“Ooh, is that a challenge?”
“Behave.”
“You can’t slap my ass and tell me to behave at the same time, those are mixed signals, and I don’t know which to follow. Edwin? Eeeeeeedwiiiiiiin?”
He was already halfway down the stairs and shot me a smirk. “Broom closet down here is empty, by the way, did you know that?”
Oh! Closet sex? Yes, please!
I had never in my life gotten down a staircase so fast and may have sprained something, but it made Edwin laugh and shove me into a closet before yanking my pants open, so I couldn’t have lookedtooridiculous.
Seventy-six
Edwin
I’d had the king’s office fumigated—James insisted upon this—then the room next door reorganized so our secretarial staff could share the same space. It took some creative arranging of desks to fit everyone in, but we managed it just fine. The king’s office didn’t have enough room for many people, so I arranged it so my desk was right next to James’s and we kept a waiting area for the runners off to the side. They had their own work to do aside from running messages. The palace insisted their runners be literate, so they had homework to manage between jobs.
Though it didn’t feel like it, today was technically our first official day at work, and I was quite pleased to have things ready to go. James and I were due a honeymoon at the beginning of fall. We’d put it off for a while since there was too much going on to even think of taking a break from work. Right now, I wanted to get my feet wet with my new duties.
Our quickie in the closet hadn’t worked out all of James’s wiggles from the many, many meetings and ceremonies we’d suffered through last week, so he was training before joining mein the office. I was quite happy to let him go beat up training equipment. I’d enjoy a nice, quiet cup of tea and deal with some of the backlog of—
Ruffy, one of my favorite runners, burst through the door, wide eyed and very short of breath. “Princess Helena was almost abducted!”
I nearly knocked my tea over in my haste to leave my chair. “Almost?”
“Lord Glass brought her straight here for protection. She’s retreated to her rooms and said come quick smart.”
“Get Commander Harland,” I ordered, already rushing for the door.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
I did something I rarely ever did. I ran in the hallways, straight down two flights of stairs and out into the eastern wing, where Helena’s rooms were located. She hadn’t used them much in the past month, having switched her focus and time to her new job, which meant a new house to cut down on the commute. If Lucien had brought her straight here, then this had been very bad indeed, and he wanted palace security around her.
I called James via my ring as I ran. “James. James!”
He sounded a touch out of breath as he answered. “Emergency?”
“Helena was almost abducted. Lucien’s brought her here to her rooms.”
He sucked in a breath, startled, and started swearing. “Is she all right?”
“I assume so, as she ordered us to meet in her rooms, but I don’t know any details.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
Alarmed didn’t begin to describe my emotional state. Helena was not only my sister-in-law but my friend, and of course I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. If she was in herroom and not the hospital, I had to assume she was physically okay, but having been abducted myself, I could attest to how badly the experience rattled you. I didn’t wish this upon her.
I was equally hung up on why and who would do this. The same group who had attacked James and I outside Vuheia’s temple? We never had gotten to the bottom of that. Surely this wasn’t Victor or Valentina’s work, as they shouldn’t be in the country, but I supposed it said something if I still suspected them.
I reached Helena’s rooms, puffing for air, not used to racing about like this. Perhaps I too should be training daily somehow. I pushed the thought aside as I reached the open doorway, where Dame Verd and Dame Aphra, two of Helena’s knights, already stood guard. They bowed as I hurried through.
“Helena,” I called out, pausing only to ascertain where she was in the room. Her sitting room looked much the same as usual, with its pale blue settees and delicate finishings. Her curtains, however, were closed against the view of the sea, and the atmosphere in the room was taut indeed.
Helena sat on a sofa, Lucien next to her, both of them gripping each other’s hands until their knuckles turned white.
“Edwin.” Helena greeted me and waved me closer in the same breath. “I’m all right. Livid, but all right.”
“I can tell and am relieved, but what the hell happened?”
