Chapter Thirty-Two
“Running Out of Time”
A dry breeze danced through the banners and flags of the pavilions surrounding the racecourse, chasing up puffs of fine dust and drying out throats. The green canvas walls of Prince Bertrand’s pavilion snapped and cracked in the breeze, making the children’s puppies bark and whine.
“Do you think this wind is going to have much of an effect on the horses, Bertie?” asked Pere Raven anxiously, his naked brow furrowed with concern.
Bertie grinned widely. “Only on that sorry lot of Carparells!” he cackled and stuck his finger in the air. “Ah-ha, it’s the North Wind! The North Wind always favors the strong. We are champions for sure my poppets. Err… may the best house win, Your Majesty,” said Bertie in a nod to Adele’s St. Lucidis heritage. She waved away his insincere words, and searched the crowd of racers for the huge, black charger and its rider. Adele shifted in her seat and took a sip of water. The temperature had climbed after lunch bleaching the blue sky and dissolving the clouds. Adele was so hot she could hardly breathe in her pretty, but very tight, bodice.
Natalie and Aaron cheered along with all the other Belvoir children in the Royal Pavilion as the horses and their riders assembled in the starting gates. Adele heard the murmurs of her Queen’s Guard swapping bets from where they stood in a line behind her. The Marchant Prince had only brought one horse with him and his doubtful success on running an untried animal was the cause of much excitement. Only the General was silent and Adele could swear she felt him watching her every reaction to Rainere being on the course. He had remained no more than a few feet away from her the minute the Prince had materialized a yard from the boundary of the Belvoir Estate and been welcomed to cross is an inordinately complicated ceremony involving prayers to the Goddess, sprinkling of some sort of holy water, and of course, the spilling of blood, a few drops of Rainere’s and Bertie’s combined. Rainere had remained cool and aloof but Adele had been a sweaty mess of desire by the time it was all over. Rainere was wearing a jacket so tight she could see almost every muscle of his arms and back deliciously outlined. The only proof she had of his own internal conflict was the slight tremor that shuddered through him when she took his hand to ceremoniously pull him over the boundary between Marchant lands and the Belvoir Estate.
“Look, there he is, Your Majesty!” squealed Lady Olivia in excitement as Prince Rainere and Titor rode into their starting gate. The tall black horse walking steadily and not showing any of the skittishness of the other mounts as their riders struggled to get them into their own gates. Adele felt a moment of pride that even Rainere’s horse was as exceptional as the man who rode him.
“My, doesn’t he look handsome in his black velvet,” sighed Lady Olivia, and giggled at the sharp look that Natalie gave her. “Never mind Princess Natalie, I’m sure the Prince would choose you over me any day!”
Adele forced a smile, but her stomach was flip-flopping uncomfortably and she prayed hard that she wouldn’t need to be sick during the race. A rush of desire licked through her veins when she caught sight of Rainere through the bars of the starting gate. She was sure that he was looking at her up on the stage of the pavilion, but an answering roll of nausea soon swamped her stomach again and filled her mouth with sour water, forcing her to look away.
Once the riders had assembled, there was a moment of unnatural silence, as thousands of people held their breath. A loud crack, like a gunshot, rocked out over the crowd and the horses were off. The noise of the crowd was like the sound of an ocean swell, but it faded into quiet as Adele watched Rainere and Titor leap out of the starting gate. They had started a few lengths behind the leader, Blue Streak, with Golden Pride running forward to claim the second place, and remained in the middle of the pack for the first straight and going into the bend. But as the pack rounded the bend and headed down the second straight Titor pulled away, seeming to leap over and above the other horses in his way. Rainere lay low against his mount, his chin down and the black ribbons of his saddle streaming out behind him. The crowd went wild as the Marchant team leaped into the lead, taking the second bend and streaking down the last straight, heading to the finish line.
