The Alpha King's Bride novel · Chapter 14 of 24
Chapter 14: The Apron
Finola's POV
The Northern Lord's envoy came into the throne room in a grey fur collar, and he did not bow.
He was a big man with a braided beard, and he stopped at the foot of the dais and looked at me instead of the King.
"I was told the Queen would be here," he said. "I see a girl in a borrowed dress."
The court went quiet.
Aldric's hand closed on the arm of his chair.
I laid my fingers over his knuckles, and he stayed where he was.
This one was mine.
"I am Queen Finola," I said. "You may speak to me."
"My lord sends his regards to the Crown." The envoy said it to the ceiling. "And he sends an offer to the kitchen maid. Go home. Go back to your scullery and your pots, and the King may draw again from an honest bowl."
Somebody on the left bench laughed.
He drew a folded grey apron from inside his coat and dropped it on the stone at my feet.
"For the road home, kitchen girl," he said.
More people laughed, and my face burned.
I bent down and picked up the apron, and I did not hurry.
"The Crown does not need a scullery girl," the envoy said. "It needs a Queen with a name."
I stood up and walked down the three steps of the dais.
My heart was going hard, and I let it.
I stopped one pace in front of him, close enough that he had to look down at me.
"You have a good memory for names," I said. "Do you remember mine?"
"Hartwell. Foster girl of the Rookes."
"Then you remember the winter the northern lords came to the Rooke table," I said. "Three winters ago. Judith set you at her right hand."
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Alpha King's Bride from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 13 · All chapters · Chapter 15 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend