Page 82 of Fit for a King

Then another thought occurred to me—that maybe what was being talked about was something nonconsensual. That I was a king who demanded more than loyalty to my house. That I demanded it in my bed also.

“I’m not forcing him,” I said. The words came out rougher than I intended. It was laughable that I even felt the need to explain myself at all, but Violet was a friend of Noah’s, from what he’d said, and I needed her to know that much.

“I know that, Your Majesty.”

“Did he tell you?”

“He didn’t have to. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, sir. And—” She cut herself off and looked down at the floor again.

I needed to know the rest.

“Please speak freely,” I said. “I won’t hold anything you say against you.”

She lifted her head again, and I noticed just how young she was, though her eyes were wise beyond her years.

“When you returned yesterday,” she said, “everyone was talking downstairs. The staff that traveled with you noticed things, and they weren’t quiet about letting the rest of us know. That’s how it works here.”

“I know how the palace works.”

“Respectfully, sir, I’m not sure you do. Not downstairs.”

That should’ve angered me, but she wasn’t lying, was she? I knew the palace from above, but I had no idea how things truly worked downstairs, not the way Violet and Noah did.

“Tell me,” I said, even though I didn’t want to hear it, not really. More like I needed to, to keep Noah safe.

“There isn’t proof, of course, but there is a pattern, and it has people talking. His Majesty requests the same footman often. Mr. Bennett also rode in your private car, according to several of the staff that traveled with you, and they spoke of an incident in Solterra that seemed more than a little suspicious.”

I took that in, forcing breath through my nose and into my lungs, even as my heart was pounding triple time.

“There have been many times lately where it seems he hasn’t slept…in his room,” she continued, “and not that it’s affected his work, but…we can tell. And now this.” She glanced at the glove in her hand.

It was such a small thing, but enough to ruin Noah, if it were in the wrong hands.

“Do you intend to tell someone?”

She recoiled. “No, sir. But…”

“Yes?”

“But someone else might. And they may not like him enough to warn you.”

Her honesty ripped me apart, stole the air out of the room. I dropped to sit on the edge of the bed.

I’d done this. I’d put Noah in this position, and now our secret was no longer contained to just the two of us. I thought of the way he looked at me when I told him I loved him, like it was something he wanted, but something he also feared in equal measure.

I dropped my head into my hands, my words coming out before I could stop them. “What should I do?”

It was ludicrous, a king asking a housemaid for counsel in his own bedroom. My father would’ve been appalled.

“I…I don’t know, sir.”

Her words sounded sad, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Not with the intense shame rolling through me.

“I wish I did, sir,” she continued. “I like Noah. I like having him here. He makes everything…lighter.”

Despite my current state, I felt the corner of my lips twitch, and I finally looked up at her.

“He’s so good at his job, and he’s worked hard to be here. I know his family depends on him. I hope I’m not overstepping by saying this, but I fear that whatever you feel for him, it’s only going to harm Noah in the end.”