When Titor crossed the finish line he was in front of the pack by at least three lengths and dashed away as if the race would continue on. Adele watched as Rainere fought to pull his mount under control, eventually slowing the creature and heading back to the finish where the last horses were still crossing the line. He was sitting up tall in the saddle and had thrown back his head, laughing. Adele smiled and tears sprang to her eyes when she saw the entire crowd cheering and calling for Rainere, chants of “Mar-chant! Mar-chant!” filling the air down near the fences. Rainere looked over at her from the course and raised a hand in salute. Adele waved back.
“He won! Prince Rainere won Mummy!” Natalie was as happy as Adele felt, but for a different reason.
If this is how Rainere is received at the Carnival maybe it won’t be so bad for him at the Court of the Golden Palace next time, she thought hopefully. If he can find acceptance here, then… Her positive thoughts trailed away when she turned and caught the eye of General Ohrig. His blue eyes bore into hers and his mouth was set in a grim line. Adele straightened her shoulders. He could stare all he liked, but the General lived with a prejudice against Marchants that Adele would never share. In fact, perhaps it was time he learnt to move on, embrace the new world, and get the hell off her back.
Adele turned her attention to her right and the morose Prince Bertie. Adele thought it was the saddest she had ever seen him and she patted him sympathetically on the arm. It seemed ridiculous to her that the outcome of a five-minute race could be so important to him, but she squashed her smile and tried to look downcast when Bertie took her arm and commiserated with her over Golden Pride’s third-place position. Blue Streak had come in second, but obviously that meant little more than an outright loss to Bertie.
Tilburn interrupted them as he swept by, arranging the stage for the winner’s awards. He handed Bertie the silver tray with the satin rosettes, but Bertie passed it on to Adele, and only pulled himself to his feet as the riders approached the pavilion. Adele fought not to roll her eyes at his petulance, but found it amusing nonetheless.
The Royal party descended the few steps down to the winner’s stage that had been built this very morning in front of the Royal Pavilion. The fresh wood had yet to dry out in the heat and the platform trembled as the children jumped about on it making Adele feel slightly seasick.
The winning three riders rode their horses to the front of the stage, pausing to bow to the Queen and Prince Bertrand before dismounting and handing their reins to waiting stewards. Adele found her vision swimming in and out of focus as Rainere climbed the stairs and stopped mere feet in front of her. She forced herself to breathe and wiped away the sweat running down her temple with a silk handkerchief. Her Magic sparked and surged within her, making her shake and need to hold Bertie’s arm to remain upright.
Rainere looked regal and dignified despite being covered in dust and smelling of horse sweat. He bowed respectfully and waited as Bertie and Adele presented the third place ribbons to the St. Lucidis rider and then the young female rider of Blue Streak.
“Really, Josie? Second place. You don’t think you could have pushed him harder?” muttered Bertie unkindly to the young woman who blushed furiously beneath her freckles, tears filling her brown eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness, Blue and I just couldn’t keep up…”
Bertie only grunted in reply.
“Prince Rainere, congratulations on your victory,” interrupted Adele as the Prince stepped forward to receive his ribbon. Bertie put his hand out to take the ribbon from Adele and pin it to Rainere’s chest.
“Yes, my heartfelt congratulations, Your Highness,” agreed Bertie dolefully. “It was a wonderful race and your Titor really was fantastic out there. Who would have thought, eh?”
Prince Rainere nodded and
stepped back again. “Titor had a hard time taking the length back from Blue Streak, Your Highness, so I believe a certain amount of luck was involved in our win today,” he said graciously.
Bertie looked up hopefully. “You really think? There is a steeplechase this weekend, you know. Do you think you would be interested in running Titor in the woods? Perhaps he wouldn’t do as well without a pack to follow?”
“I couldn’t say, Your Highness, but it is very kind of you to invite us to race again. I’m sure we would find it a great challenge,” said Rainere and Adele could tell he was amused by the twitch at the side of his mouth. She remembered what his lips felt like on her skin and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from sighing.
Rainere turned to her and the sunlight hit his eyes, illuminating their deep velvet green. Desire rocketed through Adele’s already over heated body and her ears started ringing as her vision shrunk down to a pinpoint. “Your Majesty?”
