Chapter 33
Prudence huffed out a breath as she stomped her way over the uneven path, hauling her basket along beside her with a growing resentment that made her want to throw the godforsaken thing into the nearest brush, let the woman who owned the stupid night dresses go hunting for them herself, and then go back to a warm fire and a bowl of leftover stew.
She'd be keeping that image in her head the whole way there. If it weren't for the fact that she was being paid to wash clothes for these people – as well as anybody around who could afford her price – she wouldn't have considered any of it worth bothering about.
Not to get her wrong, she knew that on this particular occasion she was serving two God-fearing Christians who had earned what they had in life, but...well, her life was still at the bottom of the gutter, and that burned inside her every day! What had she done, other than her duty, that had caused her to end up living in some miserable little room at the back of a tavern, paying in most of what she earned simply to keep that hovel-like roof over her head (complete with its one redeeming feature - the warm fire), spending the rest on scraps of food and having to beg bowls of second-rate stew from the landlord in exchange for washing his clothes for free?!
The only step below that would be sleeping in the stable, and even then, the smell would be the same!
It made her sniff unpleasantly to even think about it. The other women at the wash house all had bright, clean homes to go to, at the end of the day. And they'd been nothing but washerwomen their whole lives – they hadn't seen, done or earned half the things that Prudence had, and yet she got less?!
It wasn't fair. And it was all that Babcock slut's fault!
The washerwoman kicked a pebble, which skittered across the ground before it bounced off the road's milestone. She only wished that it could've been the girl's head she was kicking in...
Wherever she was, Prudence hoped someone was doing the honours for her.
She'd been careful to listen in on all the gossip, from the women she worked with to the travellers and tradesmen that passed through the town. She hadn't been able to believe her luck, either, when she'd heard that the girl had gone missing! While all the others had gathered together in their little group to mutter and fuss over what could've happened to "the poor dear", she'd kept on working to herself, smirking all the while.
There was no "poor dear" in that conversation, only deluded peasant women crying over a whore they'd never met! It would've sickened Prudence to see them cluck like the worst sort of hens over a glorified prostitute, if the whole situation hadn't been so laughable in the first place!
The night she'd heard, the leftover stew had tasted all the sweeter. And she'd gone to bed imagining that the bitch would be gone soon, having met a long, painful end.
It was a thought that brought her some comfort, as she turned up towards the Carlisles' estate.
The Earl was not known for being patient – she could only assume that was why he'd called for the night dresses so suddenly – and he'd probably admonish her for being late, but Prudence could happily keep the image of the Slut Queen breathing her last and let it brush off like water off a duck's back.
Besides, it would be over in a matter of moments, anyway. The Earl was a busy man and he had more important things to attend to than his wife's laundry!
With that, and a much nicer set of thoughts in mind, Prudence went to the back door and knocked, waiting as patiently as she was able until one of the kitchen maids let her in.
After giving the girl a dirty look for having kept her waiting (though she needn't have bothered – the creature looked admonished enough by something), she let the maid point her in the direction of where the order was wanted and made her way into the house, ignoring the men gathered in the hall and by the stairs. She didn't have time to stop and look – besides, the Earl sent men out to do his bidding often; why should she treat something so mundane as special?
The king had, and look at where that had gotten him!
If only they had more men in charge like his lord father, King Joseph...none of this would've happened, had he still been alive!
Prudence would still have her comfortable position at the palace, for one thing...
But she didn't, and she was just going to have to lump it, until she could change everything...
She eventually came to what she had been told was the correct door, but she didn't bother to wait after knocking before opening it. The Earl and Countess would be waiting and she wasn't about to hold them up!
"Apologies for the tardiness, my lord, but I was–you!"
Her surprised yelp was immediately followed by the sound of a basket of fresh, dry laundry thudding to the ground and tipping over, and the sound of babies starting to stir, disturbed by the noise.
Niles...King Niles, Prudence reminded herself, was sat up in the bed, next to...to that slut that had gone missing! Missing no more, as she cradled and fed not one, but two little creatures at her breast!
The laundry was forgotten in an instant by Prudence. How could she possibly focus on anything other than the nightmarish scene she had just walked in on?! Since when had the slut been found?! Since when had she given birth to two little bastards that the king would declare legitimate, no matter how much of an unworthy whore their mother was?!
Neither party knew who should be more surprised at that point. Niles (who had jolted upright in surprise at the sound of the knock) and C.C. (who hadn't been able to do anything apart from look from her position in bed when someone had entered), to see the maid they'd had dismissed for her rudeness, arrogance and haughtiness...
