Clovis' Point of View
Beatrix lets out a heavy sigh, and then leans forward as she crosses her legs, leaning her elbow on her leg, and putting her head on her hand like she is trying to be inquisitive, but she just ends up looking seductive.
I look away.
"Sit up normally. Northing you can do can convince me to change my mind," I scold her pathetic attempt at seduction... but I'm met with a giggle as response.
When I look back she has folded the fan, and covers her mouth as she giggles... but as our eyes meet that giggle turns into a laugh.
"Seduce you?"
She laughs harder as she leans back in the couch, and then looks at me with cold eyes.
"I see, so despite the overwhealming puppy love for Delia, you still end up looking at me like that."
"Wha!"
I feel heat rush to my cheeks.
"That's not what I meant!"
She giggles again, but I'm at a loss for words. She has never been this blod with me before. I don't think I've even seen her laugh this freely either.
"Now now, your highness. Getting so riled up over so little. Am I not the one that should be insulted? That you see me as a woman, that would try to seduce a man already in love?"
She smiles, but her eyes are cold.
"That is exactly what you are! You've been jealous of Delia from the start!"
She gives a huff.
"Jealous? That you give your affection to some naïve girl and not me, your betrothed? Jealous that you've not met up with me of your own free will for years, but you meet up with her every single day? Or jealous that you kiss her in the garden, where you think I won't see it?"
My stomach sinks.
How did she know?
"Are you spying on Delia?"
She sends me a smile, but her eyes look at me with pity, like a spider looking at its wrapped up prey struggle.
"I was having tea on the balcony, with multiple young Ladies, your highness."
Balcony? Balcony... ah, that's right, there's a balcony by the sunroom that overlooks those gardens... but Beatrix is usually never there. That's the book club's area... then again, she's a social butterfly, why wouldn't she be spreading her influence there.
I hold in a sigh of frustration. I let my guard down. Now the question is, what price I'll have to pay.
"However, let us put that matter aside, your highness. I didn't come here to fight. I came here to bring a compromise."
Her expression turns cold and the smile disappears, making my stomach twist again. I can't help but to get the feeling I am being played, because I can't imagine why she would let a witnessed detail like this go unpunished.
I don't even think Beatrix can compromise on anything anyway. That's why, among all the vicious marriage candidates, she came out on top, as she holds the court of young ladies in an iron grip.
"First of all, I haven't laid a hand on Miss Delia, nor incited anyone to do so. All those witnesses you have are all conveniently political opponents of mine, in a boring old ploy to reduce my favor in your eyes."
I almost roll my eyes, of course she'd say that. It's not like there is any favor to reduce. I've only never struggled against the political marriage because I had never fallen in love, and it was important for the royal family. But we have the power back now.
"If you had actually asked around, you would know as much. Those two little vixens you got a testemony from, are loyal to Lady Bellrose. In case you do not remember her, Lady Bellrose is your second marriage candidate. In case you do stop your engagement with me, she figures taking the spot from Delia will be easier than dealing with me."
Lady Bellrose vaguely rings a bell, but only as someone Beatrix argues with a lot.
"...and what is your so called motive for not bullying Delia?"
She raises an eyebrow and sighs at me, much like a tutor when you give a wrong answer.
"That is not how proving goes, but I will enlighten you, if it makes you trust me just a little more, so we can do these negotiations properly."
She reaches into a dress pocket and pulls out a few sheets of business ledgers, which she rather cooly lets slide through the air down to the table and across the table to me.
I grab it before it falls down, and end up studying them with suspicion. They show business transactions from Delia's father's companies... and truths I wish I didn't know, stare back at me, like I've stared into an abyss.
"If this is true, you're protecting Delia's family's businesses since she started at the academy, why?"
I know many of the names that has pulled out of business with the Baron, and I know many of the names that have started business with them afterwards... but it's too convenient... did she convince then to back off so she could gain control over the Baron's fate? But the new contacts are in the peripheral of Beatrix's family's power. As far from Beatrix's power as possible, but still supporters of Beatrix, or neutrals, or even my supporters, which I weren't informed of had started such businesses.
