Bride Behind the Mask

Chapter 21: A Limb for a Life (Part 1 of 2)

Dedicated to a random commenter floralflowers_ - Thank you for reading and leaving all your wonderful comments obsessing over bad boys, rich dudes, smart guys... so basically every guy out there I think!

Chapter 21: A Limb for a Life (Part 1 of 2)

As much as it pained him and tested his patience, Drake opted for his own guest chambers in the palace. Being so close to her, yet forced to keep himself at a distance, it was somehow tougher than being separated by hundreds and thousands of miles.

It was a decision Drake had made as soon as he'd noticed King Dane's penetrating gaze upon them during the feast. It was the reason he gave her no more than a gentle, discrete touch, even though that simple touch had fuelled his desire for much more. But the King kept his eyes on them.

Did he suspect something? Had he worked out that he could use Amelia against him if he so wished? That Drake would just about give up anything in the world if her life was on the line. She was his greatest weakness. After all, a man in love was both selfish and blind.

Dane may not be as crazed and malicious as Warren, but he was clearly upset enough over the revelation of Warren's crimes that the situation was still precarious. Until the dust has settled, Drake refused to take any chances where Amelia was concerned.

So he waited and spent his days in the palace drinking with the lords who'd chosen to stay in Lyons until the trial, which was most of them, because the coronation day had given the nobles a taste of unparalleled drama, and curiosity is a thirst that must be quenched.

In the evenings, he met with his spies and gathered other evidence of Prince Warren's treasonous crimes. Drake had lied at the coronation feast when he said there were other witnesses. There weren't—not at the time. It was a lie to ensure the safety of Prince Geoffrey and lies were necessary, from time to time.

On occasion, he's even had to turn down scandalous invitations from affectionate young ladies who'd gone from thinking him an uncivilised brute to some heroic overlord after his public challenge against the King. Evidently, they'd also taken his carefully maintained distance from Amelia as a sign that they had a chance. Dammit, all he wanted was his lovely wife whose eyes could spit fire.

Luckily, he did not need to wait long for the trial.

As much as Dane might have wanted to delay the trial indefinitely, the pressures of the entire court and the nature of the crimes alleged made it impossible.

And so, on the seventh day of the new king's reign, the crowd once again presented themselves in the Great Hall of the royal palace.

Against the prudent counsel of his advisers, Dane refused to recuse himself from adjudging his own brother's crimes. He wished to ensure that Warren was not convicted of high treason without the surest of all evidence. The only compromise he accepted was to allow two other respected councilmen to join him in judgment, to give some semblance of justice.

But even for a king, things would not always go his way.

Under the deft hands and effective treatment of palace healers, the former Crown Prince Geoffrey had recovered enough to present his evidence.

With a patch over his missing eye, he described how he'd walked in on Warren forcing poisoned wine down their father's throat.

With shakes through his body, he described how Warren's men took him out of the city to a secluded, derelict cabin where no one could hear his screams. There, they bound him, beat him, and forced him to give a false confession to the murder of King Theodore. He refused.