“It’s not that,” she said, gripping his hands.
“Your Majesty?” Burty stood at the bottom of a stairwell. He beckoned them both. “There are servants above. Would you confirm they may remain?”
“Ahh. Come along, my love. We need to change for dinner. Let’s see who Mrs. Kauper has selected for your dressers. If you approve, then they will stay and help you get ready.” He nodded at Burty, who turned and climbed the stairs, his broad shoulders nearly brushing the tight walls.
Russal headed up first, holding his hand out behind him to clasp hers.
“One would think these stairs would be grander in the king’s apartment,” Kambry said and ran the fingers of her free hand along the papered curve of the wall.
Burty’s voice echoed back, “The tight confines allow the king to keep any attacker from getting behind him. If he has the higher ground, he can keep invaders out until guards can arrive. Strategically, it’s an excellent design.”
At the top, the stairwell broadened and opened into a spacious bedchamber.
She had never been up here, and she peered around as if being allowed to sneak a peek of someone else’s private space.
Russal snorted.
She closed her mouth, realizing it hung open in wonderment. The furniture gleamed with polished mahogany. A desk, a small table and several chairs with delicately turned legs were arranged in carefully designed sitting areas, as if one might have two or three couples visiting in various parts of the room. The bed was ensconced in a beautifully carved cabinet, the doors open on both sides to reveal the bed inside. Maids might clean the room, and the queen and king could still be asleep and private.
She and Russal could be asleep. Or not asleep. She stilled the tremble in her hands, clasping them behind her back.
Her gaze slid across the room to find three maids standing in front of an open doorway.
“Your dressers,” said Russal. “Do they suit you?”
Two of the young women kept their eyes cast down. The third, a brown-eyed brunette who seemed close to Kambry’s age, smiled before breaking eye contact. How could she know if they were good? “They seem fine.”
Russal raised a shoulder, acknowledging her uncertainty. “You’ll know after you’ve had some time with them.”
A man with a narrow face stood ramrod straight at another open doorway. He looked like a neatly dressed fence post brought to life in human form.
“That is Simmon, my manservant. He suits me fine, so unless you take a particular dislike to him, I’m keeping him.”
If possible, the man stood straighter.
“I’ve no reason to complain about him.” She gave the room another inspection. “It’s quite roomy up here.” There were other doorways, but she’d survey those rooms later.
Russal waved his hand at the maids and Simmon, and they disappeared into the rooms behind them. “Marshal, is everything acceptable to you?”
Two guards entered from another doorway and nodded at Burty’s raised brow. “All appears as it should. We will leave you to prepare for your evening. Do you wish guards to remain inside your quarters or in the corridor? I would prefer a few remain within.”
“Besides the list I gave you, I see no need for more crowding about. This is our first evening together. I prefer it not feel like we are expecting an attack.”
Burty nodded and directed the men down the narrow stairwell. He followed them, closing the door behind him.
Russal squeezed her hand. “I will see you after you change. Don’t forget to send the maids away once you are ready, or they will assume you wish them to remain to help you ready for bed.”
She glanced at the doorway they had walked into. “Will they return later?”
“No.” Russal brushed his lips against her temple. “But I’ll be here.” With a wink, he headed to his dressing room.
Kambry swallowed, standing a moment before raising her chin and stepping through the open doorway.
The maids jumped to their feet. The three had been sitting on a bench near the doorway. Each bobbed a curtsey.
The brown-eyed brunette said, “Your Majesty, we selected a dress for this evening.” She pointed at a simple gown hanging on the open door of a wardrobe. The two other maids stood still and expectant, their attention more on the brunette than Kambry.
Kambry stared at it a moment, her mind having a hard time concentrating. She and Russal would be alone this evening. Mentally shaking herself, she assessed the dress. It was similar in color to her coronation dress, but less formal. There appeared to be a few more dresses than she remembered from her quarters hanging in the wardrobe, but she supposed that was expected of a queen. “It will do.”
