Chapter 26
Niles couldn't be happier.
Today, after yet another lengthy absence from his wife's side, he got to go back to his lodge. And this time, he'd stay there until their child had arrived into the world.
The last time he'd seen C.C., she'd been seven months along. They'd spent two dreamy weeks together, doing anything and everything that came to mind – from fun-filled days in the sun, to intimate romantic dinners. Leaving hadn't been easy, especially knowing he wouldn't be able to see her for nearly a month, but they'd managed.
His latest excuse to leave court had been a short hunting trip. His father hadn't asked too many questions – something Niles had been thankful for – but he'd unwittingly put a spanner in the works that very morning when he'd asked Niles to fill in for him at an emergency meeting with the Privy Council. He'd said he had another, much more pressing matter to see to. Part of him had wanted to say no, but he figured that, in the long run, keeping his father happy would prove beneficial.
Much to the prince's chagrin, however, the meeting had extended for a few good hours, and by the time he'd been able to leave, with Dr Potts in tow as well because C.C. was due a check-up, it was well past noon. That was especially disheartening, considering he'd sent his wife a letter telling her they'd be there for lunch, and also because they were due to pick Margaret up on their way to the lodge. The woman had a number of new dresses for C.C., and seeing as it had been a while since she'd visited, Niles had invited her to tag along. Naturally, she hadn't been happy when they'd turned up nearly one hour late, but to her credit she hadn't said anything about their tardiness (Niles had apologised profusely, though, seeing as it was his fault they were late).
He supposed it really didn't matter now – his lodge was already in sight. They might not have been there for lunch (again, the prince planned on apologising for that) but he'd make it up to his wife. He couldn't wait to have her in his arms again!
He planned to make up for every moment he'd missed out on, over the time they'd been apart. They'd have more fun-filled days in the sun, they'd have more romantic dinners, they'd read together and hold each other and wait for the day their child decided to make their appearance...
And best part was, nobody could stop them. He had no reason to return to the palace and his father was unlikely to call him there in such a short time – especially after he'd done him the favour of sitting in for him on the council meeting.
By the time Niles chose to go back, he'd have his wife on his arm and a grandchild to show the king. And that was a thought that made him feel triumphant. Gleeful. Smug...?
Perhaps a little bit smug as well, yes. His father had been wrong, in so many ways, and his little plan to keep them apart by having Niles marry had failed.
He'd have no choice now but to accept C.C. as his daughter-in-law, as the Princess of Wales and as the woman who would one day be queen. Mother of the heir to the throne, and a new matriarch of a great dynasty.
And Niles and C.C. themselves would be doing a lot of work to make sure it was a large dynasty. That was another one of the things he intended to make up to her as soon as possib–
"Shouldn't someone have come out to greet us by now...?"
The unexpected question Margaret posed brought him out of his musings, and he took a closer look out the carriage window, leaning around the doctor, who was doing the same.
She was right...there wasn't a single person waiting outside the lodge to prepare for their arrival! Not even one of the footmen to open the door!
That was...strange. Bordering unnerving, if he was honest. He'd never been without a servant or several there to see him come home. What could've happened to keep them all inside?
Had...had C.C. gone into labour, perhaps...?! That would at least keep the maids busy, and maybe the footmen had gone for more supplies, or had raced off to find him and bring him home quicker?
No...no, it couldn't be that. As much as he wanted to give the mystery a reasonable explanation (it would certainly be fortunate that Potts was with them, if it were true!), he had to concede that C.C. wasn't due so early. And even if she was, they hadn't passed by anybody on the road. They wouldn't have missed a messenger rushing back towards the city. Nor, in fact, would it mean that every single one of them had to go...
And yet, it appeared as though they had, when the carriage finally pulled up outside the front entrance to the lodge. Niles ended up opening the door himself and climbing out, taking a look around at the exterior.
And the longer he looked, the more worried he became. Not only did the place appear deserted outside, but it sounded it as well. There were no voices coming from the yard, no sounds of anybody chopping wood for the fires, no shrill creak of metal as one of the maids gathered water from the well...
Everything was just...silent. Like there wasn't a soul left in the place...
Not even his beloved wife, whom he'd been keeping waiting for all this time...
It wasn't surprising how quickly worry could become dread. Niles didn't even notice it as he called out, checking one last time, just in case.
