Allegra's Dream (Avador Book 4, a Books We Love Fantasy Romance) (15 page)

Arnou returned the following day, early in the afternoon. With a perfunctory glance her way, he remarked that it was time for his fencing practice, ”for I’ve been out of practice too long.” After his fencing practice, he gave orders for water to be brought to his room for bathing. Much later, as darkness began to fall, they sat down to the evening meal. Reluctant to discuss her suspicions during this quiet time, she decided to talk to him later that evening. He had just returned from his visits; far better to let him relax. Instead, he told her of his visits to many of the leading families, thankful he had gained their acceptance.

After dinner, she went upstairs to her room to talk to Elsa for a while. As a deepening darkness fell over her room, the maid rose to light the candles.

Setting the tinder box down, Elsa looked her way. “My lady, forgive my boldness, but are you happy here?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied much too quickly. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it seems that you have changed, just a little bit, mind you.” She sighed. “I almost get the impression that you were happier in Avador.”

Allegra sat, searching for the right words. “I just wish I had more to keep me busy. I’ve resolved to manage more of the household affairs, oh, not to usurp anyone else’s duties, you understand, but to complement their tasks. I’d like to beautify the castle and the surrounding grounds. For example, I’d like to plant a rose garden and other flowers, plant more trees.”

“Good ideas, my lady. The grounds do look rather bare, aside from the apple orchard.”

Allegra nodded. “So that’s what I intend to do, but I think it best if I wait awhile, give the servants more time to get used to me..” She paused. “Now, I want to go talk to His Majesty.”

She left the warmth of the bedroom and walked out to the cool, dank hallway. Rushlights on the wall gave dim illumination, the fires flickering in a draft. Thinking to find Arnou in his office, she headed downstairs but didn’t find him there. Strange, he surely didn’t go to bed so early, unless he was fatigued from his journey. Nevertheless, she retraced her steps and made her way to his bedchamber, several doors down from hers.

Approaching his room, she heard giggling from inside, followed by Arnou’s voice, speaking words she couldn’t make out through the thick door. By all that was sacred, what was going on here? Slowly, she eased the door open an inch. By the moonlight that poured through the room’s lone window, she saw Arnou in bed with a girl, one of the servants, she assumed. Arnou, soon to be her husband!

Rage and hurt resentment churned inside her. Tempted to slam the door, she forced herself to close it gently. Brushing angry tears from her eyes, she turned away and hurried back to her own room. What to do now? How to confront Arnou with his perfidy, his infidelity?

She jerked her door open and rushed inside. Elsa looked up from her reading in the adjoining room. “My lady!” The maid came forward, looking distressed. “What’s wrong?”

“Arnou!” she blurted, “in bed with one of the servant girls.”

“Oh, my lady, my dear princess!”

“He couldn’t wait for our marriage, oh, no! He has to take one of the servant girls to bed. “That you should discover this now, before your wedding!”

“Wedding! I refuse to marry him now. I’ll find shelter with one of the families here, or else return to Avador.” And what then? she agonized. Rowan didn’t love her. Where could she go?

“I’m so sorry that you should discover the king’s dalliance like this, but it’s the way of royalty.”

“What! You’re taking his side? Is there no one I can trust?”

“You can depend on me, my lady. I understand, and believe me, I sympathize. But this is how it is with men, especially those who are well-born. My own dear husband was faithful, I feel sure. But men of wealth and influence, especially a king, are not content with one woman.

Allegra folded her arms across her chest, her face still burning with rage. “I won’t stand for it, will not stand for it. I’ll talk to the king tomorrow, tell him I’m leaving the castle. I’ll be out of his life forever. I won’t have to look at him again!”

“My lady, is that wise? To throw all this away, your position as future queen, the good of the country? Can you find it in your heart to forgive him?”

