Loyalty Or Honour (Book 3)

Chapter Thirteen

"At least I still hold the appearance of one who does. Perhaps try to look as if you are next time."

A soft tap three times on the door makes Orion frown. He opens the door a fraction and immediately his brow furrows. Hunter wonders who could possibly have evoked such a quick reaction. Orion clears his throat before speaking low and with an tinge of irritation. "What do you think you are doing here?"

"Orion, please step aside."

"Answer the question Alice."

"I was ordered here by the Queen herself. She does not believe that only two ladies in waiting are appropriate for the future Queen and bride of the Crown Prince. She requested that a trustworthy young lady should be delivered to her door to assist Lady Arabella. I was chosen. Now, please, Orion step aside and let me in." A decidedly female voice speaks to him, annoyance only marking her final words.

"Return to the one who chose you and tell her Majesty's lady in waiting to pick someone else." Orion orders. Hunter hears a huff in reply.

"I refuse to do so. It is a great honour and I would be a fool to turn it down." She raises her voice slightly but remains calm.

"I do not want you here. What if you cause some upset or offend a member of the royal family? I will not always be around to protect you."

"Then I run away." She replies sarcastically. "Dear brother of mine, I know how to behave and conduct myself. Please let me in."

"You are too young for this honour and I do not want you around the men you may encounter doing it." Orion tries to reason with her. She laughs and gives him a little push. He acquiesces, stepping back to allow her entry.

"I am seventeen and I have you for an older brother. I think I will perfectly safe. My job is to be a shadow and that is all I shall be." She turns sensing the extra presence and her eyes widen and blink slowly, showcasing large orbs of a brilliant sky blue. She glances back at Orion with a bemused smile. "And here I though Jamie was mistaken but you are indeed appearing to be twins. Who would have thought it?"

Orion was not simply saving Hunter's feeling when he said that their younger siblings did not resemble their older ones. Alice has light brown hair, which would usually caress her waist when left down, coiled elegantly on her head. She is of a slight build and her face smiles readily, the expression more natural than anything negative could be. She strides over to the door that she believes is Lady Arabella's.

"Alice!" She halts and turns, her eyebrows rising up. "This is your long lost brother, is that truly all you have to say?"

Alice curtseys elegantly but her eyes sparkle with blue fire. "You must be Hunter, I am Alice. I believe that is all we need to be introduced." Orion growls in his throat. She smiles but her eyes again show her defiance. "Mother may have been completely honest with you but I cannot say the same for how she was with me. I was alerted to the fact that I had two older brothers only this morning and then I was promptly shoved from the house. Forgive me if I still need time to process this information."

"Alice, she was waiting until you were old enough to understand her decisions."

"I would have understood them at five, or six, or even seven. I am seventeen now. That is at least ten years where she could have told me but instead decided to lie and keep something that was seriously important to all of us to herself."

"So I am to be punished for her actions?" Hunter speaks before Orion can reprimand his sister. She blinks and struggles to reply to such a straightforward question. "Last time I checked I never lied and yet I am the one you are going to ignore?" She glances away out of the window, gathering her thoughts. When she turns back a guilty smile plays on her lips and her eyes are apologetic.

"I offer an apology. I should not be taking it out on you." She strides back across the room and offers her hand. "It is lovely to meet you Hunter."

"And you, Alice." He says with a grin. She laughs.

"I should introduce myself to Lady Arabella but I hope we can speak later?" Hunter nods and she sticks her tongue out at Orion. "Happy now?" She sings softly before once again crossing the room but this time she taps gently on the door and waits to be invited inside.

○ ○ ○

"Quickly tell us how your tea with the Queen was." Miss Frith excitedly requests as soon as the three women are together in Arabella's bedroom. Arabella casts a look over at Miss Litt who is sorting out her evening ensemble. Their eyes meet and Miss Litt shrugs her shoulders lightly, she will not reprimand Miss Frith for the slip in familiarity since they are in private.

"It was lovely. She is very kind and she seems fairly excited for the wedding." Arabella answers softly. "Oh Mary, not that dress." She adds on when she sees Miss Litt place out a deep green full skirted dress out on her bed. Mary sighs and removes it back to the wardrobe and holds out a different dress of a light blue. Arabella smiles. "Thank you."

"Oh come there must be more you can say than that!" Miss Frith, Beatrice, implores.

"Beatrice." Mary admonishes her lightly.

"It is fine Mary. I truly do not know what to tell you. There was no exciting news, we spoke about the dress and some finer details around the wedding, all of which you already know." She lightly powders her cheeks while speaking.

"Well how about the two young handsome guards assigned to protect us?" Beatrice giggles and mocks fanning herself. Even the stern appearing Mary cannot squash down her amused smile quick enough. "I was getting dreadfully tired watching the older ones we had beforehand but I think I will survive this new set." She strikes a dramatic pose and both Arabella and Mary chuckle.

"Beatrice, I do so hope you will behave more proper when we have company." Mary teases, good naturedly.

"Oh you think I did not notice that eye roll when you told them that Arabella was still abed?" Beatrice taunts back quickly. Arabella's mouth drops open and she twists round in her chair.

"You did what? You know full well why I was still abed!" She exclaims in horror.

"Yes, well I do not think we will be able to sneak out in the late hours now that we have such diligent guards." Mary replies, not bothered in the slightest by her Lady's outrage.

"We have gone off topic." Beatrice moans softly. Mary raises an eyebrow and tilts her head slightly. "I wanted to discuss those diligent guards and you deigned to mention propriety." Mary sighs and gazes up to the ceiling with an air. "Oh Arabella do you not think they are quite simply works of art?"

"I..."

"Beatrice, you are going too far. Arabella is to marry the Crown Prince and her eye would never wander so far as to consider another man handsome, or even a work of art."

"You are stuffy sometimes, Mary. She is betrothed, not dead."

A tap on the door interrupts whatever Mary was going to say in response. Lady Arabella gestures for one of them to open the door knowing it would be improper of her to do so. Mary gracefully glides over and opens it, curtseying to the young woman waiting outside. 

Thank you for continuing to read, vote and comment! I wonder if this chapter has altered any of your opinions concerning different characters... I thought it was time to introduce another of the North siblings, what do you think to young Alice and the information she has revealed?