NOTE: Content warnings to this chapter are a (referred) threat to a character's life and a stalker outside the house. Contact me (via private message or https://linktr.ee/miss_islemeadow) if you need more information!
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A couple of days after Anthony had drawn up the paperwork with the opera manager Kate received a letter from Siena, telling her that her arrangement with Prince Friedrich was now over. Kate waved the letter triumphantly in Anthony's face and she let also Daphne immediately know that the plan had been successful. Late at night that same day Anthony, Kate, Benedict and Colin were still sitting up in the drawing room, while the younger siblings had already gone to bed. Kate and Colin were engulfed in a conversation about comparing ancient Greek mythology with Indian mythology and Benedict was still working with his portrait of Kate, while Anthony - to the tremendous surprise of his brothers - sat reading Pride and Prejudice.
"I must say, Kate, that it is almost a miracle how well you fit into this family." Colin stated, after having eagerly listened to his sister-in-law's thoughts about ancient religions. "Together with our dear Eloise you must be the most well-read woman I have ever met." He added with a kind, admiring smile. Anthony cast a worried look at Kate over his book, afraid that she would start a furious rant about how women should always be considered as well-read as men, or something of that sort, but instead she just smiled warmly back at Colin.
"Thank you, precious Colin! And I must in the same way admit that I have never felt this much at home anywhere else, not even with my dear Mary and Edwina. I feel like in the past I was always forced to be a bit alert and strain myself around other people, but with this family I can be completely myself and finally exhale..." She smiled and let her head fall back against the back of the sofa where she sat next to Colin. Anthony's face melted into a smile, he put away his book, got up from his armchair and walked up behind the sofa.
"And we are so happy to have you here." He murmured, gave her a long upside-down kiss and ruffled her freely flowing hair. Colin cast a mischievous smirk at them, since Benedict, who usually was the one doing the smirking, was totally focused on his painting. Anthony paced up to him with his hands behind his back and studied the artwork. He let out a displeased snort and Benedict turned irritatedly around to face him.
"It is not done yet, you should not judge unfinished work!" He snapped.
"You have got the eyes all wrong, they do not look even remotely like hers." Anthony criticised in a dry tone.
"And what do you possibly know about art?" Benedict lashed out.
"Not much, but I do know a lot about my wife's eyes." Anthony pointed out nonchalantly.
"Do you not have your lady-novel to return to, brother?" Benedict sneered at him.
"Come now, Benedict... I do not believe that literature should be divided into male and female categories. Literature teaches us empathy, shows us how to understand the lives and feelings of other people, which I believe is an ability both men and women alike should possess." Kate scolded him softly. There was the attitude Anthony had been expecting from her already earlier. "An ability, which my dear husband surely can develop further." She added and smirked at Anthony, who gave out another displeased snort and returned to his armchair.
"Well that is indeed true, dearest Kate." Benedict grinned at her.
"I simply wish to know if Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy get each other in the end or not!" Anthony complained and opened the book again.
"Of course they do, you twerp, it is a romance novel!" Benedict sighed loudly.
"And now you spoiled it for me!" Anthony exclaimed vexedly and slammed the book shut.
"Good heavens, I have seen them quarrel over countless things, but not yet over a romance novel..." Colin muttered to Kate, who looked equally amused.
"It is not to spoil, when everyone knows that those books always have a happy ending. Or, apparently everyone except you, knows, which signifies that you know as little about literature as you do about art." Benedict teased and waved his paintbrush towards Anthony like a weapon. Anthony jolted up from his chair and was just about to blurt out some terrible insult at his younger brother, when the butler suddenly appeared at the door to the drawing room, looking both terribly tired, troubled and embarrassed at the same time.
