Page 7 of From London, With Love
Alexandra froze. What if all she needed was frequent exposure with someone she trusted? What if she could defeat this… this fear within her?
“Don’t you even think about it,” she whispered in the stillness of her rooms.
And yet, the thought of Sir Gideon kissing her again was almost its own type of lure.
And youarethe queen.
* * *
Ava wincedas the frequency transmitter squealed. Gemma must have been standing too close to the orchestra.
She swiftly turned the dial for Gemma’s communication device down, and scanned through the other Rogues’ frequencies. All was well.
The door behind her opened.
“I’m sorry, this room is taken.” Ava glanced behind her, then abruptly straightened and dipped a curtsy. “Your Majesty. My apologies. I had no idea it was you. Forgive me.”
She’d taken over one of the queen’s antechambers for the night, with Malloryn’s blessing.
The queen smiled. “Forgiven, Miss McLaren. Whatever are you doing out of bed?”
Ava relaxed. “Oh, I volunteered. Someone has to keep them all in line,” she joked, gesturing to the transmitter. And it wasn’t as if she was going to be getting much sleep, what with the incessant ache in her hips.
“I trust you are well?” The queen’s face softened as she glanced down, though her eyes bore the stain of sadness.
Ava should have been in confinement. No amount of ruffles in the world could conceal the bulk of her midriff, where Kincaid’s baby kicked morning and night. But Herbert was the only other person who knew how to work the switchboard, and he was currently enjoying a weekend in Bath with his wife.
“Tolerably well, Your Majesty.”
“Malloryn’s not working you too hard?”
“Oh no,” she hastened to reassure her queen. “He wanted me to rest, but there’s no rest to be had, unfortunately. I may as well keep my mind and body busy.”
“Oh, I remember those days,” the queen murmured, one hand resting on her flat midriff.
Ava stiffened. Oh, no. She’d completely forgotten. The queen’s only child had been stillborn. It was the worst thing she could imagine. “I’m so sorry—”
“Don’t be.” There was no emotion in the queen’s eyes, though her lips curled in a placating smile. “Edward’s memory should always be kept alive.”
Awkwardness fell upon the pair of them, however, and Ava couldn’t help bringing a hand to rest upon her swollen abdomen. She’d been cursing the way the baby kicked all night, but she would never take such gestures for granted again.
But what should she say?
“I should get back to the ball,” the queen murmured, as if sensing Ava’s distress. “Malloryn will be wondering where I am.”
“I hope you find someone,” Ava called as Her Majesty turned toward the door. “I hope he makes you happy.”
The queen glanced over her shoulder. “You’re very kind.”
Through the door, Ava heard thewhirrof a servant drone sensing movement and rolling toward the queen.
Accepting a glass of cordial from the drone’s tray, the queen swished past, heading toward the ballroom in a cloud of perfume, cordial and something else, something bitter—
Ava’s head turned unerringly.
That smell….
The scent of lilacs and oils was almost overwhelming, but her sense of smell was stronger now she was with child—as all scents seemed to be—and she’d know it anywhere.
