Page 17 of Her Dark Reflection

She deflated a little. ‘Oh. That’s too bad.’

‘Was the king there much longer after I left?’

‘Hours!’ She sat up and began plucking pins from her hair. ‘Vanaria had her claws in him for half the night, of course. Here, will you help unlace me?’ She turned and bent her slender neck and I sat fully upright to reach for her. ‘Did you see the prince of Oceatold?’ She shot me a look out of the corner of her eye. ‘Don’t you think he’s handsome?’

‘Very,’ I murmured as I worked at her bodice.

‘And Lord Boccius already has his sights on Carina. He invited her to a picnic tomorrow, and she agreed. He’ll be a fine catch for her, though he is married and quite fat, but he is a councillor and nephew to the king, and I hear he is rich. He must be to sit on the king’s council, and—why are you still fully dressed?’ She had glanced over her shoulder at me and now she turned fully round, her hair loose, her dress gaping open at the back.

‘I think I might go and find the infirmary.’ I stood as I said this, arranging my skirts and checking myself in the mirror.

‘I’m sorry, here I am babbling when you’re unwell. I’ll come with you.’

‘No!’ I said, a little too forcefully, and her face pinched with suspicion. I quickly amended my tone. ‘Sleep. You’ll need to be fresh tomorrow. I won’t be long.’

I didn’t give her time to ask questions, leaving the room quickly and shutting the door definitively behind me before skulking through the servant’s quarters, unfolding the schedule of events Mrs Corkill had given me upon arrival, and squinting at the map on the back. Most of the rooms weren’t labelled, no doubt as a precaution against the ‘unapproved wandering’ we had been warned about, but a suite of rooms butting onto the large, central courtyard caught my attention. The suite of rooms was not explicitly spelled out as belonging to the king, but it was enormous, comprised of what looked like eighteen different rooms across two floors of the palace. No other apartment was anywhere near that size. Who else could it belong to?

I moved through the palace like a cat, ducking out of sight when I heard drunk voices in the halls ahead, along with the feminine laughter that suggested there were still those continuing the night’s festivities. Silly girls. They should know better than to give of themselves so quickly. The high status of the clientele must have thrown off their better sense. Any maisera worth her salt knew that the longer she kept a man from her bed, the more he would be willing to pay for the pleasure.

The palace was a labyrinth, and I was left standing at a dead end where I thought there should be a hall more than once, muttering curses as I tried to place myself on the map, but eventually I entered a sweeping hall of gold-panelled walls and a polished floor cloaked in embroidered rugs the colour of ripe plums. A young, spotty guard was posted by a door halfway down the hall, and I allowed myself a small smile of satisfaction. Who else’s room would be guarded?

The guard eyed me as I approached, and I bowed my head demurely, trying not to look threatening. ‘Is His Majesty in?’

‘He’s turned in for the night and won’t take visitors,’ the guard replied.

I smiled sweetly. ‘It will only take a moment. It’s very important.’

He seemed to physically thaw, his stiff stance slackening as he stared at me with a slightly open mouth. ‘Sorry, ma’am. No visitors.’

‘Maybe you could ask him? Or even take a peek inside and see if he’s still awake? Please? I’d be ever so grateful.’

‘I’m sorry ma’am, I really can’t—’

The door behind him opened, and the guard jumped to attention.

‘It’s alright, I’m awake. Miss Beaufort, what a surprise to see you. Would you like to step inside?’ King Linus gestured with a sweep of his hand, and I curtsied low.

‘If it please you, Your Majesty,’ I said, before sweeping past the young guard without a second glance. The king closed the door behind me. We were standing in a dark antechamber, lit only by what firelight was escaping from a door to an adjoining room.

‘I apologise for disturbing you so late,’ I began, but he waved my words away.

‘I’m a night owl. But when I said we could continue our game another time, I didn’t mean tonight. I already have someone here.’

I wondered who he had in the apartment with him. Vanaria? He can’t have been too smitten with whoever it was since he had come to the door for me. ‘I’ve come to beg your forgiveness,’ I said, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.

His silver eyebrows climbed higher up his forehead. ‘My forgiveness? What for?’

‘I did a foolish thing. After meeting you earlier, I was so overcome. I thought to myself that there would never be another night like tonight, and I desperately wanted something to remember it by, some small token. So, I… stole from you.’ I turned my gaze to the ground.

‘What did you steal from me?’

‘A piece of cutlery,’ I said softly. ‘A fork.’

‘A fork,’ he repeated.

‘And Mrs Corkill found it. She made me realise that it really was a shocking thing to do, and I understand that you will send me away from the palace in the morning. But I just wanted to see you once more, so that I could tell you how sorry I am, and how I didn’t mean to offend you.’

‘I don’t know about all that.’ His voice was thick with warmth and amusement. ‘It seems a harsh punishment, to send you away for the sake of a fork. Perhaps if you had pocketed the entire cutlery set, but if you promise not to do that, then I think we should be able to let this little incident slide.’

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