She reached out and hugged him around the neck, savoring the feeling of his hands, his arms.
The door rattled and opened and Suzenne entered, catching them midembrace. “Forgive me!” she gasped with shock, blushing. She hurried to leave, but Maia called her back.
“It is all right, Suzenne. Please stay.”
There was a splotch of crimson across Suzenne’s cheeks as she reluctantly returned to the room. Collier laughed at the look on her face and stood, pulling Maia up with him.
“I thought you had returned to Muirwood last night,” Suzenne stammered. “I was coming early to light the Leerings and get your gown ready for the Privy Council meeting. I am sorry—”
“Do not apologize,” Collier said offhandedly. “If there is one thing I have come to learn as king, it is that privacy is a rare gem, and as such, must often be stolen.” He switched his language to Dahomeyjan. “I depart with the tide for my kingdom. Look after my lady while I am gone.”
Suzenne did a formal curtsy and replied in the same language. “I will, my lord.” She turned her back on them and started fussing with Maia’s gown for that day, giving them a moment without being observed.
Collier walked over to the window and parted the curtain. “It is time. Simon will be anxious to have me on board. He is the type of man who will tell you the truth, even if you do not want to hear it. Such a man is worth fifty thousand marks.”
“I will heed him then,” Maia replied, following him to the curtain. “Safe journey, Husband.”
Collier smiled when she said it and pulled her into a final embrace. “I like the way you say that,” he answered, toying with the earring in her earlobe. He had given them to her before her journey to Muirwood, and she had worn them ever since. “Rule wisely, my love. May the ancient enmity between our kingdoms and our Families finally be healed.”
“Make it thus so,” Maia whispered in benediction as he left the room with a final backward glance.
Maia and Suzenne walked arm in arm down the corridor toward the private room that had been chosen for the Privy Council’s meetings. Out of the endless array of gowns at her disposal, Maia had chosen a simply designed cream-colored gown. It had a woven sash bedecked with beads around the front and a fur-lined robe that fastened with a royal brooch. It was one of the simplest gowns that had been sent to her, and she had chosen it in the hopes of setting an example for the court. Suzenne had helped to arrange her hair in a simple yet comely design. It was the kind of elegant look that Sabine favored.
The corridor was decorated with polished bronze torches. The ground was capped in smooth stone tiles inlaid with gold. The workmanship was exquisite and ostentatious and it made Maia shake her head with anger. The people starved in the streets, yet she and her courtiers trod on gold.
At the end of the long hallway, she could see Captain Carew waiting outside the new council room.
“I am sorry,” Suzenne whispered again in her ear, “about interrupting you this morning.”
“You are my friend as well as my chief lady-in-waiting, Suzenne. I am certain there will be other embarrassing occasions in the future.”
“I know. But if someone had walked in on Dodd and me, I would be mortified.”
Maia reached and squeezed her hand. “Let us not talk of it again. I am so pleased to have both of you on my Privy Council, you know. You are the first woman to be invited. Please do not be daunted to give your advice, Suzenne. I will expect you to speak your mind. You must speak for the women and the children of the realm.”
Suzenne paled at the thought, but her expression was determined. “It is a privilege, Maia.” She squeezed her hand in return.
Maia nodded to Captain Carew as they neared him. “Good morning, Captain!” she said cheerily.
“Your Grace, good morning,” he replied, stiffening to a bow. His injured leg had been healing well, and he no longer winced when he put weight on it. “Your first Privy Council meeting is underway. They await you.” He opened the handle and invited her inside.