Page 16 of Caroline the Cruel
Caroline took her last bite and placed her fork down on her plate, followed by the napkin in her lap. Johnneth stepped forward to pull out her chair, even offering her a hand which she took, sparing him the embarrassment of rejection.
”Is there anything else I can offer you, Your Majesty? How about a nightcap and some interesting conversation, somewhere we can speak,” Hastings said, glancing at Johnneth, “in private?”
Caroline stood, yawning. “As much fun as that sounds, Lord Hastings, we need to be off early in the morning. Sleep is what I really need right now.”
As she passed, she ran her nails teasingly across Hastings’ scalp, and the man shut his eyes on an inhale. His napkin was clenched in his hand, like he was fighting the urge to jump up and follow the queen. Johnneth was beginning to understand the feeling.
He lingered in the hallway after Caroline went upstairs, agreeing with Hastings that the queen technically was safe in the manor. The Lord stepped through the door into the dimly lit space and Johnneth stepped in front of him. “You need to back off,” Johnneth said, a little too firmly as he poked a finger at the other man’s chest.
“She’s quite mesmerizing, isn’t she? A true prize.” Hastings sighed, nonplussed that he was being threatened by the queen’s personal guard. He scanned the stuffed beasts that lined the walls of the hallway, his trophies. What he wanted to make Caroline. “I’ve known the queen a lot longer than you, specialist. I was her first, and I’ll be her last. She just needed to get a few years of fun out of her system. She’s still so very young. And soon enough, I expect you’ll disappear like her other missing guards, and I’ll be here when she’s ready to settle down.”
Bloody, messy, deadly red flashed across his vision. Was he shaking? He was indeed shaking. Get it together. He took a long breath to slow his pulse. To calm the Gods’ blessed blood roaring in his veins that occasionally turned him more animal than man.
“I may not know her that well, but even I can see she is far too good for you. So do as I say and back off.” Johnneth turned, not waiting for a response before he stormed away. What was he going to say?If anyone hurts her, it’s going to be me. Because that is what he was here for.
He stepped inside the queen’s room without knocking and shut the door a little too firmly. “What do you see in him?” The question was inappropriate, but he didn’t care.
Caroline, now clad in a silky hunter green nightgown and a matching thin robe, flicked her gaze to him. “At the moment, the owner of a convenient place to stay.”
“You let him speak to you that way?”
Caroline snorted. “Hastings is harmless.” Her eyes scanned over him then widened. “Oh, you threatened our host?”
Johnneth didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer, so he averted his gaze.
“I know you feel protective, and I appreciate that, but you can’t go around threatening every man who comes onto me. Trust me, I can handle them.”
“But you flirted with him, and that will only encourage the behavior. Do you know he thinks he’s going to marry you?” He gave her a pleading look.
“This seems a little outside of your scope of work.” Caroline raised an eyebrow at him and slipped out of the robe. She laughed as she climbed into the plush bed, and he frowned. Sitting up, she regarded him. Counting off fingers on her hand she got to eight, then she held them up for him. “That’s how many times he’s proposed, and I’ve rejected him. Hastings would never hurt me. We’re old friends now.”
“He mentioned that,” Johnneth grumbled, understanding her implication. Unsure of why that information gave him such a queasy stomach.
“What’s this about, Johnneth?”
It was a good question. What was this about? He ran his hand across his buzzed hair. “I don’t know. I don’t like it. I don’t like him and the way he looks at you, the way he speaks to you, like he thinks he could own you like one of those disgusting trophies.” He shook his head, but straightened, squaring his shoulders. “You’re right. It’s not my job and I’ll mind my business. I know you can take care of yourself.”
Caroline didn’t reply. She nestled down between the blankets, letting her assessing eyes rest on him for a long moment before they slipped closed.
Chapter 4
Johnnethsurveyedthemembersof the escort gathered in the manor’s courtyard early the next morning, including the armor-clad queen. And of course, Hastings was there, lingering at Caroline’s side. “I’d be honored if you stayed on your return, Your Majesty. Perhaps we could spend more time together. I could offer you a glimpse of the enjoyment a real man can provide.”
“Yes, perhaps,” she said, patting him on the chest, but her eyes strayed elsewhere, distracted. She accounted for the ten guards, then settled on him and he could have sworn her shoulders lowered a smidge. “Oh, good. Let’s go,” she said. “I’m eager to get to the vineyard.”
Hastings leaned in to embrace her, but Johnneth stepped between them holding out his hand to the other man. “Appreciate the hospitality,” he said, forcing the words out. Hastings gave him a brief shake and a sneer and stepped around him to follow the queen who was poised to mount her stallion.
The man was blatantly ignoring Johnneth’s warning. Hastings’ hands went forward to assist the queen and Johnneth didn’t even try to stop himself from clamping a hand down on the Lord’s shoulder tugging him backward. “Her Majesty doesn’t need your help.”
“You should take your own advice,” Hastings said, jerking his shoulder out of Johnneth’s grip.
“I would think eight failed proposals would be a clear enough message, but you don’t strike me as perceptive so let me help you out, buddy. She doesn’t want you. Get it now?” he said, keeping his voice low.
Hastings blanched, then shot a short, pained glance at the queen like he was shocked she’d shared as much with him. Good. He deserved the embarrassment for his presumptuousness. Hastings didn’t step forward again, instead bowing low. “Send word if I can be of service, Your Majesty. I’ll be ready and waiting.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, turned and strode back into the manor.
“What did you say to him, Specialist Althorpe?” the queen asked, narrowing her gaze in Johnneth’s direction.
“Nothing he didn’t need to hear. So, about these laborers?” he asked, changing the subject as they trotted away, Galloway Manor fading behind them in the distance. He tried to keep his voice neutral, curious even.
