‘And we cannot have a repeat of last night. The king is in a mood this morning. You embarrassed him—and yourself.’ She reached for her queen, dragging it to the other end of the board. ‘Checkmate.’
Lyndal looked down. Surely it was not that easy for her to win.
‘Eat something,’ Fayre said, gesturing to the plate of hard-boiled eggs. ‘You need to keep up your strength.’
Lyndal wet her lips, where Astin’s mouth had been less than thirty minutes earlier. ‘So I can produce all those heirs?’
The queen mother smiled. ‘You are at the very beginning of this fight. There is a long, tiresome road in front of you. Embracing it makes the journey much easier. Trust me. I am twenty years in, still fighting, and I am exhausted.’
Lyndal’s brow pinched. ‘I’m still trying to figure out what you’re fighting for. Sometimes I think it’s the people and other times I think it’s your son’s success.’
Fayre nodded. ‘The people’s survival depends on my son’s success. If he fails, everybody suffers.’
Lyndal pressed her lips together in an attempt to hold in the words she had promised not to speak. But she trusted the queen enough to know she would not go after the source. ‘Forty head of cattle left the farming borough yesterday. One was a gift to me. It made it to the merchant borough because I took it there myself. I’m curious where the rest went if not to the nobility?’
Queen Fayre’s eyebrows came together. ‘I am not privy to that information. However, that does explain your mood last night. You are upset they did not go to the merchants.’
‘We should all be upset about that.’
Fayre reached for the food, placing a few slices of cheese and a boiled egg on a plate and sliding it towards Lyndal. ‘You will not get anywhere behaving as you did last night. If you want information, then you will need to gain the king’s trust.’
‘And how do I do that?’
Fayre leaned back. ‘Perhaps you can watch the next sunrise withhim.’
Lyndal swallowed. She refused to regret the time spent with Astin or anything that had happened between them. ‘The king trusts you. Can you not simply ask him?’
‘For that reason I must tread more carefully than anyone. If I start poking around in business he means to keep from me, then all progress we have made will be lost. He is not in love with you. In fact, he is still learning to like you. So I suggest you choose your battles very wisely for now.’
It was not new information, but it was brutal to hear aloud.
‘I want you to return to your bedchamber,’ Fayre said, leaning back. ‘Put on the dress that is laid out on your bed. My maid will help you get ready.’
‘Get ready for what?’
The queen mother clasped her hands in front of her. ‘You shall see in due course.’
Astin stood with the warden outside the mess hall, trying very hard not to drop his gaze.
Shapur had his arms crossed, staring him down. ‘What is it about the Suttone sisters that have sensible men behaving so foolishly? You cannot take the king’s betrothed for a rendezvous outside the wall.’
‘With respect, sir, they’re not betrothed yet, and she was quite safe.’
‘Safe from what exactly?’ Shapur fired back. ‘Do you think me a fool? She is to marry the king.’
‘There’s been no formal announce—’
‘Shut your mouth, defender. You know as well as I do that is irrelevant. She is off limits.’ He shook his head. ‘What am I to do here? Tell me.’
Astin did not have an answer because he was utterly confused.
‘I want you to take the rest of the morning to get your head together. Think long and hard about whether you can put your precious feelings aside, like you have been trained, and do your goddamn job.’
Astin saluted. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Now get out of here.’
Astin went straight to the stables and requested a horse, then travelled to the only place he could think of to clear his head: the farming borough. He had thought he was riding aimlessly until he found himself out front of the family farm. He did not enter but remained on the road watching the sheep in the front paddock. It was not until he heard a horse approaching that he broke from his trance.
