Chapter 174
Clearing her throat, Kit said, “Last night, the queen and I were speaking about Pierce.”
“Whatever for?” Cassius asked her
“Ha! That is a good question. She was trying to persuade me in favor of him, as usual. At any rate, I made a remark that he just wasn’t for me, and she said just because he can be a little rough sometimes, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t make a good duke.” Kit took a deep breath, not sure she’d gotten that exactly right. Cassius looked confused.
“Rough? What do you think that meant? Rough around the edges, as in he’s not as refined as some of the others, such as myself?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Kit choked on a chuckle.
“No, no. I think I’ve relayed it wrong. I said he didn’t appeal to me, and she said just because he was a little rough didn’t mean he wouldn’t make a proper husband.”
Cassius stared at her for a moment, his lips pursed, before he said, “I want to understand what it is you think that means, but I’m not there yet.”
Sighing, Kit said, “Pierce is rough—in the bedroom.”
“You like it rough.”
She blushed. “No, not like that. I mean, painfully rough. And you know he hasn’t pleasured me yet, so of course I don’t mean in that way.”
He grinned at her, proud of himself for causing her cheeks to turn red. “Can you give me a for instance?”
Kit didn’t want to use the same example she’d used with Eli because it had failed, but that was the best one she had. “Whenever he grabs my breasts, it’s like he thinks there might be juice in them.”
Cassius burst out laughing. “You mean like this?” He reached for her chest, but Kit slapped him away, laughing right along with him. He snatched her hand out of the air and held it.
“Stop it—you’re much stronger than Pierce. Who knows what damage you might do?”
“You know I would never hurt you,” he reassured her. “So do you think your mother somehow knows Pierce does that?”
“I do.”
“But you’ve never mentioned it to her?”
“Of course not!”
“I supposed not but needed to be certain.” He let go of her hand to sit back in his chair, folding his arms and giving it a good thought. “I honestly don’t know how she could have that information if you haven’t told her, unless one of your ladies may have mentioned it.”
“I don’t believe I’ve even told them. It’s not like I discuss what happens in my private chambers with them.”
“You don’t?”
“No, not in any detail anyway.”
“Hmmm.”
Kit wasn’t sure what might’ve made him think she would. “Anyway, I mentioned this to Eli last night, and of course I know he’s in a lot of pain and not really himself now, but he seemed to think it wasn’t anything of consequence. And he also said if Pierce is meeting with my mother somehow, he doesn’t know how he’s getting back and forth. He said none of my guards have ever seen Pierce headed in that direction.”
“Now, that’s odd. We know she had to have given him information about the maze. And I’m almost certain she was letting him cheat somehow in the joust, little good it did him.”
“But how is she doing it?”
Cassius shook his head slowly. “I honestly don’t know, Princess. If my room was closer to his, perhaps I could tell you. But his is the last one on the hall, and all of the rooms around him are empty now, save one.”
“Whose room is that?” Kit asked, a spark lighting in the back of her mind.
“Danyen. Maybe he would know more about Pierce’s comings and goings, but I’m not sure I understand why it matters. We’re already certain he’s her favorite, that she wants you to choose him, and she’s getting him information one way or another. Maybe it’s through her guards. I’m not sure what difference it makes.”
“I’m not sure either,” Kit admitted, but that didn’t make her any less interested in finding out.
Cassius tugged gently on her hand until Kit came over and sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned her head against his chest, frustrated, but glad to have him nearby to comfort her. “Your mother is an enigma,” he said quietly next to her ear. “We almost think we have her sorted out, and then something else happens, and it becomes clear that we don’t. She’s willing to go to any length imaginable to get what she wants, and she doesn’t care who is hurt or ruined in the process.”
These were all facts Kit was already aware of, but that didn’t make them any less difficult to digest. “She’s already broken so many laws in regards to the Choosing alone, the council could lock her up and throw away the key.”
“Possibly. But it would take a vote of seven, and I’m not certain we have that.”
Kit sat up and looked him in the eye. “Do you think there are enough councilwomen who are also corrupt who would side with her over the law of the realm?”
Cassius let out a soft sigh and kissed her on the forehead. “Sweet Kit, always assuming everyone else is as morally upright as you are. Yes, darling. I believe there may be. Even if we had enough votes, it would never get that far. As soon as your mother caught wind that there was a possibility you might ask the council to try her, she’d find a way to make it so you couldn’t.”
Kit’s eyebrows went up of their own accord. “Do you think so?”
“I do. She certainly wouldn’t stand by and wait to see what happened.”
Kit had never thought about that before. What could her mother possibly do? Maybe Eli’s worries that Rona might lock her up or eliminate her weren’t that farfetched after all. “What can we do then?”
“I’m not certain. We don’t have all of the information we need yet. We need a solid plan, and we haven’t gotten there yet. If we act without one in place, we are taking a huge risk.”
“She trusts you, though. The queen likes you.”
He shrugged. “To some extent. For now. But I believe she’s starting to catch on that I’m not quite the man she thinks I am. If she did a little more investigating into my background, she might see a few instances in my past that don’t exactly paint me in the most loyal of light.”
Kit wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and she imagined, if she asked, he wouldn’t tell her. It sounded as if he’d been up to something in Warchester Keep that would’ve been detrimental to the queen’s cause. Instead of asking him for details specific to his activities, she asked, “Is your province likely to join in if needed?”
Cassius nodded sharply, and Kit decided that was all the answer she needed for now. She rested her head back against his shoulder and ran her hand slowly across his chest, listening to the sound of his breathing. It amazed her to think of how important he’d become to her in such a short amount of time. The idea of her mother doing something to harm any of the men she cared about was one she had to push from her mind. She had to believe they would all be able to take care of themselves and each other should it come to that.
