Chapter 2The General's Debt

I shielded my belly with my arm. “It’s nothing, my lord. Let us sleep.”

“Pay no mind to the gossip you hear outside these walls,” he said, his voice tight. “You are the only lady of this house. There is no substitute.”

“I swore to you, for all my life, you and you alone! What is this madness that has seized you tonight?”

His voice rose, though I could not tell if he was trying to convince me or himself.

I closed my eyes and said nothing. Kaelan, his interest lost, rose and moved to the chaise lounge across the room.

After that night, he began to give me the silent treatment. Three days passed, and he did not set foot in my chambers.

My maid, Bria, was worried. “My lady, why not tell the General of your pregnancy? With a child, he would surely not bear to be angry with you.”

I took Bria’s hand. “Bria, I once saved you from being sold to a brothel by slavers. You said you would repay me.”

“I am asking you now. This matter, whatever happens, you must not reveal it to the General or anyone else.”

Given my condition, this child was a miracle. If I lost it, a second miracle would not come.

Bria knelt, her eyes resolute. “Bria swore to serve you until death, my lady. My lips are sealed.”

…

On the day I was to visit my parents’ graves, the carriage, halfway to its destination, suddenly turned around.

I drew back the curtain to see Kaelan blocking the road, his expression one of weary resignation. “Alright, I was wrong, Karen. Please, don’t be angry anymore.”

“What is it you require, my lord?”

Seeing that I was not yielding, that I had reverted to the formal title, Kaelan’s face hardened in disbelief. When we had first married, I had always called him ‘Lord General.’ It was he who had coaxed me, time and again, to finally call him by his name, to call him my husband. My use of his title now was a clear sign I would not forgive him.

“Karen, it was just the idle whispers of common folk, meant to drive a wedge between us! I have already admitted my fault! If you continue to cling to this, and word reaches the palace, how is the Queen to feel?”

So, it was for Lirael again.

A sharp pain lanced through my heart. I lowered my lashes to hide my expression.

“What is it you require, my lord?”

At that, Kaelan lost his patience.

“The Queen has suffered a miscarriage and is lost in grief. Today is the Autumn Moon banquet. You will accompany me to the palace and comfort Her Majesty.”

The King’s favor was a fleeting thing. Even Lirael, once the shining moon of his desires, had now become common as bread. Her child had been lost to the scheming of a favored concubine, and the King had done nothing.

Kaelan, unaware of my own pregnancy, now wanted to use my barrenness—my pain—to soothe Lirael.

But it was Lirael herself who had forced the poison down my throat.

Even after hearing of his devotion to her, I never imagined he could be so cruelly absurd.

I clutched my stomach, refusing to go, my heart set on visiting my parents’ graves. But Kaelan accused me of being insensible.

“Your parents are dead! How can the affairs of the dead be more important than the living? Besides, they were commoners. The business of the Crown is what truly matters!”

Ignoring my wishes, he ordered the driver to turn the carriage around and galloped toward the palace, not forgetting to toss a few placating words my way.

“After the banquet, I will come back with you to pay respects to your parents.”

I was powerless to stop him.

The carriage swayed and jolted. By the time we arrived at the palace, I stumbled out and could not help but retch a few times.

“The carriage was a little fast, that’s all. Why are you so delicate? Hurry now, we mustn’t keep the Queen waiting.”

Kaelan’s thoughts were already with Lirael. He urged me on impatiently.

My face was pale, my body trembling with discomfort. Leaning on Bria, I forced myself through the palace gates.

The banquet was split in two, the Queen and the ladies of the court on one side, the King and his lords on the other. The dishes were exquisite, and at the forefront was a platter of golden-scale trout.

“This trout was a gift from the Duke of the Southern Shires. You must all try some,” the Queen announced.

The fish before me was tender and succulent, but the smell was overwhelming. I retched again, unable to stop myself.

Heads turned in my direction.

“Lady Karen,” one of the ladies near me whispered, “could you be with child?”

“Of course not,” I said, picking up a piece of fish to prove my point. But the scent hit me again, and I began to vomit uncontrollably. Now, everyone was staring.

“Guards! Summon the royal physician for me!” the Queen commanded, her eyes boring into me. She muttered to herself, “Impossible! I poured the whole draught down your throat myself. How could you possibly be pregnant?”

The physician arrived with terrifying speed. Before I could think of an escape, my pregnancy was exposed. I cursed my own frail body, unable to even conceal the sickness of early motherhood.

“Why?” the Queen hissed, her gaze fixed venomously on my belly. “Why is my child gone, while you are allowed to have one?”

“Lady Karen’s condition is a joyous occasion,” she said, her voice turning syrupy sweet. “Someone, bring that bowl of chilled crab soup and present it to Lady Karen as a gift.”