“You should know that Sahra Doonle has been restless.” She pulled back her hand. “She’s been stationed outside of your quarters for days, watching the door like a hawk. I believe she can sense some lingering effects from the ritual, but those shall fade.”
I groaned, crossing my arms. “When will they leave, Nicolas? The wedding is over.”
“They should go after the coronation.”
“If you give them a reason to worry, they might stick around a while longer to ensure nothing is afoot,” said Florence, circling me. “You’ll want to stay here for a few days longer.” Her eyes flitted to Nicolas. “Congratulations,Papa.”
Nicolas drew a breath. I felt my limbs go rigid.
“Well, I shall have breakfast sent along. Winnie has been worried; I told her you were simply enjoying the joys of conjugal bliss.”
Florence smirked with that comment, then left the room. I waited for the door to close before turning to Nicolas. The silence lingered, heavy with the weight of what we’d learned. A child;ourchild. The future became just a little more frightening.
Nicolas crossed over to the bathing area, readying the water. His eyes were distant.
“Your voice,” he whispered. His hands felt the water, then reached in to plug the basin. “I hope it’s a daughter. I hope they’re all daughters. Perhaps we should see if Florence can ascertain that.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I came nearer and placed a hand between his shoulders. “You’d have no heir.”
“Better than a son who does not know his mother’s love,” Nicolas replied. There was a familiarity in his tone that said he could not put another person through what he’d endured growing up.
With a half-smile, I caressed his arm.
“He’d know my love, Nicolas,” I reassured. “I’d teach him to sign.”
Nicolas relaxed, then offered a hand. He walked me into the tub, sitting behind me so that my back rested against his skin, and with lazy ease, he poured jasmine oil into the water as it continued to rise.
“So,” I changed subjects, “am I a queen now?”
With a scoff, Nicolas shook his head. “The coronation will commence after our newlywed period…which usually lasts a week or two. After that, we’ll ride throughout the kingdom on an announcement tour. On that note, you need a new guardsman. Quinn has asked for a new post, and I’ve made him my advisor.”
I tried not to bristle. Then I tried not to think about Quinn.
“An announcement tour during a famine?” I muttered.
“Yes,” Nicolas replied, soaking a sponge and smoothing it down my arm. “There’s been some unrest. I’ve received word of a few propaganda posters that have been torn down in the cities and keeps. Worry not; we’ll maintain a steady presence of guards.”
I leaned into him. “Might it be a bad time to flaunt, given the situation? How can we host parties and feasts when there are mothers in the streets who cannot feed their children?”
He dropped the sponge. “This is a tradition. An expectation. If we shy away from the tour, it invites scrutiny and makes us look weak.”
“To whom? The nobility, or the commoner?”
I slid to the other side to face him. He propped his elbows on both sides of the tub and grimaced. “If we offend the nobility, we create powerful enemies.”
“And if we offend the commoner? Need I remind you of the peasant revolt of six hundred thirty-seven?”
“Six hundred thirty-eight,” Nicolas corrected, narrowing his eyes. “Damn you for being literate. Still, we have an obligation to fulfill. I welcome your input.”
I groaned with agitation. “We cancel the tour, that’s my input.”
Nicolas clicked his tongue. “No.”
“No?” I hissed in disbelief, my knees bumping his calves beneath the water. “I fail to see how we can compromise on this. We either do or do not, and I insist that going is a terrible idea. When I was in Caermont with Quinn, I was targeted for accidentally displaying my wealth in the lower district, and we had to run and hide. So—”
“Youwere?” Nicolas widened his eyes, and if it wasn’t the hot water, it was frustration at being left out that turned his cheeks such a rosy shade of red. I was surprised that Quinn hadn’t told him.
“The point is, if we are to do this incredibly stupid thing you wish to do, we must be smart about it. It has to be a modest affair, and rather than patronize a grand feast, we should feed the city. We’ll use the funds to import more wheat, give out bread and stew to all who desire to attend and wish us well.”
