The Coup

Page 9

Dawes sent the letters out first thing the next morning. I had done little but think about what the letters might bring back in answer and the condition I was in. While progress had been made since Tyne had taken the throne there was still much to do. I ate my lunch alone since Dawes was busily seeing to the switch out of men. Sitting in my chair before the fire I suddenly felt my stomach roll.

"Oh no, not this. I had hoped so much not to have to deal with this." But my sotto voce plea didn't help. I lunged from my chair and gave back my lunch into a pail used to collect the ashes from the fire. I felt hands on my back and knew only one man who would dare to touch me without permission. A weathered hand appeared and wiped my face with a piece of cloth when I stopped heaving. He helped me back to my seat and then got me a glass of wine to settle me stomach.

"Feel better?" He asked after a couple sips.

"Yes. thank you."

"Did your lunch not sit right?"

"Must not have." I agreed but new that this was only the first time and I was going to have to tell him now. "Anything new?" I asked.

"No, we should get a new batch of letters this evening when the messenger arrives. That should let us know if Neil will be behind us. If he is then our position is that much stronger."

"That's good." He took his seat but was still watching me closely.

"You look pale, maybe you should get some rest."

"I probably should, but there's something I must talk to you about first." He raised an eyebrow and waited. "There's no easy way to say this so I'll just, out with it. I'm with child." I saw his eyes go wide. After a moment he cleared his throat.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So, that was..." He indicated the pail.

"Morning sickness. I'd hoped to avoid it but it seems to have found me." I waited to see his reaction but he just sat there unmoving. "Surely you have something to say about this."

"To be honest I'm not sure what to say. If you've had no lover since leaving the capital then Tyne is the father."

"Of course I haven't had a lover. I've a kingdom to take back. That takes time. Enough time that I don't have any to think about personal pursuits." I stood and stalked over to the table. The nerve of him. What did he think I seduced the guards to my bed when he wasn't around.

"I didn't want to assume." His voice came from just behind me. I turned around and glared at him.

"Why not, you are with me more hours out of the day then not. I couldn't have snuck a lover into the castle and kept him right under your nose without you realizing he was here. For god sake." I stalked away. It annoyed me that he wasn't using his brain. He was usually very quick about things but on this he was definitely behind the curve. "With this comes a lot of troubles. If Tyne finds out about it he will intensify his search for me. There won't be a way to hide it much longer. It might turn people from him if they knew what he'd done to me. If he found me first he could force me to marry him, though I'd kill him if he tried. His father would no doubt be happy to have me marry his son and confirm our child as the next heir. Them having a firmer hand on the throne is a bad idea. Though it would prevent further civil war if I just handed myself over to him."

"Over my dead body does he get his hands on you." I turned at the vehemence in his voice. "It'll be hard to keep ahead of him if he intensifies his search. If you go gallivanting to visit our neighbors the chances of him getting to you go up drastically."