And it had worked.
Their anger turned to venting, and by the fourth address, her mother’s subjects began to approach her with grace, allowing her their time and patience as she did her best to answer their queries and ease their grievances.
“It went… very well,” Adeline said.
Selma gave a pointed smirk, setting her daughter’s eyes to rolling.
“Oh, just drink your tea, will you?”
Just months ago Adeline would never have dared speak to the Queen in such a way, but today it had rolled naturally off her tongue and her mother took it in stride, smiling as though she almost enjoyed her daughter’s irreverence. She sipped her sweet tea through pursed lips, her eyes alight even if the skin around them was sallow and thin with exhaustion.
A light knock at the door had Selma setting her tea cup down on the bedside table, a tiny slosh spilling over the edge as her hands trembled with the movement.
“Are you sure you’re up to taking meetings?” Adeline asked.
Those circles under her eyes really were quite dark.
The Queen waved her shaking hand dismissively. “I’d be up to running a lap around the Laune if they’d allow it. See my guest in, won’t you darling?”
Adeline moved reluctantly to the door, making sure to shoot her mother a disapproving look as she went.
She was still glancing over her shoulder as she pulled the door open, and when she turned she found herself face to face with Kai.
They greeted each other only with shocked silence.
Though they’d found themselves in the same room on several occasions, Adeline had made every effort to avoid coming quite so close to Kai. This was the first time they’d made eye contact in weeks.
Kai recovered first, sweeping into a quick bow.
“Princess, good afternoon.”
She resisted the urge to smooth down her hair, forced herself to meet his gaze. Aware that her mother was watching, she curtsied.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty. Do come in.”
She turned and strode back to the luncheon tray, trying to steady her pace so it wouldn’t be so obvious that she needed to be out of this roomright now.She unloaded the teapot, cream, and honey jar onto the bedside table and tidied up her mother’s empty plates and cutlery, making her excuses as she went.
“I’ll just run these down to the kitchen and leave you to your meeting.”
Adeline pressed a quick kiss to her mother’s cheek, hefted the tray up in her arms and made to leave. But Kai, ever courteous, stood holding the heavy door open for her, and as she passed, his hand landed gently on her elbow.
“Adeline,” he began, voice pitched so low it made her shiver. “Might we –”
She shook him off quickly.
“No,” she said under her breath, tone as neutral as she could manage. “No, we might not.”
A quick glance over her shoulder saw the Queen arching a curious brow. Adeline fixed a tight smile to her face, knowing well that her mother would have questions later, but still adamantly pretending there was nothing to question. She nodded in lieu of another curtsey and left the room.
???
“He asked after you, you know. King Cumhaill. Asked how you were.”
Selma smiled, faint laughter lines creasing into the bruised hollows beneath her eyes. She had called Adeline back to her rooms for supper, under the guise of wanting some company while Sebastian caught up with her correspondence. But this, Adeline knew, was what she really wanted. She’d known it was coming from the moment she shut the door on Kai that afternoon.
And her mood had not improved since.
“I told him I’d expect him to know better than I did, but he didn’t seem to agree.” Selma waited expectantly, and when Adeline did not answer, she set her fork down on her bedside table and sighed, folding her hands atop her blankets. Her tired eyes were keen, unrelenting. “What’s happened, Adeline?”
