Page 81 of Fit for a King

She curtsied again and lifted her eyes—then did a double take at something by the bed.

I glanced over at what had caught her attention and saw one of Noah’s white gloves on the bed. It must’ve fallen out of his pocket in his rush to leave, but there wasn’t a good reason for any part of a footman’s livery to be on the mattress in my personal bedchambers.

Too thrown off guard to reach for it first, I merely watched as she picked up the glove and looked down at it. Then at me. Nothing in her expression changed, but when she said, “I believe Mr. Bennett may be missing this,” my world tilted.

For a moment, I said nothing. A thousand possible commands went through my head. Dismiss her. Take the glove. Deny it. Explain it away as nothing.

I held out my hand. “I’ll see that it’s returned.”

But Violet closed her hand around the glove and shook her head. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I think perhaps I should.”

Heat licked up the back of my neck, sharp and unwelcome. It wasn’t shame I felt then, but fear.

Violet’s sharp gaze gave nothing away, but I knew. I knew that she knew.

“I…trust that you can be discreet,” I said, not admitting anything, but hoping she could be trusted with anything she did know.

“I can be discreet, sir.”

“Good.”

“I have been discreet.”

Her words were a slap in the face, and any relief I’d felt at her keeping this under wraps disappeared.

I forced myself to keep my expression neutral. “About?”

She glanced once toward the door, then lowered her voice. “I’ve heard things since you returned.”

“I’m sure you hear many things.”

“I do. Most of them are nonsense, of course, but…” She looked down at the glove in her hand. “This is not nonsense. Sir.”

I moved toward the window, needing distance from the piece of Noah he’d left behind and the rude awakening happening now. Outside, the sun was rising, the gardeners already up and spraying the brilliant blooms, the palace coming to life for another day, while I was having to face a truth I didn’t want to hear.

“What have you heard?” I said, trying to steady my breathing as I kept my eyes on the flowers.

“Enough to know people are watching him.”

“Him?”

“Yes, sir. Him.”

My fingers curled at my sides. “I would never allow harm to come to Mr. Bennett.”

“No, sir. I…believe you mean that.”

I turned. “You believe I mean it?”

“I do.”

“But?”

Violet swallowed, and for the first time, I saw fear flicker in her face. Not of what she was saying, but whom she was saying it to.

Still, she didn’t cower when she said, “But I don’t think you can promise it.”

The silence that fell then was heavy and absolute. My stomach twisted with the sick thought that she was right. It brought up Alejandro’s demand that Noah be sent away, and what could I do to stop all of this?