The Queen's Choice, page 6
Everyone also knew that each Goodwin earl was sworn to try to get the islands back into the family’s possession – almost at all costs. Jonathan only hoped that the price of betraying his best friend wasn’t too high for the lord to pay.
“Well, there’s no harm in talking to him,” Valdemar said with a sigh.
Jonathan nodded and they rode on in silence for a couple of minutes. He enjoyed watching the trees along the path that were still covered in a thin white layer of frost. It made the whole forest seem enchanted.
“Maria was married to Lord Goodwin’s older brother, you know,” Valdemar then turned to Jonathan and said. “He was her first husband.”
Jonathan simply sent him a pointed look trying to get him to convey the meaning of his statement. He already knew this about his wife.
“You should bring her,” Valdemar said and made a sweeping hand gesture with his palm up that seemed to signify that it would be an easy and simple task bringing Maria along.
“I can’t bring her,” Jonathan said and almost spurred his horse to get away from Valdemar and the unpleasantness of the conversation. “I can’t trust her.”
Now it was Valdemar’s turn to send him a pointed look.
“She could send a message to Lord Helmholdt, ruining the whole deal,” Jonathan tried to explain.
“Lord Helmholdt will know soon enough if Lord Goodwin changes sides,” Valdemar said. He seemed to think for a moment. “She was married to his brother for three years, I think. She has to know Peter Goodwin rather well. She could help you gain his trust faster.”
Jonathan thought about it. If Peter Goodwin liked and trusted his former sister-in-law, and all rumors said that he did, it would indeed make it easier for Jonathan to propose that Lord Goodwin would support him in exchange for the islands. Maria would probably also be able to figure out whether he was actually truthful when he said that he would.
“Why would she help me?” Jonathan asked hesitantly.
Valdemar smothered a smile.
“Ha, I knew you’d come around,” he said.
“I haven’t come around,” Jonathan said and tried not to sulk like a child but keep his features stern. “Why would she help me?” he repeated.
“Don’t you think that she would prefer to be queen rather than sister to the king?” Valdemar asked. “If only you started treating her a bit nicer, I think that the two of you could have an excellent marriage.”
“I can’t promise her anything of the sort,” Jonathan said and shifted a bit in the saddle. “You know that I plan to get the annulment as soon as Lord Helmholdt is dead,” he whispered.
He glanced back after he said the last thing, but the two guards were still too far away to have heard anything.
“Then promise her something she wants,” Valdemar said matter-of-factly. “Anna said that you forbade her to go riding. Tell her that she is allowed to go, if she helps you.”
Jonathan pondered it for a moment.
“If she really is loyal to her brother, it won’t be enough that I grant her permission to ride,” he said. “She would need something much larger to betray her brother.”
He looked questioningly at Valdemar for a moment.
“What would make you betray me?” he asked.
Valdemar didn’t seem offended that he would ask a thing like that. He simply looked ahead at the crisp, frosty forest in front of them.
“A threat to Anna’s life,” he said simply.
Jonathan nodded.
“Well, I’m not going to threaten to kill anyone in order to get her to cooperate,” he said. He couldn’t help but wonder whether there actually was a person in Maria’s life that she cared enough about to betray her brother. Her whole life seemed to revolve around him. Both of her marriages had been to men who supported him and wanted a close family connection with him, once he became king.
Even if she was the most dedicated of sisters, she must have noticed that she was simply a pawn that her brother moved around the board. A pawn that he seemed ready to sacrifice. At least Jonathan doubted that Maria had had any interest in marrying him.
She would have had to be extremely self-sacrificing in order to marry a man she knew hated her and her brother and who could have done whatever he liked to her – and her body. Jonathan would never have forced himself on her, but neither Maria nor Lord Helmholdt could have known that beforehand. And she had readily accepted that they didn’t consummate the marriage.
“She wants to be a nun,” Anna had said, Jonathan suddenly remembered.
He could hold back a smile at the thought of it. It seemed absolutely ludicrous that Maria would enjoy a life as a nun. She who enjoyed fine dresses and riding. He couldn’t imagine that she would enjoy the ascetic living of a nun.
“What?” Valdemar said and smiled slightly himself. “What’s that smile?”
“I know what could make Maria betray her brother,” Jonathan said and now he almost grinned.
Chapter 14
“I heard that you are going to visit Lord Goodwin,” Maria said when she saw Jonathan in the stables. She had wanted to make sure that Arabella’s mating had gone well.
King Jonathan’s face froze in response to her question.
“Who told you that?” he demanded in a hard tone.
Maria didn’t have time to answer.
“Anna,” King Jonathan answered himself. He sighed.
Maria nodded. She hoped she wasn’t getting Anna into trouble.
“Valdemar has to stop revealing secrets to her,” King Jonathan said without looking at her. He had already turned halfway in the aisle to walk to his own horse.
“Maybe the concept of not speaking to his wife seems strange to him,” Maria said without thinking. King Jonathan grinned sadly.
“I doubt it. Our parents hardly spoke to each other,” he said.