Or, again, Prudence, who was still confused, shocked and incensed to see the king who had thrown her out of the palace, alongside the "queen" that she had hoped would have disappeared forever by now!
How the hell had either of them ended up here?! What was that little whore doing in the best guest bed the Carlisles owned, alongside the man she had not earned?! She deserved to be lying dead in a ditch somewhere, the letter A branded painfully into every part of her body, not comfortable and warm in a bed she did not own and was not invited into (though, as a whore, she would've been invited into many)!
Especially not alongside those two little bastards the king had put in her!
Why did there have to be two?! Why had she even been blessed with one?! Two meant there were two possible heirs, and a strong line created by a whore! They were going to be the laughingstock of Europe, and nothing could stop that from happening now!
And with that thing for a mother, it was probably no wonder that they screamed!
Prudence might've heard all the rumours and the stories about what had been going on, but she had never imagined it would come here. She'd thought the king's quest was pointless. She'd thought the little slut long dead, and she had been happy about it. It meant His Majesty would have to look for a respectable royal bride, and forget all about the whore he'd gotten knocked up before she'd been taken away.
Prudence had gone to sleep at night happy in the knowledge that she had outlived the bitch who had ruined her life. But all of that had changed in an instant; with the mere opening of a door.
"What are you doing here?!" the king demanded of her, looking down at her dropped basket quickly before snapping his eyes back to her. "Does your new employer know the reason you were made to leave our service?!"
"Our" service. He said that as though he expected her to acknowledge the whore for anything else!
Prudence would never do that. While there was still breath in her body, she'd only ever see that slut as she was; tarnishing the name and reputation of the family she had no place being a member of, and instead of fleur de lis, the crown she wore had prongs shaped like men's–
"Answer me, woman!" the king snapped, dragging her back in. "I did not hesitate to throw you from my palace, I can turn you from this house just as easily!"
Feeling the heat of anger start to rise at the mere mention of her disgrace, Prudence screwed up her face into a grimace. She knew she had no choice but to tell, but it didn't mean that she had to like it.
"I wasn't about to spoil my own chances of putting food in my belly, was I? They know I worked at the palace before, that's all they have to know!"
They didn't have to know anything about what had happened before. But, if they somehow found out, she had been doing the country a service, standing up against the slut that was trying to elbow her way in where she didn't belong.
She had practically tried to save the king, by telling her all those things she had! She deserved to be lauded and honoured, but thanks to the little cow surviving to hold the king in thrall still, she was forced to hide what she'd done!
If the whore wasn't alive and everybody had forgotten and moved on, she'd be able to happily tell everyone. She might have even gotten a promotion in the royal household, or at least a pay rise!
She should have never accepted the little slut into service. She should have seen her intentions the moment she'd stepped a foot into the palace! She'd pretended to be this sad, demure lady when she was nothing but a filthy prostitute looking to climb her way up the social ladder. She had fooled the King and Queen Mother, but she didn't fool Prudence – she saw her for who she was!
She had been so hopeful of her being gone for good…
But no, the King just had to have his whore – her grip on the obviously weak-willed King was as strong as it ever was. And now that she'd birthed those two ugly runts, she had cemented her position as Queen. She'd sunken her claws in too deep.
But the King clearly wasn't done with Prudence – that much was obvious by the glare he was giving her.
"I could easily imprison you for withholding the truth – even better, I could have you lashed," the King said. "So if you do not wish for any of that to happen, you will make yourself scarce in the next minute or so."
"What about my wages?" Prudence snapped. "I have spent hours washing these clothes and I expect to be paid for it!"
She was well within her rights to demand her wages. She knew that as well as anybody! His Majesty – and it was really a pity at this point that this blind, pathetic, libido-driven fool was His Majesty – couldn't stop her from getting what was rightfully hers!
The master or mistress of the house usually provided it, and if she knew them as well as she thought she did, they'd want to make a show of their wealth in person, by paying her in front of their apparent "guests". The further up they could show off how much money they had, the better, and they couldn't get further up than the king himself!
The triumph coursing through her body felt glorious. As soon as she'd seen either Lord or Lady Carlisle and had gotten her payment, she would say a cheerful and well-deserved farewell to His Royal Blindness and the whore he'd thrown away an entire country's reputation for.
But, even as she stood there, waiting for them to roll their eyes (what a moment that would be!) and call a maid to call for the Carlisles, the king began to laugh.