"I am so sorry to trouble you at this ungodly hour, my lord... My lady." He uttered, making a little bow both to Anthony and Kate. "But there..." He stopped to clear his throat. "There seems to be a Miss Rosso calling at the door." The butler announced hesitatingly. Colin and Benedict immediately turned their gazes towards Anthony, looking at him with both surprise, shock and even something slowly turning into exasperation. Anthony and Kate had not told them anything about the triad drama around the prince, thinking that the fewer people knew about it, the better.
"What the hell...?" Anthony wheezed out, before turning towards his brothers. "Do not look at me like that, I did not invite the damned woman here...!"
"Ahem... It is not you she is calling for, my lord. It is for Lady Bridgerton." The butler specified. Now Colin and Benedict looked even more confused, but Kate sprung up quickly from her seat and left for the door before anyone could stop or question her.
"Thank you, Mr Wilson. I will meet her in the entry hall. Could you please arrange for some tea for us in the library?" Kate smiled politely to the butler as she passed him by the door.
"Of course, my lady. At once." Mr Wilson nodded and left towards the kitchen as swiftly as possible for a respectable English butler. Kate heard her own hurried footsteps echo in the big, empty hall as she walked towards the exterior doors. She found Siena in close proximity to them, since the butler had apparently not let her in any further than barely over the threshold. Siena stood there with her mouth open, gaping at the flamboyance of the enormous hall, but when she saw Kate coming she turned to stare at her with pure horror in her eyes. In a rush of blind panic she threw herself into Kate arms, not paying a single thought on how inappropriately she was behaving. She was shaking like she had just crossed the Antarctica to get here and clung to Kate's body like it was the only warmth she could receive.
"Siena...! What in the world has happened...?" Kate gasped, but instinctively closed her arms around the distraught woman.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, I know I should not have come here, but... I... I was walking home from some fancy lady's musical soirée where I sang tonight, not far from here and... I saw him... And... And then I was on Grosvenor Square and I... I knew you lived here..." Siena stuttered, casting terrified glances around her when she spoke, before finally pushing herself away from Kate.
"You saw who? Who did you see, Siena?" Kate enquired in a grave tone and grabbed her by the upper arms, like she was trying to shake some sense into her.
"That... That man... One of... One of Prince Friedrich's men... He... He had been waiting for me outside, and he... Oh god, he -'' Siena burst into hopeless tears. "I'm sure he was going to kill me, I clearly saw a pistol in his hand...! He was just waiting for some dark enough alley...!"
"Dear lord..." Kate exhaled and wrapped her arms again around Siena, who sobbed loudly against Kate's chest. "Are you sure that it was the prince's man and that he was following you...?" She asked Siena with a trembling voice, while squeezing her tighter in her arms.
"Yes, absolutely sure...!" Siena squealed. "Your butler saw him as well..." She sniffed and drew a couple of deep breaths. Kate let go of her and went to the door, making sure it was properly locked. Then she peeked cautiously behind the thick curtains and onto the nocturnal street through the tall windows. First she saw nothing but the empty square, but then she suddenly spotted the tiny light from a burning cigarette. There, just across from their house by a dark corner outside the Featheringtons, she saw a tall man in a hat, calmly smoking his cigarette and waiting patiently amongst the shadows. Kate winced, as if she had been prodded with a hot iron, and rapidly closed the curtains. "Come." She said sharply to Siena, grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her towards the library. They had to pass the drawing room, where the heads of the three Bridgerton brothers were curiously poking out from, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening.
"Kate! What is going on...?!" Anthony hissed to her while they passed, but she paid him no attention. She closed the library door behind them with a heavy thud and gestured for Siena to sit down by the fireplace, where the butler had already delivered some chamomile tea. Siena did as she was asked, then folded up her legs against her body as if to shield it and burrowed herself into the corner of the sofa like a scared animal. Kate observed her with commiseration and softly laid down a heavy blanket around her shoulders.
