Page 15 of Sword of Desire
“Why do you ask?” He stopped pacing and faced her.
She shrugged. “You look upset. I thought maybe it was about her being with Lyle. You know since they’re married and all.” She ducked her head and reached down, pulling on her boots.
Every time Ackley thought about Harley being at the royal castle with Lyle, uncertainty and dread filled him. Even though he had a man in place to aid her, there was nothing his man could do to stop Lyle from verbally abusing Harley. At least he didn’t have to worry about Lyle physically harming her. Lyle couldn’t kill her until he secured his throne. That wouldn’t happen until the surrounding monarchs acknowledged him as the king of Melenia. Since Kerdan was battling with his stepmother, Jana, for the throne, Ackley had some time. Once Ackley met with Rema, he would know how she felt about Melenia and if she planned to acknowledge Lyle or support Owen. If Rema believed Lyle the successor, Ackley would have to immediately get Harley out of there because her life would be forfeit.
As for Harley being with her husband, he purposefully ignored all thoughts relating to that. He couldn’t even consider Harley sharing a bed with another man. The mere thought made him want to slit someone’s throat, bash his fist into Lyle’s face, or scream and tear things apart.
Someone knocked on the door, garnering Ackley’s attention. At least the person hadn’t barged in. The day seemed to be getting off to a good start.
“Enter,” Ackley called out. He stopped pacing and folded his arms, waiting to see who walked through the door.
Harley
Harley entered the kitchen, curious what she’d find since Lyle hated having servants around. A handful of people rushed about, some chopping vegetables, others tending to pots over the fire in the hearth. Not nearly as many as her uncle had employed, but a lot for Lyle.
An elderly woman slid a loaf of bread onto a table before glancing at Harley. “You must be our new queen,” she said with a warm smile revealing a missing front tooth. “What can I get for you?”
Harley took note that while the woman had acknowledged her status as the future queen, she hadn’t addressed her as a lady. She was immediately on edge. “I came for something to eat.”
The woman sliced off two pieces of bread and placed them on a plate. “Here you go. There are some apples in the basket behind you.”
No one else in the kitchen acknowledged Harley’s presence. “Thank you.” She took the plate and grabbed an apple. “Are you cooking for supper already?” It seemed like too much food for just her and Lyle.
The woman shook her head. “We’re cooking for the soldiers outside.”
“Then I don’t want to get in your way.” Harley hurried from the kitchen. Lyle wouldn’t let anyone he didn’t trust inside the castle. The people working in the kitchen had to be servants employed by the late Commander Beck. The sentries in the castle had probably served under Lyle.
Harley made her way to the library. Curling up on one of the four sofas, she kicked off her shoes then ate her food, contemplating the organization of the room. As a child, she’d been limited to the south wall, which consisted of simplistic picture books, detailed encyclopedias about animals, and books on the kingdom’s history along with information on the noble families. As she got older, she’d been granted permission to read anything on the east wall. Those books contained wonderful stories told from writers around the mainland. Romance, adventure, dragons, pirates. She’d been so wrapped up in these fantastical stories that she’d never bothered to discover what the last two walls contained. The library was for members of the family and special guests; still, the late king rarely granted anyone permission to use the room.
Setting her plate aside, she stood and perused the shelves on the west wall, looking for anything related to poisons. Toward the right, she found a dozen or so whose titles seemed promising.Plants, Leaves, and Trees: Various Usessounded interesting, so she pulled the book from the shelf and continued investigating. Along the north wall, she found several books on weather, crops, and metals. She’d just reached the end of the bookshelf and was about to head back to the section where she’d found the plant book when she felt Lyle behind her. Instead of acknowledging him, she pretended she didn’t know he was there. Scanning the books on the east wall, she pulled a book off the shelf entitledLove on the Seawhile furtively sliding the plant book into its spot since she didn’t want Lyle to see her with it.
“I don’t understand your fascination with reading,” Lyle said, his low voice loud in the empty room.
Harley jumped, clutching the book to her chest while pretending to be startled. She turned and faced him, curtseying. “I fear there are a great number of things you don’t understand about me since we haven’t been married very long.” She forced a smile on her lips. “I find reading a wonderful way to pass the time.”
Lyle strode farther into the room, his hands clasped behind his back. “And I find a woman who spends her time reading useless.”
The smile vanished from her face. “Did you need something?” Surely he wasn’t there to enjoy her company since they could barely stand one another.
He silently read some of the titles before saying, “I have a question for you.” His focus remained on the books.
“What is it?” she asked, not sure how he could possibly have another question after last night. Unless he’d caught her in a lie. Her spine tingled with fear.
He passed the section on poisons. Hopefully, he hadn’t noticed the missing book. He turned to face her. “While traveling with your cousin, did you meet a man by the name of Ackley?” His eyes remained focused on her face, carefully watching her.
Her heartbeat sped up, and perspiration coated her forehead. “Yes.” She couldn’t lie about that since several of the soldiers saw them together on multiple occasions.
“What can you tell me about him?”
She shrugged. “Not much. He is from a kingdom called Marsden.” It took all her strength to remain calm and unruffled. “Why do you ask?” Under no circumstances could Lyle discover Ackley had killed his father. She had to protect Ackley, no matter the cost.
“Is he a prince?” he asked, slowly moving toward her.
“I believe someone referred to him as a prince; however, I don’t think he’s in line to the throne. I’m not certain, though.”
“I want to make sure I understand this correctly. A prince from another kingdom is here with his soldiers.”
She didn’t recall saying anything about Marsden soldiers being there. Ledger must have told him. “Yes,” she replied, seeing no need to contradict him since he already knew this information. “Ackley is here offering aid to Owen. They reached a treaty of some sort, though they never discussed the details with me.”