Prudence felt a slight sense of dread coming over her at his reaction, her smile starting to slip.
Why was he so amused?
Shouldn't he have been storming along, leaving his slut in the bed with their two little bastards, to go get the lord or lady of the house...?
"Well, you are going to be waiting a long time, you old hag! There are no lords or ladies of the house here to pay you!" he declared in eventual reply. "I had the Howards – the former Lord and Lady Carlisle – stripped of their titles and arrested for high treason, when I discovered that they had been holding my beloved wife, your queen, hostage!"
If Prudence's face could have fallen any further, it would have been on the floor, along with all of her organs, which suddenly seemed to have dropped out.
The...the Carlisles...they were gone?!
The washerwoman stumbled, nearly tripping on the basket and bundled-up nightdresses that she had forgotten.
Her basket didn't matter so much now, anyway, did it? The Carlisles were the ones who paid most for washing around there, because their estate was bigger, but if they weren't there anymore, where would she get the coin she needed to keep her room?!
She'd end up sleeping on the floor of the wash house, at that rate! Keeping herself alive with the occasional sixpence, rationing bread and doing more laundry for free, simply to make ends meet!
She'd promised herself that she'd never do more free laundry than she had to, from the moment she'd first had to wash her landlord's...underthings...but now what choice would she have?! Even if the people she'd be doing this for would've stepped out of her way once, for knowing that she worked at the palace, the scum wouldn't care about that now!
She could scarcely believe any of it, and the idea of it all being one long nightmare leapt back into her mind. But as much as she acknowledged it, it did her no good – there was nothing to wake up from, try as hard as she might!
Lord and Lady Carlisle...marked as traitors! They weren't the lord and lady of this great house anymore...it had been taken from them and they had been taken away to face an unfair trial!
They'd obviously be put to agonising, miserable deaths, too, and for what? Some slut that had managed to wind herself around the current king, blinding him to what was good and noble and decent, and gripping on for dear life like weeds that choked rose bushes?!
That whore was going to have a say (the ultimate say, once she'd opened her legs for the king!) in who lived and who died, and it had rendered Prudence near speechless!
"I...I don't...! How could you have...?!"
That was probably the wrong thing to say, because before she knew it, the king was on his feet and closing in on her, eyes blazing and teeth bared.
She'd stepped on the whore's dog's tail, and he was rabid.
"What the hell did you just say?!" he barked at her. "You dare question my authority and my ability to judge character?!"
Had Prudence been a brave woman – had she truly and really had the guts to stand up for her beliefs, she would have replied that, yes, she questioned his authority and ability to judge people's character. She would have told him that he was a weak king that cowered behind the skirts of a lesser woman. She would have told him that England was doomed because of him.
But Prudence wasn't brave.
She wasn't noble at heart. She was but a coward, and she valued her physical integrity far too much to even consider speaking her mind. She was on the losing end here.
"I didn't say that, my lord!" she cried out. "I...I merely don't understand how you could turn your back on two God-fearing, loyal servants such as Lord and Lady Carlisle!"
The king who'd given up his entire country for the Whore of Babylon's desecrated chapel of ease stared her down, gaze hardening until his eyes became stone.
No. Somehow, they became even harder and colder than that, freezing over into ice that no spring nor summer could thaw.
""Loyal"?!" he snarled, fists curling up and clenching in anger at the very presumption! "You dare to term those traitors loyal to their king, when they held my pregnant wife – their queen and yours – with the intention of stealing our children once they were born, and murdering my wife after the birth?!"
Even the thought of what the Carlisles had been planning to do still set off his rage like rapid, continual cannon fire! And then this cow had just sauntered back into their lives, apparently ready to make it ten times worse for everybody involved!
She was only truly succeeding at making it worse for herself. Especially in terming the Carlisles as she had! "God-fearing"? If those two had even taken so much as a second to think that their deeds might have repercussions - both here on Earth and in the afterlife - then they might've feared God enough to stop themselves from committing evil acts!
And as for "loyal"...well, Niles had seen more loyal rats in the palace kitchens, always taking the same spots for grains and other dropped morsels. The rat had to be self-serving; they lived in a world where you would either live or die, and sometimes underhanded tricks meant survival.
They couldn't have been less loyal, and now they were going to pay the price for their dishonesty!
And speaking of dishonesty, Niles had yet to find out who was the rat who'd given them u–
Prudence! Niles remembered that, right before he'd kicked the disgraced maid to the curb, he had confessed to her that he and C.C. would be getting married! She'd then been dragged out onto the street by one of his guards, all while screaming abuse at them!