"Breathe, Siena... You are safe now." She hummed gently, as she sat down next to her on the sofa and took her ice cold hands in hers. "Just breathe." Kate murmured to the now once again hyperventilating woman, in a much similar way she had tried to calm down Anthony during the incident with the bee sting. But, well, without the hand to the bosom part... Kate held Siena's hands in her own until they started to feel a bit warmer and slowly also her breathing slowed down. "There you go..." Kate smiled, stood up and poured Siena a big glass of Anthony's most expensive whiskey, although he would surely have disapproved of it.
"Thank you..." Siena whispered as Kate handed her the glass. She swallowed it down with a single long gulp and put the empty glass down on the tea table with a loud clank. "What... What am I going to do...?" She cried and looked at Kate with inconsolable eyes. "I can't go home, I..." She started panicking again, so Kate grabbed her hands back in hers.
"No, you are not going home. You are going to stay here, for as long as necessary." Kate declared determinedly.
"I... I can't possibly stay here..." Siena tried to oppose while gawking at the viscountess.
"Yes you can, this is my house as much as Anthony's. And I say that you stay here for as long as you need. You are safe now, Siena... No thug would even dream of breaking into a fine house such as this one and undoubtedly the prince would not order him to provoke such a scandal. Nothing bad will happen to you while you are in this house." Kate reassured her.
"I... Well... Thank you..." Siena breathed out and collapsed into Kate's arms again.
"It is alright..." Kate murmured and absentmindedly stroked her hair that had got all messed up. "It is my fault that you ended up in this situation and I will also fix it. I will come up with something, I promise..." She vowed, already cooking up a plan in her mind.
After having tucked Siena into bed in one of the guest rooms facing the gardens, Kate returned to the drawing room. It had taken three glasses of whiskey, two cups of chamomile tea and a mild sedative that Mrs Wilson had cooked up to calm down the horror-stricken soprano. All three of the Bridgerton men jerked up from their seats immediately when Kate entered the room. She assumed that Anthony had filled in the details regarding the prince's affair with Siena to his brothers, since they no longer looked as baffled as earlier.
"Well?" Anthony inquired, before Kate even had the chance to sit down.
"She was being followed by one of the prince's men." Kate sighed as she slumped down next to Anthony on the sofa. "But luckily she was crossing Grosvenor Square and remembered that we live here." She added, while Benedict and Colin sat back down in their armchairs.
"What was the man going to do to her...?" Colin wondered with wide eyes.
"Why, I do not know! Probably he just wanted to give her some pretty flowers or a nice letter from an admirer! Why do men ever follow women around in the dark at all, Colin...?!" Kate blurted out angrily, though she usually put up with Colin's boyish naivety much better. Colin fell silent and stared embarrassedly at his feet. "But... She was indeed quite sure that the man was in fact set out to kill her. She believed he had a pistol with him." She continued, a bit more softly and calmly.
"Good lord almighty..." Benedict breathed in sharply and clapped his hand on his mouth. Colin looked horrified and Anthony's face went white as a sheet as well. "Where is she now?" Benedict wondered.
"Asleep, at last... In one of the guestrooms." Kate replied, staring into the fireplace.
"Well, what are we supposed to do? She cannot stay here forever!" Anthony chimed in, all worried. Kate closed her eyes and slowly counted down from ten, just like she had instructed him to do when he was about to lose his temper.
"I do not know..." She finally exhaled, still somewhat annoyedly. "But she cannot leave, not as long as that man is outside there waiting. I saw him as well, through the window in the entry hall." Kate said, still shivering at the thought of it. The men jumped up and rushed to the windows, since they were facing the same direction as the ones in the hall, but the square seemed to be completely empty now, except for a big rat that scurried over the cobblestones.
"Maybe he is gone...?" Colin suggested.
"He is not, and even if he was, he would surely come back. I will have to come up with some permanent solution to this, since it is I who caused this to poor Siena..." Kate muttered.
"Perhaps we could try and talk some sense into the prince?" Colin spoke again.
"Talk sense into a man who just ordered someone to kill his mistress...?!" Benedict exclaimed and Anthony gave out an agreeing grunt.
