Page 37 of The Shadows Between Us
“I wonder why she sticks around the palace at all if she doesn’t enjoy the company.”
“She has to!” Rhoda explains. “Her presence was ordered at the palace just like the rest of us.”
Ah, she was there the night the king died. Now the palace is her prison until the culprit is found.
I watch Lady Zervas take her seat. As soon as she does, she looks right at me, her expression practically lethal.
Leandros chuckles from next to me.
“Why is she looking at me like that?” I ask.
“All ladies will look at you like that when you’re sitting next to me. It’s the jealousy.”
I give him a doubtful look.
He grins. “All right, it might not be because of me. But it is the jealousy.”
“Because I’m courting the king? He’s less than half her age!”
“No, not Kallias. It was the late king whom Lady Zervas fancied. They had a brief courtship before the king’s heart was stolen by the late queen. Zervas never got over him. She sees you in a position where she once was, and she envies you for that, I imagine.”
Now I look at the lady in a new light. Her voluminous hair is streaked with gray, but it doesn’t make her look old so much as dignified. She carries herself with an air of importance but doesn’t deign to look at anyone around her now that she’s done with me. Yes, she carries herself as if she fancies herself a queen.
“Tonight, she’s my favorite person,” Leandros continues. “I don’t know how else I could have persuaded you to let me sit beside you.”
I roll my eyes at him, just as some of the lights in the room turn off, dimming the makeshift stage.
The actors take their places, racing up the gaps between the rows of chairs to reach the center. And the performance begins.
THE PLAY IS SOdreadfully dull. By the end, the two lovers still weren’t able to reconcile their differences in order to be together. The entire performance was one long argument, really. There was no swordplay, no fisticuffs, nothing exciting at all.
The next outing I’ve agreed to attend is the debutante ball for the sixteen-year-old daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Demetrio, far-removed cousins to the king, but relations, nonetheless.
I send another note to Kallias, inviting him to join me, hoping this time it might be different considering he has a connection to the family, but his response is the same.
My dear friend Alessandra,
I do wish I could accompany you. I rather enjoyed the last time we danced. Alas, I am hard at work putting your plan for Pegai into action. With any luck, we’ll have the rebels put down before the month is out.
The council and I are also dealing with the latest attack by the masked bandit, this time far too close to the palace for my liking. We at least have a more accurate description of the man. Brown hood. Brown mask over his eyes.
That was, of course, sarcasm.
I’m afraid I will also have to skip dinner this evening. The council will be taking it in the meeting room tonight.
I sincerely hope you are enjoying your time among the nobility. I hear your friend Calligaris accompanied you to the play at the viscount’s. I’m glad to see you were able to find a replacement for me.
Yours,
Kallias
A replacement? Is that bitterness I detect in the strokes of his hand? Or perhaps a subtle warning?
I need to get rid of Myron and fast. In order to do that, I need to talk to Rhouben. Yet I also need to speak to Kallias in an attempt to strengthen our courtship. I weigh the two options, trying to decide which to do first. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen the king. I must locate him.
I grow no closer to achieving my goals when days go by without the two of us seeing each other. How is the king supposed to fall in love with me then?
No servant is above bribery, and I use any I can find throughout the palace to direct me to the meeting rooms used by the king and council.