Beatrix stares at me dumbstruck.
"Why, you ash? Because you simply went and forgot," she says plainly, staring directly at me with her honey colored eyes listening almost with amusement.
Is she serious?
"What kind of fool cannot keep his mistress safe from the machinations of court?"
She lazily uses the fan to point at the ledgers.
"You can confirm the authenticity of this on your own if you wish."
...
"What do you want?"
She's pretty clearly been working against the plan we had for tomorrow night, and she's going to disprove at least some of the witnesses too. It's a failed ambush. At this point I might as well hear her out before she tears me apart.
Beatrix smiles a small victorious smile as I give in. Looking like she's got me underfoot.
"Let's break the engagement."
...
..
.
"What? Why?"
Is she kidding?
But she looks completely serious.
"Well, temporarily at least," she responds and cups her own cheek, with a sly smile on her lips.
Whatever momentary adrenaline rush of hope I just got, turns to suspicion.
... temporarily? What in the world are you scheming? My senses tell me that if I say yes to whatever she is suggesting, she'll have me wrapped up like her prisoner in her web of schemes.
"Even if I make your highness and the other young men give up for tomorrow, it's just a matter of time until another attempt is made, or someone uses more dramatical means, to what they consider a happy end. Of course I am aware that neither of us can so easily break off the engagement. If that was possible, you would never have needed to orchestrate such a scandal tomorrow, but I'm certain, that when it comes down to it, his majesty the king would rather have the engagment broken, than have me dead, and you dishonored."
Her tone turns somewhat cheery, as she describes various horrible ways this struggle of ours can end, but actually comes up with a plan that could get the engagement broken normally, in case we both testify that death would be a possible ending.
"What about the temporary part?"
Her smile fades as fast as it formed as she mentioned me dishonored.
"I do carry some spite towards you, for how you've neglected me, and the humiliation of you kissing Delia in front of me, and the Ladies at the tea party, so I'm going to demand something in return for breaking the engagement. A little test of sorts."
...
I sigh heavily. My own spur of the moment actions return to haunt me. Then again, this is the first time Beatrix has actually turned against me fully like this, and blatantly told me she's angry with me, and not just disappointed.
"What do you want?"
I'll give her anything reasonable, as long as I can end up with Delia.
"You'll have a month vacation with Delia."
I stare at Beatrix dumbfounded, again. I can't tell what's going on in that head of hers, at all. I can't even tell how this is in any way benefitting what I thouht was her goal.
"You will tell Miss Delia that our engagement is broken. Everyone in the summer palace will be instructed to say the same. You will then bring her to the summer palace, where you will be doing aaaall your summer work in the span of a month, whereafter you can enjoy the rest of the summer with her leisurely. If you are still certain, that you wish to go through with being with Delia after a month, then we will officially break off our engagement."
I stare at her blankly, as I wait for her to continue... but no more words come...
"That's it?"
"That is all, your highness."
...this is too easy.
That can't be all.
"What are you scheming?"
She smiles.
"Don't worry, I won't be doing anything. I will be staying in my family's mansion, which is conveniently right next to the palace, but that is all."
She watches me closely, rather obviously enjoying my confusion. So she wants to watch? Their family summer mansion has overlook of the south garden, so without a doubt she'll be quietly watching from there...
"Why go through all of this, Beatrix? Nothing will happen in a month that will make me change my mind," I insist, but she just tilts her head to the side.
"When I get 'jealous', your highness, I do indeed lash out a bit. I know you hate... how you despise, when I put the girls approaching you so sweetly, in their place. How I scold you, and them, for being too thoughtlessly intimate... but what about Delia?"
I harden my gaze at her.
"What about Delia?" I answer back in a harsh tone, to warn her not to overstep.
But Beatrix doesn't care.
"Delia has never seen you with another woman, your highness. She knows you hate me, so I do not count a threat to her. I wonder, how does she get, when she gets jealous?"
Her voice gets all sickeningly smooth again, like she's mocking Delia.