"No, such a threat will have to be answered in the same way." Kate stated with resolution.
"Are you going to hire someone to kill the prince...?!" Colin yelped in shock.
"Of course not." Kate replied sourly. "I will threaten him back. And I think I might just know how to do it..." She pondered, mostly to herself. Anthony flopped back down on the sofa and Benedict cast an amused look at his obvious hopelessness.
"Here is a lesson to be learned for you, Colin. Better restrain yourself from having too many mistresses, because one way or the other, your past will always come back and bite you in the arse." Benedict chuckled. Anthony cast him a murderous look, but was apparently too tired to either scold him or come up with a clever riposte.
"Thank god that mother is not in the house, what would she or our poor father say if they knew we accommodate opera songstresses in our family home..." Anthony sighed.
"I am quite sure Lord Edmund would simply be honoured if his house might have actually saved the life of an innocent woman." Kate snapped back at him. "I shall bid you gentlemen good-night, I have a challenging day ahead of me tomorrow." She uttered bluntly and left the room in a swirl of skirts and determination.
***
The following morning Benedict walked down the stairs to the first floor to join his family for breakfast. He had exceptionally stayed in one of the many guest rooms of Bridgerton House and not in his own bachelor apartment nearby, since there was absolutely no way he would have gone out into the night when there was some murderous maniac lurking in the shadows. But when he came down he found Siena, instead of a murderer, lurking by the door to the breakfast room.
"Good morning, Miss Siena." He greeted her familiarly. Siena winced and turned around. "I am sorry, I did not intend to scare you." Benedict smiled in an apologetic way.
"It's quite alright..." Siena sighed. "It was me who was sunken into my thoughts." She admitted and turned back around to peek into the breakfast room. Benedict walked up behind her, quite close to her back and leaned against the door frame.
"What are you looking at?" He teased her. Eloise and Francesca had apparently already left, but Colin, Anthony and Kate were still seated by the table, while Hyacinth and Gregory were engulfed in a game of chess, for some reason on the floor and not by a table. Colin seemed to be equally engulfed in reading the newspaper, whereas Kate and Anthony seemed to be as immersed in each other's company, as usual. They looked surprisingly cheerful regarding what had happened last night, but from the scarce bits and pieces Benedict and Siena could hear from their conversation it sounded like they were reminiscing over some incident that had happened during their honeymoon in Bombay. They were leaning in close to one another over the corner of the table while conversing. Anthony - who was obviously seated at the end of the table - put his hand softly upon Kate's hand and listened to her carefully with a blissful smile, while she was speaking and smiling broadly as well.
"Him, them..." Siena replied silently. "He is so... Different, with her. He seems so calm, so genuinely happy, so relaxed and as if he is exactly where he's supposed to be. When we were together he was always in a hurry to be somewhere else... He was so hasty in everything he did and he always kept looking at that damned watch."
"It is our father's old watch." Benedict pointed out.
"I know, but it was also more than that... It felt like that watch was the most important thing in his life. But... I believe he forgets about that watch when he is with her." Siena pondered, just as Kate had told Anthony something that made him burst out in heartfelt laughter.
"I believe he forgets about everything else when he is with her." Benedict smiled softly.
"I didn't mean to sound like I am pining after him, I am not! I am really happy for them, Kate is wonderful and I mean, look at them... They are just perfect for each other." Siena quickly remarked, followed by a sigh.
"I know, but I do have faith in the fact that there is true love out there to find for everyone, even for such night-time creatures as you and me, Miss Siena." Benedict smirked at her.
"Do you, really...?" Siena wondered. "Honestly?"
"Of course, I am a hopeless romantic after all." He grinned. "How is Genevieve?"
"She is fine. In no need of a Monsieur Delacroix, though." She smirked back at him. Meanwhile Anthony's happiness had apparently spread to Hyacinth and Gregory, as they had abandoned their chess game and were instead clinging on Anthony like little monkeys.