“Shall we begin then?” asked the maid.
“Is the process any different from my experiences with other dressers?” She dearly hoped it wouldn’t take hours to prepare for a dinner with friends and family.
The woman smiled. “I’m Sarena and these two are undermaids. They are in training. If they don’t please you, you can replace them with others. But Mrs. Kauper thought it would be best to start with inexperienced maids that would learn your preferences with no expectations that might hinder your convenience. I am a fully trained dresser, but I will only do as much as you wish.”
“Thank you, Sarena. That seems a logical start.” She turned to the two maids waiting on instructions. “And your names are?”
Sarena answered for them, “They are Molly and Moreen, sisters actually.”
When they raised their heads for a moment to share shy eye contact, Kambry realized they were quite young, perhaps fifteen and sixteen, both bearing a dusting of freckles across flat cheeks. They dropped into curtseys and turned their attention back to Sarena.
“I hope we all get along well, Molly, Moreen.” She turned from the two fair-headed maids to Sarena. “I would like the least fuss possible. I just want to change into something appropriate for a dinner with friends and family. Leave my hair as it is, remove the crown and change dresses. Is that okay?”
Sarena nodded, and Kambry cringed at the idea she had just asked permission of her dresser. But the woman’s softly spoken words eased her embarrassment. “We will do exactly as you ask. We’re here to assist you. If you don’t like the dress we chose, please choose another. Your demands will not unsettle us. They will guide our future efforts.”
Kambry looked at the dress hanging on the door a second time. “It will do fine, but I would like to wear a simple pair of low-heeled shoes.” She added, “That match the dress, of course.”
Sarena nodded at Molly, who jumped into action, searching a series of drawers holding neat rows of shoes before turning with a pair of pale-green, low-heeled pumps for Kambry’s approval.
“You found those fast,” Kambry said.
“She will improve as we all learn your wardrobe and where everything is.” Sarena looked around. “It won’t take us long, you don’t have an extensive selection.”
Kambry chewed her lip. Was she expected to have an extensive selection?
“Shall we start with your crown?”
“I have more than one?”
Sarena seemed to hold back a smile. “I’m sure you do, but I assumed you didn’t want to wear a crown to an informal dinner.”
Kambry couldn’t help but sigh. “No, I don’t wish to wear a crown. You may start with removing this one.”
“Please, sit here.” Sarena pointed at a plush round stool.
Kambry sat, taking care not to wrinkle her dress. All three women surrounded her, working together to remove the crown without damaging the arrangement of her hair. After a minute of whisperings and gentle tugs, Sarena backed up with the crown in hand. She passed it to Moreen, who lay it in the velvet box Lady Laurents had opened for her earlier. How long ago that seemed, but it was mere hours previous.
“There,” Sarena said. “Let me just fix this one lock.” Her fingers gently pressed and pushed. She removed one of the amethyst hair pins and then returne
d it to its place.
Kambry sighed. “You did that without scraping my scalp. I’m keeping you.”
“I will inform Mrs. Kauper,” Sarena said, giving a quick curtsey, her voice laced with quiet amusement. “I think the jewelry you are wearing will suit the dress. Shall we leave it or would Your Majesty also like it removed or replaced?”
“I’ll wear the jewelry and put them away later.”
There was an audible snap as the coronation jewelry case shut.
“If you will stand, Your Majesty, we will remove your dress.” She gazed at one of the young maids as she approached to help. “Molly, prepare the tissues.” The girl backed away and opened a long white box on a nearby counter.
Moreen and Sarena undid the fasteners in the back of Kambry’s dress. “Raise your arms over your head, Your Majesty.”
Kambry did as asked, and through the muffling fabric being lifted off her said, “Sarena, is there any chance you could stop saying ‘Your Majesty’?”
“Perhaps only every third or fourth time, Your Majesty.”
“All right. Then I don’t expect to hear it again for another three times you speak.”
