Page 33 of Caroline the Cruel
“One more, right?” she addressed Angus, who nodded. “Next.”
A burly black-haired man with a thick mustache stormed into the Great Hall, dragging a petite sable haired woman, his fat hand gripped around her bicep.
Caroline raised a single eyebrow. “I would suggest you release her, your wife, is it?”
The man’s upper lip curled up, but he let go of the woman.
“It’s been a long day, so I don’t suggest you try my patience.” Her head drifted toward a rose-vine surrounded window. A raven was perched on the ledge, waiting for an opportunity to inspect the scent of death for a meal.
“By your not-so-subtle behavior, I assume you are the accuser, and she is the accused?”
“That’s right, Your Majesty.” The man sank to his knees, lowering his eyes to the ground.
“Rise and explain.” Caroline leaned forward, resting an elbow on her crossed knees, then her chin on her fist, her other mindlessly rubbed her lower back.
“My wife has a lover. And she refused my advances. That’s how I knew. She’s been visiting another man’s house when I’m not home, so I followed her.”
“Accused, step forward.” The fatigue had settled in Caroline’s voice and the woman obeyed. She scanned the woman. A faded yellow and green mark showed on her cheekbone, and Johnneth could see red marks around the woman’s neck. The queen had seen them, too, because her jaw had clenched as her eyes traveled over them.
“You believed your wife was having an affair, so instead of approaching the crown with your petition for a divorce, you stole my job from me. Is that it? You’ve decided the verdict and punished your wife on my behalf?” Venom was in her gaze toward the man.
“No, Your Majesty, I would never.” He waved his hands in front of his chest as he proclaimed his innocence.
“If you were going to lie about it, you should have at least waited until your wife’s body could no longer tell the truth.” Caroline stood once again and marched down to the woman, stopping when she was a foot from her. Being her personal guard, he again mirrored her coming up feet behind her left shoulder. Only the three of them could hear the hushed conversation.
“Tell me what is going on,” Caroline urged. “Speak freely.”
The woman’s lip trembled, and she fidgeted with a loose lock of her hair. “I was sneaking food to a neighbor. My husband wouldn’t approve of giving our food away, and I didn’t think I’d get caught. See, my neighbor, he’s old and fell. He hurt his back and was having trouble getting around. So, I brought over some ingredients and would cook him lunch. Just soup mostly, and I’d bring bread sometimes, too. But one day, the day Al followed me, my neighbor’s younger son had come while I was there. I didn’t do anything, I swear. We’re both married and he was only checking on his father. But when Al burst through the door—” Tears streaked down her face, and she raised a hand to her throat, hiding the marks.
“I believe you.”
Johnneth struggled to stare straight ahead. The gravity of the queen pulled his head in her direction. She wasn’t compelling the woman, which meant she really did believe her.
“Al, step forward and join your wife,” the queen commanded.
The man confidently strode up to meet Caroline. He raised a justified chin, ready to hear his wife’s sentence.
“Let me see your hand.” His brow furrowed in confusion, but he obeyed, placing his thick hand on her outstretched palm.
Caroline squeezed. “Your wife was not lying, and she did not soil your wedding vows.”
Relief and regret flashed across Al’s face. “But—”
“So, you will be the one receiving my punishment.”
Al gasped as the queen slashed the little knife she wore on her thumb across the back of his hand. His eyes peeled back in shock, and he stumbled a step back, cradling his injured fist to his chest.
Caroline grinned as she pricked her finger with the blade, mingling their blood. “If you ever lay a hand on your wife again, for a real or imagined wrong, I will hurt you, and you won’t see it coming. Do you understand me?”
She lifted her hand, a long black sleeve of the gown she wore draping in an arch from her body, making an impressive silhouette. The flapping of wings drew his attention and the raven which had been perched on the window was swooping down toward the queen.
Johnneth started to draw a sword to protect her from the crazed bird, but she placed her other hand on his, stilling him. Warmth tingled where their skin connected, and he swallowed the knot it had caused.
The raven landed on her forearm, and she brought it down below her breast, stroking the glossy feathers. He didn’t know what to think of what he was witnessing. She was just and terrifying, and so much worse than he’d imagined, yet somehow so much better. Johnneth shook his head, trying to clear his confounding thoughts.
“If you harm her, I will know. My pets will watch you. There is nowhere you can go where I won’t know. And I will come for you. Do you understand?”
A speechless Al nodded, eyes bulging wide as he took in the queen and the raven perched on her arm. His wife had plastered a hand across her gaping mouth and was taking barely notable steps backward away from the queen.