"No, get off me you wild beasts!" Anthony's laughter echoed from the room, while Hyacinth and Gregory gave out screams of joy and kept climbing on his chair and shoulders until Hyacinth accidentally hit Anthony's tea cup and spilled its contents on the table.
"I did not expect her to be." Benedict chuckled, then he gave Siena a push so she stumbled into the breakfast room.
"No, no, no...!" She tried to hiss in protest, but it was already too late. Kate, Anthony, Gregory and Hyacinth turned to look at them, even Colin finally lifted up his eyes from his newspaper. Anthony looked clearly displeased and pressed his youngest siblings against his chest like a sheltering wall against this ruthless intruder from the past.
"Good morning, dear family! Surely we can find some breakfast for this fine miss as well?" Benedict blared out and kept pushing the reluctant Siena towards the table.
"Of course! Please sit down, Siena!" Kate smiled widely. "I am sorry, our meals tend to get a bit lively sometimes..." She laughed as she stood up to rub off the spilled tea from the table, waving off a servant who tried to do it instead of her. Anthony said nothing, but glared at both Siena and Benedict from behind a curious-looking Hyacinth and Gregory, who he still held tightly in his arms.
"I am sorry, but who are you, miss?" Gregory asked Siena politely.
"My name is Siena Rosso, I'm a friend of... Kate's." She replied, a bit sourly, but still smiling at the boy. Anthony cast a venomous look at her, but Kate smiled at her happily and Colin studied her curiously over his newspaper.
"Nice to meet you Miss Rosso, I am Gregory Bridgerton." The boy said cheerfully.
"And I am Hyacinth Bridgerton!" Hyacinth introduced herself as well.
"Pleasure to meet you both." Siena smirked at them a bit warily. She did not appreciate having all the Bridgertons staring at her in different manners, while she was trying to pour herself some tea and spread some marmalade on her toast. Christ, even their breakfast table was more abundant than her entire meals during one day, or maybe three days, she thought to herself as she pondered what else to eat besides the toast. The table was filled with everything from wheat rolls, croissants, boiled and scrambled eggs to bacon and sausages, as well as large glass bottles of milk and orange juice. And of course fresh flowers, because who could possibly eat without a giant bouquet of flowers?
"Did you sleep well, Miss Rosso?" Colin asked her politely and tucked away his newspaper.
"I did, thank you, Mr. Bridgerton." She replied, but the thanking was in fact mostly directed towards Kate, who still smiled back at her. Benedict hoarded scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages on his plate and washed it all down with a large glass of orange juice.
"Are you hungover again, brother?" Anthony sneered at him.
"What is a hungover?" Hyacinth wondered with innocent eyes.
"It is when a gentleman has had too much to drink and has a headache the next morning. As well as a genuinely queasy feeling and a craving for salty food." Anthony explained to her in a contrived educational voice, which was clearly meant to offend Benedict.
"Well, yes... After all the excitement last night with Kate's old friend I surely needed a nightcap or two." Benedict snapped back and flashed a fake smile at Anthony.
"What exciting thing happened last night?" Gregory inquired.
"Nothing you two need to concern yourselves with." Anthony said and put down his siblings on the floor. "Pick up your chess game so nobody will trip over it, your governess is already waiting for you." He ordered them in a soft tone. "I have to leave for my work as well." He added and stood up, giving Kate a kiss on the cheek and a quick nod to the rest of the table. Hyacinth and Gregory picked up the chess pieces and the board in a hurry, curtsied and bowed neatly to the table party and then Anthony escorted the children upstairs.
"I am afraid I have to leave you as well, I am going to meet my sister for lunch at their palace..." Kate explained in a meaningful tone and stood up as well.
"Will the prince be there...?" Siena asked with a timid voice.
"I sure as hell hope so." Kate muttered, uncharacteristically brazenly. "I trust that you two can keep Miss Siena company." She added to her brothers-in-law.
