The King's Lover
Chapter 217: To The Wedding

Chapter 217: To The Wedding

Rose walked down the front stairs of the castle with a tight grip on the fruit basket, which she kept on her palms instead of holding it by the handle. There was a carriage at the foot of the stairs. It wasn’t the only carriage, but she could tell this was the one she was supposed to use.

The carriage wasn’t as decorative as the one that had brought her to the castle with the crown prince, but it didn’t seem like a regular carriage either. Unlike the others, it had the crest of the royal family. .com

The horses were brown with long manes, and the coachman was dressed in a simple tunic with a belt around it, some loose pants, and a flat cap on his head. He was seated in the carriage, ready to go.

A few servants and guards were on the stairs, most bowing at Thomas. Some other lords were also leaving the castle, and Rose noticed more than one person stopped to stare. A lady even stopped midway through entering her carriage just to stare at Rose.

She could already hear whispers but was unsure if they came from the servants or the lords and ladies. Rose didn’t have the guts to look. She just wanted to get into the carriage and be out of here. She could guess what they were saying, and a few words floated to her ears.

"Is that the whore?" fre.eweb novel\.c om

"I heard she was at the ball."

"I don’t recall seeing her."

"Using the royal carriage. How dare she?"

"The crown prince has allowed this long enough."

Rose’s grip on the basket tightened as she walked closer to the carriage. By the door stood a guard. He didn’t look very happy to open the door for her as she approached, but Thomas was right behind her, and from the looks of things, the knight was going to join her in the carriage.

The door finally opened, and Rose tried to rush in, wanting to quickly get away from the stares and whispers, but she lost her footing. She fell face-first, her head about to slam right onto the floor of the open carriage. It didn’t help that her hands were filled with the basket—there was no way she could save herself or the basket. Rose closed her eyes as she braced for the crushing impact.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she was pulled back. Thomas was quick to grab her, but that wasn’t enough, as Rose had completely lost her footing. Reacting quickly, he moved his other hand, grabbing her waist from behind and pulling her backward onto himself. f .r e\ewebnov(e)(l).c om

"Thank you," Rose cried once she could finally stand on her own feet. She was beyond relieved. She hadn’t let go of the basket, so it didn’t fall, and surprisingly, not a single fruit fell out of it.

Thomas pulled his hand away from her and stepped back as though Rose had burned him. He didn’t respond—not that Rose was expecting anything else. She paid more attention as she tried to get into the carriage again. It would be easier if she had gotten some assistance while trying to board, but that was clearly not going to happen.

Rose stepped in, sat down, and let out a breath. Other than the slight pain in her shoulder from his grip and the fact that she was a little shaken from almost falling, she was fine.

If Thomas hadn’t helped her so quickly, she would have been in trouble. The guard who stood by the door didn’t even flinch when he saw her start to fall. She was grateful—if Thomas had waited even for a moment, she would not only have fallen but also gotten badly injured.

Rose placed the fruit basket at her feet and lifted her head in time to see Thomas get into the carriage and sit right in front of her. It was a two-seater carriage. The seats were cushioned, and there were red curtains on all sides. The curtains matched the color of the seats.

"Thank you," Rose said again, worried that he might not have heard her.

Thomas looked toward the curtains and parted them, letting some more light into the cozy carriage. Simultaneously, the carriage started to move, and they shook a bit, her body swaying with the movement. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and the cushioned seat helped.

Rose found herself looking out the window. She watched the carriage move down the path leading to the front gates. Her eyes followed the path, resting on the trees and well-trimmed bushes on the sides.

She was leaving the castle—even if it was just for a brief moment, it was still nice. Rose smiled despite herself, and she was still smiling when they went through the gates and over the drawbridge.

She looked away from the window to see Thomas staring at her face. At her gaze, he pretended to look past her, and she smiled again. It felt a little odd not to have any conversation, but watching the road as the carriage moved was enough to distract her.

Rose didn’t know how long it would take to get to Edna’s wedding, as she didn’t know where it was, but she figured it couldn’t be that long.

Thoughts of Edna reminded her of the conversation with Lily. Rose’s palms turned to fists as she looked out the window. It wasn’t anything bad, but Rose couldn’t help but feel a little angry.

"Rose," Lily had said. "Would you please give my blessings to Edna?"

All Rose had done was nod at her words and then turn around to leave. Surely, it was something Lily could tell Edna herself. She didn’t need to send Rose. The ball was over, and even if the maids were that busy, surely, they wouldn’t miss one maid for a quarter of a day. Chelsy and Isla were there to cover up, but Rose didn’t say any of this as she walked out of the castle.

The ride to the wedding was a little bumpy, but other than the unavoidable sway of the carriage, Rose had no other complaints. It was a pleasant ride, and all she could do was stare out the window as the carriage rode on.

The capital of Velmount was more magnificent than she had thought. There was a huge statue at the center of the city square. Rose could not believe she had missed it the two times she had gone to and from the castle, but there was a reasonable explanation.

The first time, she had been too nervous to even do anything, with the crown prince bearing down on her, and the second time, it was too dark to see and she was in so much discomfort from the pain that she barely noticed anything else.

Rose pushed her thoughts away from bad memories and just stared at the statue. She didn’t know who it was. She thought it might be the King or the late King, but Rose had seen neither of them. Still, it did look like one of the portraits she had seen in the castle—or perhaps it was just a resemblance.

She turned to Thomas, thinking to ask, but decided against it when their eyes met and he turned away. His attitude was annoying, but at the same time, compared to the anxiety she felt in the presence of the crown prince, this was very bearable.

Thomas’s presence didn’t make her uncomfortable or make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Neither did he make her skin tingle, nor did he make her throat dry.

The carriage soon got out of the city square, and Rose heard loud noises as several interactions happened at once. Rose looked to the other side and saw they were going through the front of the market.

The marketplace was much bigger than Edenville. There were different stalls selling several items—from horses to butchered meat, grains, fruits, clothes, trinkets—the list was endless.

As she stared out, a commotion drew her attention. A couple of guards had caught a man and were pulling him away, but suddenly, the man escaped from their clutches and rushed towards the carriage. He hit it, startling Rose, who jumped back.

The guards were quick to pull him away from the carriage, bowing with solemn looks on their faces as one of them locked the man in a tight grip.

"Don’t get too close to the windows," Thomas scolded as the carriage continued.

"What was that?" Rose asked.

"A thief, most likely."

Rose was shocked that he answered.

"Don’t look so shocked," Thomas said, misinterpreting her reaction. "Even though Hearthgale is safe, it can’t be helped that we will have this sort of situation every once in a while."

Rose didn’t correct his misunderstanding. Rather, she took his advice and stayed away from the window. She thought of asking how much longer it would take, since it seemed Thomas was chatty, but she decided it was better to enjoy the thrill of it—not knowing how long the journey would be.