One Look

Chapter 9

After the opera I had laid in my bed and pondered the whole nights events. Over the past few days, I had made it up to Charles by being polite and attentive. I did not speak to Isabella again but she and Nathaniel had seemed to be getting on well.

I was now walking around the palace, trying to find the piano room Nathaniel had shown me the other night. I longed to play a few tunes and allow myself to get lost in the music. When I round yet another unfamiliar corner, I heard voices which caused me to stop in my tracks. I ducked into a doorway and tried to calm my racing heartbeat.

"Did you hear that?" the kings voice boomed out and I squeezed my lips shut, who knows what he would do if he caught me sneaking around the palace.

"No, not a thing", a nasally voice replied, and I racked my brains trying to think where I had heard it before.

"I must be getting paranoid with my old age", King Edward replied.

"What were you saying about the girl, sir?" the other man asked him.

"Ah yes, I cannot believe my wife invited her", the king snarled and I widened my eyes, who did the king hate. He would definitely kill me now, if he caught me listening in on his conversation.

"I had assumed you would have known about it". The other man sounded as curious as I felt.

"My wife is not the traditional sort", Edward snapped. "She enjoys doing things behind my back". The anger was clear in his tone and it made my eyes widen to hear the king talk so openly about his wife to another man.

"Like how she always invited that girl and her mother around for tea". Now my own ears were burning, did I just happen to stumble into a conversation about myself, or maybe the Queen had other friends?

"Exactly, even though she knew how much I was against it", he sighed. "It was a relief when that fatal incident happened, if I am quite frank". The king's words shocked me to the core, and it took everything in me to stay in my hiding spot, with my mouth shut. How dare he speak of my mother so lowly? What had he against her?

"Women are complicated creatures", the weasel replied. "Hopefully she does not stir up trouble like her mother use to".

"All that girl does is bring trouble", the king snapped, and I clenched my fists so tight, my knuckles turned white.

"Maybe she could run into a little accident of her own". The weasels words made me let out a little gasp, which I quickly covered with my hand. Did the king have something to do with my mothers' death?

"Hahaha", the King chuckled, but there was no amusement in his voice. "I best be of to my meeting now". The king's footsteps sounded of through the hallway and I held my breath as the other pair of footsteps approached my hiding place. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on slowing my heart rate.

"You can come out now Eloise", the voice said, and I snapped my eyes open to come face to face with the Duke of Kensington.

"How did you know?" I whispered.

"I seen you duck in the doorway", he replied.

"You knew I was there, so why did you allow the king to talk about me?" I asked. He just raised his eyebrows in response.

"I best be leaving now, I have matters of my own to deal with", he replied as he walked away from me.

"What do you know about my mother?" I called after him, but he kept walking. When he rounded the corner and out of my sight, I stomped my feet in frustration. I needed to find Nathaniel right now. Maybe he knew, what the Duke of Kensington was keeping from me. I let out a breath and realised it was probably about time that we were supposed to be out in the garden. I walked back the way I had come and found a door to the outside easily. I walked along the pebbled path until the other ladies came into view. Jane waved me over to her and I hurried over.