter. “But now I must take my leave. I have arranged a meeting with Adrianne.”

She dismissed him with a nod, already turning from him before he left the room.

The hallways were always full these days; full of guests that had not left yet. There was laughter and whispers everywhere, even in the hallways where Servants usually were the only ones to walk most of the day. No quiet.

Jeffroy had very little work to do before meeting Adrianne, and the sun had burned its path halfway across the sky by the time he knocked on the door to her own sitting room.

A lady-in-waiting whom he did not recognize answered the door. He told her his name and she instantly let him into the room. Adrianne was not indoors, though; she stood on the balcony leaning on the stone fencing.

Her hair, too, was down, cascading in bright curls across her shoulders. A loosely placed hairnet kept most of it from her eyes, but it was far from tamed. Her dress was light and much more formal than Lucretia’s had been.

Her smile was bright and beaming as always when he stepped up beside her. The balcony overlooked the gardens and a small lake. Of course, Jeffroy knew that. It was not the first time that a Queen had asked for his assistance. “You called for me.”