It can wait

The next morning Caroline pulls the covers off her naked body and stretches. Her husband has already left. Their late night of planning, followed by passion, caused her to sleep later than she had planned.

As she dressed for the day, she wondered what the king had decided concerning the matters they discussed last night. She was looking forward to spending some time with her daughter. Not only would it be good for the success of the mission, but they were in need of some quality mother/daughter time.

She checked the mirror one last time and gave a small smile of approval. She was pleased with how she retained her beauty and her figure, and it gave her pleasure to see men half her age follow her with their eyes as she walked by.

Leaving her quarters, she made her way to the throne room, where Malcolm was attending to the more mundane matters of state. He was speaking with Norbier, his Minister for Internal Affairs, as she walked in. He looked up and met her arrival with a smile.

“Ah, there you are, my dear,” he said. “I was just telling Norbier about my plan to send you as an emissary to Obscuria.”

“His plan?” Caroline thought, sardonically, but just smiled in response. She was used to her husband taking credit for her best ideas. “And Adella, too, my love. You were thinking of sending both of us.”

Malcolm frowns and looks uncomfortably at Norbier before answering. “In talking that over with the Minister, I have decided that may not be the best of plans at this time. Adella is young, impressionable, and too inexperienced to be placed in such an unnatural setting. She could get ideas that would be hard to cure at her impressionable age.”

“So I am to go alone?” the Queen asks, fighting off disappointment and trying not to show irritation at Norbier for ruining her plans again.

“Of course not!” said the King. “Send the Queen off alone to a barbarous place? Of course you will have an escort. I thought one of the boys could go.”

If they had been in private, she would have laughed at the idea. With Norbier present, however, she had to maintain a certain level of decorum. “May I remind my liege that our sons are younger than Adella. If she is too young and impressionable, then certainly they are.”

“Ah, yes, but they are not girls,” said Malcolm, before realizing the implications of his words. “That is to say, they have had more — experience — in worldly matters than our daughter.” He glanced nervously at his wife and saw the flare of anger in her eyes, so he knew his attempt at salvaging his careless remark was not entirely well received. He attempted a different approach, in hopes of regaining her favor.

“My concern, of course, is primarily for your safety. I would feel much more comfortable if you had an armed escort. Stewart and Duncan are well trained in combat and would serve that purpose, but if you would rather, I will assign an escort from the Royal Guard to keep you safe.”

Caroline gritted her teeth to suppress what she really wanted to say. She couldn’t believe how her husband could be so wonderful in most respects, yet so chauvinistic and short-sighted in other ways. It is true that she would value spending some quality time with one or both of her boys, but the thought of leaving Adella at home one more time while her brothers got preferential treatment did not sit well with her.