I wasn’t especially worried, given my relationship with Ree, but the queen was adamant. With King’s Watch unoccupied, they had little argument to deny the request.
The McPhees were scheduled to move from Castlewick to King’s Watch by the first of February. For the first time in a long time, Dad perked up about it. He needed to have something to do. As the new guardian of King’s Keep, he got a new job and then some.
He would be the one tending the private island of the dead with nobody to bother him. It was a perfect task.
They would also be nearer to the Fullertons, who had become best friends to my parents over the winter as they vacationed in Aldayne in their new country home.
My hands got even fuller right around the time I started to feel like crap that fourth week of January. I found myself on the floor in front of the toilet, unable to keep down the auberry juice and toast I had requested because my tummy felt a little off.
I had felt dizzy the night before, but I just attributed it to the minor tremblors we experienced as a volcanic nation. I felt more earthquakes since coming to Aldayne than I had ever felt growing up in California. They were minor and mostly went undetected, but the night before had offered one little jolt that woke me up from a deep sleep with such a sense of doom that I brought Jack to bed with us so I could literally keep a hand on him to make sure he was all right.
I had yet to recover. He cried in his bassinet as I tried to pull myself together once Auggie had left for the Academy. I gave up trying to get ready for work myself, instead collecting Jack in my arms as I collapsed in bed, cuddling him close so that I could soothe him, despite how weak and ill I felt. Maybe I should have gotten a new nanny, I thought to myself.
The sucky part of adulting meant there was no one there to soothe me.
It made me think about the year before, when I was so sick that my mother had come from Maggie Farms to take care of me right when I first got pregnant and felt worse than I had ever felt in my life.
I bolted upright in bed. I started doing math in my head, counting down to my last period. It was right as we headed to Castlegate in December, which was almost a month and a half ago. Dr. Hamish had already warned me that my cycles might be irregular to start, especially with the breastfeeding. So, I didn’t think much about it when I started my new round of birth control a couple of weeks before. The days had blurred into each other ever since we got back from Ademar, so I didn’t give it much thought after that. Still, by any measure I was ‘late,’ going by a traditional 28-day cycle.
My first call was to the committee, letting them know I wouldn’t be in for the day. The second call was to Dr. Hamish.
She was at Castlewick within an hour. Ten minutes after that, I had my answer.
“I see you didn’t follow any of my advice,” she chided. “But I suppose congratulations are in order. Looks like Jack is going to be a big brother.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is this going to be a problem?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “It isn’t ideal. Your first pregnancy came with complications. And this is well before the recommended time for a second pregnancy.” She read the fear on my face. She gave me a reassuring pat. “But I am here for you, Your Grace. As always.”
I burst into happy tears. Despite how passionately I loved my son, the idea of a new baby with Auggie, adding to our family, filled me with immeasurable joy, even with the additional considerations.
Dr. Hamish did her calculations, saying I likely conceived around the first of January. I thought back to making love with Auggie in the throne room of Ademar. No matter when we conceived, in my heart, I knew that was the day that our new child’s existence began. “Are you ready to do this all again, Pea?”
I nodded. It was the best news ever, despite everything. Hell, maybe the queen would even think twice about sending Auggie on an unnecessary tour of duty now. It could solve just about everything.
Even with the Byrnes up our ass about Jack’s paternity, no one could question the new baby.
She was a miracle already. Auggie had virtually willed her to be.
I couldn’t wait to tell Auggie. And since I was technically a princess, I didn’t have to. I decided to head to the Royal Military Academy to speak to him personally.
It was difficult to hand Jack over to my mother and not tell her the good news, particularly when she took stock of my pallor.
“Oh, my God, Pea. Are you okay?”
I nodded, trying to suppress a smile. “I’m okay. Just something I ate,” I dismissed easily.
I got the hell out of there before I spilled the beans entirely.
