Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 131: Good news (3)
"What does this mean for us? Does Freya being with the crown prince mean Joel has more support from the king? It seems like it would still work in Joel’s favour," Ophelia said, worried that Joel’s power increased.
"I think it will create a rift between him and the king. Would you say Freya is a wise woman?"
Ophelia laughed since Freya was far from a wise woman. "Freya and wise do not go together. She got away with all that she did because her father and brother backed her. She is childish and lets jealousy get the best of her."
"Well, there you have it. The palace isn’t a place Freya can endure without the support of someone with influence backing her. No one cares about Joel when he isn’t around, and he is low in status compared to the king’s other peers. She is alone and powerless," said Dante.
"Since she is that way, Freya will make mistakes while trying to survive. Unless she makes the crown prince fall in love with her, she will be punished. You think that behaviour would sully her father’s name," Ophelia realised.
"Yes. She doesn’t have anyone to tell her how to behave, and the king has a temper as well as the queen. They will be bothered by her outburst and punish her without addressing Joel first because she now belongs to the palace. What would Joel do now?"
"Joel always spoke of how much he loved his children, but I do not think he loves Freya so much that he would save her from the king or crown prince. He would abandon her, and I would expect Freya to turn on her father by sharing his secrets," Ophelia said, smiling as the fall of the Valthorns was near. "It is a good day."
"I fear getting too excited about Freya when Theo isn’t in my arms. What if I am humbled by something going wrong?" Ophelia asked, trying not to get ahead of herself.
"That won’t happen because I will keep my promise to bring Theo here. I am still keeping watch of the Valthorn castle, and as soon as I get word they have returned, I will send word to the palace and Joel that I am sending an entourage to bring him here," Dante shared.
"You must let the men you send leave before you send the letter to Joel, or he will come up with excuses. If Joel wants his guards to escort Theo, I know he would create an accident so that Theo never makes it here. I fear I can’t relax. I should help them garden," Ophelia said, lifting the sides of her dress as she entered the garden.
"I’m surprised you didn’t want to eat away the stress," Dante commented as he followed Ophelia.
"I have gotten many new, pretty dresses. I would cry if I cannot fit them, and I will not have you think that all I do is eat."
"But it is what you love to do. You would do well with a little bit more weight to you," said Dante.
"Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to speak about a lady’s weight? It is rude for a gentleman," Ophelia said, taking a glove from a gardener as she spoke.
"I thought that it only concerned telling a woman she must lose weight or trying to change her features. Am I wrong? You look beautiful as you are now, but anyone can tell you need to eat more. It is for your health," Dante said, ignoring the glances from the gardeners.
Ophelia wished Dante would keep his compliments to himself to avoid stirring up gossip among the servants.
"Do you not have somewhere to be? Anywhere, even if it’s just for a stroll far away from me?" Ophelia asked, hoping Dante would take the hint to leave.
"No, I don’t have anywhere to be. I should stay here to see that you are enjoying the garden. I should put benches all around so I can watch you while you work. Right here," Dante said, picking out the perfect spot.
Ophelia shook her head. "And you say you are not a stalker. I advise you to find something to do, so I am not blamed for you being distracted."
Dante leaned on a wall and watched as Ophelia got to work. "But wouldn’t you agree you are a good distraction?"
Dante earned himself the silent treatment, but he stayed in the garden for the time being to keep Ophelia company.
***
In the palace, Freya paced back and forth in the chamber assigned to her. She bit her nails, a habit that had become comforting in recent days.
Freya had been placed inside the chamber since her family left the palace. She was punished by not being welcomed to dinner with the royal family.
Freya couldn’t accept the current treatment she was enduring.
Each time Freya entered the palace with her family, she had been welcomed to dinner with the king. Now they treated her like she didn’t exist. Like they didn’t know her before her mistake.
"Where is he?" Freya muttered.
Sebastian hadn’t bothered to visit her since her family left. He didn’t think to comfort her or apologise for what he had done.
What was the reason for saying they spent the night together, only for him to abandon her when she needed him the most?
"Did he get it?" Freya wondered, thinking of the letter she sent to her father. "He should have gotten it by now. When is he going to return? I cannot take this any longer."
Freya started to walk to the door, but slowed down as she recalled the last time she tried to leave.
There was a guard on the other side of the door who stopped her from leaving unless she had permission from the crown prince or the queen.
Freya was trapped in a single chamber, with the windows being the only way she could get a glimpse of what occurred in the palace throughout the day. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
How was this fair?
As if her questions were heard, the door opened and in walked Althea.
Freya didn’t bother to greet Althea since the queen wasn’t showing her respect.
Althea walked into the chamber alone. "I hope the time you have to yourself has been allowing you to realise your mistakes. Are you repenting? Or, must I bring a priest to help you?"
"I don’t need any help. Perhaps it is you who needs to go to the church since you are taking your frustrations out on me. It is the third prince I betrayed, not you," said Freya.
"When you embarrassed my son, you embarrassed me. You have not begun to feel the weight of my frustration," Althea said, only now getting started with Freya.