"Hello...? Is anybody here?"
Only the wind rustling leaves in the trees met his call. And the careful-but-uneven footsteps coming from the carriage, as Potts climbed out, before helping Margaret down as well.
Niles immediately went to go help him do that, even if part of him was starting to wonder if they both shouldn't just get back in the carriage and stay there, until he'd found someone else present in the house.
Until he'd found C.C., and she'd explained to him why the place was so quiet. She had to know.
She had to be there, staying just as silent as everybody else, and she had to know.
But before he could even politely suggest to his friends that they stayed with the carriage driver for the time being, his sister-in-law had already started walking towards the house, a curious expression on her face.
"The door is open..."
Niles looked, nearly starting to discover that she was correct – a gap practically the width of a hair could just about be seen between the door and its frame, leading into what appeared to be an unlit hallway.
A hallway that was usually lit...for a door that was never kept open...
Oh God, had they been robbed?!
No wonder everybody was inside, if so! They were probably tending to the injured, trying to piece together what they could, or cleaning up the wreckage if there had been a fight!
What...what if C.C. had tried to fight...? What if she'd taken it upon herself as lady of the manor, and had stood up to the brigands?! What if she was injured, and everybody had stopped to tend to her?!
The very thought caused his entire body to leap into action, springing like a lion on an unsuspecting antelope. He had to get inside, and fast!
Rushing past a slightly confused and worried Potts and then Margaret, who was still on her way to the door, he cried out, "C.C., I'm coming!"
He burst his way through the door, only to nearly immediately trip and impale himself on a freestanding candleholder that had been knocked to the floor, blowing out the candles and spattering the stones with wax as it did.
Well, that explained the lack of light in there...
But it didn't explain why he still couldn't hear anything - not a voice, or a set of footsteps, nothing!
"Hello...?!" he called out again, the terror starting to rise in his voice as his heart crawled up his throat. "C.C.? C.C., are you here? Is anybody here?!"
It was too much for him when he was once more met with nothing. He flew forward, shoving his way through the doors into the next room...
Only to stop, cold, as he took in the sight.
It was...it was some of the servants...people he'd known for years, known their names and their faces, their likes and dislikes, what made them happy or sad...all dead. Strewn about the room, bodies hanging like limp, torn-apart dolls, stained in blood which Niles feared to think was not only theirs, but also half everybody else's, as they pulled and clawed at each other in terror when...when whomever had come had left them to die...
It made him sick to think about. Sick to look at. He had to turn away, and immediately bumped into Potts, whose jaw dropped at the sight of the massacre.
"Oh, dear God! What happened in here?!"
"I don't know," Niles replied quickly. "But we have to look for survivors, right now!"
Potts nodded immediately, and tried to usher Margaret back out before she saw, but it was too late. She covered her mouth in horror, words of utter shock and despair slightly muffled, "Oh sweet mother of God...!"
Niles and Potts pulled her swiftly from the room. They had to find out what had happened – they had to find C.C.! She...she couldn't be...
No, he wouldn't even think of it! She was alive; she had to be! She was just hiding, somewhere in the house. She'd come out when she heard it was him speaking – she knew his voice, she'd trust it wasn't a trick!
They'd be able to get her out of there, move her somewhere else – to France, to the court of the king, where she'd stay until everything was over! They'd find out who did this, and they'd be brought to justice!
He told himself that over and over again, repeating it like a mantra between prayers that he would find her. But as he, the doctor and Margaret searched all over the house, all they turned up was more dead footmen, maids, even the cooks...
The doctor didn't even have to confirm it, their wounds were so terrible. None had been spared. Not even as they came to the last room – his and C.C.'s bedroom, where they found the butler, Laurens, slumped on the floor. C.C. was nowhere in the house, and Niles felt like he was losing his mind and being torn apart all at once.
Who could've done such a thing?! Who had found out that she was even there?! Had someone found out, or had it been a chance raid carried out by blackguards who now wanted a ransom?!
He'd pay it on the spot, obviously, but then he'd have all their heads on spikes! They thought they could take his beloved, keep her prisoner, and then waltz off with bags of gold for the pleasure?!
They were wrong. He'd find them, whoever they were; he'd hunt them down and tear them apart, like a wild dog slaughtered rabbits! Not one would be spared!