I was practically jumping out of my skin by the time we reached the Academy, but it was to no avail. Auggie and several of his commanding officers had already been called over to Shimmering Falls to meet with the queen. Off to Shimmering Falls we went. I called ahead to let Mariel know I was coming.
“You might want to reschedule,” she warned. “The Byrnes are here.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Not sure. They called a meeting with the queen. It’s probably about King’s Watch. It could get ugly.”
I dismissed the concern easily. I honestly felt bulletproof against them now. Now that I was pregnant, I needed my mother nearby more than ever. If Ree wanted King’s Watch, so be it. I wouldn’t mind having her nearby. She was the only Byrne I felt like I could reach.
I was taken aback by just how many Byrnes were present when I got there. Allan and Eloise joined Cillian and Hannah in the main drawing room, where they waited with Auggie’s commanding officers.
Eloise and Hannah sat together, new besties from hell. They gave me the once-over, chuckling at my unkempt appearance. I had barely thrown together an outfit suitable for a princess, and makeup didn’t help my pallid complexion.
Cillian’s expression fell somewhat as he studied me. “Are you okay?” he asked, like he cared.
“I’m fine. Where’s Auggie?”
“He’s in with the queen,” he stated. “Along with Ree and her new husband.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “Husband? Didn’t she just meet him last month?”
“You’re hardly one to talk about shotgun weddings,” Eloise remarked, making Hannah giggle.
I glared at her. “Neither are you,” I pointed out. I could tell by the way her face contorted into anger that my barb landed right where I wanted it to.
I headed to the queen’s office. I was just about to knock when Auggie opened the door. He was every bit as ashen as I was.
“Pea,” he said, startled. “What are you doing here? Did she call for you?”
I shook my head. “I came because I have good news,” I started, but the shocked look on his face stopped me short. “What’s wrong?”
“Pea,” he started again, which made me panic something was really, very wrong.
“Pea?” I heard Ree call from behind him. “Pea!” she said, even more excited. She burst out from behind Auggie, holding her hand up so that I could see the rings on her left hand. “I did it, Pea. You were right. I just kept turning the page and there he was. My happily ever after.”
“Charles?” I asked.
She laughed. “Turns out he was using an alias like me. It’s so funny the masks we use to protect ourselves, isn’t it?”
I didn’t know what to say. I glanced at Auggie, who took my hand in his. “What?” I asked again.
“Pea,” Ree said. “I’d like you to meet my husband. Christopher Tyler Byrne.”
He appeared in the doorway like a nightmare, his mouth curved into an almost menacing smile. I felt the wind knocked out of me, like a punch in the gut. Auggie gripped my hand in support, to keep me up right.
“How? Why? You’re not even supposed to be in the country.”
Ree’s brow furrowed in confusion. Christopher took her into the crook of his arm. “Why not? Christopher Byrne has a pristine record everywhere, doesn’t he?”
In th
at moment, I realized what he had done… what they had all done. They had set that poor, lonely woman up with the one person who could slide onto the chessboard and force the Quinns into checkmate. With a new name, he could even enter the country. Worse, now that she was married, it could position this new puppet into place if they managed to run Auggie and me away by going after the one thing we loved most in this world. And I knew it by the next words out of his hateful mouth when Ree asked, “Wait. Do you know each other?”
“We’re old dear friends, aren’t we, Pea? Worked together in Los Angeles. Closely,” he added, with enough inuendo for Queen Maeve to hear as she joined our conversation. “How’s Jack, by the way? I can’t wait to meet him. I get the feeling we’re going to have a whole lot in common.”
I glanced up at Auggie, who watched me with the same devastated expression. I had come here to give him the greatest news of our marriage. Now it felt like the world was falling apart.
The queen could move any position on the chessboard, but I wasn’t queen yet.
I had to wonder now if I ever would be.
The game had changed.
And the Byrnes were winning.
END OF BOOK TWO
The Duke Takes a Bride (The Rocking Royal Trilogy Book 2) Page 28
