Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 96: Property (2)

"The king is not ready to hand over the throne to the crown prince. The crown prince will have to wait until King Edward is dead. Until then, since you are to one day take my seat, you will do as I say. You are powerless now, and focusing on a woman known as your sister will be your ruin," said Joel.

"I never claimed her to be my sister. That was your doing. As far as I am concerned, I am done here. I have to meet with the crown prince soon," Nigel said, turning away from his father.

"Brother!" Bella called and ran over to Nigel’s side.

Nigel smiled, his anger fading away as he welcomed Bella into his arms. "Did you get all that you came for?"

"I did. I have plenty of new dresses to take home. I will show you when we return to the palace. I got to see Ophelia when we were strolling, but I didn’t get to speak to her for long," Bella said, pouting.

"Is that so?" Nigel asked, looking up at Giselle. "At least you were fortunate to speak for a moment. I haven’t gotten the chance to speak with her."

"Why would you bother yourself with her? You must end that silly interest you have in her. Ophelia thinks she is above us now. It is all turning out to be just as I said. You placed her where she yearned to be," Freya said, still angry with her father.

"You know that she is not above you, so why do you fret yourself? Unless you believe it to be true," Nigel teased Freya.

"She will never be above me. I simply don’t enjoy seeing her act all high and mighty. She hides behind Lord Hastings and deludes herself into thinking he loves her. She is in for a surprise. You should have put her in her place before she left, father. Now she disobeys," said Freya.

"As I told your brother, you shouldn’t mind her. Focus on becoming engaged to the prince. You should get to know him-"

"How am I to get to know him when we are returning to your land, and the prince is here surrounded by other ladies? I should be able to stay, or he should be asked to visit me. My life would be better if it were the crown prince I was engaged to. I want him," Freya declared.

Nigel laughed, amused by Freya’s childish behaviour. "You don’t want him. Believe the words of someone who knows him well. Take the third prince. If you can get him to stop listening to his mother’s every command, you can make him your little fool. You can’t control the crown prince."

"I don’t need to control him. What I want is to be queen. Don’t you want what is best for me, brother? Or, is your only interest getting under Ophelia’s dress?" Freya asked.

Giselle gasped. She covered Bella’s ears with her hands.

"Freya, you shouldn’t speak of something so sinful out loud. Think of what others would say about this family," Giselle said, looking around them. "We must keep our talk for when we are in the palace. It is not safe to speak here."

Freya glared at Giselle. "I shall speak when I want to. Who can stop me-"

"Freya," Nigel interjected, tired of Freya’s behaviour. "Isn’t it about time you stopped being so childish? You’re old enough to marry and have a child, yet you behave like you are Bella’s age. What example are you setting?’

"What?" Freya frowned.

Why was Nigel scolding her and not telling Giselle to be silent?

"It’s about time you stop behaving this way. It’s a headache to speak with you at times, and I can only imagine how the queen will treat you if you continue to be so disrespectful. If you marry into the royal family, you should try to appear kind to the people, but I fear it will be hard for you," said Nigel.

Nigel held Bella’s hand. "We must go back to the carriage. I have business in the palace with the crown prince."

Freya fumed as Ophelia’s words came back to her. She could be kind, but why would it matter?

All Freya wanted was to be queen, and since no one wanted to help her, she would find her way to the crown prince herself.

Later in the day, Ophelia grew tired of walking around the market and wanted to return home. It was a tiring day, but Ophelia got all that she wanted not only for herself, but for Theo and Dante.

Alice found herself in the carriage and kept looking out the window to avoid staring at Ophelia resting her head on Dante’s shoulder. It was an odd sight since the pair were never so close before, but their visit to the capital changed it all.

"My wife has taken a liking to you. She won’t say it out loud, but I can see it. Instead of being concerned about me punishing you, I suggest you do better to serve her. It would work out in your favour to be the maid of Lady Hastings. The pay is better, and your work separates you from others," said Dante.

"Don’t disappoint me," Dante said, putting a bit of trust in Alice.

"I will do my best," Alice promised.

"I am awake," said Ophelia.

"I know. That is why I said it now, so you do not think I am going behind your back. We are almost back home. Had you pretended to sleep for a little longer, I would have carried you to your chamber," said Dante.

Ophelia sat up, no longer having any use for Dante’s shoulder. "You claimed that I bit you the last time you carried me, so why would you want to hold me again? Alice," she said, noticing how Alice jumped. "The next time I am drunk, I will be in your care."

"I will do my best," Alice said, but she felt she had given the wrong answer due to Dante’s gaze.

Ophelia pulled a shawl over her shoulders as the carriage came to a stop within the mansion’s gates.

"I won’t keep you for much longer since you must escort Victoria to see her family. You shouldn’t let your guard down even though we had a quiet day," said Ophelia.

"I am thinking of sending for her family to come to the mansion. It would spark rumours if I were to be seen sitting with Victoria and her family without my wife. We’ll have other guests joining us after. I must speak to the men whom you exposed with your plan. Care to help me once more?" Dante asked, offering his hand to Ophelia.

"Help drive fear into men who turned to work with Joel? Of course," Ophelia answered, accepting the offer.