"But... Who will chaperone for us...?" Colin questioned.
"Surely you and Benedict can chaperone each other." Kate stated and left hastily.
"Well... Anyone up for a game of chess...?" Benedict wondered with an awkward smile.
***
Kate stepped out from her carriage in the huge sumptuous yard of the palace her sister and the prince inhabited while they were staying in London. It was obviously not big as the palace of the Queen herself, but still significantly royal, resembling ancient Roman architecture more than traditional British one. A footman escorted her inside through the tall gilded doors, across a long corridor and into a bright and elaborately decorated room where Edwina, and luckily even Prince Friedrich, waited for her by a table overflowing with salty and sweet dishes.
"Sister!" Edwina's face lit up as she saw Kate, then she jumped up from her seat and rushed to give her a hug. Kate hugged her back tightly for a long time.
"Viscountess Bridgerton." The prince stood up as well, but thankfully did not this time intend to kiss her hand, instead he greeted her with a small polite bow. "You are most welcome, we are happy to return the favour and this time be the ones serving the food." He smiled in his usual practised and polished way. Kate fought hard to put on a smile as well, although she was quite sure the prince had never served any food to anyone, probably not even poured himself a bloody glass of water. Edwina sat down with an excited grin on her face and waved towards the empty chair, so Kate took it.
"I am so glad you wanted to join us for lunch! I just went and saw mother this morning and she was so excited for our baby news!" Edwina rejoiced. Kate tried to smile actually happily this time, she knew that being a wife and a mother was everything her sister had always dreamed of, but Kate was not sure whether this was becoming a dream or a nightmare.
"How wonderful." Kate smirked, more tensely than she had meant to. "I am sure she is greatly looking forward to becoming a grandmother."
"Yes, and imagine, she will have two grandchildren next spring!" Edwina squealed and put her hand on her belly, which still bore no hint to her being with child.
"That is right, though your child is her only true grandchild." Kate pointed out and picked a few dark burgundy grapes on her plate.
"Do not say that Kate, your child is as much mama's grandchild as it is Lady Violet's!" Edwina protested. Kate sighed and more or less successfully put on a blissful face again.
"You are right, as always, dear sister. How have you been feeling?" She wondered.
"Splendid, I have not felt sick at all! I believe I know what people mean when they say that pregnancy makes a woman glow!" Edwina smirked happily. Of course Edwina would be one of those glowing expectants, whereas Kate herself had not felt particularly glowing when she had been throwing up her entrails every morning - sometimes also day and evening - in the beginning of her pregnancy. Kate still tried to be glad that at least Edwina had that thing going well for her at the moment...
"That is good to hear." She replied with a smile. "And you, Your Highness, are you looking forward to becoming a father?" She turned towards the prince with a sharp look.
"Most certainly. I cannot wait to meet our little baby." He smiled courteously. And to raise him or her to think that it is totally fine to get permanently rid of human beings that might cause you trouble, or simply vexed you, Kate thought to herself, angry like a swarm of bees.
"Indeed. My husband feels the same way. He has already carried down all the old children's books from the attic. Most of them are of course at Aubrey Hall, but he seems to be set upon starting to read bedtime stories to the child before it is even born, apparently to make it accustomed to his voice." Kate smiled, this time genuinely fondly while thinking of Anthony's efforts. After having read Pride and Prejudice out aloud to Kate he had decided to continue with that habit every night, but with literature more suitable for the child. "That reminds me, Edwina... Do you still have that old fairytale book I used to read for you? It belonged to my mother and I would love to be able to read it for my own child." Kate turned back to face Edwina with a curious look and had a sip of water.
"I believe I do!" Edwina exclaimed. "But I am not entirely sure where I have put it, it might take me some time to find it..."
"Oh, it does not matter! The prince can surely keep me company while we wait for your return." Kate said in a tone that suggested she would not take no for an answer.
