Devoted Nobility

Chapter 95

Sophia

After our argument, if you could call it that as I agreed with him, Alexander stormed out of the infirmary. I spent the entire night hating myself. How could I not have seen it? How could I have assumed that I was doing the right thing? I was too clouded at the loss of Lucy that I couldn’t make reasonable decisions. My head wasn’t clear and I was rash in my actions.

The next day, I was released and my ladies all joined me in my room along with my mother. I sat on the couch with a blanket wrapped around me, not bothering to wear anything more extravagant than a nightgown. Eloise sat next to me and Jane and Amelia sat opposite us on another couch.

 My mother smiled, but seemed very uncomfortable with our casual demeanor. Her back was rigid as she sat on a chair in the corner of the room with her hands on her lap. If my father saw me behaving this way, he would throw a tantrum. How could I be so benign with people below my station. Chills went up my spine as I remembered that he couldn’t do anything about it as I now belonged to Alexander.

I grimaced thinking of him. It was past lunch and he had yet to come and see me.

“Sophia, are you all right,” Jane asked with genuine concern on her face. “Are you sick? Is it the baby?”

I shook my head. I hadn’t told anyone about what happened with Alexander. I didn’t know how to explain the fight without bringing up the letter, which I didn’t particularly want to speak of. I decided to lie. “I’m just worried. Alexander and I got into a disagreement yesterday.”

Eloise perked up a bit. “About what? You just got home and he’s already upset at you?”

She gave me an excuse, so I took it. “Yes, he is angry that I put myself in a position to be taken. I was the one who chose to come back to the palace. I made a bad decision and he won’t let me forget it.”

“Oh dear, I am so sorry,” my mother chimed, her voice melodic with a hint of stiffness around the edges. “I have more knowledge on displeased husbands than anyone. He will come around.”

He didn’t. The days ticked past. I did not see him as he made no attempt to be anywhere I was. When I asked one of his page’s, they said he was very busy with his duties. I tried to convince myself that they were being truthful, but I knew they weren’t. The truth was that he didn’t want to speak with me as I was a horrible person who put his country at risk over and over again.

My parents were staying at court for a little while as the King and my father worked out a more stable treaty of nations. They felt the old one was out of date and irrelevant now that Alexander and I were wed.

I was extremely grateful for this because my mother became my support system. I fell apart every day that Alexander didn’t come and every time I was told that he was unavailable.

Two weeks after my rescue was when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to be put back together. I was fine as the day began. When I woke up, I was suddenly feeling hopeful. The problem would resolve itself.

I was brought a lovely breakfast of fresh tea and a pastry along with some fruit. After I ate, I bathed and my hair was put into an intricate braid. A new selection of dresses was brought from the seamstress and I got my pick of which I wanted to wear first. They were all so beautiful, but I chose a light red one with delicate lace appliques down the skirt.

As my servants stripped me of my robe, I looked into the full length mirror on my wall. Where my stomach used to be flat, there was now a small bump protruding from my lower abdomen. The baby was growing.

I stared at it for a moment before a corset was slipped on me. I requested that it be tied loosely out of fear that the bump would be gone tomorrow.