They hadn't given a thought to the people they hadn't spared. To the innocent woman and unborn child they could be hurting, right that insta...
He trailed off in his mind's threatening. Something had caught his eye on the nearest table. Something familiar. He stepped closer, peering at the...small piece of jewellery there...
It was his father's signet ring! The one Niles himself had given him to celebrate his fiftieth year...
Niles' eyes widened, and suddenly he understood.
He hadn't kept it with him, after the king's birthday. The ring wouldn't be there, unless his father had been. This was no chance robbery, committed by desperate or degenerate thieves.
This had been planned...planned to the highest degree, by his own father!
His father. His father had found them – found out everything, most likely. Someone had betrayed them, and in turn his father had betrayed him.
He...he could absolutely believe it. But after so many years of Joseph claiming that he'd loved his son, he hadn't wanted to think it would end in something like this! He'd been so convinced he could keep them safe...
But he'd underestimated his father's determination to control his life. He'd stormed his way into his home, massacred his servants...taken away his wife and child...
And it wasn't only dread that suddenly found its way through Niles' blood. It was heat. The unmistakable kind that told of overwhelming anger, starting to boil until it turned everything in his veins to steam. A red mist, just like the one that was descending over his vision.
His father – his own bastard of a father – had ordered his men to invade his home, murder his servants, and kidnap his pregnant wife! And then he'd had the nerve and gall to leave a token, so that Niles knew exactly who had done it!
He'd hated C.C. so much, he'd had her kidnapped?! Taken away to God only knew where, probably to suffer?! To...to meet worse than that?! To make sure that the baby met worse than that?! All for the fact that she had married his son and was carrying his grandchild?!
Because, of course, he knew now, didn't he? He had to. And Niles would kill whoever had told him in cold blood – that wasn't even an idle threat, that was a promise. He'd see everybody who was keeping his wife and unborn child from him suffer. And that included the man who'd left him a clue as though he thought this was some sort of fun mystery game!
Picking up the ring, Niles held it in his fingers for a moment, his breath hitching as he contained anger, terror and unbearable pain all at once.
His father. The man he'd once looked up to, and had been so happy to receive the gift he'd now left behind, to show just what he'd done...
With a wordless cry of rage, Niles hurled the thing at the wall.
It wasn't enough. He wanted more than to see a dented ring with a scratched or smashed gem. He wanted the men who'd carried out this attack swinging from a gallows, as many as it took to end them all. He wanted to look into his father's eyes with the rage of a thousand burning cities and tell him how much he hated him.
But, most of all, he wanted his wife and unborn child back.
A feat which seemed near-impossible, as things currently stood. His father knew exactly where they were, but he'd never tell, would he? That was what he enjoyed – having the power and holding it over others, no matter who those people were.
Not even if one of those people was the son he'd once claimed to love.
This wasn't love, and Niles wasn't going to stand for it anymore!
He was going back to London. He was going to storm into the palace, and he was going to–
"Your Royal Highness! This man is still alive!"
Not for the first time that day, a voice interrupted his (admittedly a lot more murderous than the first) thoughts. Only this time it wasn't Margaret's curiosity that had caught his attention. No, it was an exclamation, coming from Dr Potts. It sounded almost like surprise, coming as he and Margaret knelt over Laurens' body...
He'd...he'd said Laurens was alive?
He felt all the anger that had been screwing his face into a snarl suddenly drop, and he rushed forward a few steps.
"Really? Are you sure...?!"
If Laurens was alive, that meant they had a witness to the attack. A witness that might have heard something – the ring had been in this room, so maybe C.C. had been in there as well?! Maybe Laurens had witnessed the whole thing!
If he was alive, and recovered to tell what had happened, he could point them to the exact perpetrators!
Margaret nodded, gesturing to the butler, "We heard him breathing. It's faint, but it's there..."
That was good enough, in Niles' eyes. He wasn't about to waste an opportunity to save at least one person from the horrors that had happened here, and get his family back!
There was only one thing left to do, after that, and only one man in the world that he could think to trust with the butler while he recovered.
"Stay with him, I'll get the driver. We're going back to London right away," the prince told his sister-in-law, before heading for the door. "And we're taking this man with us – Dr Potts, you'll know what to do when we get there!"
