Giabella jerked her attention to her friend. “What do you know about that?”
“People talk,” Lady Allen said with a cluck of her tongue. “You know that better than most. I’ve heard, though, that he is sorry for what he did. I believe he was in his cups, perhaps more deeply than he appeared at the party that night.”
Giabella pursed her lips. “Do you think his regret is sincere?”
Lady Allen shrugged. “I’ve known the man most of my life. My father thought to match me with him once.” She pulled a face. “Can you imagine? But while I think he can be pompous and ridiculous…I do think he is mostly harmless. And he is intelligent enough to know when he is beaten. So yes, I think he regrets doing something that might make an enemy of someone who in the last few days has proven herself to be so very loved by our people.”
Giabella pondered that. She was diplomatic enough to know that making an enemy, even one who deserved it, wasn’t always the best course. She touched Lady Allen’s hand. “You must excuse me, Lady Allen. I have something to attend to.”
“Of course. I will see you in the capital in a few weeks anyway, for the official surrender of the crown. And hopefully…very likely from what I hear…the triumphant declaration that King Grantham will transform into prime minister.”
“One hopes,” Giabella said with a smile before she slipped away to find the closest guard. She had a message to send. One that could be a final act as queen to protect her son, her kingdom, and the man she loved more than anything.
The afternoon reception had ended half an hour before, but Dash had not seen Giabella since she said farewell to her last guests and excused herself to rest for a while. He had thought to join her, but there was something about her demeanor that had held him off. She needed a little time to relax by herself, he thought, before they spoke of their travel plans for the next few days and then spent a final night in this place together.
He passed by Livingston in a parlor and circled back, poking his head through the door. “Livingston, have you seen Her Majesty?”
The butler lifted his head and nodded. “Indeed, sir. She is in the blue parlor with Lord Hadley.”
Dash’s mouth dropped open before he could control the reaction. “Hadley!” he barked, far sharper than he should have.
Livingston’s confused expression gave proof to how odd the reaction seemed. “Yes, sir. She requested his presence midway through the party, to join her when the rest had gone. He arrived…ten minutes or so ago?”
“Bollocks,” Dash grunted, pivoting on his heel and heading toward the blue parlor.
“Sir, she asked not to be disturbed!” Livingston called out behind him.
Dash ignored it, of course. As her secretary, he ought not. He ought to trust the queen to handle her own business and the guards to manage things if she could not.
But as her lover, as one who loved her, he couldn’t do as she requested. And he couldn’t tamp down the frustration and confusion about the fact that she hadn’t told him of her plans. That was as terrifying as the fact that she was with a person who had manhandled her just a few nights before.
He reached the parlor and threw open the door, storming in blindly, at the ready for whatever he would find there. Giabella and Hadley were seated across from each other, tea between them on the low table. When he burst into the room, they both looked up at him in surprise.
“Dashiell,” Gia said, her gaze darting from his. He saw her guilt, though, that she had kept this meeting a secret. “I was not expecting you to join us.”
“Probably because I was not informed of the meeting, Your Majesty,” he said, trying to calm his racing heart as he looked at Hadley. The man looked…chastened. Which was an odd enough thing as it was. He certainly did not look like a threat.
“An oversight,” Gia said weakly. She cleared her throat. “I was…I asked Lord Hadley here to clear up the unfortunate misunderstanding we had a few nights ago.”
Hadley glanced up at Dash, and at least there was a flicker of fear in the man’s eyes. It seemed his punch had landed in more than one way. “Er, yes. I was so pleased to hear from you. And as I had started to say before we were interrupted, I wanted to apologize for my bad behavior that night.”
Dash’s eyes went wide and he glanced at Gia. She gave him a meaningful look and he sat down hard in the chair next to Hadley’s, watching as the queen…his queen…worked her magic.
“I appreciate that. Do continue,” she said, regal as she’d ever been.
Hadley shifted like a child being brought to task. Not the worst comparison. “I was in my cups and behaved badly. I should never have spoken to you in such a fashion, nor ever touched you.”
Giabella inclined her head. “Thank you, my lord. Your sentiments are very happily received. I think in these trying times of change, any one of us could find the bounds of our behavior…frayed. I accept your apology.”
Dash pursed his lips. He would not have accepted what had been said so easily, especially considering this man’s past involvement with troubling figures.
He cleared his throat and Giabella lifted a brow. “Mr. Talbot, do you have something you would like to add?”
“I do, Your Majesty,” he said, and turned toward Hadley. “Your involvement with the disgraced and deceased courtier, Blairford, is not under dispute. He admitted as much, including that he hoped to install you as king after a murderous coup.”
The color drained from Hadley’s cheeks, though Dash wasn’t certain if it was because the man had been caught at a plot or was horrified to hear he had been associated with one. Dash continued, “The reason this has not been brought up is a benefit of the doubt the royal family wished to give to you, especially during such times of change. But after what occurred a few nights ago, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t bring it up. Do you deny your involvement in such a dastardly plan?”
Dash didn’t expect the man to admit he was involved, but he wished to see the way it was denied. Hadley shook his head, his lower lip trembling. “Sir, Your Majesty, I assure you I was not in any way aware of such a terrible thing.”
Giabella tilted her head. There was a steeliness in her eyes, one Dash knew had been born the same moment he’d been shot. That she hid it was because she was very good at being queen, nothing else. “And yet you were involved with Blairford,” she said in an icy tone that dared the man to lie.
“I…was,” he admitted, and Dash drew back in surprise. “Blairford had the same opinions that I did, that the uprising of the people was not good for…for…”
“The nobility?” Dash pressed. “For your own pocket and position?”
He could see his interjection annoyed Hadley as the man shifted in his seat and tried desperately not to glare. “Something to that effect,” he said through clenched teeth. “Yes. But I assure you that I had nothing to do with a murder plot or a coup.” He hesitated. “But I can see why you would fear that, Your Majesty.”
Giabella rose slowly, and that forced Dash and Hadley to do the same. She looked at the count, her gaze narrow, and said, “I do hope that you are telling the truth, my lord. Because although we may not always…always like change, to fight against it is folly. The best thing you can do is accept what is going to happen. And find your place in it.” She motioned to the door. “Thank you for clarifying and for your apology.”