Lèse-majesté

Part 30

Chapter 29

"Are you alright?" Lady Heather asked while placing her hand on top of Mala's after they had left the Queen Dowager's palace. "You seemed a bit... out of sorts."

"I just.... Do you think any less of me now that you know?" Mala asked while keeping her head down which was unusual for the woman. All she could think about was the conversation that happened a few hours ago.

"What can I say your Highness," Mala noticed Heather smirking. "My brother is head over heels for Lady Mala and I do believe she likes him quite a bit too. Everyone on the estate can already guess what the outcome of their relationship will be. The only backlash we are getting is from the outside. You sponsoring her can resolve that quite quickly. Would anyone go against a person that has the backing of Royalty?" She had to watch Lady Heather utter that to the Queen Dowager and was shocked no heads were sent flying for it was quite rude to demand sponsorship from another Noble let alone Royalty. Sponsorship had to be offered by the other party on their own accord.

"If I were to agree to this request....." Theodora stated as she mused for a second. "Then I will need to know your story Lady Mala," The Queen Dowager directed her gaze towards Mala and the nerves increased tenfold at that point. "Lady Heather may speak for the best interest of her family in general but I would like your input in this as well. Do you love Earl Deranged? What is your story? Do you even agree with Lady Heather's assumption that I should be your pillar of support in society?"

Mentally Mala was cursing up a storm that would put a sailor to shame. Her shocked expression at the sudden questions must have been visible on her face because Lady Theodora backed off slightly to sip her tea.

"I don't love Earl Deranged," Lady Mala uttered after she composed herself. She noted the surprise on Lady Heather's face. "I do like him though. He's weird and I am very fond of him," She stated. She liked weird. "Frankly.... I don't know if I can love." Mala then admitted. Her hands were shaking and she quickly grasped them together. "I've... seen things. Ugly things that were the result of love. It's a long and complicated story, to be honest,"

"Well... we have time," Theodora stated as one of the ladies-in-waiting arrived with a tray of tea and scrumptious-looking desserts.

Mala nodded... "This story begins long before I was born. It's not a pleasant tale yet not one that is unusual either,"

"My mother was the second daughter of a country Noble. She was the youngest of three. As was expected, her older brother would inherit the family title while she and her sister were to be married off to more influential men." Mala uttered this with such spite that everyone could feel the venom dripping from her words. "I wouldn't say my grandfather was a bad man but he was set in his ways. Traditional to the core. My mother and my aunt were only allowed to be educated in 'womanly duties' as to prepare them to be good wives. "Etiquette, sewing, poetry, music. They were given the best tutors."

"When my mother turned 17 she was engaged to the second son of the De Lacour house. They were a Barony that resided in the capital while their fief was situated in the southern regions."

"I remember the De Lacour case," Theodora uttered with a frown. "Nasty business that. The first son died of poison on his honeymoon. His newlywed wife left a widow after but a few days."

"I have only heard of it in passing. It was quite a few years before my time." Lady Heather muttered with a frown. "Didn't the widow try to commit suicide?"

"Those were just rumors. Nothing was ever proven. In the end her family sent her to a convent," The Queen Dowager stated.

"Yes, there were quite a lot of rumors," Mala nodded. "One of the most prominent ones was that the second son, now the heir to the De Lacour fortune, had wanted her as his own wife and thus decided to poison his brother."