The Broken Crown

Chapter 30

Raymond

“It’s getting frightening, don’t you think?”

Raymond watched with interest as Adrianne looked out of the window of the empty room, hand clutching the armrest of her chair so tightly that her knuckles were wide. Outside of the window, she could see the large Kingswood spread out beneath the afternoon sun.

“Yes,” he answered and sipped from his wine.

Almost reluctantly, she turned from the window to look at him. “You don’t think it’ll spread here, do you?”

“The crime, you mean?” He knew she meant the crime, of course; she meant the crime that had begun in the Branches and which had already spread here in some variations. The murders had yet to rise drastically in and around the capital, but every day people travelled in and out of the city. It was impossible to know when one of those would be a murderer or bring a mob with him.

She gave him a sharp little nod and he shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Her face turned back to the view. “I wish there was something we could do.”

“Your husband could at least have tried not to make it worse.”

“The taxation was a necessary move to secure the Crown’s independence.” The words came so easily, as though she had rehearsed them over and over again. In fact, he was certain she had.

“I’m sure,” he said sullenly. He did not want to discuss with her. There was no point.

He was not entirely sure what they were doing. There had been people earlier, other people than them, but they had all left one by one at some point. He had never been alone in a room with Adrianne, and never spoken to her on his own.

She sighed silently to herself. “I’m pregnant,” she said.

“What?” Raymond’s eyebrows flew up in surprise.

Her eyes met his and she smiled faintly. It was so small, yet it seemed like it was the happiest smile he had ever seen. “The King knows,” she said. “I thought you should know, too.”

He swallowed down hard. “I’m… Congratulations!”

Her smile grew for a moment until she controlled it once more, and it was back to its usual charming form. “Thank you.”

“I mean it. Congratulations. These are good news.”

She nodded. “Thank you, my lord.” Once more, she sighed. “I must go,” she decided, scrambling to her feet.

Raymond stood up as well. “Your Grace,” he said politely and she smiled, taking her time to really show her gratitude before leaving him.

He walked over to the chair where she had been sitting and looked out of the window. For a few minutes, he stopped to stare and wonder what she had seen out there before leaving, too. It would be time for dinner soon, and he had yet to change his clothes.

His chambers were surprisingly empty and he guessed that Gabrielle had gone to her own chambers to change. He called out his manservant and quickly changed into more fitting clothes.

 The dinner was as usual; he and Gabrielle sat far apart, exchanging flirtatious, secretive glances every now and then.  It annoyed him that she did not have the seat beside him, at the main table, as she deserved in her position as his wife and a princess by law.

It was still a bit strange to let his eyes wander across the crowd and not find the dark-skinned Asha amongst them, knowing that she was not just in her chambers being shy. It was not that she had meant a lot to him, but she stood out so well from the rest of the court that it seemed strange. He wondered if, in a world where Gabrielle could sit at his side, would they discuss this, silently so no one but them could hear?