Chapter Six: Let Me Explain

Geoffrey didn't know how long he'd been asleep. It had been a busy morning, what with bright-eyed Lady Margaery shaking him awake before sunrise to visit the poor children of Flea Bottom, and then a Small Council meeting and a lot of boring talk about wars in the north and the empty treasury.

When the two of them were alone together after lunch, Margaery had playfully suggested a game of billiards up in the north tower. One thing led to another, and somehow the young boy king had found himself making love to laughing, scantily-dressed Margaery on the table itself. That put an end to the game, of course, but afterwards while he was resting on the sofa Geoffrey could hear his cunning consort practicing with her pool cue. Margaery was a marvelous shot. She was very clever with her hands. The soothing sound of balls being sunk soon lulled him into a deep sleep.

What woke him was the tramp of marching feet on the stairs. It sounded like the Gold Cloaks, the royal guard who protected the royal family and the Red Keep from danger.

"There he is," Margaery said, pointing with her pool cue. "Take him!"

"Huh?" Geoffrey didn't understand what was happening. But he didn't like the way the two armored knights marched into the room without permission, or the way they grabbed him by the arms and hauled him roughly to his feet. "I am your king! Do you hear me? Let go of me, I command you!"

"Hush, darling." Margaery slinked over to where the two Gold Cloaks had the frantic boy king pinned up against the wall. With a naughty half-smile, she used the tip of her pool cue to caress Geoffrey's pale and frightened features. "Since you've put a child in my belly, I really don't need you anymore. And you don't need these." Quick as a flash, she rammed the blunt butt end of the pool stick into his groin.

"Curse you!" Geoffrey doubled over in pain, feeling agony in his most sensitive parts. He'd seen this coming, he really had. Lady Margaery had been lying to him all these weeks! Kissing him, flattering him, enticing him into her arms over and over. She had been acting. It had all been a trap.

"Is the ship ready?" Margaery asked, speaking to the smaller of the two Gold Cloaks. His face was very familiar.

"The ship is ready, my lady. A slaver bound for the Iron Islands."

"Up to your old tricks, Ser Jai-Brun?" Geoffrey battled his terror and the agonizing pain that made him want to crumble into Margaery's arms. His twitching features wore a mask of cool indifference. He even managed to wink at the young man in chain mail – the ambitious young man he'd recruited weeks ago in the cellars as his own personal henchman.

"I follow orders, Your Grace." The young knight shrugged. For one horrible moment, Geoffrey wasn't sure which side he was on. But then his sword flashed and his partner fell.

"Bitch!" Geoffrey wrenched the pool cue out of Margaery's clever hands and gave her a good crack on the jaw. There was blood on the floor and she fell right into it, screaming.

"Shut up that noise," Geoffrey said, kicking her not too hard in the ribs. "I'm not going to kill you, sweetheart. I'm going to give you a chance to prove your loyalty." He nodded to Ser Jai-Brun, who was wiping his sword clean on the cloak of his fallen comrade. "Call up six of the boys, on the double."

"No, Geoffrey, no!" Margaery was clutching his knees, begging and pleading, squirming around and getting blood all over her face and her clothes. As usual, her pert breasts were practically falling out of her blouse. "I swear I only wanted to protect my house, and my poor grandmother!"

"And you shall protect them, my dear." Geoffrey motioned for the six heavily armed Gold Cloaks to pin Margaery down on the pool table. Then the boy king personally stripped her blood-soaked garments, leaving her naked and trembling.

"All of you are loyal guardsmen," Geoffrey said, addressing the knights around the table. "But only Ser Jai-Brun has saved my life. The rest of you will watch as he takes his reward. You may find a similar reward if you remain loyal."

"No, Geoffrey, no! Send all these men away and let me talk to you . . . let me explain . . ." Margaery screamed and begged and pleaded with her eyes, struggling to regain her hold on the twisted, evil young king.

"No need to explain, my dear," Geoffrey replied. "You won't be killed for your attempt on my life. You won't even lose your place at my side. You just need to learn what happens to women who scheme behind my back."

Margaery screamed again as Ser Jai-Brun mounted the table and Geoffrey watched with a mad smile on his face.