“He hasn’t asked my forgiveness, how could he? He doesn’t know I caught him screwing one of the servants. I can’t live with him, can no longer stand to be around him.” Yet she realized there was more to her anger that the king’s infidelity. She thought of the dungeon, the stench and screams. Was Arnou unaware of the prisoners?

Elsa heaved a deep sigh. “Dear princess, I understand your feelings. But I fear you are going from bad to worse if you leave him. Think this over carefully, I beg of you.”

“I’ve thought, and I’ve decided. I’ll tell the king tomorrow.”

***

But when she confronted Arnou the following day, he answered with a cynical smile.

“Oh, no, you’re not leaving the castle, not after all I’ve been through to gain the throne.  And let me tell you something else, my dear, I can sleep with whomever I want. You will stay here in Fomoria, and we will wed as planned, not too long from now.”

“Then let me tell you something, Your Majesty, I refuse to stay here. Even now, my maid is packing my things. I can’t get out of here soon enough.”

He offered her a mock sympathetic smile. “Ah, poor princess, thinks she can leave anytime. But no, you are staying here.”

Inwardly, she was shaking, but she would not reveal her hurt anger. “And if I refuse?’

“Ah, I can think of ways to make you stay. Your maid–what’s her name, Elsa? How would you like me to imprison her for life?”

Dizziness assailed her. Her face grew hot, then cold. “You wouldn’t,” she whispered.

“You think not? Just try me. So you see, my dear, you’re staying here.” He pointed a finger at her. “And let me tell you something else. If you complain to anyone or if you show by word or deed of your discontent, your maid goes to the dungeon.”  He turned to leave, then looked her way again. “And if you think you can sneak away in the dead of night, know this.: I have ample men guarding the castle, inside and out. You wouldn’t get far if you tried.” 

Fighting angry tears, she turned away. Now, more than ever, she was a prisoner. 

Chapter Nineteen

In the following days, Allegra avoided Arnou as much as possible, yet for the sake of appearances, they ate their meals together. Elsa’s fate remained ever on her mind. Because of her maid, she must pretend that all was normal in her relationship with the king and that she was eagerly awaiting the wedding. She put on a happy face in Elsa’s presence, having told her she had changed her mind about leaving. Mindful of what a faithful servant Elsa had been, she had given her a few days to visit a friend who lived in a village close by.

One morning during breakfast, Arnou came to the table, a letter in his hand. Outside, a hesitant sun broke through a cloudy sky. Here in the great hall, a chill had settled over the room, despite a fire blazing in the fireplace. She drew her woolen shawl closer around her shoulders and tied it in front.

While the servants set bowls of oatmeal and mugs of hot tea on the table, she looked Arnou’s way, wondering at the contents of the letter but unwilling to ask him. She hated to admit how much she looked forward to any news from outside.

Arnou opened the letter. “Letter here from the Minister of State in Avador.”

“Donat Fand,” she replied. “I met him once.”

“Ah, no.” In the room’s semi-darkness, he squinted as he studied the letter. “Apparently Avador has a new minister, man by the name of Rowan Leinster.”

Happiness burst inside her. Rowan!

His eyes narrowed. “You know him?”

“Vaguely,” she lied, vowing to be more circumspect in the future. “I met him at a party once. I was just surprised that Donat Fand no longer served as Minister of State.”

“Well, an assistant from Avador brought me this letter late yesterday. I believe you were elsewhere when he arrived. The Minister of State–this Rowan Leinster–plans to visit us to renew diplomatic relations.”

He would come here!

Arnou scowled. “Stupid clod, doesn’t know a thing about protocol. Doesn’t give me much time to contact the leading families and arrange a proper reception for him.” He sipped his tea, frowning in thought. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll have an intimate dinner for him, just the three of us, when he first arrives. Then I’ll have a proper reception for him several days hence.” He nodded. “Yes, I think that will work very well. I’ll talk to my secretary shortly and have him send out invitations. Since all of the leading families live within a short distance of the castle, there should be no problem in their receiving the invitations in time. After consulting the steward, I’ll be gone for much of the day, most likely won’t return until quite late. I need to talk to one of the important men in Maligigi, request that he serve as Minister of Coinage. Since I need other men to serve me, I will visit others and present the invitations at the same time.” He smiled her way, as if all was normal between them. “So the castle is yours today. What will you do?”