“As you wish, Your.... As you wish.”
Molly and Moreen carried the dress to the counter where they began folding it over shaped tissue as they lowered it into the box by sections.
Sarena waited a moment until they folded most of the dress into the box. “Molly, come help me.” She removed the dinner dress from the hanger, and the two women helped Kambry into it.
“Your other items,” Sarena paused. “Would you like to have your ring or this....” She stared at the queen’s scabbard. She seemed uncertain what to call it.
“I will keep both the ring and the lady’s gauntlet on. I wear them every day for all events. The gauntlet is a gift from the king.” She hoped calling it a gauntlet was accurate. Burty had not corrected her when she had called it that before she learned that it was a scabbard.
“As you wish,” said Sarena. She prompted Kambry to sit down, removing the delicate lace on her feet before helping her put on her shoes. Kambry held the hem of the dress out of the way.
Molly and Moreen finished putting away her coronation dress and placed it in a cabinet.
Kambry stood and said, “Thank you, ladies. You may leave now. I will manage on my own this evening.”
The three curtsied and left quickly, the two young maids sighing almost simultaneously with Kambry’s own sigh of relief. When the maids exited, she straightened her shoulders and prepared to step into the bedchamber.
Chapter Four
Russal rose from a chair by his changing room. A smile warmed his face. “You are very much worth the wait.”
“Were you waiting long?” Changing had seemed to proceed quickly. She bit her lip.
“I expected to wait a great deal longer and would have been as pleased had you taken minutes or hours. I’ve waited a long time to see you come out of that room.”
He strode to her, his hands held out to take her own. “Kambry.” His voice thrilled through her. “I’ve yet to kiss you since you became queen. May I?”
“I understand I’ve been queen for some time.”
“But now it is official, and you’re standing in our bedroom. This will be a very different kiss.”
Her breathing picked up. Her fingers trembled in his, and he raised them to his chest, pressing them to him. His blue eyes softened, and a smile quirked his lips. “Perhaps I should wait till after dinner.”
“Should you?”
“Don’t say it like that, Kambry. We might miss dinner.”
A giggle broke free from her throat. “Do you think they’d wait for us?”
Russal's smile turned rueful. “No. Amily would stomp up the stairs and demand we come down at once. I think we’d have reason to be embarrassed.”
“We would?”
“Oh, Kambry.” Russal took one hand and released the other. “Let’s get ourselves down there.” He tugged her along fiercely behind him toward the stairwell.
“Russal, are you angry?”
“Angry?” He stopped on the second step, turned and pulled her into his arms. His lips hovered above her own. “Say yes, Kambry, my love.”
“Yes.”
He kissed her gently, but his hands held her tightly to him. With her on the top step, and him one below. She was face to face with him. Her arms of their own accord curled around his neck, and he deepened the kiss. He withdrew and pressed his forehead to hers. “Kambry, don’t let me kiss you again, not until after dinner.”
It took her a moment to find her voice. It seemed to have dropped somewhere in the middle of her chest. “I’m starving, Russal.”
“You are a terrible tease, Kambry do Runiya, queen of Kavin Wood.”
A rumbling giggle escaped her. She was in love with this man and pressed her fingers through his tidy locks, one finger sliding under the temple braid on one side. Turning her head, she kissed him. He stood rigidly in place, responding with a soft mouth.
When she pulled away, he sighed.
“You’re better than a terrible tease,” he whispered. “You are the love of my life, and you floor me, but please don’t kiss me again if you want to eat before breakfast the day after tomorrow.”
“Russal!” Amily’s strident voice tore up the stairwell and jerked them apart. “We’re having dinner together, not a midnight snack, correct?”
Russal’s hands clung to Kambry’s waist, his thumbs caressing her hip bones. “We’ll be right down.” His voice sounded normal, but Kambry could hear the raggedness in his breath. He touched his forehead to hers.
