Amity and Enmity

Chapter 53

The queen glanced away, her gloved hands resting on the grand piano in tight fists. "Do you have someone special in your life now, Lord Barbeau?" She paused, her voice sounding strained. "I suppose you must have been thinking about them while playing."

"I was thinking about you," said Calixte.

The words just fell out of Calixte's mouth without a thought, and it took him a moment to realise what he had just said.

He jolted to his feet. "I apologise, Your Majesty! I-" His hand clutched his chest, gasping for breath as his heart uncontrollably thumped. "I..." Overwhelmed, Calixte turned and rushed to the other side of the ballroom, about to open the door.

"Calixte!" Violette called.

Calixte hesitated, then sucked in a quick breath. "What I said was inappropriate, and I apologise, Your Majesty." He did not turn around, too scared to face Violette. But some of him wanted to see her, but he fought against that temptation. What he was doing was wrong, yet hearing her call him by his first name was... He shook his head. He had to put a stop to this before it got worse.

"I will excuse myself from being Your Majesty's tutor," he continued, almost unable to speak those words. "I-"

"Were you being truthful before?" asked Violette. "About you thinking of me when you were playing?"

"I was," replied Calixte. Before this day, he would never have thought it, but as soon as he had admitted it out loud, he finally realised that it was true and he had never been so sure about something before in his life. And the only way he knew that could stop it, to make everything right, was to leave.

Calixte pulled the door open, his feet hesitating to step over the edge and out of the ballroom.

"The poem I wrote," said Violette. "It was about you."

Calixte froze, his hand still holding the door handle. "It was not about the king?"

"No," Violette chuckled. "I was... I was trying to confess that day, but perhaps I should have been more direct with my feelings. But, unfortunately, you did not seem to pick up on it."

"Yes, I am a bit dense when it comes to things like these." Calixte closed the door and stepped away. His heart continued to thump against his chest, but it was no longer painful. "This is wrong. You are a queen, and I'm-"

"Please, Calixte," said Violette softly. "I do not care about such things."

"But you are married!" Calixte turned around and glanced down at the floor. "To the king no less."

"I do not love him. I am not sure if I even consider him a friend."

"How? You are married."

"It was an arranged marriage, Calixte." Violette bowed her head. "Our country was weak, still recovering from the plague and the war. We needed allies, so I was married off to King Osmond after he heard about my abilities." She paused and raised her head. "I am to bear his children with the same magic power as mine."

"You are still married." Calixte shook his head. "This is still inappropriate."

"Calixte..." Violette stepped forward, her gloved hand still resting on the piano. "King Osmond has his concubines. We understand that our marriage is just political, and we can be with others if we choose."

Calixte's arm clutched around his waist.

"We can be together, Calixte," continued Violette. "But I understand if you do not wish to if you still find it inappropriate or uncomfortable." She looked down. "I know that it is not an ideal relationship to be in. We cannot marry nor can I bear you children; it would all be secret outside the castle."