Your Majesty, Call Me Aunt

Chapter 4 The Kiss

The Winter Palace ballroom glittered with light.

Cecilia's eyes went straight to my injured shoulder.

"The Duke disappeared the moment your marriage was registered. It seems he isn't nearly as devoted to you as the rumors suggest."

"He's busy defending the North. I understand." I lifted my wineglass. "His Majesty only has to worry about choosing a dance partner. Naturally, he has more time to spend with his queen."

Someone nearby burst out laughing.

Cecilia's expression stiffened.

Her stepmother, Beatrice Ashford, quickly stepped in and poured me a glass of wine herself.

Cecilia raised her own glass.

"To the Duke of the North and his new bride."

The entire ballroom had no choice but to join the toast.

The moment the wine touched my tongue, I tasted the faint bitterness of almonds.

Someone had drugged my glass.

The physician who traveled with our merchant caravan had taught me how to recognize common medicines and poisons.

In small doses, this particular drug caused fever and weakness. In larger amounts, it could leave a person confused and disoriented.

Mother caught my eye.

Without missing a beat, she dropped her purse.

As the people around us shifted aside, I exchanged my glass for the one beside Beatrice.

Beatrice watched me raise the new glass to my lips and assumed her plan had worked. A moment later, she picked up the drugged wine and emptied it.

About 30 minutes later, I pretended to grow unsteady and allowed a maid to escort me to the king's private sitting room.

The single sip I'd taken had left my skin flushed and my palms hot, but my thoughts were still clear.

The door had barely clicked shut behind me when Julian stepped out from behind a curtain.

"You only married Adrian to make me jealous."

He moved between me and the door.

"Stay with me. I can give your children the royal name."

"Does Cecilia know that her husband plans to father children with another woman at her own ball?"

"The prime minister bought her that crown." Julian seized my wrist. "And your family's title and fortune came from the Crown. One word from me, and I can take everything back."

His fingers tightened until pain shot through my injured shoulder.

I felt the wound tear open again.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled the hairpin from my hair.

But before I could use it, the side door crashed open.

Adrian stood in the doorway with snow still clinging to his shoulders.

His sword was already in his hand.

"Let her go."

Julian stared at him. "You dare break into the king's private chambers?"

"She's refusing you." Adrian lifted his blade. "Would you like the entire Winter Palace to hear that their king tried to force himself on a woman who said no?"

Julian finally released me.

I crossed the room toward Adrian, but the moment I reached him, my legs gave way.

His arm caught me around the waist.

The instant he sensed my temperature, his expression changed.

"Did you drink the wine?"

"Only one sip."

His arm tightened around me.

I lowered my voice. "Why are you here?"

"The evidence left by the assassins led back to the prime minister's residence." His gaze flicked toward the door. "I suspected they might try something else tonight."

He immediately led me away.

Footsteps were already echoing down the corridor.

Cecilia was coming, and from the sound of it, she'd brought half the ballroom with her.

"They're coming to catch me in here," I said.

Adrian glanced toward the terrace, then stopped an attendant passing outside.

"Tell Beatrice that His Majesty is waiting for her in their usual place."

Then he led me onto the terrace.

A few minutes later, Beatrice came stumbling down the corridor.

The drug had clearly taken hold.

She didn't question the attendant's message. She pushed open the sitting-room door and called out, "Julian, I'm here."

"Who let you in?" Julian snapped.

But Beatrice rushed straight toward him and grabbed his sleeve.

While they struggled inside, Adrian and I crossed the terrace and slipped back into the ballroom through another entrance.

We had barely made it back toward the sitting room when we came face-to-face with Cecilia and the guests following behind her.

Mother was among them.

Relief flashed across her face the moment she saw me.

I tightened my hold on Adrian's arm so no one would notice how badly my legs were trembling.

Cecilia stopped short. "Why are you here?"

"Where do you expect me to be, Your Majesty?"

Before she could answer, Beatrice's sobbing voice carried through the closed door.

"Julian, you promised me! You said if I helped you keep the prime minister under control, you'd keep me by your side forever! Why did you betray me? Why did you marry my daughter and make her queen?"

The corridor went silent.

Cecilia rushed forward and threw open the door.

Beatrice had both hands twisted in Julian's collar while he desperately tried to shove her away.

"Mother?" Cecilia's voice shook. "What exactly is going on between the two of you?"

Beatrice gave a dazed laugh. "He never asks me that when he meets me here."

An uproar erupted among the guests.

Every trace of color drained from Cecilia's face.

I leaned against Adrian. "It seems we'll have to survive without the queen's blessing after all."

Adrian took me out through a side entrance and helped me into the carriage.

The instant the door closed behind us, the strength went out of my legs.

The carriage jolted forward, and I fell into his lap.

Adrian caught me around the waist.

His uniform was still cold from the winter air, but the hand against my side felt startlingly warm.

"Get a doctor," he ordered through the carriage door.

"There's no need." I caught hold of his collar. "I only took one sip."

"One sip is still enough to affect your judgment."

"My head is clear."

I reached for the top button of his uniform and slipped it free.

My fingertips brushed his throat, and his breath caught.

Adrian immediately closed his hand around mine. "Don't do that again."

"Why?"

His eyes darkened. "Because I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop."

I lifted my face and brushed my lips against his jaw before pressing a soft kiss to the side of his neck.

His entire body went still, and the arm around my waist tightened. "Evelyn. Look at me."

He waited until I raised my head. "Do you know who I am?"

"Adrian." I held his gaze. "My husband."

"And do you know what you want?"

I slipped my arms around his shoulders. "Kiss me."

Adrian pulled me against him and kissed me.

There was nothing hesitant about it. My hands tightened instinctively in the front of his coat as his palm came up to cradle the back of my neck.

The carriage rocked beneath us, and the curtain at the window swayed with the motion.

His other hand settled at my waist, then moved toward the laces at the back of my gown.

One lace slipped loose beneath his fingers...