A Royal Tale of Hearts | ✔

10| a third suiteth'r

The three youngsters from Mughal stared at the English man with surprise, whilst the French boy simply looked confused.

Afsana warily stepped forward to get a better look over Nadim's broad shoulders at Ambassador Morris more clearly in the dimness outside her chambers.

"It was you who sent me that letter?" Afsana asked.

"I believe it's best we talk about this in you chambers, your majesty. Privacy is needed." The Ambassador said.

Behind her, she could feel Lubna grimance at the suggestion. Bringing a man into her chambers this late at night could cause gossip, but also put her safety at risk. But she had to hear what this man had to say.

Tapping his upper arm, she motioned Nadim to do an inspection of the Ambassador. Unlike Zia, he was not stoic when he did his task, instead Nadim was grinning as he approached Ambassador Morris, though he does ready his khandas in case of any danger. The English nobleman expectantly spread his arms up to his sides like they were wings, and let the guard check upon his body for any hidden weapons.

"He is unarmed." Nadim said, having finished gliding his hands over the man's stockings.

Afsana was aware she should still be cautious, so she instructed the French guard to remain outside and took Nadim inside with them. The ladies sat upon the edge of the the rajkumaris large bed and the man on the grand couch opposite to them, whilst the guard closed the door softly behind, leaning his back against the refined wood and tapping his feet in a rhythm.

"You must be very curious, your majesty." Ambassador Morris said, as he inspected his surroundings. He seemed completely unfazed by anything, his face showing nothing but an irritating amount of calmness.

"Naturally." The princess said.

"Have you managed to discover what the contents of my letter meant?" He asked, looking back at her.

"No, I was hoping you would explain yourself."

"Pity," Morris smiled. "I had expected you'd be clever enough to figure it out."

The remark felt rather insulting, but Afsana supressed the need to make a harsh remark when Lubna placed a gentle hand above hers, warning her to keep her temper in check.

"Would you care to explain what exactly you meant by your letter, Ambassador Morris?" She said instead.

The English man sat up from his relaxed position, placing his two elbows above his knees and resting his chin above his knuckles, watching the young princess with a level curiosity and amusement.

"Princess Afsana, our spies have come to learn that you were brought to France by Queen Catherine under a false pretense." He said. "The French royals have no plans to bethrode you to Prince Francis."

Lubna let out an immediate gasp, but her majesty beside her made no sound. The rajkumari was gazing at the man before her with calculating eyes, mulling over his words over and over to make sense of them in her head.

"And why would they do that?" Her voice was suprisingly steady.

"Because Prince Francis has already been engaged with Mary Queen of Scots, for a few years actually. But both families have decided to hide the matter in fear of any sabotage before the wedding, and it was our spies in the Scottish court that told us the news."

Millions of questions clouded her head, something the ginger man seemed to notice for he patiently waited for her next words.

"And what exactly would you be gaining from telling me this?"

"Ah, well, personally I gain nothing. But my country may gain a great deal, if you were to consider our offer." Morris lifted his elbows off his knees, and reached behind his white clothes. Instinctively, Nadim tightened his grip against his khandas and lifted himself from his casual position.

But the Ambassador brought out no weapon, rather it was a white envelope, shut with what the princess recognised to be seal of the Queen of England. He held it out towards the two ladies.

"This is a letter from Queen Elizabeth," He said. Lubna took the letter in place of the rajkumari, at the risk that the paper may be laced with poison.

When his hands were freed, the Ambassador stood up. 

"I shall give you time to read over the letter and consider our kind offer, your majesty. Do you have any remainingquestions for me?"

She wanted to ask him about the content of the letter, but he would probably suggest reading it. So she simply shook her head, bidding him farewell, allowing him to slip past Nadim into the corridors.

When the door shut again, Afsana instantly rose to her feet and grabbed her peshkaj, using it for the second time in the past few weeks to break the seal of a letter, not caring for her lady-in-waiting's warnings of it possibly being poisoned. She very much doubted the Queen of England wanted the murder of a royal at her hands.

Or that she'd phantom such a foolish plan to do it.

Pulling out the letter with her thumb and fingers, she let the envelope flutter to the floor.

Beneath all the formalities, the Queen wrote about a deal she believed much better than what the French and Navarrian royals had proposed.

I am aware your father will bestow sovereignty of Pondicherry to whoever bethrodes you. I am also aware you have no true desire to be part of any royal court and simply want to live a humble life...

About that the Queen was right. She wondered how exactly she came to learn that.
The fact that there may be English spies at the French court never occurred to her before.

For that reason I want to offer you a better suitor, my dear friend and nobleman Lord Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. That way our countries may work together, but without you sacrificing your youth and happiness. 

The letter ended with the Queen's signature.

And without ever asking for it, Princess Afsana now had three suitors lined to marry her.

A prince, a lord and a count.

♡

Gotta say I was surprised people didn't instantly guess Francis was the promised one, given how the story loosely follows history and Francis was engaged MQS. But then again there's a lot of fiction here so it makes sense.

Apologies for any grammar mistakes, i will edit this further along.