“I have plenty to keep me busy.” She sipped her tea as ideas brewed in her mind. When Rowan arrived, she must somehow find a way to speak to him alone. She had to escape the castle, could never go through with a marriage to a man she loathed, a man who could not even wait for the wedding, taking one of the servant girls to bed. Was she expecting too much, to expect fidelity in marriage?

Shortly after breakfast, Arnou headed for the steward’s office, and later she saw him ride away from the castle. The prisoners remained a constant concern. She supposed that casting criminals in a dungeon was accepted procedure. Thinking back to her childhood here, she had no idea if her father had imprisoned anyone but supposed he had. Yet to incarcerate a protestor, one who had only questioned the king’s legality, seemed extreme. Wouldn’t it have been far better for Arnou to have established rapport with the man and prove how ably he, the king, could govern the country?

The fact remained, conditions in the dungeon were deplorable. The stench alone was enough to make one gag.

Her mind made up, she headed for the dungeon again. The chambermaids were busy in the upper rooms, the other servants about their chores. She wended her way downstairs, past the kitchen and farther on, past the blacksmith’s. She walked carefully down the slippery stone steps, then down another flight to the dungeon. This time, she would face the prisoners, discover their crimes. Were they murderers and rapists, as Arnou had said? Or were they simply men who had disputed Arnou’s right to the throne? Most important, would they tell her the truth?

Outside the dungeon, she braced herself for the stench and questioned her sanity in approaching the prisoners. She feared it would give them false hope to see her. Surely, they would wonder at her presence in this ghastly place.

Resisting the urge to hold her nose, she opened the door, heard their moans and cries. As yet, they hadn’t seen her, and she could barely discern any of them. A tinder box sat on a ledge near a lantern. Striking flint to steel, she lit the lantern and closed the door behind her. She shuddered as cobwebs brushed across her face, frantically scraping them away. Taking a deep breath, she descended the few steps that led to the cells. Cockroaches scattered at her feet, and a rat skittered across the floor. 

By now, the prisoners had seen her, all of them looking her way.

“My lady, help me!”

“Madam, get us out of here!”

One of the prisoners clenched his hands around the bars and threw her a defiant look. “Who are you, coming here? Do you think to torment us?”

She stood in the center of the stone floor to address them all. “Never mind who I am. I most certainly did not come here to torment you.” She paused to draw courage. “I came here to discover the truth. His Majesty tells me you are murderers, rapists, and thieves.”

“No!”

“No!”

“No, madam,” one of the prisoners said. Dressed in smelly rags, he looked as if he’d been imprisoned for years. “King Arnou rode through our village shortly after taking the throne. He expected us all to bow before him. But I was holding my two young sons, and it was difficult for me to bow low. The king had me arrested then and there.”

Another prisoner who was missing a hand spoke. “Yes, I’m a thief. I was caught stealing a gold piece from a vendor in Maligigi. With only one hand, I can’t find work and haven’t been able to earn any money in months. My wife and children are starving!”

“What about your trials?” she asked them. “How long do you have to wait before going before a judge?”

“What trials?” Bitter laughs told her that Arnou had lied to her. “We are here for life!”

One man gripped the bars, his nailless fingers torn and bloody. “I merely questioned the king’s right to the throne.” His face was haggard, and although he appeared young, his hair was streaked with gray.

“Are you the man who was recently captured?” she asked, her eyes gradually adjusting to the dimness of the room.

“Yes, madam, but I assure you I am not a traitor. I love my country, but there are many of us who don’t like the manner in which the king took the throne. What gives King Arnou the right to govern us? He is only a distant relative of the assassinated king and queen.”