The Traitor's Daughter (Complete)

Part 13-Wilfred

Tea had just been served in Wilfred House in St. Helene. Lord Wilfred frowned as he saw the stack of bills that had come by the morning post. There were bills for hats, dresses, and shoes, bills for fine linen, and French lace. All were bought by Lady Wilfred. He threw the stack of bills on the table in front of his wife.

"What is this Elaine?" he asked, irritated beyond measure.

She raised an eyebrow, placing the dainty china teacup back on the saucer.

"Why do you need to spend so much, for god's sake?" he said, his scowl deepening.

"I need to keep abreast of the latest fashions, dear. How else do you think I can lead on the social circuit?"

"Your obsession with the social circuit is costing me dearly, Elaine. You know that the estate is in a bad shape. I can't pay your bills any further."

"Don't lie, Eddy. Where's the money from the army gone? Don't tell me that you betrayed Martin for a paltry sum?"

"Shut up, you foolish woman. Are you out of your tiny mind? Who told you all that rubbish? Don't you ever mention anything of the kind, especially to your cronies. Do you wish to see me beheaded?"

"Humph.....pay the bills then, Eddy," she said sweetly, before buttering a scone and biting into it.

"Okay...okay...." he raised a hand in peace. "I'm going to the royal palace to see the prince. I'll be a while."

"Is he back from the Blackwood Manor?" Elaine asked, her interest awakened.

"Yes, just. I don't understand why he needed to go there himself. That's virtually the neck of the woods. I always hated that place."

"It belonged to his mother. The queen used to love being there."

"That is where she ran, to avoid scandal. If you ask me, it suited that weird woman."

"It was a long time ago. He was just a lad then. I doubt that he remembers anything of that scandal."

Lord Wilfred shrugged. He was the least interested in the old scandal at this stage. What mattered to him more was the plum post of the Chief Advisor to the Prince. He had to get it anyhow, for that post came with immense power. The power which he craved badly. The power which he needed badly to bury that matter about Martin once and for all. As he needed to bury Martin. Alive, he was a danger to Eddy's ambitions. Eddy Wilfred could not afford to lose in this game, but first, he had to find the damned man.

"Is his majesty going to stay for some time in the city?" Elaine broke into her husband's thoughts.

"Why do you ask?"

"The annual ball is long due. Do you think we'll have it this year?"

"In all probability, since the war is almost at an end. I'll mention it to his majesty when I see him today," he said, getting up and leaving to get dressed.

Elaine stared at the retreating back of her husband. He and Martin had been friends. What had happened between them was still not clear to her. She had only made a wild guess, but why was her husband so disconcerted by her words? Anyway, it was no business of hers as long as he paid her bills. She had better prepare a new dress for the Royal Ball, the grandest event in Zorbia.

Zena sat on the rush mattress, feeling its scratchy surface through the thin material of her dress. She fingered the woolen scarf. It was her only savior in this damp and chilly cell. Last night, a guard had pushed a piece of bread and a mug of gruel under the cell door. She had looked at it with disgust. It would be better to die of hunger than eat a meal that was not even fit for the dogs. She leaned her aching back against the damp stone wall and felt a tear tumble down her cheek. When would they come for her? Anything was better than this wait, alone and forsaken.

Lord Wilfred climbed the steps to the royal palace, his eyes taking in the coat of arms emblazoned on the wall. He scowled as he read the inscription below it.

"His Majesty is out on the grounds," one of the guards let him know. He traced his steps back, walking outside and onto the sprawling grounds of the palace. He found Prince Lucas at the stables.

"Your Majesty," Wilfred bobbed a curtsy.

The Prince scarcely looked up from where he was petting his horse. He was dressed at the height of fashion, as always, with an aura of command surrounding him.

"What brings you here so early, Wilfred?" he asked, still not looking at the other man.

"The love for his majesty and my loyalty to his highness compelled me to visit you, now that you are back from Blackwood."

The Prince turned towards him at that, laying a mocking look on him.

"Did his majesty have a fruitful visit?" he asked. Trying to glean any information from the prince was well neigh impossible. He was extremely clever. Not like his father, who could be easily led.

"Well, we did have some success in our endeavor, but our biggest find there was something else," the Prince said, rubbing his horse's muzzle.

"If his highness would be so gracious as to enlarge on that?"

The white stallion, a mean beast, much like its master, neighed in pleasure, raising his front legs in the air. The prince did not even blink an eye, nor move back, as Wilfred, startled, jumped out of his skin.

"By chance, we stumbled upon someone we had been looking for some time, an enemy of the Crown."

Wilfred felt his heart pounding. Could it be....he could not even utter the name to himself.

Turning again, Lucas looked at him directly.

"We found Martin's daughter passed out by the wayside."

Wilfred let out a sigh of relief. That girl had led them on a merry chase. Thank god that she was captured at last.

"Should I see to her hanging, your highness?" Wilfred asked eagerly.

"No!" Luke exclaimed, then controlling his inexplicable rage at the suggestion, he forced out a smile.

"I have yet not decided what to do with her. I think she should be made to suffer some, before sending her to the gallows."