For all he knew, the scheming maid might have been the one to go to his father in order to satiate her thirst for vengeance! She had plenty of reasons, and she probably thought she'd be rewarded for her "services". She'd clearly known nothing about Joseph's nature – the former king never gave anything back, not even if he'd gained something from the other person.
"Maybe you support them because you are responsible for my wife's grievances in the first place!" the King barked, covering the distance between the washerwoman and himself in three long strides. "You gave us up! You told my father of our marriage after my wife and I ended your employment!"
Prudence wanted to scowl, and say how much she wished she was the person who'd exposed their little scheme to King Joseph. She might be in a better position than she was now; she might've been given better pay, or larger quarters...one thing was for sure, she'd be getting more respect than the locals gave her.
Ignorant country bumpkins and barbarians, the lot of them.
But she felt as though she might be in even more trouble if she attempted to suddenly grow a spine. Even if she hadn't been the one to tell on the king and his (now unfortunately legal) whore, she'd still be punished for talking back to him like that. Whether it was a few days in the stocks, or even in prison, she didn't want to risk such a thing.
She didn't think she'd survive the humiliation of the former, or just survive in general if it was the latter!
And all she could think to do in that situation of panic, apart from maybe scurry away like a rodent before he could catch her, was to do the very next best thing non-noble, actually quite underhanded people would do in that situation.
Deflect the blame onto someone else entirely.
"N-No, my lord!" she protested, attempting to shrink and make herself look small enough to not be a threat, but to also look helpless and weak. "I never did that! It must've been somebody else – someone with another grudge to bear!"
That left it open enough to interpretation. The king had had practically every maid in the palace, so one of them was bound to have been bitter and jealous that he'd chosen the slut over them...
Not that Prudence knew this, but she'd set the King's mind in motion. Just as he'd been about to threaten the disgraced laundress with a whipping, it had dawned on him that, perhaps, he hadn't been as careful while C.C. as in hiding as he'd thought he'd been. Had he unwittingly let an unwanted intruder in on their secret? If so, when had it happened? He didn't really remember having even mentioned C.C.'s name in court, back when she was in hiding. He hadn't spoken to anyone about her, save their loyal (and sadly departed) servants, Laurens, Potts and his moth–
Niles could suddenly feel every one of his organs collapsing in on themselves until they were nothing but an indistinct pile of flesh-coloured mush. The memory seemed as clear as day in his mind – almost offensively clear, so much so that Niles wondered how he hadn't thought about it before, as well as making him want to bang his bloody face against the wall for having been so stupid.
Back when he and C.C. had first found out they were expecting, Niles had gone to court to tell his own mother about the happy news. He'd been so excited at the prospect of starting a family with his wife that he'd gone against his better judgement and breeched the topic at court, the one place where he'd promised himself (and his beloved) that he wouldn't mention their plan. He'd thought that his mother's quarters were safe, but clearly he'd been wrong.
How could he have been so stupid, letting his guard down like that?! He should've known better than anyone that anybody could be listening in on any part of that place, at any time!
Whomever had done it, they'd probably heard the whole thing, too! And seen! He'd been such a fool that he hadn't even remembered to remove his wedding ring that day, until his mother had reminded him! He'd pocketed the little thing in a flash, but what if that hadn't been enough?!
The king felt the sludge that was once his organs starting to dissolve. He'd done this. He'd given these bastards all the information they'd needed to get to C.C.! Even trying to hide it in French hadn't been enough – someone in the palace clearly spoke the language, rendering the tactic he'd once thought so clever utterly useless!
They would've gotten an accurate report on everything, which would've then of course gone straight back to his father!
But he couldn't wallow in his own misery just yet. That would come later, once he'd spoken to C.C. about what they could gather from what they knew.
And all they had to go on was that they were most likely a servant, given that they could get around without being seen, they had an obvious grudge against C.C. and they could understand French...
That couldn't be too hard to pinpoint, could it? There couldn't be many who spoke another language...
And there couldn't have been many who would so happily put down and abuse his beloved, either. She couldn't have had many people bearing grudges against her...! Not when she was the most wonderful woman on the face of Earth, in his eyes.
Still, investigating would come later. For now, he had one pest that needed urgent taking care of so that it wouldn't continue to darken their doorstep for one more second!
