Branford reached the space at the bottom of the steps, pulled his sword from its scabbard, and dropped to one knee. He held his sword out flat in front of his body using both of his hands.
I hesitated, having absolutely no idea how I should present myself to my new king and queen. Should I also be on my knees? Curtsy? Without knowing the correct custom, I was at a loss. Deciding it would be best to show my allegiance in a matter similar to my husband, I also dropped to my knees, still slightly behind him.
I immediately heard gasps followed quickly by snickers. Branford glanced over to me, his eyes narrowed, then turned back. I could hear a distinctive rumble in his chest. I noticed Sir Parnell still standing to Branford’s right and slightly behind, just as I had been on Branford’s left. I tried to quell the panic rising inside of me, as well as hold back the tears I could feel starting in my eyes. I wasn’t doing anything right at all, obviously, and I froze. Perhaps if I held myself completely still, no one would take any notice of me. At least, I hoped to convince myself of that.
“My King,” Branford said fluidly, “I return to your service. My sword and my life are yours.”
“Welcome, Sir Branford,” King Camden said. His bright blue gaze traveled over all of us. He wore robes of gold and black over his clothing, and a simple crown of gold sat atop his head. “Rise. I think you must have some…news.”
“Yes, sire,” Branford said. He stood and offered his hand to help me stand as well. He took a deep breath and slowly shook his head from one side to the other, obviously embarrassed by me yet again. I kept my eyes to the ground. “I would like to introduce you to Alexandra”—he paused for much, much too long as the rest of the hall stood in complete silence, gawking at me as I kept my eyes to the floor, though I had no trouble sensing their gazes upon me—“my wife.”
Audible gasps echoed through the hall.
“Is this some kind of joke, Sir Branford?” King Camden asked. “I’ll have you know I’m not in the mood.”
“No, Sire,” Branford said. “I was offered my choice of brides after winning the Grand Tournament. Alexandra was my choice.”
“Alexandra was your choice?” King Camden repeated. Queen Sunniva reached out and laid her hand gently on her husband’s forearm.
“Alexandra of…?” Queen Sunniva asked, prompting. I felt whatever blood was left drain from my face.
“Alexandra of Silverhelm, wife of Sir Branford,” Branford replied with raised brows. “She is my wife, and she has rights to my titles.”
King Camden’s eyes narrowed at his nephew.
“Clear the hall.” King Camden’s voice was low and seemingly calm though his eyes as they stared at his nephew and heir were far too similar to the scorching look Branford gave the carriage driver outside. I turned slightly, wondering where I should go once I was outside.
“Stay where you are,” Branford said softly. I stopped and turned back, my gaze still on the floor and my lower lip nestled neatly between my teeth. I held my hands tight to my belly to keep them from shaking. I could feel everyone’s gaze upon me as they slowly filed out through the huge doors behind us. Within a few minutes, the guards had escorted everyone from the hall save the king and queen, Sir Parnell, and the dark-haired woman standing with her arms crossed next to Queen Sunniva’s chair. As soon as the rest were gone, King Camden stood.
“Branford, what in God’s name did you do?”
“I married,” Branford answered simply. “Just yesterday. I’m afraid I was a little…impatient.”
He glanced over to me and smiled slightly.
“This must be a jest.”
“No, Sire.” Branford squared his shoulders and stood a little taller. “I’ve taken Alexandra as my wife. We were married yesterday afternoon.”
The dark-haired woman who had been standing to the side of Queen Sunniva took a sudden, sharp breath and stalked down the stairs to stand in front of Branford. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Sir Parnell was taking shuffling side steps away from Branford’s shoulder. She craned her neck, for she was no taller than I, and her eyes blazed up at him. She pulled her arm back, and the resounding crack of her palm across Branford’s face echoed throughout the hall.
“How dare you, Branford?” she screamed at him. Then she turned quickly to Branford’s right and caught Sir Parnell in her vision. “And you were there with him? I am so angry at both of you right now, I can’t even see straight.”
The woman turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.
“I told you,” I heard Sir Parnell mumble under his breath. “If I end up out in the cold tonight, it will be entirely your fault.”
Branford snorted down his nose and then looked back up to King Camden.
“You were supposed to guarantee the joining of Silverhelm with Hadebrand!” Camden suddenly yelled, and I couldn’t help but shudder at the sound of his voice. “You were supposed to take Princess Whitney’s hand! What in the name of God were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I will not be used in such a way!” Branford yelled back. “I will not have you dictate who my wife will be, especially if you were expecting me to wed the spawn of the man who killed your brother!”
“Branford!” Queen Sunniva gasped, her hand placed against her chest.
“We all know it,” Branford stated. “We all know Edgar had him slaughtered for Sterling lands. Lands! And you really expected me to go through with marrying Whitney? Did you really, really expect me to do that?”
“I most certainly did!” Camden shouted back.
I cringed and found it more difficult to breathe. My husband was yelling at a king, and I was the cause of it. My head felt dizzy at the thought, and my hands had gone cold and clammy.
