Sins & Virtues

Chapter Twelve: The Dark Moon

Octavia

Florian's Gardens, Belladonna Palace

It took exactly seven days for the news of Lady Sophie's return to encompass every conversation throughout the royal court. Every gentry and every noble knew of her second marriage to Lord Quentin Garrick, just one day after the death of her estranged husband, and the new infant son who she dragged everywhere with her. It had been a relief when the lords and ladies were as irked as Octavia and her sisters by their mother's claim that Quinn was King Septimus's son. Beau had ranted and raved for an hour before Octavia told him to calm down.

Though Sapphira held onto her anger, Octavia had made the decision with herself to be above the gossiping and squabbling and tactics that came with the courtiers' return to the palace grounds, with the end of the traditional mourning period.

' It's disrespectful,' Sapphira claimed one morning, stirring her tea angrily and splashing some on the tablecloth. She set down the spoon with a huff, reaching for the tortoiseshell pipe case beside her instead. ' To arrive the day after your coronation, claiming to have a male heir to the throne.'

' It's absurd.' Jacobi agreed, stroking her back to soothe her.

Jacobi Carlyle was Sapphira's betrothed and one of Octavia's favourite courtiers. He was a fine looking young man, with light brown hair and the same pale complexion as the rest of them, and the first son of the Duke of Umbriel; a Casskadian city closest to their border with Amity. Duke Corbin Carlyle had been a close friend with King Septimus, and Jacobi spent most of his childhood running around the court after Sapphira and the other young courtiers their age. They had been courting for a long time, but it was only three years ago, when Sapphira had turned sixteen, that their fathers had agreed on their official betrothal. It had commandeered the gossip of the court for an entire fortnight; most surprised by the decision that had been many years in the making. Octavia had been betrothed to Beau since she was a toddler, and Cora to Prince Jeremy since they were six.

' That's what makes it so disrespectful!' he had only managed to spur her on. ' How can she claim that Quinn is papa's son, when she's been living with her lover for years, and was bedding him for years before papa banished her!'

' Sapphira,' Octavia sighed, jealous that her sister could remain as unabashed as she once would have been, but also concerned as Sapphira's cheeks flushed and chest heaved. She leaned over and pushed the box of matches closer to her. Sapphira grimaced.

' Sorry...I just...I don't know what she's trying to do, but whatever it is cannot turn out good for any of us.' she said, lighting her pipe and taking a deep inhale. The smell of eucalyptus soon drifted down the lawn of Florian's Gardens. The palace gardens curled around the side of the palace and up the mountainside, a lush green lawn, a glittering blue lake with a thundering waterfall, and pink and purple blossom trees for shade.

' Duke Chamberg and the other nobles have agreed that her claim is ridiculous. Her actions with Lord Garrick before and after her banishment, and the fact that little Quinn does not have the royal eyes, are being considered as proof enough to disprove her. Mother is attempting to find a reason to stay at court.' Octavia told them all. She lounged back on the canopied garden swing, nestled against soft pillows, her legs and fluffy skirts propped up in Beau's lap. Her duke gently rocked the swing with the heel of his boot. ' Regardless, he is our brother and it is not his fault who his parents are. Quinn is welcome in our family and I have decided to publicly accept him as our half-brother.'

' What does that mean?' Jacobi asked.

' I'll grant him a title and rooms at the palace if he wants them.'