After a fair amount of time and some help from the carriage driver, they managed to get Laurens safely and securely into the carriage. It was agreed that Dr Potts and Margaret would go with him, to tend to his wounds with some bandages they managed to salvage from one of the storage room cupboards. The driver had orders to go to Noel and Margaret's home, so the king would not suspect anything was amiss.
They'd be able to look after Laurens, while Niles attended to his own matters.
He rode on ahead of the others, taking one of the horses from the lodge stable to get there more quickly. He needed to get to the city, fast, and he wasn't going to be slowed by having to keep to the roads and confines of a carriage!
He had a bone to pick with his father, and he wasn't going to delay it more than he needed to.
If that bastard thought he'd simply let him take the most precious thing in his life, then he was wrong.
Very wrong.
Marie knew something was wrong from the moment she spotted her son rushing up the palace's courtyard and jumping off his horse. Thunder had gripped his features, and black clouds seemed to loom overhead.
Something had to be wrong with C.C. and the baby – there was no other reason why he'd be back when he'd already informed Marie of his plans to remain with C.C. until the child was born. And it was unlikely that there would be anything wrong naturally. C.C. had been seen to regularly by Dr Potts and her pregnancy was progressing well, by all given accounts.
No, whatever had happened had been caused. She could sense it, like a disturbing energy that interrupted the peaceful flow of ordinary life.
And her suspicions pointed like a talisman, right in the direction of her husband. He was normally the source of disruption to peace in the palace, so it was only right that her immediate misgivings fell on him.
She couldn't remember a time when Joseph hadn't caused someone trouble, in some form or another. Only this time, it somehow felt more serious than that – she didn't remember the last time Niles had looked so angry!
She had to find out what was going on, as quickly as she could.
Fortunately for her, the servants weren't the only ones who knew how to use the palace's hidden corridors and back passages. They'd get her there far quicker than taking the longer route, and she might get to stay and take in things that her husband or son would most probably demand that she left before she heard.
She wasn't going to be told what to do that way. This was her palace, and – like some of it or not – her family. She was going to hear everything, if that was what she felt like doing!
So, she slipped into the nearest side door and followed the passage round, knowing it would come out exactly where Joseph was at that moment: his study.
The door was open just a crack – enough to see into the room by. Her husband was at his desk, looking as though he could fall asleep from boredom, with the work he was going through.
But he was started awake enough – as was Marie – when their son burst into the room, an inferno burning in his eyes and his fists curled, like he intended to do something with them.
That was the first time she'd seen Joseph smile in all that time. Not that it appeared to be a smile of warmth for a son returned home.
"Ah, there you are. I trust that you have––"
He never finished what he was about to ask. Their son had thrown his fist at his father's jaw, which landed with a dull thud and nearly, knocked him out of his chair, pushing him back against his desk...
And Niles delivered several more punches, right across his upper torso, throat and face, before he felt his subject might be willing to cooperate.
"Where is my wife?!" he demanded to know, screaming in Joseph's face as he did. He then grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled, so they were less than an inch apart, one being held over his desk by the other. "What the hell did you do?! Where is she?!"
Marie bit her lip to stop herself from crying out loud.
Oh, God, what had Joseph done...! What had happened to C.C. and the baby that warranted violence like this?! What had he done to them?! Were they alright?! She didn't know. She just got the awful, churning feeling of fear as Joseph started to smirk, even when outright laughter earned the king a swift punch in the nose.
"You really don't know, do you...?" he spluttered as he chuckled.
Marie held her breath, hoping and praying with all her heart...
Niles' fists closed around Joseph's shirt so tightly, his knuckles whitened.
"What are you talking about? And be quick about it!"
Joseph lifted himself up to get into Niles' face, blood streaming from his nose, "They are dead already, boy! I had them both killed this morning, while you sat at the council, like a fool! I had the bodies burned, too, so you'd stop with your whining, and so you wouldn't demand a state funeral for a little whore whose only mourners in her rightful life would be the madam whose brothel she kept running and the clients who had been delighted to find the easiest, cheapest fuck in London!"
"You shut your mouth!" Niles shouted, his hands looking like they could easily move towards Joseph's throat. "Don't you dare say that about her, and don't you dare lie to me!"
