Chapter 31
The morning was bright, and the smell of freshly baked bread wafted into Lord Carlisle's nostrils as he came down to breakfast. He'd had an excellent night's sleep, and he was intending to start the new day with good cheer. And he felt that was done perfectly with a good boiled egg, and some of that delicious bread.
Lady Babcock would've gotten some of it too, for her own breakfast - not that he wanted to feed her, he just wanted to be sure that the baby would live and be as strong as it could be. He might even go up to her room to check that she'd eaten it.
But that was a thought for later. For now, it was time to fill his own stomach. His wife was already at the table when he arrived, some of the bread already on her plate, accompanied by hard cheese and fruit.
"Good morning, my dear," he greeted, taking his place at the head of the table. "Did you sleep well?"
"Deeply and peacefully, my lord," she replied happily. "I have never felt better than I do this very moment."
"Excellent," Carlisle beamed and nodded. He started to cut away pieces of the bread, grabbing at loose crumbs of cheese as well. "Nothing like starting the day off just so, is the–"
The rhetorical question was cut off, however, with the hurried arrival of a messenger through the door that the servants took to travel to and from the kitchen.
And immediately Carlisle's mood was put on edge, "What the Devil do you think you're doing, man? Don't you know how to knock, or to wait to be announced?"
The man practically skidded to a halt on the floor, catching his breath back.
"Begging your pardon, my lord," he panted. "But I bring...urgent news, from the palace."
Carlisle's brow creased. The palace? What news could be coming from there that was so important as to disturb his breakfast? Did the King need them to dispose of the bitch faster than expected?
How were they supposed to get their baby then? Neither one knew what to do to carry out a caesarean...
Well, they would see what it involved. He waved a hand, indicating for the man to continue, "Well, get on with it then, man!"
The messenger pulled an official-looking writ from his bag, and he began to read it aloud.
"It is with great sorrow that the death of His Majesty, King Joseph of House Brightmore, must be announced to his loyal subjects. He shall be succeeded forthwith by his only son, His Royal Highness the Prince Niles, Prince of Wales. As his first act as King, His Majesty will offer a knighthood and a ten-thousand pound reward in exchange for information as to the whereabouts of his wife, Her Majesty Queen Chastity-Clai–"
The messenger never finished reading. Carlisle had snatched the writ out of his hands before he could. Then, dismissing the messenger with one hand (despite the man's protests that he hadn't been paid), he began to read it for himself. His wife, who had leapt out of her chair upon hearing the messenger's final revelation, read desperately from over his shoulder.
It was true. All of it!
They'd be dead if the new king found out what they'd done! Capturing the new queen and holding her prisoner?! Abusing her (as much as they dared) for their own amusement, when she was pregnant with a child (their promised child) that would now be heir to the throne?!
It would be seen as treason!
And everyone knew what happened to traitors...
Carlisle swallowed to himself. They had to think of a plan, and they had to think of it quickly.
"What are we going to do?!" his wife suddenly screeched. "The slut isn't ready yet and we can't get rid of her until we've gotten the baby out!"
Carlisle shook his head and waved a dismissive hand, "The new king doesn't even know she's here! That will buy us some time. We can see to it that the baby is delivered and she is...disposed of, before he even comes looking! The whore is close anyway – she can't stay this big for much longer."
They'd tried for years now to have their own children, but all their attempts had been in vain. That was why it had been more than a bargain, paying King Joseph and getting rid of the whore all at once. They could easily pass themselves off as the baby's birth parents, fool King Niles if he ever did happen to come looking, and discreetly leave the slut that England currently had the misfortune to call its queen dead where no one would find her. She'd disappear for good and everyone would assume that her baby had disappeared with her!
The couple then shared a malicious, gleeful smirk – the whore deserved what she was getting by way of a few more days of life and then a shallow grave, and they'd be getting what they deserved in the form of a long-awaited and hoped for child and heir!
The arrogant little cow should have thought better than to try and occupy a place that did not belong to her. Her father might have been a rich nobleman, but the moment the title had passed on to her cousin, she'd become absolutely worthless.
How dare a maid even dream of marrying a prince, let alone actually do it? That prince was a king now, and needed a royal bride of his same station – a bride that prided herself in having impeccable pedigree and a generous dowry. The throne wasn't meant for a self-important floor-scrubber who'd used her feminine wiles to snare his feeble heart, and the place of heir could never be occupied by a child from any such union!
No, a proper lady should sit there, just like the late King Joseph had wanted.
They'd make sure his orders were still carried out. They'd never let King Niles know that his whore was in their possession, and she'd disappear without him ever knowing who was involved.