“Then perhaps Valdemar is not as conservative as his older brother,” Maria kept going.
There was a pause. Maria wasn’t sure whether King Jonathan would be mad at her now, but she was tired of trying to tiptoe around him. She clearly didn’t get anywhere with him that way.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say that you will get nowhere with Lord Goodwin. Mind you, my first husband was his brother. There is only one thing that will make that family change sides,” she told him.
“Bear Island and Oakholm,” King Jonathan said. He had turned towards her again.
“Exactly,” Maria said.
“Who said that I am not willing to give the islands to them?” King Jonathan said.
Maria was dumbfounded. She knew how important the custom duty collected from the islands was for the crown.
“Really?” she had to ask.
“You wait and see,” King Jonathan smiled slightly. He seemed to think about something for a moment then he turned around and walked up to Arabella’s box. “I’d like you to come with me,” he then surprised her by saying.
Maria could only look at him. She searched his green eyes for a confirmation that he was joking, but he seemed to be genuine.
“Why?” she said hesitantly.
“I’d like your help in convincing Lord Goodwin to join our cause,” King Jonathan said and patted Arabella’s muzzle. “I don’t have anything for you,” he told the horse. “But I suppose that you will be eating more now, won’t you? Now that you are going to be a mother?”
He turned his gaze away from the horse and looked at Maria.
“I hear that the mating went well?”
Maria nodded, but she was still thinking about what he had said about helping him.
“It’ll be interesting to see what their foal will look like,” King Jonathan went on.
“Why would I help you?” she said. When he didn’t answer right away, she added: “With Lord Goodwin. Why would I help you persuade him?”
He couldn’t honestly believe that she would simply help him out of the goodness of her heart.
“Because I would help you in return,” King Jonathan said and looked her straight in the eyes. His green eyes looked almost black in the dim light of the stable.
“I don’t need help,” Maria said.
“I think that you do. It must be tiring having to marry men only to better your brother’s chances of becoming king,” he said, squinting slightly as if to assess her.
Maria squinted back, thinking that perhaps Anna also told him details about her.
“It’s the role of a sister to help her brother,” she said slowly.
“And you have helped him tremendously, haven’t you? For the past ten years. And still, it is me who is king, not your brother.”
Maria grinded her teeth together. He was only voicing thoughts that she had pondered herself, but somehow it stung to hear someone else say them out loud.
“The church will never support him,” King Jonathan stated simply, and was once again distracted by Arabella who nudged him with her muzzle to get attention. “I don’t have anything for you,” he repeated with a smile and ran his hand over her elegant white neck.
“They might come around,” Maria suggested, but her mouth was dry, and the words were difficult to get out. She knew that the church had never supported Gustaf. The archbishop was an integral part of King Jonathan’s cabinet as he had been with his father. He would never go against Jonathan in favor of Gustaf. It was one of Gustaf’s greatest problems.
“Once I’m sure that your brother won’t be a problem to me anymore, I will have our marriage annulled,” King Jonathan went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “I will give you Louisalund Castle. I will have to remain your guardian, but only as a brother would a sister – and I don’t plan to marry you off to anyone. Not without your consent.”
He sent her pointed look as he said the last part.
“You will be free to do whatever you want, as long as you don’t go against me as king, that is,” King Jonathan continued. “You can ride your horse, start a breeding program of your own, take care of the lands, start a charity for the locals... It’s up to you. I won’t interfere.”
Maria tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like parchment. How did he know her so well? They had hardly spoken. How did he know to offer her exactly what she wanted?
“I’ll think about it,” she said raspingly and quickly left the stables before then and there promised that she would betray Gustaf.
***
“Please, take a seat,” Jonathan offered and motioned towards one of the chairs in his common room.
Maria sat down. She seemed uncomfortable; Jonathan noticed. It could be both good and bad.
“Have you thought any more about coming with me to visit Lord Goodwin?” he asked and tried to sound calm, although he wasn’t sure that he succeeded. The more he had thought about the plan, the more he could see that she could be invaluable to him, if he managed to get her to change sides.
She leaned back in her chair before she answered the question. She seemed much more relaxed now. She had to have heard the uncertainty in his voice.
“If you need my help persuading him to go against Gustaf, you will never succeed,” she said.
Jonathan leaned back as well and crossed his arms.
“In getting your help or persuading him?” he queried.
“Both,” Maria responded, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she was fighting a smile. “Peter... Lord Goodwin will never go against Gustaf. They have been friends since they were boys.”
“And you? Why would you not help me try to convince him?” Jonathan squinted when he asked her.
“Because it is impossible!” Maria said. “I do not want to anger my brother over this - and neither should you,” she added.
“Many things that seem impossible end up happening,” Jonathan said. The argument was nonsense, but he needed to buy time.
Maria leaned forward again.
“This will only add to the conflict between you,” she said in a calm voice. “You negotiated a ceasefire, why not go with that? The country is finally at peace...”
“The country will never be at peace as long as your brother is alive!” Jonathan rose violently from the chair, making it fall back on the floor. He walked towards the window.