"She won't. Now stop, Beatrix."
"She will cry I am sure."
I freeze. I don't like the tought of Delia crying.
"In another mans arms."
My world stops for a moment, as those words come from Beatrix... and in an instant heat rises to my head. Before I regain control, I've stepped around the table, grabbed Beatrix by the collar of her shirt and lifted her up from the couch, to face me properly, to make sure she understands this one thing:
"Delia would never!"
"I see."
Beatrix's answer sounds bored and cold. Unthreatened, though I lifted her up like this.
I let her go, hesitantly.
"If you insist she will not, then there should not be a problem with my demand, right?"
Beatrix corrects her clothes and then looks at me with disappointment, as she turns away and puts some distance between us. As though insulted, she crosses her arms stubbornly.
"I wish you'd stood up for me like that just once, your highness."
Her tone now somber.
When I look at her expression from the side, it's bitter.
"You don't need anyone to stand up for you with how vicious you are," I respond harshly.
She sighs.
"And how would you know. You've not met me behind closed doors for years. The only one you see, is the performance a queen must put on."
I stare at her... and as she says that so quietly, bitterly, and carefully, the overwhealming presence she usually exudes seems to disappear...
And I notice that the way her arms are crossed aren't crossed stubbornly, but defensively. Her fingers tug at the collar, where I'd grabbed her, and her skin seems paler than usual.
Is she scared? My stomach sinks with guilt at losing my temper.
She was just-
She-
"Performance, you?" My voice shakes.
I'm not the villain. She talked bad about Delia. I needed to protect her.
"Of course. Unlike you I get punished physically, and verbally for not complying. By your parents too, mind you. Because you neglect me, the social reactions are even worse. People know that you carry no affection for me, and thus every interaction becomes a mockery of me being unloved. So I put them in their place, making you despise me even more. A vicious circle, where I must become crueller and colder."
...I want to retort to her words, but I never really cared much for the ladies interactions... or looked into what Beatrix's everyday consisted of. I only knew she argued a lot, and took control of meetings regarding management with an iron first I just assumed she used in court as well. While the officials are terrified of her, they respect that she's good at her work, like it's her one good point they can actually respect.
"That's the world you want to thrust Delia into."
"Delia has won over everyone she talks with, except for you," I insist in return.
"Of course. Temporarily. She's easy to get rid of, once I'm not here to support her back."
Beatrix brushes a wavy lock of hair behind her ear.
"Either way, this is a useless topic. Do you accept my deal or not?"
She doesn't look at me, and I hesitate. The bad feeling isn't gone, but she's right that I shouldn't have a problem with it, if I don't doubt Delia.
"I accept..."
I hesitate for a moment.
"I apologize for grabbing you... my temper overtook me for a moment."
I feel guilty.
Beatrix is still just a woman, though she rilels me up, and acts deliberately cruel.
"I see. Then, let me hit you."
I stare up at her, and find her eyes staring at me intensely. I can't believe she actually requested that, but at this point I suppose it's the smallest surprise I have gotten today.
She's not allowed to hit me without permission.
...I see, she wanted to slap me and held it in.
I hold in a sigh. I suppose I deserve it. I'll think of it as punishment for failing as a man.
"You can hit me, once, Beatrix."
While I'm thinking that saying 'once' was a good decision, she quickly steps in front of me, and surprisingly fast of her, her hand swings through the air with a swish, and smacks into the side of my face, leaving a stinging, aching surface behind, and my ear ringing.
She didn't hold back, more like, I think she hit as hard as she could...
Because she's holding her own hand in pain, which she's trying to mask with teary eyes.
"...Beatrix... did you lose your temper a bit too?"
Before I realize it, a smile has crept onto my lips.
I've not seen such an ungraceful look on her face since we were kids, and it's satisfying.
I bite my cheek to stop, but seeing her so focused on enduring the pain from her own slap is somehow amusing. It looks like it hurts her more than the slap does on me.
She glares up at me, and straightens up. Still holding her hurting hand that's already turning red.