Niles glared down at the shaking maid – the bitch was trying to make herself look weak and helpless, probably in an attempt to shoo away the shadow of doubt that had been cast over her. The gesture only spoke of cowardice, and there were few things Niles hated more than cowards.
"You are disgusting," he spat at her, "and a coward. Now get out oy my sight before I throw you in jail."
Prudence didn't need to be told twice. She might've still wanted the pay that she clearly wasn't getting out of the king, but she knew better than to risk any more by demanding it from him again.
Besides, she thought she might be able to ask one of the guards or servants or some such about that. If the king refused her honest work (ironic, considering he would never refuse a woman's dishonest work as long as it benefited him), then she'd find someone who'd give her what she was owed. They hadn't heard what had gone on upstairs - she'd probably be able to get a few shillings out of them and be off before anybody noticed.
Then, as she scrambled out, not caring about the laundry getting dirty on the floor as she dragged her feet through several of them, she hoped that the next couple to own this house would have less to do with the king and his filthy slut of a queen.
And that they had a lot of laundry to do, to make up for the pay she'd be losing!
She slammed the door behind her, and Niles only stopped glaring at the wood once he knew it was not only shut, but also that Prudence hadn't lingered behind it to listen in on any conversations he and his beloved had afterwards. The woman was an absolute sneak, so he wouldn't put it past her.
But, perhaps a little bit to his surprise but also much to his satisfaction, all he heard on the other side of the door when he approached was the sound of hastily retreating footsteps, heading in the direction of the stairs.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, he thought. They could be left in peace, now that she was gone.
Well, as much peace as his mind would allow. He turned and started to make his way back to bed, but his mind was rapidly brimming with questions.
Who had found out what he'd said? Why had they turned them in? Where were they now – did they even still work at the palace? How would he find them and deal with them if they didn't?
But, most importantly of all, how could he have been so stupid?! He'd practically given his beloved away, in his own carelessness!
It was his fault they were there, instead of being tucked up in their own bed at the palace. It was his fault his beloved had been taken away, strapped down and tormented as she had been in labour.
It would've been his fault, too, had he arrived too late...
He didn't know how she could stand to look at him, as he got back into bed. The twins were starting to calm back down, now that the loud noises were over, but now it was their father's turn to feel like starting to cry. He didn't, but it was difficult to look at C.C. without his chest hurting like he'd been hit by a cannonball.
How was he going to make up for what he had done? He didn't know, but he had to at least try and start, if he ever wanted the pain to subside.
"I'm sorry," he managed to get out, though it was half-whispered. "I did this to you...I obviously wasn't careful enough when I told my mother the news! I did everything – or, I thought I had! We were in a private room, having a quiet conversation in French! But it doesn't even matter, I still got us found out–"
C.C. shushed him, interrupting his apology.
"It wasn't your fault, lover. You thought you were having a private conversation with your mother. And, as you said, you did everything you could to make it stay private," she said, her voice firm but somehow so kind and warm it was also soft. "You couldn't have known that someone would spy on you – particularly somebody who'd know French!"
Niles tried to protest, "But I should've–"
"You did everything you could," came his wife's reply. "And we are here. You stopped everything, and now our twins are your reward."
The king felt his insides melt, and he wondered what he had done to deserve such a loving, forgiving wife. Not even forgiving - just good. So good, she didn't even feel he needed forgiving! And she seemed to not want to hear a word of it, even if he had a thousand apologies on his lips, ready for her to hear.
He'd have them ready for whenever she wanted them, if she ever did.
"You are my reward," he told her, coming in close and snuggling up, kissing the side of her head and staring down adoringly at the little bundles in her arms. "And our children are a blessing."
C.C. smiled up at him, "They certainly are. So, what do you say if we just relax and enjoy them now?"
Niles liked the sound of that very much. He cuddled up even closer than before, helping to take the weight of one of the children in his arms, while slipping the other around his wife.
His wife. His love, whom he'd imagined he'd never see again, but had now just given him two little miracles...
This was the start of their family, he thought. The first few days where they would learn what it was to be parents, all while ruling a kingdom at the same time.
It hadn't come about as he'd thought it might, but he was still too busy thanking God for the opportunity (second chance) that he didn't fully care. The demons who had tried to take her from him permanently would be dealt with, as would the treacherous filth who had given them away. His father was no longer a problem, so they wouldn't have to worry about his acceptance, either.
They could go home and they could rest, just as families were supposed to do. They'd have the happily ever after that he had promised.
And Niles didn't think he could wait for it to get started.