The King's Artist

Ch 62: The Tightness of Fear

Adelaide reclined back in her chair and frowned. Over the past few months, her dislike for Thomas Grey had only increased. It was now to the point where even the sight of him had her shoulders hunching and her brow furrowing. An instant headache was guaranteed.

Despite supposedly being married, Adelaide had yet to hear the man mention his wife or their children. Furthermore, it was hard to miss his constant flirting with the staff. Adelaide rolled her eyes at the behavior she was currently witnessing and leaned back even further in her seat. She currently occupied a corner of the library and the tall shelves and poor lighting kept her hidden in shadows for the most part. It left her with a perfect opportunity to spy on Grey as he chatted with one of the maids.

Adelaide wasn't even sure why the maid was here in the library. She recognized her as one of the main facilities attendants which meant the other woman should be attending to Henry and Jasper's quarters. Not here giggling over whatever Grey had whispered in her ear.

As more people filtered into the library, though, the maid broke away with wide eyes and shuffled down the columns of bookcases with tentative glances over her shoulder back at the married man she was leaving. Thomas Grey didn't seem to mind the flighty behavior or that he was being deserted at the first indication of witnesses. Instead, he smiled and waved as she scurried out of sight.

Was he not worried about what people would interpret from his behavior? Especially since it was fairly obvious they weren't meeting up with one another to discuss their love for literature or brew over a good book.

As if feeling her stare, Thomas Grey turned and locked eyes with Adelaide. His eyes widened slightly at the audience he'd been unaware of. But as quickly as the surprise had appeared, it was smothered away and a sly smile replaced it. Without hesitation, Grey moved towards Adelaide and took the seat across from her. His features were more difficult to discern now that he wasn't directly in front of the large windows or standing near lit candles, but Adelaide could still see his posture just fine and that was all she needed in order to get a read on someone.

"Well if it isn't Sir Arthur," Grey said with a tilt of his head. "What brings you here on such a lovely Sunday afternoon? I would have thought you'd be trailing after Henry's shadow per usual."

"I'm a loyal friend of Lord Henry's, Lord Grey, not his dog," Adelaide said calmly, astounding even herself with how sharp her words came out. It took Grey a moment to collect himself as he forced his shoulders to relax and his demeanor to fall back into its lazy nature.

"Yes, well forgive my rudeness," he tried, his voice thick with pleasantries. He shifted in his seat and craned his neck so that he could get a better view of the book in Adelaide's lap, but she shielded it from him mostly out of spite.

"Is this how you standardly spend your free time?" Grey pressed. Adelaide stifled a groan of frustration. If his sister wasn't marrying Henry she would have sent his packing the moment he arrived in Brittany. There was something slimy about him, and she couldn't stand when he acted overtly friendly with Henry and Jasper as if he'd known them for years. As if they were already family.

When Adelaide didn't respond, she'd hoped Grey would take the hint that she wasn't seeking company nor did she want to ideally chitchat with him. And yet, the man continued moving his mouth.

"So I've been hearing some interesting things from the people here." Adelaide resisted rolling her eyes as he started talking again.

Just as they had all hoped, Grey's presence amongst Henry's people had helped ease some of the anxiety that had been plaguing the Yorkist defectors. It helped, too, that Thomas Grey was naturally a chatty person and seemed to enjoy conversing with others. He spent hours discussing mundane hobbies with Yorkists and Lancastrians alike while learning and actually remembering things about them. He was a charmer and it was clear to Adelaide that he was at least intelligent enough to understand that his safety was only ensured if he partook in bridging the divide between the two Houses. If he didn't succeed, he would be sent out into Brittany without any allies, and returning to England wasn't an option for him. There was France, of course, but it was clear that Thomas Grey wanted to return to his homeland, and staying amongst the Tudors and their supporters was the faster route to getting what he wanted.