Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 43: Meeting with enemies (2)

While Dante was busy with the king, Ophelia was tasked with visiting the garden to finally meet with the queen.

Ophelia peered to her right at the guard Dante assigned to her. "He said your name is Thomas. I have a brother named Theo. Your name alone has a warm place in my heart because you remind me of my brother. As long as you don’t try to hurt me, we can get along."

"I serve Lord Hastings and would never go against his order. I am here to protect you," Thomas assured Ophelia.

For Thomas, he obeyed Dante without any questions. While the other men were against it, Thomas saw it as an honour to protect Lord Hastings’ wife.

"Good. I hope it stays that way. I won’t order you to do anything that would go against his order, nor will I try to get you in trouble. As long as you protect me, your work will be quite easy. Though, since I am unfamiliar with the palace, I would need help with remembering names," Ophelia requested.

"I can help you, Lady Hastings."

Ophelia abruptly stopped and turned around to face Alice. "Who are you?" Ophelia inquired.

"Alice, Lady Hastings. This is my first time in the palace, but I know many faces. Many of the noblemen and wealthy men present in the palace have come to Lord Hastings’ castle. I can help you," Alice offered while wearing a big smile.

Ophelia looked to Thomas to see if he was also seeing a strange side of Alice, but Thomas didn’t know what was occurring with the two women.

"Have you fallen sick, Alice? Or, is there some trap you want me to walk into? Whatever it is, I don’t like it," Ophelia said, taking a step back from Alice.

Ophelia didn’t like what became of Alice. It couldn’t be that Alice woke up feeling kind.

Alice hung her head low in shame. "I was wrong for how I behaved when you entered the palace. I was acting as I did because the head maid allowed it. If only you could forgive me, then I will be your most trusted servant."

"Trust? You think I would trust you? I wouldn’t do that even if my life were in danger. Keep quiet and avoid me as you always do," Ophelia said, wanting nothing to do with Alice.

Alice’s kindness was going to wear off eventually, so Ophelia was not fooled now.

Alice feared Lord Hastings would soon kill her, so she did the unexpected. She reached for Ophelia’s hands and pleaded. "You must give me a second chance."

"And you must let go of me!" Ophelia exclaimed, pulling her hands out of Alice’s hold. "You all judged me, but you are the crazy ones. Thomas, your first order is to keep her away from me. I don’t know what came over her, but I have no time for it to pass to me. We must go."

Ophelia’s gaze lingered on Alice a moment longer before she turned to the path she needed to take.

"I am already late meeting with the queen. You two should be on your best behaviour so I don’t have more to apologise for. Now, which way is it?" Ophelia questioned, uncertain of where to find the garden. "I’m sure I can find it."

"To the right," Thomas coughed.

"Of course," Ophelia replied.

Ophelia made her way over to the garden. When she arrived, Ophelia found the queen sitting with Victoria and, to no surprise, Freya.

Just from looking at the women sitting down, Ophelia knew she was walking into an ambush.

"Your Majesty," Ophelia curtsied. "I ask for forgiveness for my tardiness."

Althea Croswell, the queen, examined the young woman she laid eyes on at the ball. "I went out of my way to ask that the servants prepare this table for us, yet you arrived late. You didn’t meet me when you arrived at the palace yesterday. Have I done something to offend you?"

Ophelia raised her head and looked into the queen’s eyes. "No, Your Majesty. My husband thought I should rest after the long journey, and I am late this morning because there was an intruder in our chamber last night. I won’t be tardy again."

"You seem to have an excuse for all your actions. Dear Ophelia, why can’t you simply apologise?" Freya asked, pleased to see Ophelia make mistakes.

"There was an attack? Is Lord Hastings well?" Victoria asked, concerned about Dante.

"My husband is well. I would not be standing here if he weren’t. Lord Hastings has gone to speak to the king about the attack last night. Once again, I apologise for not arriving earlier. I won’t make the same mistake again," Ophelia promised.

Althea had no other choice but to drop the matter for now since Ophelia was speaking of an attack.

"Since it was out of your control, I won’t scold you for your tardiness. You may sit next to your sister, or are you comfortable with Victoria?" Althea asked, testing Ophelia.

Althea had her reasons for why she no longer invited the other wives and decided only Victoria, as well as Freya, should join her sit-down with Ophelia.

The rumours about Victoria and Dante had reached Althea’s ears, and according to the king, Ophelia was not close to Freya.

Althea wished to see how Ophelia would handle a moment where she was cornered and forced to fight.

"I am comfortable with both ladies. Freya is my sister, and I met Miss Victoria in Lord Hastings’ castle. I will sit beside her," Ophelia said, choosing the lesser evil.

Freya glared at Ophelia.

To anyone, it would give away that there was conflict within the family since Ophelia chose to sit beside a stranger.

"Miss Lowe," Freya addressed Victoria. "How is Ophelia in Lord Hastings’ castle? Did she settle in well?"

"Wouldn’t that be a question for me since I am right here to answer it?" Ophelia asked, already not in the mood for Freya’s childish behaviour.

"I wanted to hear someone else’s answer since you might lie. I need to know that you have truly settled into your new home. So, how is my sister with Lord Hastings? Have they fallen in love?" Freya questioned Victoria.

"Their wedding was not long ago, so it might take some time for the lord and lady to fall in love, but it is my understanding that they have become close. I’m sure that in no time, they may fall in love. Right, Lady Hastings," Victoria said, placing the attention back on Ophelia.

"It might be so," Ophelia answered.

"Well, since Victoria has known Lord Hastings for many years, she can be of help to you. It is better when women get along. I hope you don’t harbour jealousy toward her," Althea said, and watched Ophelia’s reaction.

Ophelia smiled in response. "What is there to be jealous of? I adore having a friend of my husband around."