Warrior (66 page)

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