The Bodyguard

Part Seven

Keeping track of Roland and Guy was much more difficult than Lakshmi had anticipated.

King Guy did not move around the palace as much as Roland. When he was not in his appointed rooms, he was usually with the emperor, often in court. There were times when he would tread near the women’s quarters, and Lakshmi now knew that several serving girls had entertained him in the past week.  Lakshmi had conspired with the captain of the guard, and it had been easy enough for him to find people to follow King Guy without attracting notice.

King Guy was not the sort to notice servants, or those who appeared to be servants, unless he had a mind to get them into bed. Nearly all of the people Lakshmi and the captain had set to spy on Guy were men, and the rest were older women. None of them had been questioned by Guy or any of his private guards.

Watching Roland was another matter. He moved about entirely too much for Lakshmi’s peace of mind. Though he spent some time in court, he was not there as often as King Guy. He stayed away from the women’s quarters, and no one had seen any girls slipping into his chambers. He met with the guards that had accompanied him to the palace sometimes, but more disconcerting were the long periods of time that Lakshmi could not account for.

There were not enough servants to set on him. In the early days she had recruited spies, but unlike Guy, Roland was much too aware of the people around him for the spies to be useful.

Roland would often choose to walk in the gardens, or bathe, and thus escape the eyes Lakshmi had placed on him. Although it was possible to stand outside the bathing rooms without notice and wait for a man to finish, there were too many exits to the gardens to be covered all at once.

Lakshmi decided it was time to get involved personally.

Dressed in her sunset gown, she took the shortest route to the gardens. The note had just arrived saying that Prince Roland had gone to the gardens, and she could only hope to find him there still.

Luck was with her, as the young prince was sitting by the fountain, watching the water stream into the pool below, apparently lost in thought.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Lakshmi asked. It would be more suspicious were she to try to keep her presence secret than to address him directly.

“It’s beautiful,” Roland said, smiling up at her.

“You’re used to more water. It probably doesn’t seem as marvelous to you.”

The yearning Lakshmi suddenly felt to see other places was alarming and unexpected. She had to forcibly push it aside so as not to become distracted. She was here to keep an eye on Roland, and possibly learn what he was up to, not to think about impossible dreams.

“If I imagine it through your eyes, it is beautiful.” His rough northern accent rippled through her, and she had to look away or be caught in those vivid blue eyes.

“Have I embarrassed you?” he asked, his voice amused.

Embarrassing a concubine would be impossible, but Lakshmi was not a true concubine. Even if she was, she doubted the emperor would ever have said anything so sweet, nor seemed so sincere. “No,” Lakshmi lied smoothly, glancing up at him coyly. “You have not embarrassed me.”

“Good.” He patted the seat beside him. “Sit with me. I could use some company.”

Lakshmi stared. “That would be inappropriate,” she finally said, wondering how Roland could be so bold.

“More inappropriate than the two of us alone out here in the garden?” he asked, eyes crinkling at the corners, gleaming with mischief.

“Yes,” Lakshmi said. “This part of the garden is for the enjoyment of all. The emperor would not deny you access to it. However, it would be unwise for the two of us to share a bench.”