However, even if following King Joseph's orders was their God-given task and pleasure, life was not all work and no fun without a reward, was it?
Nobody said they couldn't toy with their little prisoner before the end, couldn't they? And no one had made mention of what they were to do with the child, if it was born - that meant it was free for the taking, didn't it?
And both Carlisles knew the way to hit their "queen" where it hurt the most would be to go and remind her once more of that fact. Along with the idea that her lord "husband" was coming so close to finding her but never would.
So, they left the remains of their breakfast and began to make their way upstairs, towards the room that they had been keeping her locked and chained in (it was generous of them to provide such a comfortable one, considering who she was) while she was still useful.
Only they had any copies of the key to her room, so she'd know exactly who it was when they came in.
They burst through the door, jovial and jeering, and found her sat up as much as she could in her bed, arms around her belly.
Not that it would make a difference, in the end.
"Well, look who finally heard the morning bells!" Carlisle sneered. "You won't have heard the news yet, I expect?"
That was C.C.'s prompt to speak, but she held her stomach a little tighter when she did, keeping her voice sarcastic as she spoke, "With someone around here who loves the sound of his own voice as much as you do, Carlisle, why would I bother getting my news from anywhere else?"
"Shut your mouth before I do it for you!" Lady Carlisle spat at the insolence, before getting on with the point. "We're doing you a service and bringing the best news in the entire world, you stupid little slut!"
"It is certainly excellent news, my dear," Carlisle smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. "We have a new king!"
C.C. gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. That sentence could only mean one thing...
Niles...he was king now?! But...but what?! What had happened?! King Joseph had been in perfect health, the last C.C. had seen! How could it be that he'd suddenly died and left the throne vacant for his son...?
It wasn't adding up in her head!
"That's right," Carlisle said darkly. "Your oh-so-wonderful husband, your sweet and adoring Niles, is now king."
Hearing it again just let the fog of dazed shock and confusion descend even more over her. King...her Niles...her husband was now king...! C.C. couldn't believe it – she knew it would have to happen someday, but she had never imagined that it would be so soon! She'd never thought it would end up this way!
Her head was truly spinning...
That would all mean...mean that she...she had to be Queen, didn't she?!
If Niles was king, that had to mean that she was his queen! And if she was queen and Niles was king, he'd have to be sending someone to come rescue her! He might even do it himself!
That was the Niles she knew – the brave, romantic man she'd married...
"What're you gawking for?!" Lady Carlisle snapped at the expression that had come over her face. "Are you expecting us to bow and call you 'Your Majesty'?"
"We will, if you want us to," Carlisle continued nonchalantly, starting to pace. "It's only right that the Queen of Whores be given her proper form of address..."
Lady Carlisle moved to wrap her arm around her husband's waist, her malicious grin having grown into a wide mocking smile. She was thoroughly enjoying this – toying with the bitch who thought herself worthy enough to be England's new queen. Both Carlisles could tell she was in both mental and physical pain, and they intended to inflict more of both upon her.
And C.C. could tell that it was coming; even with her heart about to crack in two, she knew that it wouldn't be enough for them until it had shattered completely.
The final blow was only a breath away.
"Of course, this Queen of Whores isn't going to have an heir," said Lady Carlisle, sticking her with a contemptuous look.
C.C. stiffened and glared at the hateful pair in return, her hands immediately clasping as tight as possible over her belly, protective and defiant. She knew what they intended to do – Joseph had told them (over a purse of gold) that they were welcome to her child. She was trying desperately to prove with every fibre of her being that they were not.
Not that either seemed to take a blind bit of notice at that.
"Indeed she shall not," supported Lord Carlisle with a smirk. "She will give birth, but that child shall then become our own. And, once that is over, we'll have no more need for her. And there is a delightful patch of forest not far from the house, perfect for the grave of a whore that nobody will miss."
The implication was clear in his tone, and C.C. felt a terrifying chill come over her entire body.
As much as she wanted to stand up and fight, she would also have run in overwhelming fear, then, if such a thing was possible – run far away, and found somebody who could take her back to her Niles! If she was the Queen now, she could do that!
She...would have been able to do that, if she had been able to walk by herself...
But she couldn't. Her belly was too large, and even if it wasn't, it wasn't like the Carlisles would unchain her from the bed and let her go. All she could do was fight from where she was, and protect her baby with the growing anger that she now felt inside. Anger, at their audacity, and at their declaration that they would take away the child that she had made with her love.
Her love, who was now their king.
"You bastards!" she growled, prompting a deathly silence to take over the room. "You'll never have my baby! The king, my husband, will have both your heads for this, and then you'll be left headless as well as heirless!"