"The permission is so rarely given, I had to make certain I took advantage of it. I shall leave now. I wish you a good vacation. I will send a servant with the contract when I get back."
She heads towards the door, but stops before she walks out, and then looks to me again.
"Just remember I warned you, Clovis."
I my smile turns to a frown, both at the hint that Delia would be unfaithful, but also that she's used my name for the first time since we entered the academy.
"I'm going to add an extra condition to the agreement. You cannot tell her sorry, for spending time doing your work."
A bitter feeling fills my body. I know she means because my work is a requirement that shouldn't be apologized for, but it still feels wrong.
"Will you be excorting Delia tomorrow, your highness?"
I look down to the floor. According to the agreement, the news should be kept quiet for a month, so technically I can't let Beatrix go unattended. But if I don't go with Delia, she will be heartbroken.
Beatrix sighs.
"Do it, excort miss Delia to the ball."
I stare at her back in disbelief again.
"But-"
"I am feeling oddly under the weather. I will surely be too ill to attend tomorrow, your highness. I shall ensure that Delia, as my replacement, tomorrow night, shall not bring you shame."
She puts on a polite tone again, and then exits the room... making the choice that I hesitated to do.
Delia's Point of View
Clovis looked exhausted, when Lady Beatrix finally left, so I quickly went up to him and took his hand, putting it against my cheek as I hold it, while I looked up at him sweetly, trying my best to cheer him up a bit.
"Are you okay, Clovis?"
His eyes soften at me, making his radiant soft smile melt my heart a little.
"Now where you are here with me, Delia."
His husky voice reminds me of yesterday's kiss in the garden, making heat rise to my cheeks.
"What did she want?"
Maximillian asks worried. He's her sister, so he knows Lady Beatrix well.
Clovis then smiles to me.
"She agreed to break our engagement and won't be at the ball tomorrow. She even agreed to send you everything you'll need for tomorrow, so we can spend the entire ball together, with you by my side, Delia."
His eyes glimmer with happiness.
Was Lady Beatrix that kind? Part of me is suspicious that she will do something bad, but seeing how happy Clovis is, shining at me like a radiant star of love, melts my doubts away.
"Really?"
"Really," he responds, and relief, joy and love overtakes me, as I jump into his arms.
He twirls me around, and when he puts me down, he puts our foreheads together. We can finally be together.
"I love you, Delia."
"I love you too, Clovis."
Beatrix's Point of View
My hand hurts! I know he has a chisled face, but does it have to hurt that much?! He barely even flinched too!
I step into the carriage, heading home for the day. The meeting didn't go perfectly, but I think I got everything said, that I needed to say.
To be honest, this is a bet.
A bet on Delia's personality.
There are many different kinds of Heroines, but one thing many have in common, is that they are used to their partner standing up for them in social conflicts. The problem is that these heroines don't know what to do when that conflict is with their own partner. So, one could say the author adds a little spice, by making the heroine cry, and run into the arms of another man.
But do be honest for a moment. Do you want a partner that cries with jealousy when they first see you with a colleague of the opposite sex?
That's the heroine's weakness. Unlike the villainess, she's too scared to approach the problem on her own, and needs her man to do the work for her.
I grab the collar of my shirt.
That said, Clovis has grown up more than I thought, physically. Perhaps I pushed him a bit too far. He's in the middle of a very intense puppy love, and already sees me as an enemy. He's not willing to listen, so I should've been a bit more careful.
I sigh.
The petition to the king has already been sent, and my vacation booked, long before this conversation. Maximillian's actions to sabotage the family will be exposed, and he'll be put under house arrest at least for the next month, as per my request. That should let me go without surveilance for a while, to observe how the situation unfolds...
And actually, just maybe have a relaxing beginning to the summer, now where I will not have to join the summer work sessions at the summer palace.
You see, large amounts of the work Clovis and I were in charge of, gets bundled up slowly throughout the year to the summer, so that we can focus on our studies the rest of the year. Since Delia doesn't know territory management, Clovis will have to go through that hell alone.
My lips curl into a smile. If nothing else, this is a bit of revenge too.