Adele heard a female voice shriek, then the clatter of a falling tray and a baby’s cry before the world went dark and Adele was falling.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“What Comfort There Lies in Dreaming”
Adele awoke to the feel of a cold compress on her forehead and the scent of lavender in the air. There were people talking softly in the room.
“I’m not at all surprised she collapsed this afternoon, Pere Raven.” It was the voice of Lady Olivia. “The Queen has been trying to be discreet, but she had been ill the entire time we’ve been here. I have not seen her keep one meal down for more than a few hours.”
Adele was mortified that Lady Olivia had seen her throwing up. Surely it couldn’t have been that often though?
“Hmmm, I wonder if perhaps she has an ailment of the gut caught from the water here. The water at Belvoir can affect visitors oddly sometimes,” said Pere Raven.
Adele decided she had been discussed enough and opened her eyes, yawning widely to alert her audience to the fact she had woken up. She tried to sit up, but her head swam again and she lay back down, groaning. The cheerful visage of Pere Raven came into her view, followed by the concerned smile of Lady Olivia.
“Your Majesty, it is good to see you awake finally,” he smiled and patted her shoulder before taking the pulse on her wrist. “You gave us quite a turn for a while there.”
“What happened?” croaked Adele.
“I believe you simply fainted, Your Majesty. What with the heat, lack of food and that terribly restrictive dress you are wearing, it was just all too much for you.”
Adele groaned, embarrassed. Fainting had been almost a regular occurrence on Earth, but she had never had an episode here in Unisia. She hoped it wasn’t something new that was starting. This certainly wouldn’t help General Ohrig’s opinion that she was a fragile female in need of his protection.
“Luckily, His Highness, Prince Rainere was at hand to catch you before you fell to the ground,” said the Priest shaking his head. “I swear I’ve never seen a man move so fast!”
“The Prince carried you the whole way to your bedroom, Your Majesty,” said Lady Olivia giving her a wide-eyed look. “He even refused to give you over to General Ohrig who wanted to carry you himself, and he would only leave your side when Pere Raven promised him that you were just asleep. He was very concerned for you.”
“How kind of him,” murmured Adele, laying back on her pillows and avoiding Lady Olivia’s curious gaze. She smoothed her hands down over the embroidery of the sheets and tried to ignore the frisson of excitement that Lady Olivia’s words caused in her chest.
“Did the children see me faint? Were they frightened for me?” she asked and at the same moment heard her children in the corridor beyond her bedroom door. She smiled at the sound of them battering someone with questions.
The children burst into the room with Prince Rainere and Bertie in tow. Bertie held Stella in his arms and Natalie had clamped hold of Rainere’s forearm. Only Aaron jumped on the bed to kiss his mother, but he soon jumped off again when a maid came in carrying a tray of cakes and fruit. Aaron greeted the young woman by name and she ruffled his hair affectionately.
“That’s Mary,” said Aaron as the maid bobbed to Adele and left. “She makes sugar buns, too.”
“So wonderful to see you looking better, Your Majesty!” Bertie beamed at her.
Adele gingerly pushed herself up to sit, feeling very self-conscious in a room full of people with her in bed and her bodice ribbons untied. “I’m so sorry to have made such a fuss, Bertie. I have no idea what came over me.”
Bertie waved her apology away with large flapping gestures. “We are just relieved you are well, Your Majesty.”
Adele finally dared to look at Rainere. He was freshly showered and dressed in a clean suit of black silk instead of his tight velvet coat. He looked uncomfortable surrounded by the domestic scene in the bedroom, and his eyes shifted from person to person restlessly. Adele wanted his gaze back on her.
“I understand it was you who caught me, Your Highness,” she said. “Thank you so much for saving me from falling off the podium.”
Natalie giggled. “You could have fallen onto a horse poop, Mummy!”
“I suppose,” answered Adele with a wan smile, but she was distracted by watching Natalie lean into the Prince’s leg and hold his hand in both of hers, gazing up at him adoringly. Adele decided, then and there, she really had to teach her daughter some personal boundary rules.
Prince Rainere acknowledged her thanks with a modest gesture. “It is a Prince’s duty to aid his Queen wherever he can.”
