ℌ𝔢𝔯 𝔊𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔢, 𝔐𝔶 𝔔𝔲𝔢𝔢𝔫 Book 2

Chapter 6 As Long As It Takes

The next morning the King surprised the council members when he walked into the room. The Chancellor stood from his chair at the head of the meeting table and bowed before the King. "Please take a seat, Your Grace."

The King shook his head, "Do not look so worried Chancellor, I am here for just a moment. I would like to inform the Council that I am requesting that both Lady Jade and Lady Beth be moved into the east and west towers of the Palace. Lady Isadora and I need more time with each of them before a decision can be made." With that, the king turned to leave the room.

"How much time M'Lord?" Asked one of the Dukes who were present.

The King slowly turned and spoke in a harsh tone, "As long as it takes." The King was not like some of the men in his Court who had taken up a mistress or two. He loved his wife and planned on giving the next marriage a decent attempt. 

He had watched his father, and the way he treated his mother... those actions would not be repeated. Speaking of his mother, he wondered how she would take the news of his new marriage. Her health had declined over the years. She had left the large palace claiming it was too hard for her to walk all over the grounds, and settled into a smaller home in the country. He saw to it that she was fully staffed and received anything that she asked for.

She had been standoffish around his first wife at first, then grew to love her and treat her as if she were family. The king stopped and looked out a window that overlooked a pond. He watched two swans as they swam together. The Lady Jade or the Lady Beth... He had a big choice to make and he only hoped that he made the right one.

Isadora saw her father standing by the window, she walked over and slipped her hand into his. "Father, who will be moving into the palace with us?" She knew there had to be someone because all of the servants had been moving furniture around and she saw fresh linens being carried up the stairs.

He looked down at her and smiled, she could see the tears that were just below the surface and she knew that her mother was on his mind heavily lately. "She knows you need to do this, you and I both know she is ok with you moving on." He dropped to his knees and hugged her.

"Oh, my sweet smart daughter! I have asked the council to bring both Lady Jade and Lady Beth here. One in each tower so that we may get to know them better, what do you think?" He touched a fingertip to her nose, a gesture he has done since she was an infant.

She wrinkled her nose at him, "I like that idea very much. I cannot wait to see them." With that, she ran off to go find something to eat before her lessons.

The king watched her scamper off, he stood and walked down the hall and the stairs to the main hall. A servant bowed before him, "M'Lord, I just heard that Lady Jane's carriage was spotted not too far from here. She will be here shortly. She is arriving with a few ladies to serve her so we don't have to provide any of our staff to her unless you would still wish to do so."

The king nodded, "Each of them will get two serving ladies from our staff, this will ensure no favoritism and also that their ladies learn their way around the palace quickly." The servant nodded and went off to assign the ladies to their posts.

He went to the throne room to hear a few of the concerns from members of the court that was scheduled for today. One of them just happened to be the cousin of Lady Gwen.

"M'Lord, I do feel that my cousin should be given another chance... she is simply shy." The Count stated. This was the husband of the woman who gave his first wife a few issues of jealousy.

"Count... I always forget your name. But anyways. Your cousin was dismissed not only by myself AND my daughter. But the council removed her name from the list before I even had a chance to, so if you want to be mad, be mad at all of us. No, actually you can be mad at your cousin." The king waved his hand and dismissed the man.

"Your Grace, I don't believe it was honest and fair to put her in a room with another woman you were flirting with." He said as he put his hat back on his head.

The king stood, "The other Lady was able to rise to the challenge sir, and if you dare speak to me with little respect again... I shall take that hat off your head. Do I make myself clear?"

The Count bowed, "I am sorry Your Grace, I meant no disrespect, it is just that her father... Her father puts a lot of pressure on me."

The King waved his hand dismissing the man once again, "Then he should have raised a daughter fit for a King."