Page 67 of Waking Roslyn

“Don’t you dare defend him to me, Edmund!” Her voice was hard, even as it shook. “Don’t you do it. Do not tell me he was a fine man when he locked me up and convinced everyone that I was mad. When he gave me this.” She gestured toward her neck or her shoulder, I wasn’t sure which.

“Be careful how you speak to me, Marilee.” His voice was a warning. “I am the future ruler of this land.”

“What of it?” she challenged, her eyebrows raised. “You have no power over me. Perhaps that’s the reason why I am the only one willing to tell you how wrong you are.”

“I don’t have to listen to this.” He turned away from her but stopped when she spoke again.

“You struck her!”

My heart plummeted. Oh, stars. This was about me. What could Her Highness possibly be thinking? Provoking Edmund all over something he had done to me?

Edmund was still turned away from her, but her words had stopped him in his tracks.

“A young woman who should be under your protection and care, and you struck her.”

Edmund put one hand on his hip and used the other to pinch the bridge of his nose as he blew out an exhale. Then he slowly turned to face her. “A regrettable mishap. Now if that is all, we are due in the dining room.”

“Don’t be like Damian.” Her voice and her hands trembled. “Please, Edmund. Don’t become the sort of husband who brings nothing but misery to his wife. Please. I know you can be better than that.”

“You lost the right to have an opinion the moment you slandered my brother’s name.” He took a step forward, and Falstone did the same.

Marilee held out a staying hand to both of them. “You mean the moment I told the truth?” She raised her brow in question and let her words sink in. “If speaking the truth is slanderous, then perhaps the truth needs to change.”

Edmund let out a quiet, humorless chuckle. “You mind your own truth, Princess. And I will mind mine.” He walked away without a bow or a farewell.

Princess Marilee stood there, breathing hard for several moments, then turned to the door. Falstone opened it for her, but just before she was about to walk through it, she turned back once more. “And for anyone who happens to be listening at the doors,” she said in a raised voice, “anyone who is mistreated will always find refuge at Sutton Manor.” Then she departed with the same wild energy with which she’d arrived.

Silence followed the slamming of the door. My breathing and Lisette’s filled the air until I said, “Well. That was…”

“Glorious?” she said.

I let out a little chuckle. “Yes, I suppose that word will do.” The whole encounter left me befuddled. Princess Marilee barely knew me, and the idea that she would go out of her way to stand up for me felt strange. I didn’t deserve it.

After a few minutes, we both went down to the dining room. We were all quiet, even Edmund, and as the meal progressed, I was surprised by how pensive he was. Were Her Highness’s words actually making an impact? I hardly dared to hope.

As I went to bed that evening, I couldn’t get her words and actions out of my head. She had been so bold. She hadn’t shrunk in the face of Edmund’s rudeness. She had not run away. Could I be more like that? Did I have the right to be?

***

After he struck me, and especially after Marilee’s brave defense of me, I stopped trying to hide my feelings where Edmund was concerned. If I came upon him in a corridor, I would turn and walk the other way. If I was eating in the morning and he came into the breakfast room, I would abandon my half-eaten plate and leave. At first he looked apologetic. On day three, he started to sigh whenever I walked away. It felt strange to stand up for myself and allow my feelings to be known, especially in front of someone as highborn as Edmund. But I kept at it.

On day five, Lisette and I were in the sitting room, embroidering while she discussed the week’s menu with Jeanie, when Edmund walked in.

“Hello, my dear,” he said as he bent to kiss Lisette on the cheek.

Lisette gave him a dim smile. He had been more affectionate with her in the past few days, no doubt trying to make up for his abominable behavior, and I had to wonder if it was due to Princess Marilee’s words. I could tell Lisette was trying to forgive him but having a difficult time. Honestly, I believed she was more angry on my behalf than her own. Yes, she was frightened of what he might do to her, but she was mortified by what he’d actually done to me. Still, he was her husband. She had to work things out.

As Edmund took his own chair, leaving Lisette and Jeanie to their planning, I reminded myself that I need feel no such compunction to get along with him. I gathered my fabric and threads and tucked them into the basket by my feet, then stood and left the room. I made it halfway down the corridor.

“Really, Rose?”

Edmund’s voice made a chill run up my spine, but I held my composure and turned to face him, my brow raised in a question.

He let out another one of his sighs. “Is this really necessary?”

It was a silly question, so I didn’t answer. I refused to allow him to convince me that I was the one being irrational.

“I’m sorry for what happened the other night.”