Tingles ran up her spine.
“I’m going to eat fast,” he said. “And claim exhaustion.”
“But what if the food is superb?”
He kissed her dizzy, then pivoted, grabbing her hand and tugging her down the tight curving stairs. When they exited the bottom, they found Amily tapping one prettily shod foot. Her dress was deep maroon and accented her brown hair and merry eyes.
Tomo walked up beside her and handed her their son, the child’s eyes blinking, his body limp. He raised their daughter Suria and pressed her to his chest, her head on his shoulder. “I remember those days. All giddy with love and desire.”
Amily bumped him with her hip. “You should, you were quite giddy with desire last night.”
With sleepy eyes, Tomo gazed sideways at her. His mouth tipped up on one side. “Don’t talk to me that way, love. I’m might drag you home before you’ve had any dinner.”
Russal pulled Kambry under his arm and guided her around his sibling. “This is what I’ve had to put up with. You can see why I kept falling for any woman who would look twice at me. All this giddiness thrumming through the air, bound to make a man easy to temp.”
“Huh.” Amily turned on her heel. “He was ignoring women like they carried some sort of plague and wasn’t falling for anyone, Kambry. It worried me he’d lost all interest in love.” She rubbed the back of her sleeping son. “Iron will, but you changed and melted him. Nothing but liquid gold now.”
Russal and Kambry stepped around the divider separating the more private portion of the first floor of the chambers. The long living area spread out to their right. The balcony doors opened to their left. Outside, the elderly Laurents stood at the balcony rail, looking out over the royal gardens, their twin silver heads pressed together. Kambry’s parents wore bemused expressions on their faces. They sat on the sofa near the room’s entrance and looked as if they felt out of place.
Kambry smiled at them and pulled from Russal’s grip. So much had happened in the months she had been in Kavin. That same sofa had been where she and Amily had sat looking over the first draft of Kambry’s illustration. She knew that same illustration now hung in the babies’ nursery back at Strom Castle. “Mom, Dad, come join us on the balcony.” She pursed her lips at Russal. “What is it called, this meal we’re having?”
“A grace board.”
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Kambry turned back to her parents. “Right, it’s a grace board. I don’t know why it’s called that, but the servants lay the fare out on narrow tables, and we select from the platters, placing tidbits on tiny plates. You keep going back for more because you can’t get enough to eat.”
Russal joined her before her still-seated parents. “It keeps the guests moving and forces them to have to talk to everyone instead of sitting tight in one spot with only those they know.”
Dad looked amused. He patted Mom’s hand. “You’ll feel at home soon, Meezy.”
Directly in front of them, Stahn and Tia sat together on the lounge Kambry had always imagined curling up on with a delightful book. They had yet to notice she and Russal had entered the room.
“Stahn, Tia?” Kambry said a second time.
Stahn looked away from Tia with surprised eyes. He continued to caress the backs of her small hands held by his calloused fingers. He stared at Kambry. “How is it you married before we did? It hardly seems right. We’ve been engaged longer.”
Amily whispered into Kambry’s ear. “All that desire thrumming in the air. It’s catching.”
Russal snorted.
Kambry heard a thwack, and he jolted beside her.
“More courageous men than you, Amily, have dared to hit their king and not survived.” Russal double-stepped, tugging Kambry along with him. “Want to try again?”
“Quit running away, and I will.”
Amily leaned in close to Kambry again. “I’ve left you a beautiful nightshift.”
Kambry raised a shoulder and skipped away from Amily, trading hands with Russal and dodging to his other side. Nervousness made her shiver, and she turned back to her brother. “Food, Stahn. I am offering you food.”
“Well, in that case.” He stood, helping Tia rise from the well-upholstered lounge. Her infectious grin peaked out from behind him.
Kambry was certain given the opportunity, Tia and Amily would make fast friends. She looked at Amily and back to Tia’s teasing eyes. Yes, those two both had mischievous personalities.
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