Adele smiled and felt a flush creep across her cheeks. She made to reply, but Rainere wasn’t finished yet.
“In fact, Your Majesty, the good doctor, Pere Raven, has noted that it is the heat that has brought you so low today, and perhaps on other occasions during this week. I have suggested that perhaps a brief respite in the cooler microclimate of the Grey Palace might help you to recover some of your strength. I would be delighted to host you and your family again until you are better recovered.”
Adele felt her smile stiffen and become brittle. What the Hell was Rainere playing at? Did he want to be more obvious!
Too shocked to respond, Adele heard the children fill the silence with their shrieks of “Can we? Can we, Mummy?” Her eyes travelled to the door and she saw that General Ohren stood in the hall wearing a horrified expression. Obviously he had just heard the Prince.
“Of course you can take a little holiday from the Belvoir Estate if you would like to, Your Majesty,” Bertie grinned at the Prince and Adele instantly saw that the two were in collusion. That was interesting. “I would love to come myself, truth be told, but I have this Carnival to host and I can’t very well miss my own party!”
“If you don’t need me here, Bertie, I would love to go to the Grey Palace in your stead?” said Pere Raven looking pleased. “I have wanted to see inside of that wonderful place since we were young fellows daring each other to run and touch those forbidding front gates.”
“Gosh, we were just boys,” said Bertie, smiling wistfully at the memory.
“Of course you are all welcome to join Her Majesty at my home,” said Prince Rainere graciously, disentangling himself from Natalie’s passionate hug with gentle hands. “Though my hospitality won’t compare to that of Prince Bertrand’s I am sure.”
The children all cheered, jumping about the room and their hysterics made everyone smile, but Adele was still troubled. How would the Court interpret the Royal Family leaving the Belvoir Carnival to be alone with Prince Rainere for a non-state visit? It would almost be an outright admission of a relationship between them and that could only mean trouble when she went back to the Golden Palace and had to explain herself to High Wizard Ohren.
As if he had read her mind Tilburn came striding into the room with his bouncy little steps. He marched straight over to Adele and presented her with a scroll mounted on a wooden board.
“I need you to sign this letter dir
ectly, Your Majesty. It’s addressed to High Wizard Ohren and just lets him know that all is well with you after your little episode this afternoon. I’ve been instructed to keep him informed of your health while you are here at the Estate.” Tilburn handed her a quill and pointed to the place she needed to sign with his manicured finger. “You caused quite a commotion at the race today. I can only imagine the stories and rumors that are flying back to the Golden Palace, as we speak. The High Wizard will be most concerned about you, I’m sure.”
Adele felt a surge of anger at the Majordomo’s words. If the High Wizard is so concerned about me then why isn’t he here?
She remembered Ohren’s open smile and his radiant blue eyes that twinkled with humor and had to admit that she also felt a little hurt that he hadn’t tried harder to see her at Belvoir. Didn’t he care what happened to her anymore? The fact that he was only communicating with Tilburn and not her directly was infuriating.
A bolt of rebellion stirred her anger at the High Wizard. Ohren had sent her to the Belvoir Estate and told her not to go back to the Golden Palace, but he hadn’t told her why. His secrecy disturbed her and made her feel vulnerable at the same time. If events were afoot at the Golden Palace then they could very well follow her to Belvoir where most of the Court of the Golden Palace had decamped for the Carnival. Maybe it would be much safer for her and the children if they were at the Grey Palace? Nothing could touch them there with Rainere by her side and the protection of Marchant Magic surrounding them.
Adele scribbled her royal insignia across the page. She looked up into the expectant gaze of her three children and Prince Bertie’s excited grin. Rainere’s eyes were hooded and his face didn’t betray any of his emotions. When she glanced at him, General Ohrig gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She ignored him.
“I think going to the Grey Palace is a wonderful idea. Thank you for your kind invitation, Prince Rainere.” Adele’s fragile stomach did some nauseating flip flops with excitement. “I have been feeling quite ill with the heat since I got here so a little break would be a relief.”
The Queen Revealed Page 22
