It was the middle of the night when Henri returned to his quarters, expecting to just head to bed, when he saw his mother sitting in one of the central halls of the part of the palace that the Chavanets kept to themselves. She was sitting at one of the ancient wooden tables that had belonged to them since the dawn at time, opposite Theo, who wore just his breeches and an undershirt as a servant wound a new bandage around his shoulder and arm.
Louise looked up to her son. ‘There you are,’ she said. ‘Mind sitting down with us?’
Henri raised his brows and huffed indignantly. ‘I was thinking I’d go to sleep.’
‘Me too,’ she said. ‘But I’ve been thinking — and because I’m not queen anymore, Henri, I have to run it through you. Do you mind?’
He was not in the habit of respecting his mother’s wishes, but something told him that she was not simply going to take no for an answer. ‘Keep it short, if you will,’ he said.
He sat down next to Theo, opposite his mother, and therefore also opposite the fireplace that beamed dry heat onto his cold face. Louise’s brows had been furrowed so intensely that, now they were back in their position, a deep wrinkle remained between them.
‘What do you make of today?’ she asked. ‘The execution.’
‘Weird,’ he said. ‘Inconvenient. I feel like Katherine’s kind of lost the plot a bit, these last couple of weeks. Ever since the Gineforts lost power, really.’
Louise nodded softly. ‘And then there’s what happened to Theo…’ she sighed. ‘You know, I don’t even recognise my own court anymore, Henri. Instead of being a civilised country, we’re being run by some Ilworthian charlatans and their merry missus on the promise of a good marital match, and they’d almost killed your secretary of state. Who knows? Perhaps it was they, who smuggled their cloak pins out into the hands of an assassin. Perhaps it was Theo, who was supposed to be killed. Have you stopped to consider that?’
Henri looked first at Louise, then at Theo, whose wound had been dressed fully now, and who was looking rather pained. ‘I haven’t,’ he said. ‘Why’d anyone want to kill Theo, mother?’
‘He sees things you do not,’ Louise answered. ‘As do I. Do you really want to wait until I am targeted? What’ll come of the country? What’ll come of you?’
‘Must we speak of this now?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ Louise said. ‘Thank you for asking. We absolutely must. Don’t let yourself get carried away by the promise of an exciting life with a nun and her dozens of lovers. I promise you, marry Katherine of Courtenay and you set yourself up for a difficult reign. She killed her adviser in our Souchon, Henri. What more evidence do you need that she’s completely deranged?’
‘So?’ he asked. ‘You were in favour of the match to begin with. You’re the reason she’s here. I’ll just marry someone else, just let us get on with it. Katherine and I are good friends. We needn’t complicate it — I’ll just tell her off.’
‘Can you?’ she asked. ‘You like her. Cruelty and all.’
‘How couldn’t I? I’ve been told for over a year now that we are to wed,’ Henry said. ‘Now in a week, it’s turned from certain to cursed. The assassin pointed his gun at her, not at Theo. Had Theo not moved in to save her, he wouldn’t have hit Theo. The fact that he swooped in to save her is entirely his fault, I say.’
Louise looked over at Theo. ‘Something I both agree with, and completely fail to understand as well, Henri.’
Theo looked over his wounded shoulder to Henri. ‘You wouldn’t know what you’d do if you had a split second decision to make,’ he said. ‘I looked into that fucker’s eyes and all I saw was pure, unadulterated evil. I’d have done it for just about anyone.’
Louise knew that was a lie but smiled regardless. The purchase she was seeking on these men was nearly a lost cause. She had ruled the country for years, for better of her worse she would be remembered for her stability and reason, with the sort of intellectual streak that was not often expected of women. But now, she had done herself in. Katherine — far less pretty than Louise had been in her prime, unintelligent, reactive, with little forethought — was the woman against whom Louise had started to lose the battle for the loyalties of her nearest.
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‘Truly ridiculous,’ she sighed. ‘I want her out of the country, gentlemen. Before we are once more part of the great Ilworthian empire of yore, even de facto, out.’
‘Fine by me,’ said Henri. ‘You won’t hear me protest about it.’
‘And you’ll wed another,’ Louise said. ‘Soon. I won’t die without vetting your heirs. And in order to vet them, Henri, they must first exist, and secondly they must have a certain age.’
He pouted briefly. ‘When must she be sent away?’ he asked.
‘Soon,’ she said. ‘Tie a bow in any outstanding matters and then be done with it. Understand that her stay is costing you money, not just because she is here, but also because it is costing us trade agreements. From what I hear, the Sbaian Sultan loves her. Wouldn’t you rather he love you, my dear?’
‘Well, I do, but I also feel as though that wouldn’t matter if we were married,’ Henri said.
‘But you’re not,’ she answered simply. ‘So it does.’
Henri sighed. His mother, whether she was queen or princess, would likely never tire of her ambition.
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Nobody missed the news in Souchon Palace. Queen Katherine was leaving. For Freyza, it was as if he woke up with the worst hangover of his life. Of all of the contracts he had signed in his short career in Massouron, the majority were with Ilworthian alliances. There was no way he would be able to move again on short notice, not given the fact that he likely would not be granted passage out of the country of Massouron legally to pursue that career, but at the same time, there was no way he would be able to replicate the grandeur of the operations with anyone but the Ilworthians.
And then, there was the prospect of letting go of the Queen of Ilworth. In their short collaboration, the correspondences with her were a highlight in his memory, and he gladly sat in on any and all meeting if she were present. Though they could not be more different, he found that they had a lot in common and could talk for hours if they ever got the chance.
That chance, however, had quickly vanished from the possibilities offered to him. It was over. Everyone was leaving, under the guise of an urgent need to return to Ilworth, but many assumed that it was over for good.
The Ilworthian delegation still acted casually about it, as if they would return sometime soon. They were set to leave with one man down from how they had arrived, and it had certainly taken a toll on the rest. With unrivalled hurry they were packing up.
On one of the last days, however, on a sunlit afternoon, Constance had come up to him while he was eating in the great hall. She was wearing a light blue gown, with her sleeves pushed up like a servant, and with all the brilliant lights coming in, she was nearly as luminous and pale that there was an angelic quality to her.
‘Master Freyza,’ she said, and curtsied. ‘Sorry to interrupt you. I’ve a request from the crown. May I?’
He nearly dropped his spoon. ‘Certainly, Lady Constance. Nothing bad has happened, I hope?’
‘No, you needn’t worry,’ she said. ‘As you might have heard, Master Freyza, we are Ilworth-bound for a short time. Queen Katherine is wondering whether you would be able to accompany her in her carriage to the port of Bourrac. Likely coming Thursday, and all things considered, you’d be back on Saturday or Sunday. Could you free up your schedule?’
‘Yes, but why?’ he asked. ‘I’d like to know if there is anything in particular I am asked to do. You are certain you have the right man?’
Constance shrugged. ‘My lord, if I were to ask for a why and a how for everything Her Majesty asks of me… I’d never stop asking why and how. She has asked for you, and I’d like to make that abundantly clear.’
‘You are aware I am simply the ambassador of the Sbai Empire?’ he asked.
She chuckled and put her hands on the table to lean on. ‘Have you hit your head or something, my lord?’ she asked. ‘We talked a few weeks ago — remember, when Lady Katherine was unconscious? You introduced yourself to me. Of course I know who you are.’
‘Right…’ he said. ‘If you will, tell Her Majesty I will see to it.’
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When Constance returned to the archery range, where Katherine was to catch the last few glimpses of the knights, of Henri, and of her life in Souchon Palace at large, she was grinning like a madwoman.
‘Katherine!’ she hollered. ’Katherine! I have come bearing news.’
Though not downtrodden or unhealthy-looking, Katherine looked unwell if just rattled by the last time. She leaned over the tilt, which was currently not being used as such for jousting practice, but looked over to Constance who was running towards her.
‘What?’ she asked plainly, then made to laugh by Constance’s own laughter, repeated, ‘What is it?’
‘You’re sharing a carriage to Bourrac with the Sbaian ambassador,’ she said.
Katherine blinked once in disbelief and then again with the beginnings of fury. ‘Why?’ she asked.
‘What do you mean, why? You’ve been trying to get to know Master Freyza. Now you’ll leave. Perhaps we can choose not to make it quite as miserable as it otherwise could be by choosing our company.’
She clicked her tongue. ‘Or I could’ve just gotten drunk with you lot and slept with Henri’s brother as some sort of misguided revenge. You’re aware he lives in Bourrac?’
‘No,’ Constance said plainly. ‘And frankly, it matters not. It is my gift to you, Kathy. Perhaps it will cheer you up when you realise all that I do for you.’
‘You are a gossipy fool, you.’
‘No,’ Constance said, ‘I’m the great curator of favourites. Mistress of festivities. A gossipy fool would be someone who would have told Master Freyza of my intentions. The great curator of favourites, however, told Master Freyza that his presence in your carriage was required, however not why. Therefore, I expect him to be bearing parting gifts, and if all else fails, I’d smuggle in some gin just in case. You may thank me, I don’t really get shy about compliments.’
‘A fool,’ Katherine said. ‘I’m mortified. I want you to know that, Constance.’