Scorned By Him, Cherished By His Brother novel · Chapter 9 of 24
Chapter 9: The King's Writ
I did not sleep, and I wore the only clean gown I had left.
It was blue wool, with a plain collar, and it had been hanging in my old room since I was twenty.
The palace at Wexmoor was a long grey building with a hundred windows.
A page led us up a staircase lined with portraits and into a high room with a cold fire and a crowd of courtiers.
The King sat at the far end in a plain chair.
He was an old man with a shrewd, tired face, and he wore no crown.
Henry stood beside me in a fresh black coat.
He was upright, but I could see what it cost him, and I stood close enough that my shoulder was near his arm.
"Lord Barrington," said the King. "We are told you were drowned."
"I was reported so, Majesty."
"We are told your wife tried to make the report true."
"The evidence is in the Board's hands, sir," Henry said. "She is in the King's gaol and will answer."
The King looked at him for a long moment.
"We granted your widow's petition four months ago to bury you. I will have the clerk strike it." He raised one hand. "And I will hear your petition for the writ."
Henry bowed.
"Majesty, I ask that my marriage to Cordelia be undone for the attempt on my life."
"Granted," said the King.
The King turned to the clerk.
"The next. Mrs. Barrington. Step forward."
I walked out alone onto the bare floor.
My shoes were loud.
"You are the merchant's daughter who unmasked a poisoner at the Treasury dinner."
"Yes, Majesty."
"I am told your husband married you on his oath that Barrington House stood free of debt. I am told the debt was your own father's, and was hidden from you. Is this true?"
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