“I mean it, Svana. He trusts you, and there is a special place in Hell for people who abuse the dumb and good-natured.”
“I’mrighthere,” Willoughby said. “I’m actually quite intelligent, I’ll have you know.”
“If you end up dead in the country, it will be no one’s fault but you own, Princess. Is that clear? I will not persecute a good knight for your debauchery.”
“Well, we know that’s not true,” I said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have reprimanded him.”
“Svana,” Willoughby breathed. He shook his head once. “Don’t.”
Elías shifted. “What did you say?” he asked.
“Lord Commander, I did tell her–”
I shook my head. “Yes, and I’m saying–”
He cut me off. Suddenly my cousin’s eyes were fiery in a way I’d never seen. “I said to leave it,” he told me. His voice was dark. “Leave it means leave it. Not do it anyway.”
I scoffed. “Excuse me? And who do you think you’re speaking to?”
Elías frowned. “Enough.” He leered between us. “Out with it. Her, not you,” he said.
I straightened, vindicated. “Ser Willoughby thinks it’s his place to decide if I instruct you to revoke his punishment in regard to how quickly he responded at Mr. Evergreen’s fire,” I said, cocking my head at my foolish cousin. “It’s not.”
Elías was quiet. “Is that what you think is best?” he asked. “That I revoke his reprimand?”
“Yes,” I said.
He nodded.
“I’m not upset,” Willoughby said. “I deserved it. I was not where I was supposed to be.”
“I will tell you what you deserve and what you do not deserve,” I snipped, angry. “And you do not deserve to hinder your career opportunities because your bratty princess orchestrated your failure and then got caught. So shut your mouth and let me speak to the Lord Command before I have you reassigned to ferry duty.”
Eli paused. He studied me. Then he grinned. Really grinned.
“Praise,” I told my cousin. “That’s what you deserve. Praise.”
“Svana,” Willoughby said. “No.”
“Yes. Daniel, listen to me. You cannot be everywhere every time, and you did your very best to be anyway, despite my insistence that you remain outside. I see no failure to uphold your vow and I will not permit such scrutiny upon a man who only wishes to do his best at every assignment, every day. I won’t allow you to take the fall for something I designed to happen. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I led you astray. I’m sorry I enlisted Josie to distract you. I’m sorry I was selfish. Let me fix it. Please.”
After a second, he sighed, then nodded. “You humble me, Svana.”
“No, Daniel, you humble me. Truly. Thank you for letting me correct my wrongdoings.”
Elías listened. He exhaled, then nodded. “You’re becoming a true queen. His Majesty will be proud to hear it. Though I’llleave the messier details out.” He checked the straps on his steed again.
I eased immediately. “Thank you.”
“I’ll ride hard. Fast. I’ll come back with knights,” Eli said.
“And I will see you when you get back,” I said. “And we will discuss everything. Everything I need to correct to be a better Queen. I want to take this seriously, Eli. The fact is, I want to be better. I want to be someone my subjects respect because they can trust her, not because they must. And I understand that I put Ser Willoughby in a bad position. That I put myself in one, and Miss Josie. I won’t do it again. I won't leave the grounds for as long as Wil…” I cleared my throat. “...Willoughby is watching over me, and not whileMr. Evergreenis ill.”
I checked Daniel’s expression to see if the near-slip had been obvious. It was unmoving.
Willem.I’d almost said it.
“Good,” Eli said. He faced me from the horse. “I’ll tell your father about the footman. Myself and Derek will interview the staff. The cook was closest to him, I believe. We’ll weed out any connections if we find them.”