For a virtually endless minute, Lord and Lady Carlisle stood opposite to her, eyes wide open in shock. Had someone dropped a bodkin, the noise would have echoed all over the house.
"Did Her Majesty the Slut just talk back again?"
Lord Carlisle's voice was even and soft, but the threat in his words was clean-cut. C.C. could feel her muscles tensing up – definitely her flight instinct, which she'd trained tirelessly since she'd been at the house – and her heartbeat speeding up.
She knew she stood no chance at getting up and outrunning the Earl, nor was she strong enough to fight him off, but she stood her ground (metaphorically speaking).
She was Queen of England, and she was going to uphold the long, proud line by being as strong as any of her predecessors.
Even as the man stalked towards her.
"I am your queen now," she tried to say it without letting her lip tremble. "Scum like you have no right to tell me that I shouldn't talk whenever I like!"
"You're no queen," Lady Carlisle snarled. "You're a disgusting, unworthy wench!"
"And you know what happens to disgusting, unworthy wenches who talk back, don't you?" he asked threateningly. "My dearest darling wife, we know what happens, don't we?"
Lady Carlisle grinned, "We certainly do know, my love."
C.C. held still, trying not to swallow. She couldn't cry, or show that she was afraid at all. That would only earn her a worse punishment.
Worse than what was about to happen, and that was saying something.
He was close enough now to do what he wanted.
"Yes...they get their beatings!" Carlisle snarled, lashing out with his hand.
His palm caught C.C. across her face, causing her to cry out. When she weakly felt around the area, it felt delicate, like the skin was already bruising.
She might've even had a cut there, on her lip...
She whimpered at the pain, but she didn't have time to recover before the next blow came to her other cheek.
That one, though not as hard, still almost knocked her sideways onto her bed. It was probably what Carlisle was after.
"You're lucky I only did it twice," the Earl snarled at her. "Talk back to me again, Your Majesty, and it'll be more."
Catching her breath back, C.C. lifted her head and looked Carlisle defiantly in the eyes, "You...are the kind of snakes that my husband will have killed every day."
She knew it would have consequences. It always did. But she did it anyway – she wasn't going to let them break her will, in place of a body they needed in good working order.
It had to fight harder, knowing it was protecting her baby growing inside her as well...
And the Earl was soon trying his hardest to snap that will in two – his hand stung as it slapped her, all the way across her arms and legs, careful only to avoid her belly, darkening some old bruises and creating some fresh ones. She closed her ears to his screamed abuse, his wife's shrieking jeers, even the sound of her own cries of pain...
But some of the jeers did still stand out, and they were coming from the woman mocking her as she was beaten.
"Is that a ring on your finger?! You won't be needing that anymore, will you...?!"
C.C. felt her eyes widen without even meaning to, as her heart started to speed up for a completely different fear. Her engagement ring! She'd reasoned with herself that it would be safer on her person than if she'd tried to hide it somewhere in the room – maybe because she'd been overwhelmed by the idea of taking it off, or because she wanted to have something Niles gave her close by. She didn't know anymore. She didn't care.
All that currently mattered was pulling her hand out the way as Lady Carlisle swooped down to rip it from her finger.
"This ring is worth more than your entire estate!" C.C. screeched.
Unwisely. For as much as the ring was worth the world to her, Lord Carlisle was happy to land another blow to her face as payment, just in time for his wife to pin C.C.' arm down and take the ring by force. Lady Carlisle pocketed the ring, thinking of it as nothing more than a pretty trinket, and let her husband continue to punish their prisoner.
And C.C. felt her heart shatter, as the ring – the symbol of the promise she had made to the love of her life – was snatched away. Gone. Just like she and the baby would be from him, if nothing was done.
The pain didn't stop when it was finally over, either. She felt like she'd been burned all over, and she couldn't muster enough strength to even reach for the cup of water on her bedside table.
She had to watch from the bed as the couple left the room and locked the door, laughing all the way. They were even discussing baby names, doing it loudly enough to break her heart all over again...
Tears pricked at her eyes, and she didn't stop them from coming. They spilled out over her cheeks and dripped onto the sheets as she hung her head and started to sob.
They couldn't have her baby...they couldn't...!
They had to be punished – Niles had to come and take her and the baby away, long before they could complete their plan. He just had to…
When she eventually found enough strength to move, all she could use it to do was roll over slightly, to curl up with her belly facing away from the door.
It was about as much protection as it would get. Between her hand, the mattress and the cool air close to the window, there was some comfort. At least, C.C. liked to think there was.
There would be more, if her husband's arms were around her at that moment.
She knew he was searching – every noble house in the kingdom would get looked at. He had to be on his way, and he had to find them.
She could only hope that he got there before it was all too late.