I will be a broken man until I have her, Ember realized, nausea clutching at his insides.
"My lord," Filton dropped low into a bow, making himself as small as possible under the furious glare of his master, "I expect she is in her chambers or perhaps the palace gardens."
Shock overwhelmed Ember then, and he slumped down onto the end of his bed.
"You...you mean, she didn't leave?" He breathed out in disbelief. But I gave her the opportunity. I practically forced her out the door.
"Was the lady supposed to be going somewhere, my lord? Do I need to have a carriage readied for her?"
"No, no!" Ember snapped quickly, causing Filton to flinch.
I must calm myself, Ember thought, and I then have to see her!
Chapter 9 - Iris
Having decided that it was best to wait and see whether King Ember would change his mind, Iris found herself sitting in the sitting room that adjoined her bedchamber. She was absentmindedly flicking through one of the books she had taken from a nearby shelf when she heard amused laughter coming from the other side of the curtain that separated the two rooms.
Curious, she carefully closed the book and placed it on the couch before delicately rising to her feet. Holding her breath, she tiptoed across the room and did not stop until she could peel back the curtain and peer through to the bedroom.
Pria and Anya, two of her three maids, were stripping the sheets from her bed, but it was clear from their laughter that they were discussing more than their work.
"Can you believe it?" Anya asked, "It must have been so embarrassing for the king."
"Likely it was just as embarrassing for Jada," Pria responded, unhooking the bottom sheet from the feather mattress, "I can imagine her pride took a huge hit when he couldn't get it up."
The king? Iris thought curiously, who is Jada and what does she have to do with the king?
"I am sure Jada's pride is big enough to take a hit like that," Anya protested with a disgruntled look. "She walks around here as though she owns the place."
Pria paused while folding the dirty laundry and gazed at her companion with a shrug. "I suppose the courtesans do sort of own the place. They can get a nobleman to do just about anything with what's between their legs."
"So could we, if we wanted to," Anya pointed out, sounding even more disgruntled.
"Yes, but we are respectable women, and our reputations would be torn to shreds if we threw ourselves at the king," Pria scolded, and added, "Just imagine what they would say about Lady Iris if they knew her maids had been caught in bed with her husband!"
"He isn't her husband yet!" Anya protested. Pria threw her head back and laughed so haughtily that it made Iris cringe.
"You sound as if you are half hoping the king will get bored of her and turn to you instead," Pria said jokingly. Her head snapped back down and she glared at Anya, her eyes darkening. "Don't be getting ideas above your station."
"You sound like my mother," Anya bit back, sticking out her tongue, "Maybe if I hadn't listened to her, I'd be a courtesan and I'd be the one with all the juicy gossip about the king."
Iris couldn't remain quiet any longer. She cleared her throat, stepping out from behind the curtain. As she did so, the two maids whipped around, their faces growing red hot with embarrassment.
"My lady!" They both curtseyed lower than ever before, each holding dirty and clean laundry.
"The two of you are talking an awful lot," Iris said calmly, clasping her hands before her in an attempt to appear calm and authoritative, "Perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me what you are talking about so that I can laugh too."
"Oh, my lady, it's nothing," Pria protested, and the two maids kept their heads down. "It is just idle palace gossip."
Iris's stomach clenched at that, knowing her maid was lying. She had heard enough to know that whatever they were talking about, they had a good deal of information.
"Then you won't mind telling me," Iris said a little more firmly. The two maids, heads still lowered, glanced sideways at each other. Both seemed to gulp past a lump in their throats.
"If you don't tell her, I will," Anya hissed at Pria, "If she's going to be his wife, she deserves to know about his intimacy problems."
Iris cringed, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the words, intimacy problems, or her use of the word, wife. Either way, she was more than a little uncomfortable.
"Pria, please, tell me what is going on," Iris struggled to stop herself from sounding as though she was pleading with the servant. Although she had never seen herself as being above them, she couldn't help but feel as though Anya, at least, might somehow use it against her if she thought she could, even if only to demean her in front of the other servants.