Page 31 of The Royal Throne
“The king appointed me to serve you,” Claire said, her voice wobbly, as if on the verge of crying.
“And I’m ending that appointment. You have to understand that I can neither trust you nor do I want you around.”
Tears filled Claire’s eyes. “I need this job.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re dismissed.” She admitted Harper before closing the door, hating that she had to be so mean, but she needed to look out for herself. Her lady’s maid should be trustworthy and someone who had her best interest at heart. She turned to Harper. “Do you have any idea what is required of you?”
“Captain Drew—your guard—spent the night training me. I’m ready to serve you.” She curtseyed, her form a little off.
Sabine rubbed her face, trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. “If you’re ever unsure, ask me or Captain Drew.”
“I’ll do my best,” Harper assured her. “I have a brother in the army. A lot of my friends have people they know or love in it as well.”
Sabine raised her eyebrows. “What does any of that have to do with me?”
Harper shifted her weight from foot to foot. “You know.”
No, Sabine did not know.
“Word is that you don’t want to go to war.”
“Where did you hear that?” Sabine asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just what people are saying. Is it not true?”
“Oh, it’s true. I just didn’t realize people knew that’s how I feel about the matter.” She eyed Harper. “Why did you take this position?” While she knew Harper didn’t like being a seamstress, she didn’t know why she’d agree to the job so readily.
“You’re the queen,” Harper said, as if that explained everything. “You don’t want to go to war, you’re beautiful, and I get to be in the palace.”
Something about the young woman put Sabine at ease, making her believe she was being truthful and honest. “Harper, I think you and I are going to get along quite well.” If Harper supported Sabine the way she thought she would, then they were going to make waves here at the palace.
Someone knocked on the door.
Harper went over, answering it. She closed the door and approached Sabine, handing her a letter. “This arrived for you.”
It contained the king’s seal. Sabine opened it, reading its contents. The king was throwing a ball tonight to celebrate his wife, the queen. She snorted. He must be doing damage control after flaunting Heather all over the court. While he might have been able to see a commoner while the late king still lived and Rainer was only a prince, it seemed that now that he was king and had a queen, people didn’t look kindly upon his mistress—especially since he didn’t have an heir yet.
“There’s a ball tonight,” she mused. “Harper, I must look stunning.”
“I know just the right outfit.” She clapped her hands together while bouncing on her feet in glee.
Sabine was starting to second-guess this plan. When she’d first concocted it with Harper, it had all seemed so easy. Now that she was wearing the dress and heading to the ballroom, she hoped she hadn’t gone too far.
During her sixteenth birthday celebration, she’d wanted to dance with Harvard, the most handsome boy her age. While she’d known he was courting one of the duke’s daughters, Sabine hadn’t cared. She’d mistakenly assumed her position and beauty would be enough to woo him. How wrong she’d been. Harvard had flat out told her he was in love with someone else and would honor his promises to that girl. She’d been devastated at the time, going so far as to declare her birthday ruined. However, the lesson had stuck with her. A lesson in love, devotion, beauty, power. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
This evening, in order for her plan to work, it required her to come across as more than just the beautiful Lynk queen. She had to be sincere, loyal, and devout. She had to be one of them. Though she wasn’t the same girl she’d been back when she was only sixteen, the fact of the matter remained that she was still only a young woman with little to no experience in the world. Yet, she wanted these people to believe in and follow her.
Normally, she would have gone to the king’s private rooms for him to escort her to the ballroom. However, she’d been too afraid Heather would be there. If she came face to face with her husband’s lover, she wouldn’t have been able to go through with her plan for tonight. Her ego would have taken too big of a hit to perform the way she needed to.
Plus, Harper said a lot of servants were talking about how the king was with his mistress and ignoring his beautiful wife. It seemed people were sympathetic with Sabine—she just had to play the victim and let Rainer dig his hole even deeper.
Sabine entered the antechamber that led to the ballroom. Anton and Axel were already there, lounging on the sofas. When she closed the door, Anton glanced up, his eyes going wide and he quickly looked away.
Axel raised his eyebrows and whistled. “I take it you have an agenda for this evening.”
Her eyes cut to his. The creamy white silk gown she wore loosely covered her breasts, the fabric being held in place by silver strands of diamonds that crisscrossed over her abdomen and up over her neck. Then another piece of silk loosely covered the front of her buttocks, wrapping up and over her right hip, hanging down to the floor. The left side wrapped below her hip and under her buttock, leaving her left cheek completely exposed. When she’d looked at her backside in the mirror, she’d been stunned. The straps of diamonds came up over her neck, down her back, holding the fabric in place. As she moved, the cold air caressed her skin, but the fabric remained in place. Her hair was up to show off her back. Never before had Sabine felt so bare and yet so powerful. She’d come to learn that beauty could be a weapon—and she would wield that weapon tonight.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re a vision. I hope you know that.”