"Alright, then... I will go and get it right away." Edwina smiled, a bit bewildered. Then she stood up and left the room, leaving a deep silence at the table. Prince Friedrich smirked a bit awkwardly at Kate and gulped down some tea.
"So, when are you returning to Aubrey -" He began.
"Listen to me, you worthless little piece of human garbage." Kate snarled at him, after having glanced around herself to make sure that the nearest footman was far enough away from them as not to be able to hear their conversation. The prince's face turned white from shock, nobody had probably ever used such words in his presence, let alone used them about him. "I know everything about your arrangement with Siena Rosso and I also know you sent someone to kill her, when she had ended that said agreement. She came to our house late last night, chased by that murderous thug of yours. So here is the deal, arschloch... You will leave Siena alone, forever, as well as any other mistress. Believe me, I have contacts to that sorts of people and I will know as soon as you approach some other lady with the same kind of offer. From now on, you will be a devoted husband to my sister and a loving father to your child, keeping clear from all other women. Is that clear?" She growled at him, threateningly like a wolfmother protecting her cubs.
"How... How dare you speak to me in this way, Lady Bridgerton...?!" The prince spat out after a long stunned pause.
"Oh, I dare, because if you do not submit to my terms, I will send out letters to each and every member of the ton, perhaps to Prussia as well, informing them what a devious villain you are. And yes, I know, a prince having a mistress is hardly not that scandalous, but a prince sending assassins after his mistresses would surely set the ton in turmoil and ruin your fine noble facade." Kate continued in an almost sassy tone. Still, she was most grateful that there was an entire table between them and a footman present in the room, since the prince's face was suddenly filled with such hatred, disgust and rage that she would otherwise have feared for the safety of her child and herself.
"You have no proof. Nobody will believe the word of a whore." He suddenly smirked victoriously.
"Oh, I have much more than Siena's word. I have her written testimony that she was followed by your man and the original contract with your signature on it." Kate snapped back at him and quickly continued as he looked like he was about to intervene. "And yes, I know that even a written testimony of a prostitute will not stand in court against the word of a prince, but I also have the written testimony of our butler, who happens to be one of the most esteemed butlers in London, as well as my own testimony. Both our butler and I saw the man and would have no difficulty identifying him in a line of suspects, after which the court would surely find some evidence tracing him back to you. So... Perhaps somebody would believe the word of a whore, like you so pleasantly put it, a prestigious butler and an honourable viscountess, even against a sublime prince such as yourself?" Kate declared, this time with the victorious smirk on her lips. The prince had fallen utterly silent and his face was completely emotionless, but his eyes were as horrified as Siena's had been last night - and it caused Kate tremendous pleasure. "Good, then we have an agreement. If anything suspicious happens to Siena, my family or my staff, those letters will be all around town and I will take the testimonies to court. But, as long as you keep to your end of this agreement, this information will remain strictly within the walls of our house. Not even Edwina will have to know." Kate said sharply, just as Edwina herself entered the room. "Ah, there you are! I was just telling your husband what a wonderful book that is, it always results in a happy ending for the heroes and a sorry end for the wretched villains." She smiled venomously at the prince.
"Yes, these are truly textbook examples of traditional fairy tales!" Edwina laughed as she gave the book to Kate. "They filled my head with expectations of getting a happily ever after with a gallant prince." She giggled and returned to her seat.
"Well... In your case, dear sister, you honestly got your true happy ending with an actual prince." Kate smiled a bit too cheerfully at her sister.
"That is true!" Edwina snickered and took Prince Friedrich's hand, before noticing how pale he was. "My love, are you feeling unwell...?"
"I... Yes, I believe some of this food was spoiled. Excuse me, I must withdraw to my chambers..." He stuttered and shot up from his chair so forcibly it almost tumbled over.
"Oh no, what on earth caused that to him...?" Edwina gasped as the prince left the room.
"I do not have the faintest idea..." Kate replied, with the slightest upward quirk to her lips.