"Why would I lie, boy?!" Joseph snapped back. "I told you that there would be consequences for running around with that slut, and here they are! She's dead, as is your bastard! Let that be a lesson to you!"
The Queen felt as though she had been slapped across the face and stabbed in the chest, simultaneously.
No...no, not C.C.! Not C.C., and the unborn baby! They'd done nothing wrong! They'd done nothing wrong, and yet Joseph had seen fit to order that they be put to death!
And for what?! Being in love? Being alive?! Nothing they had done was a crime, in the eyes of anybody but the bastard she was married to! The bastard, who had ordered the executions – the murders – of his own daughter-in-law and grandchild!
She could see their faces, even now; C.C., happy and smiling as she bounced a round-faced little blonde toddler on her knees...
Perhaps that was the Good Lord above, granting her a brief a vision of them in the afterlife...?
Marie didn't know. It hurt too much to think. It nearly hurt too much to stand, too, but if she collapsed and fell on the door, she'd be caught in an instant. She had to force herself to stay upright, even as her heart broke in her chest and tears pushed themselves up and out of her eyes...
Marie thought she saw Niles crumble in that moment, too – she could hear wordless verbal whimpers, coming from him.
But the pressure and the build-up of anger, combined with the despair of learning his family had been completely destroyed, only eventually made him shout out and drive his fist more and more into the face of his father.
"No! It! Isn't true! Tell me you're lying, right now!"
Marie shook her head sadly to herself, tears now streaming down her face.
He couldn't tell him he was lying, could he? Because he wasn't.
That evil bastard out there, who had the nerve to act as though his son trying to beat him half to death to avenge the love of his life and unborn child was nothing, was too happy to even pretend. Because he'd gotten what he'd wanted.
Because C.C. was out of the way of his perfect picture of what England should look like as a country, and that meant that he had won.
It didn't matter that he'd committed murder to do it. It didn't matter that he'd ended the life of his own flesh and blood before it had even begun. To him, nothing was more important than his own little world.
The little world where he was not only king, but God. And he was loving that this fantasy plane was coming to life, making his son so miserable in the process that his punches were growing weaker and weaker, until they died away entirely.
Niles staggered backwards from his father, exhausted and now clearly wishing he was as dead as his wife and child.
Joseph picked himself up from the desk, too, gingerly dabbing at the bruises around his eye, the blood coming from his nose and wincing when he caught his split lip as well.
But he still looked directly at their son.
"God, you are pathetic. Whores aren't worth so much as the coin we pay them to suck on our cocks, and yet you weep and wail like a frail old woman over the one who happens to be carrying your most recent bastard? You'll move onto fresher meat within the week, and this nonsense will be done with," he marched forward and shoved Niles back. "Now get out of my sight, and count yourself lucky I'm not having you flogged for laying a hand on me!"
Niles had held his ground instead of simply falling, when Joseph pushed into him. But he was too incensed and overwhelmed by sorrow to say anything – that was obvious to anybody paying attention.
He simply turned and stormed back out the way he'd come.
Joseph didn't return to his desk. He just scoffed and went to the window.
Through her tears, Marie felt herself start to burn beneath her skin.
It was all Joseph's fault. All of it. He'd ended the lives of their perfect daughter-in-law and the first legitimate grandchild they could welcome. He'd alienated their son from him, caused him unbearable pain, and he'd probably put the kingdom in greater danger than ever by denying them a new heir to the throne, to carry on the family line.
And the worst part was, he simply didn't care.
If anybody deserved death, it was him. To bring justice to the people he'd ruined, in so many ways; to reimburse a kingdom that had suffered under his reign...
To avenge the family members who had never gotten to live long, full lives in peace.
And...maybe...who better to carry it out than Marie herself?
She had easy access to do it, and she had nothing more to live for, even if they caught her. If Niles, who would be king by the time it was over, caught her.
She wouldn't beg, or plead for mercy if they found out. She'd simply go to her punishment and then her grave, and maybe be granted another sight of C.C. and the baby, before she was...taken away, to the place where murderers like her would always go.
She'd live – or not, as the case were – with a blackened soul, in exchange for freeing so many people from a cruel, barbarian of a tyrant. All she had to do was plan something believable to convince him to get into a vulnerable position, and then she'd strike.
She feared her own end, and what would come after, obviously. But she would bear it.
Family was worth any price, even eternal damnation.