Page 55 of The Queen's Crown
ChapterThirteen
Sabine stood in the archway leading from her bedchamber to the outside balcony, gazing at the beautiful view before her.
“I have everything written down,” Claire said as she stood from the table. “Is there anything else you’ll be requiring?”
“No, that will be all.” Sabine couldn’t believe she’d asked Claire to help her plan a small tea party. Back home, the last thing she ever wanted to do was sit in a room having tea all afternoon while making idle chatter with other women. However, after her conversation with Axel, she knew she needed to start forming connections with the wives of the powerful men in Lynk.
“I’ll get the invitations out later today and have all of the food and drinks arranged to your specifications.” Claire gathered her papers and writing utensils. “I would like to apologize.”
“For what?” Sabine asked.
“I should have mentioned sooner that my sister is Heather. She told me she met you last night.”
“Your sister is a beautiful woman,” Sabine replied, trying to keep her face neutral and devoid of any emotion revealing that she knew Heather was Rainer’s lover. “There is no need to apologize so long as you don’t keep information from me in the future.”
Claire smiled. “I won’t. And thank you. I’ll get started on this right away.” She left the room.
Letting out a sigh, Sabine turned her attention back to the landscape before her as unwanted thoughts wormed their way in. She had no idea where Claire’s loyalties lie. Claire could have been given this job as a favor to Heather since being a lady’s maid was far more prestigious than a seamstress’s assistant. However, she could also have this job to keep tabs on Sabine. She could be reporting everything Sabine did back to Heather. Or even Rainer. For some reason, this felt like a small betrayal. It only solidified the fact that Sabine couldn’t trust anyone.
Someone knocked on her door. She called out for the person to enter.
“Princess Sabine,” a warm, masculine voice said from behind her.
She forced a pleasant smile on her face and headed inside where she found Rainer standing in the middle of her bedchamber. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“We need to talk,” he said by way of greeting.
“Yes, we do.” She folded her arms as she examined the man before her. The last time she saw him, he’d been fighting with Markis. Now, his hair appeared damp, he smelled of soap, and he wore a tan tunic and matching loose pants.
“Let’s go to my private office.” He headed to the door that led to the royal suite.
Sabine went to her desk, opening the top drawer and gathering the letters he’d given her, wanting to return them. She followed him past the sitting room, past the dining room, and to a closed door. He opened it, ushering her inside.
Back home, her father’s office had dark wood walls, a desk that always seemed to be littered with piles of papers, and several shelves full to the brim with books stacked in no particular order. This space was the opposite. A small desk sat in the middle of the room, there were no books, and three of the walls were bare. Where the fourth wall should have been, it was entirely open to the outside. The space felt rather impersonal.
“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” Rainer said as he moved around her and took a seat at his desk.
“There’s no wall,” she said, as if he didn’t know that. Since the palace was built atop a mountain, if she went too close to the opening, she feared she’d topple right down the side of the cliff and die. Maybe that was the point. If someone upset him, he could just shove the person right off the mountainside.
“There’s a large pool below,” he said, tracking her movements—or lack thereof. “Worst thing that can happen, you’ll fall one level into the water.”
“How is there a pool?”
“This room stops well before the edge of the palace and mountain.”
She inched forward, trying to see without getting too close. Sure enough, she spotted a body of water fifteen feet below. It looked as if it went under where she currently stood making it an indoor and outdoor pool. She’d never seen anything so amazing in all her life.
“When it rains, the water cascades off the roof above here and into the pool.”
“I would love to see that,” she said, taking a seat across from him. “Everything here is so different from Bakley.” She set the letters he’d given her on the desk. “I want to return these to you.”
He picked them up and slid them in a drawer, not even questioning her about them.
“Could someone down there hear us?” She pointed to the open wall.
“No. Below this room is my own personal training room next to the pool. Even if someone was down there, they’d never hear us unless we spoke very loudly and much closer to the edge of the room.”
She wanted to see the training room. However, now was not the time. He’d brought her into his personal office for a private conversation. If she wanted to know about her sister, now was the time. “Do you have any leads on who killed Alina?” She spoke with an air of confidence, expecting an answer.
