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501words
"My lady, hold on your own," he urged, " Think of your husband, your child! They are waiting for you!"
The King's voice joined his.
"Yes, yes, that's right. You have saved the Crown. When you recover, I shall be honored! And your child! If it is a girl, she shall be a companion to the Prince. If a boy, he will be granted a great title. You must hold on! I've already sent for Lord Richard!"
I was no fool.
The moment that blade entered my womb, I knew my child was lost.
As for Richard... he would not come.
Just then, the messenger the King had dispatched returned, breathless.
The King's brow furrowed. "Where is Lord Richard?"
The boy trembled. "My lord... Lord Richard refuses to come. He said... not to use cheap tricks to gain his sympathy."
I knew Richard must have said far worse, things the page dared not repeat.
Of course.
In Richard's heart, I was worth less than Victoria.
And yet, I was his lawfully wedded wife.
Victoria was merely his mistress.
He had abandoned his post, abandoned his King, to chase after her.
That signal flare... I had knelt and begged him for it before he left.
In my last life, I lit it, and he called me ambitious.
In this one, the King himself summoned him, and he ignored it.
If he loved Victoria so much, why had he ever married me?
Rage surged through me, and I coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Your Majesty, the Lady's emotions are too volatile. If she does not have family by her side at this critical moment, I fear she will not survive!"
The King looked at me, his jaw tight with fury.
"Go. Tell him it is a command from his King. If he does not come, I will have his head!"
He was truly angry. His head guard was absent on this day.
I had nearly died for him, yet he could not summon my husband.
For a king, it was a humiliation.
My condition was too fragile to be moved.
When the page returned, I was still conscious. This time, he was not alone.
I saw a face I knew too well: Victoria's maid, Sarah.
Sarah had originally been my maid.
But after I became pregnant, she had started poisoning my food.
By the time it was discovered, I was nearly dead.
I had been about to have her executed when Richard had walked in, Victoria on his arm.
I still remember the way he looked at me—with such coldness, as if I were his enemy.
Victoria had been weeping, clutching Sarah's hand.
"My lady, how can you be so cruel? You are not dead. Why must you take this girl's life? It is monstrous! Richard, my love, perhaps you could give her to me? Though I am only your mistress, surely I have the power to save one small life!"
