“Seriously, Branford? You think inappropriate dinner clothing is a plot against you?”
“It’s not that simple!” Branford yelled. “There was the carriage driver, her behavior when we arrived, and our wedding night…”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not being—”
“You most certainly are! I don’t know if I have ever been more angry and disappointed in you than at this moment. You keep pushing your wife onto everyone around you and then fly off the handle at her when things don’t go the way you expected!”
“Mother, I—”
“Did I give you permission to speak, Sir Branford?”
“No…my queen.”
“Then don’t do so again unless I ask it of you. Understood?”
“Yes, my queen.”
“Down! Now!”
Daring to peek from between my fingers, I watched from the corner of my eye as Branford first held the queen’s stare and then slowly dropped to his knees in front of her. He placed his hands, stilled balled into fists, on his thighs and bent his head down. I quickly hid my face again as my heart continued to pound.
“You listen to my words, Branford Sterling, Lord of Sterling, and listen well.” The queen’s voice was low, and I could hardly hear her words. “This has been a complete and total
disaster, and there is one person and one person only who is responsible for it.”
“I think I’ve figured that—”
“SILENCE!”
“Yes, my queen.” His words to her were soft, but the queen spoke loud and clear.
“You, Branford,” Sunniva said. “You are responsible for this. You brought a young, lost, commoner child here as your wife and expected her to know how to behave like a princess. You’ve spent no time with her, apart from your nights, and you know nothing about her. It is obvious I know more of her character than you though I’ve spent barely a handful of hours in her company. Did you think she smuggled that outfit in here herself? You presented her to me, covered in mud because she had nothing else to wear. How can Camden and I trust you with the crown—with the leadership of your people—if I cannot trust you to lead your own wife in her new life?”
“Mother, I—”
“I have not given you permission to speak.”
“Yes, my queen.”
I heard the queen sigh heavily. The volume of her words dropped, but the tone remained just as hard.
“This is your own doing, Branford. You’ve practically abandoned her on her own since you arrived. What kind of a king will you be if you can’t take care of the needs of your own wife?”
“She could be a traitor!” he said, and I heard a whimper come unbidden from my throat.
“Branford, in the name of God! Are you even listening to yourself? You chose her from an arena full of maidens! That was your whole plan to avoid treachery, was it not?”
“You knew about…?”
“I know a lot of things, Sir Branford. There is very little that happens here without my knowledge, including what you believe to be your secret meetings to plot war on Hadebrand. I allowed your wedding scheme to occur because it is time for you to take on more responsibility, and I was thrilled you were considering a wife. And now, to see you shirk the duty of her care the very first day is beyond disappointing.”
“It wasn’t a good time for—”
“You will make the time, Sir Branford. In fact, for the next three days, that will be your sole focus.”
“Three days?”