"It's for your own protection, my dear," said Mina, the Duchess of Casavian, as she circled the table and took her dearest friend's hand. "Think of it as a holiday. You were the one who was saying how you wish you'd been born a commoner just the other day. Well, now you get to be one."
"Mina and Barrons will be staying here," he told the queen. "Nobody would believe the Duchess of Casavian would abandon you. Sir Gideon will accompany you and play the gracious host; and Lynch and his wife, Rosalind, will be in your retinue for protection. We don't expect the ruse to be discovered, but we cannot be too certain. The fewer people outside this room who know you're gone, the better."
"I see," she said. "I'm leaving my country in your hands, Malloryn."
"I will protect it as if it were my own."
She sighed. "Don't destroy my city. Don't ruin my tower. And for God's sake, don't get yourself killed. You and I haven't had the last word on this subject."
He winked slowly at her. "As my queen commands."
The queen slipped away in the middle of the night with her small retinue of trusted guards.
Malloryn smuggled Adele into Alexandra's chambers, where he checked all the wardrobes and under the bed with a small mechanical apparatus that sensed listening devices before pronouncing the room clear. The rest of the Company of Rogues was interspersed among the guest chambers on the floor below them, and he'd requested a handful of Coldrush Guards he knew to be loyal to take guard duty.
Now it was just a matter of waiting.
"Well," Adele murmured, easing the queen's crown from her head and holding it reverently. "Life at your side is certainly entertaining. And touching this is better than holding an entire case filled with diamonds." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I am touching the queen's crown. I was wearing it on my head."
"Do you need a moment alone with the crown?"
"I think I'm going to sleep with it on," she whispered, sharing a conspiratorial smile with him.
"I've been replaced, have I?"
"Who said you'd ever earned your place in my bed?"
Her husband shook his head. "It's the diamonds, isn't it? If I glue one to my forehead, will I have your entire focus?"
"If you glue one somewhere else, you might."
He gave her a swat on the bottom. "I've created a monster."
Adele burst into laughter, and he shook his head at her. Opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it with what could only be described as a flash of chagrin darting across his expression.
"You have something to say," she interpreted.
"How do you do that?"
"See right through you?" She quirked a brow. "We embarked upon war, Malloryn, and the first act of engagement is to know your enemy. I think I'm finally starting to get a handle on how you think."
"Well, that makes one of us. You always seem to catch me by surprise."
Adele reached out and captured his fingers in hers. "You could just tell me what it is, you know? Someone once told me trust is an art that soothes the waters of marriage considerably."
"Sounds like a smart fellow." Malloryn said. "Turn around."
Adele obediently faced the mirror.
Malloryn loomed over her shoulder, his expression tightening, which was a sure sign of his emotional state.
"I'm not very good at this." Reaching around in front of her, he moved to put something around her throat. "But I wanted to give you something."
"I adore presents."
"I noticed," he murmured. "This is our last night together. Tomorrow, we set our trap and it wouldn't be wise for me to stay with you at night."
"That's all right. I have the crown."
A soft laugh escaped him. "I swear to God, Adele. I'm trying to be serious."
"So am I."
"I never thought I'd resent a hunk of gold and gemstones so much. With all the Devoncourts of the world flirting with you, it's a fucking crown that tempts you."
"The crown," she teased. "Every little girl dreams of being a princess. I could almost kiss you right now for making my dreams come true."
"Almost? Well." He leaned his chin on her shoulder as he examined her in the mirror. "Now you're making me wonder if my paltry gift is even worth it."
A heavy weight settled against her throat.
And despite her giddiness, she couldn't help feeling a little nervous. "You went shopping for me?"
"No."
Adele's smile slipped off her face as she saw what he was draping around her throat. "Oh, my goodness. My pearls."
"I had them fixed for you," he said as he gently worked the clasp. "They were your grandmother's. I know how much they meant to you."
Adele touched the pearls as if to make certain they were real. Her heart started thumping. "How did you know they were my grandmother's?"
"You told me. On our wedding day. For all your talk of diamonds and precious gems, you chose to wear your sentimental favorites."
He'd remembered?
Tears glittered in her eyes. They were perfectly put back together. If she hadn't been there when Jelena broke them, she wouldn't have believed they'd even been ruined.
And how had he...? With everything that had been going on, he'd remembered her pearls and gotten them fixed. The thoughtfulness shocked her.
"Better than a crown?"
Emotion thickened in her throat, choking her. All she could do was nod.
"Good. Because while we have this chance, I wanted one last night with you. And I want it to be perfect." Malloryn's voice turned soft and teasing. "Good gods, are you crying?"
Adele turned and slid a hand into his hair as she dragged his face down to hers. Their lips touched and then Malloryn kissed her. Truly kissed her. Lazy and slow and heated in all the good ways.
This was the Malloryn she desired.
The one who claimed her mouth without a single hesitation.
The one who stole her breath—her thoughts—with the heated, slick dart of his tongue.
The one who tenderly brushed her cheek with his thumb as he slowly drew back, looking down into her eyes with an expression she couldn't read.
Her Auvry.
"Thank you. Thank you for fixing them."
He rested his forehead against hers, his breath stirring against her swollen lips. "We've come a long way together. Who would have thought?"