“I expected you to do as I wished,” Camden said, continuing. “I expected you to do your duty and stop the threat of war on your people. I expected you to do the right thing, not to…to…endanger Silverhelm based on something you cannot prove!”
“If I had the proof, I’d kill the bastard myself,” Branford said, his voice low and gravelly. “I still await the day he decides to join in a tournament just so I can have the chance to gut that son of a whore.”
“Branford!” Queen Sunniva gasped again. “Do not use such language in my presence!”
“And given that,” Branford continued, his hand resting atop the hilt of his sword, “then surely you cannot expect I would be willing to marry his daughter!”
There was a long pause before the king spoke again.
“You have to make this right, Branford.” Camden’s voice dropped into an eerie calm. “You have to find a way to fix this. They could be preparing for war right now.”
“There is nothing to fix,” Branford stated. “What’s done is done. Alexandra and I are wed. That cannot be changed.”
“Is there proof of your union?” King Camden asked abruptly.
My head swam, and my chest was so tight I found I could no longer draw breath at all. King Camden knew. I didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He knew I was still a virgin. He knew Branford hadn’t taken me. I was sure of it. My head began to pound, and my stomach felt like it had dropped to my feet. A moment later, everything went dark.
The next thing I knew, I was staring at the high ceiling, my head in Branford’s lap.
“Alexandra, can you hear me? Are you ill?”
“Yes, my…Branford…” My vision was blurred, and I couldn’t figure out exactly where I was for a moment. “I mean…no, I’m fine.”
“Fine!” he repeated, exasperated. He leaned over me, running his hand over my cheek. “Take a deep breath, my wife. Can you stand?”
“Branford, dear.” Queen Sunniva’s voice echoed through my pounding head. “She’s only fainted.”
Fainted?
Could I possibly do anything to make their first impression of me any worse?
Branford helped me to my feet and fussed over me for a moment until he was satisfied I was not going to drop to the ground yet
again. I offered my apologies, and he told me to hush. I was fairly certain this was also a topic we would broach later, as he had indicated outside after the incident with the carriage driver.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Camden said quietly. Branford snapped his head to one side to look at his uncle.
“There is proof back in my bed at Sterling Castle if you feel you really must inquire,” Branford murmured under his breath. I saw him clench his left hand into a fist but only for a moment. He did not look in my direction.
“What are you trying to do to me, son?” The King of Silverhelm took in a long, deep breath and then exhaled through his nose. He placed his hand over his eyes, rubbing at the corners with his thumb and fingers. Branford released my arm and took a step toward his uncle.
“Father,” Branford said, his tone finally regaining some composure, “I have wed Alexandra. I do not wish to change that. If you…if you feel I must, I will abide, but I will not marry the Princess Whitney.”
For a moment I thought I might fall again. He was going to give me up. King Camden obviously did not want me here, and Branford was going to cast me out at the word of his king. My chest tightened again, breath left me, and I felt as though my heart had completely stopped beating in my breast. Where would I go? Would they deliver me back to Hadebrand? What would the princess and King Edgar say if I were to be returned to them? Would I even be allowed back in the castle? I remembered Branford’s words in the carriage—I could be considered an enemy of Hadebrand. My hands began to shake again, and my head buzzed with all the possibilities. In my anxious state, I almost didn’t hear King Camden’s reply.
“So be it, Branford,” King Camden said with a sigh. “If you have already claimed her, I can hardly send her back to Hadebrand now. She’d be an outcast begging in the streets within a day, and I’ll not have that on my conscience.”
My heart began to beat again.
“Thank you, Sire,” Branford said softly. King Camden dropped back down onto his throne and shook his head slowly. Branford reached out to me and pulled me close to him. He held my arms to steady me for a moment before releasing his hold on me and turning back to the king. “Forgive me for going against your wishes. I just…couldn’t.”
“I understand,” Queen Sunniva said. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in a long braid as she stood slowly and glided gracefully down the small set of stairs until she stood right in front of me. She also wore an understated golden crown, just a fraction smaller than the king’s.
“She’s simply lovely, Branford,” she said. Her voice was soft and kind, and when she looked me up and down, there was no disdain in her expression. “Though it appears she has had a mishap.”
“The bloody carriage driver.” Branford’s voice was nearly a snarl. “He couldn’t control his horses when she was leaving the carriage. The mud outside—”
“I thought as much,” Sunniva said, interrupting. “And stop cursing. I won’t warn you again.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Alexandra, dear?” Queen Sunniva reached out and touched my hand. My eyes darted to hers quickly, still unsure if I was allowed to look her in the eye. When our gazes did meet, she smiled, and I tried to smile back. “Let us get you into something more appropriate, agreed?”
“Yes, Queen Sunniva.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she responded. “I’m practically your mother now, too. Just call me Sunniva.”
“If you wish, Sunniva.”
And that is how I was welcomed into the family.
Chapter 6—Slowly Comprehend
Looking sideways at Branford, I tried to meet his gaze and judge if he wanted me to accompany the Queen of Silverhelm, but he wasn’t looking at me. He kept his focus on King Camden, whose steel blue eyes stared back at his nephew.
“My lord?” I questioned softly, trying to get his attention. His hard look met mine briefly and softened. Then he looked back to the king.
“Go along,” he responded. “I’ll fetch you shortly.”
“Yes, my lord,” I replied and then looked back to the queen, who continued to smile at me.
“Follow me, dear.” Her kind voice echoed softly through the hall. She started to lead me back toward the main doors and then stopped suddenly. She spoke quietly to herself as she turned around. “Perhaps a different route would be preferable. Let’s go this way, shall we?”
I was confused only for a moment. When I realized we would have walked through what was undoubtedly a hall full of nobles just outside the doors, I was quite glad for Queen Sunniva’s forethought since I definitely did not want to walk through all those people in my current state. She led me back behind the twin thrones where she and King Camden had been seated and down a small corridor to a staircase leading upward. It was narrow and somewhat steep, so I tread carefully to keep from tripping. Sunniva held her beautiful layered skirts up a bit as she climbed the stairs, and I tried to keep up with her strides.
At the very top, she opened a wooden door and stepped into a wide corridor. The corridor was open to the outside along one wall with a ledge overlooking a courtyard below. Light from the sun as it descended in the sky shone through, cascading prisms of color over the walls and floor.
“Branford’s chambers are that way,” Sunniva said as she held her hand out to her right. She shook her head and chuckled. “I suppose I should say Branford’s and your chambers, shouldn’t I? We’ll go there soon so you can get comfortable. Camden and I are down this way. Ida is here, in the center rooms.”
Though we hadn’t been properly introduced, I had assumed the dark-haired woman who had slapped Branford must be his sister, Ida. Sir Parnell had been right—she was obviously quite angry about the wedding, and I couldn’t help but wonder: in her eyes, how much of that would be my fault? I knew how the minds of nobles tended to work, and when blame could be placed on those that served, it was. Branford had already demonstrated such an act.
Continuing down the corridor to the left, I glanced briefly out over the ledge and was surprised to see greenery on the inside of the castle. Taking a step closer so I could get a better look, I saw a beautiful garden, surrounded by the high walls of the castle, but completely open to the sky. It was a glorious oasis in the middle of the cold, stone walls.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sunniva said.
“Very,” I answered. “I’ve never seen a garden on the inside of a castle!”
“It’s not common,” Queen Sunniva said. “Camden’s grandfather—that would be Branford’s great-grandfather—had it built this way so his Queen would always be surrounded by such beauty. Camden has upheld that tradition. Aside from the few evergreens, we decorate the area in the wintertime so there is still color in the garden.”
“Branford’s father was King Camden’s brother?” I was fairly certain that was the case, but I hadn’t been told the exact relationship. Branford had referred to Sunniva as his mother, and I was a little confused.
“Yes,” Queen Sunniva said quietly. “Though they have been with us for so long, both Ida and Branford have called me mother for years. He was only six, and Ida was five when they lost their parents.”
She did not offer any more information, and we quickly continued our journey through another pair of massive doors and into a set of rooms with many single-sized beds in the large chamber. Sunniva explained this was the Women’s Room—a place where the noble women could meet and also seek their privacy from their husbands during “certain times.” I flushed when I understood her greater meaning—wives came to this place when they were bleeding. As a commoner, I had always been expected to just keep to myself and get my duties done quickly and without interacting with any men during my time of the month.
Sunniva led me through the sitting room and into the main chamber where so many surfaces held large displays of flowers, I wondered if we had walked into another garden. As soon as we were all the way in the room, Sunniva stopped and turned around, placing her hands on my shoulders. r />
“You poor thing,” Sunniva said softly. “The last couple of days have been difficult for you, haven’t they?”
I stared at the floor, not sure if I should answer or how I would answer if I did. Queen Sunniva seemed so kind, but then Branford had at times as well, but he had also been quite harsh with the carriage driver. Of course all of this was difficult—I didn’t have the slightest idea what was expected of me. I obviously didn’t know how to behave, as evidenced when I was before the King and Queen for the first time.
“What did I do wrong?” I asked Sunniva quietly.
“What do you mean, dear?”
“I thought I was supposed to kneel,” I answered, “like Branford did. But I could tell by everyone’s reaction that I was wrong to do so. I didn’t mean any disrespect, honestly—I just didn’t know…”
“Branford didn’t think to tell you, did he?” Sunniva shook her head and took my hands. “Just like a man to assume you know all the customs of a foreign land. We may be close in proximity to Hadebrand, but our ways are different here. When Branford knelt to offer himself up to Camden and to Silverhelm, all those considered bound to him are also offered by him. That’s why Parnell remained standing behind him. As Branford’s adjunct, Branford offers Parnell to Silverhelm when he offers himself. If Parnell knelt separately, he would in effect dismiss himself from Branford’s service. By kneeling on your own, you distanced yourself from him. You spoke for yourself, instead of allowing your husband to speak for you. It’s not a major transgression, but he probably found it mildly embarrassing.”