“Or as long as you are alive!” Maria said angrily and jumped up too.
Jonathan shook his head. He tried to control his breathing and calm down. He couldn’t be angry with her if he wanted to persuade her.
“You are wrong,” he said in a low voice. “Even if I die, I still have a brother who will fight for the throne. If your brother dies, there will be no one else who has a claim of the throne. Then the country will finally be at peace.”
For a moment they just stood opposite each other, looking into each other's eyes. Jonathan could feel her reluctance from across the room—with something else, too. For a moment he thought of the woman he had met in the stables and how everything could have been different if they hadn’t been forced into these roles by Lord Helmholdt.
“Gustaf has sons,” Maria pointed out.
Jonathan walked around the knocked-over chair and picked it up. He placed it harder than he needed to on the floor.
“They are young. If they are brought up the right way, they will know that they have no claim over the throne,” Jonathan said and sat back down.
Maria shook her head as she sat down as well. They were silent for a while. Jonathan had learned long ago that silence could be rather effective in a negotiation. And that was what this was.
“Do you really think Lord Goodwin will help you?” Maria asked. Jonathan smiled inwardly. His tactic had worked.
“If he is giving what he truly desires, then I think that I have a chance,” Jonathan said.
“Will you truly give him the islands?” she said.
“That will be between me and Lord Goodwin,” Jonathan said and smiled. Even though he took a risk in asking for her help, he couldn’t reveal this part. “But if I give him the islands, do you think that he can be persuaded?”
“He might,” she said in a light voice.
Jonathan grinned.
“You know that he will,” he said.
“If you feel sure, then why do you need me?” she said.
Jonathan leaned forward.
“Because you know him so well. You will be able to convince him much faster than I can.”
Maria nodded slowly.
“I suppose I would,” she said.
“I’m offering everything you want in return for your help,” he reminded her.
An emotion passed along her features. Something between pain and sadness.
“You could never give me everything that I want,” he thought he heard her mumble.
“What was that?” he asked, just to be sure.
She shook her head.
“Nothing. I will help you,” she agreed, but avoided looking at him. Jonathan had no idea whether she was lying or not. “In any case, I miss Eleanor – Lady Goodwin - and the children terribly.”
Chapter 15
They left for the Goodwin estate the very next day. Maria had written a letter to Margaret the night before, but it wouldn’t reach Gustaf and her before Maria and King Jonathan were already at the manor. She would have no way of knowing what instructions Gustaf had for her. Maybe that was part of King Jonathan's plan.
The carriage lumbered along the road. It was raining and the road was muddy which didn’t at all help with the comfort of travelling. It was exactly like the day that Maria had arrived at the castle.
Unlike Gustaf, Jonathan didn’t seem to be able to sleep in a trundling carriage. Maria decided that the best thing was to try to sleep the whole way, so she didn’t feel like she needed to talk to him. It seemed awkward to sit across from each other and not say a word. Or at least she would pretend to be sleeping; because of the uneven roads she was being thrown from side to side, making it truly difficult to look like she was asleep.
The carriage drove into a particularly deep hole and Maria was thrust forward towards King Jonathan sitting opposite her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and helped her back in her seat.
Despite wearing both a thick fur-lined cloak, a dense woolen dress and a shift of the finest, softest wool, Maria was still convinced that she could feel the warmth of his hands through her clothes. She looked down at them as they rested in his lap. He was wearing thick leather gloves. There really was something wrong with her, she thought as she mumbled a thank you.
“I’ve never understood how people can sleep in carriages,” King Jonathan said.
Maria nodded.
“I know,” she said.
King Jonathan’s face had a quizzical look but a slight smile as well.
“But you were just sleeping?” he asked, pointing at her seat.
Maria looked down at the seat.
“Not really,” she said.
Jonathan gave a short, dry laugh.
“So, you would rather pretend to be asleep than have to talk to me?” he observed. She couldn’t tell from his tone of voice if he was hurt by that or simply stating the facts. But she felt like she couldn’t get away with lying.
“Gustaf can be sound asleep even if the ride is much bumpier than this,” Maria said, to change the subject. “When we were travelling to the wedding, it took us three days, because the roads were so bad, but he could just sleep through it all.”
She held her breath after saying that. She had just realized that she had been making small talk with King Jonathan about his mortal enemy.
King Jonathan didn’t seem to mind. She wondered what had changed. He had stopped ignoring her and now he was inviting her on this trip. Could it be a trap somehow?
“Valdemar is the same,” he said. “It drives me crazy every time we have to go somewhere together. He falls asleep the moment the carriage starts driving, leaving me to hear him snoring all the way.”
Maria smiled at him, thankful that he hadn’t taken it the wrong way.
“You seem really fond of Valdemar,” she commented, thinking that his brother was a much safer topic than her own.
“I am,” Jonathan said. “He has always been the happy baby brother, adored by everyone. I am sure that he was the favorite of both my parents,” Jonathan explained, looking away as if seeing a glimpse of his childhood.
