Page 88 of The Thief
She looked up at him in surprise. “Can they do that? Keep an election from happening?”
He nodded. “They would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are not fit to rule though.”
He thought about it and considered it for a moment.
“If we had not already cleared him of involvement, you would think your uncle was behind all this. Just to become king again.”
He shook his head in disgust.
“Don’t worry, I will not let him be king again. If we are not able to get Catriona back alive, I will take over and rule the kingdom as queen. I refuse to be bullied out of the throne. Even if I didn’t want to be there in the first place.”
She smiled up at him and asked, “Will you be my prince consort?”
He chuckled and leaned down and kissed her lips. “I will.”
She made a disgruntled sound when he moved to get up. “You need to go upstairs and get some rest, my dear.”
When she yawned, he laughed, making her frown.
“That was just a coincidence,” she said as she stood. “I was only yawning because you said the word rest.”
“I believe you,” he said, but the glint in his eye told her he was lying.
“I will come up and check on you later, all right?” he asked.
She nodded and went to leave the room, halting before she got to the door.
She rushed back to him and kissed him once more, breaking the kiss and walking quickly from the room.
Alastair stood there for a moment as she left, shocked a little bit by her boldness.
It was nice though.
He laughed and headed to his study, knowing there was some work waiting for him there.
Hours later, Scarlett lay in her bed, her mind replaying their conversation over and over. She was almost overwhelmed by the knowledge that her cousin was alive. She knew that they would be willing to put together a search party or a small army to get her back. Scarlett could only hope that they were right about Brigid, and that she was on their side.
Scarlett sighed and rolled onto her side, staring at the wall. In frustration, she punched her pillow, unable to actually understand why she was so frustrated. She sat up and then stood, heading to the window to look out at the moon and stars. They were so beautiful, and she was sure now that Catriona could see the same sky.
“Good night, Catriona,” she whispered, walking back to bed and laying down. With one last sigh, she pulled the covers up to her chin and drifted off to sleep.
A few moments later, a dark figure slipped into her room, the clear vial he held in his hands glinting in the moonlight from the open curtains.
He walked slowly over in the darkness of the room and noticed a glass of water sitting on the nightstand next to her. He opened the bottle and was about to pour the liquid in when he heard a sigh come from the bed. He halted where he was and waited for the room to quiet once again.
He tiptoed towards her glass and reaching out, he poured a small amount of liquid inside the water glass, picking up the water and swishing it around a little bit to mix it together. The liquid had no taste or color, so it was undetectable.
That’s what made it so easy.
Just like getting in the castle had been. All he had to do was dress up like a guard and he had been able to sneak in. He had had to rely on other methods since they had sealed all the secret doors.
Putting the glass down, he went to leave the room when he heard the door knob turn. Panicking, he hid behind the closed curtains of another window, leaving a small gap opened so he could see.
The door opened and Prince Alastair walked in, holding a candle in his hand. He walked over to the queen and put his hand to her forehead, a look of relief coming over his face.
Rhys had to hold in his laughter as Alastair made the queen sit up and drink some of the water from the same glass he had poured the liquid into.
It was working perfectly.
