His Princess Mate

12 - Questioned

დRoseდ

I stared at Henry, waiting to hear what he wanted to know about my mother. I gestured for him to take a seat and he politely declined, which made me frown as I sat back down on the sofa. I continued to stare at him, and he cleared his throat and looked rather uncomfortable which only heightened my curiosity; however, I took this moment to take in his appearance. He was quite handsome, and I felt myself blush as I realized I was doing more than just take in his appearance.

“Rose…could you do me the honor of telling me everything you knew about your mother before she left?” he finally questioned, and I raised my eyebrow in question. “As you know, I am assisting the police with the investigation around these random murders,” he then added, as if that was some way of explaining why he was asking me about my mother.

“Are you trying to insinuate that my mother is somehow involved in that?” I asked him and I was unable to hide the horror in my voice at such an absurd idea.

“I cannot insinuate anything, Rose. I am merely questioning every single available option,”

“And my mother is an option?” I questioned again, my anger level rising as I studied him. It was no wonder he looked uncomfortable. “And why are you not asking my father this question?” I then snapped. Henry shrugged before he turned away from me and went over to the large window.

“I was planning on stopping by his office after I had spoken to you,” he informed me, and I felt the heat rush to my cheeks once again.

“Oh…well, honestly Henry, what I remember of my mother is our time spent reading in the library,” I admitted softly. “We spent hours poring over different forms of literature, from short novels to poems and so forth,” he nodded before turning to face me, gazing at me so intensely that it was my turn to feel uncomfortable. “I wasn’t one to play with dolls or such things. I enjoyed spending time reading,”

“Yes, but what can you remember about her,” he stressed, and I closed my eyes for a moment, going back to a time that I had blocked out.

“She was kind and patient. She never reprimanded me, although if I had done something wrong, she would explain why it was wrong and why I shouldn’t do it again. Those moments didn’t happen very often, but I do remember that she was always gentle. Even to the servants,” I smiled as I opened my eyes. “She always had a smile on her face, she always looked beautiful, and she always made time for me,” Henry seemed to be processing the information before he turned back to the window. “I never noticed any anger, Henry,” I then added. “I never saw my parents fight or argue. They were always polite and happy around me,”

“And now?” he asked casually, and I sighed.

“Now…now she is different. I’m not sure why or what she has been through, but she is definitely not the woman I remember,” I said in defeat. “I wish I knew why, but I’ve come to realize that if she wanted to share something with me then she would,” I was rather curious as to what my mother had been through for her to change as much as she did, however, I had a sneaky suspicion that she had always been slightly rude. I just never saw it and although I was grateful for that back then, right now, I also wanted to know who Lucinda truly was.

“Rose…” Henry started before he hesitated, and I tilted my head to the side in question.

“Whatever it is that you would like to ask, just ask me, Henry,” I pushed. Henry finally came over to one of the armchairs, I had brought in and sat down. He looked tired and I studied his features as he had an internal battle about whether or not to question me. “Go ahead,” I whispered, encouragingly. Henry sighed before he sat forward, and our eyes met.

“Is Lucinda your biological mother?” he asked softly. I gasped in surprise as I had not been expecting him to ask me that kind of question. “I am sorry for asking you that Rose, but I really need to know,” he added, and I closed my lips as I realized that he was being deadly serious. “I suppose I already know the answer to that,” he said after a long period of silence. “There is something about your mother that you do not know and I am struggling to find the connection you have with her,” his words made me smile as I sat up straighter. “Yes, Rose, I am more than aware that you’ve been blessed with her thick golden hair and bright eyes,”

“Indeed, does this have something to do with the fact that the two of you know each other?” I questioned. I had not forgotten the awkward meeting between them. “And do not think to lie to me, Henry. I am not some silly girl that will easily believe that my mother simply owes you some money,” I added for good measure. The thought crossed my mind that my father had ordered Adam to find out everything he could about Henry and Philip, although I was almost certain that task had been put on hold due to my mother’s return.

“There is no money owed,” he spat out, obviously he was not happy that I had brought it up but since he was the one who had come to me to discuss my mother, it was only logical that I would question him about it. “My history with your mother is far more complicated and it is not something I can discuss with you right now,” he finally answered, and I frowned. “However, I will tell you that it is not good,” he added before he stood up. “Be careful, Rose,” he said softly before he left my office in quite a hurry. I stared at the door and sighed loudly. Why did I have to be careful? And why couldn’t he just tell me what the history was between them? I felt a cold stab of jealousy rush through me at the thought of them having any kind of history, good or bad. I was rather curious as to whether he had gone to see my father or not, however, I was not inclined to see for myself if he had. I leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes. Why could things not be simple? Why was it that everything had to be so complicated and difficult? Of course, I knew that I could question my mother, however, after our last conversation, I was not sure that she would even talk to me.

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I was not sure how long I sat in my office on that loveseat sofa, thinking, when my father entered.

“Rose?” I heard his soft voice calling out to me and I yawned as I opened my eyes to see him standing there with a smirk plastered on his lips. “Taking a nap?” he teased lightly, and I shrugged as I stood up and ran my hands along my skirt.

“I was not really sleeping…” I argued. “More like resting my eyes,” I then added. He chuckled before he went over to the large window and peered outside. It was getting late, and the sun had started to set. I wandered over to his side and stared out at the beautiful colors the sun and clouds made against the sky.

“Rose…what are we going to do about your mother?” he questioned softly, and I sighed as I reached out and placed my hand against his arm.

“I think the question you need to be asking yourself is…what do you want to do about her?” I asked him as I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

“She is not the same woman,” he hissed out past clenched teeth, and I sighed once again. “Even if she was, she left us,” I could hear the hurt in his voice and I thought about what my mother had said about no longer loving my father.

“Do you still love her?” I asked and he shook his head once.

“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s just…it brought up a lot of feelings…” I could tell that he was not comfortable discussing his feelings, however, I also knew that he needed someone to talk too and since we were working on having a relationship, it was important for us to talk. I kept quiet, giving him the time, he needed to express himself. When he did, the sun had almost set, and my feet were killing me. “No, I do not harbor any feelings of love or even the idea of us getting back together and that is why it was rather easy for me to put the divorce papers forward,” I raised my brow at that as I had not considered him being able to go through with that. “I am not sure why I did not do it before her return, I suppose I had somehow hoped that one day she would…” his voice trailed off and we both knew that he had been holding on to his image rather than his feelings or needs. His pride had gotten in the way of him dethroning his wife and queen. “Now, when the papers have been finalized, your mother will no longer hold the title of my wife nor as queen,” he said before he turned to face me. The office had started to cool, and I shivered as I stared up at him.

“How do you feel about that?” I asked carefully.

“Relieved,” he breathed out and then smiled. “I feel as though a weight has been lifted,” he then added, and I nodded. “Come, I’m sure our dinner is waiting for us,” he said as he turned to leave. I watched him go as I thought about how he had been alone all these years. I knew he had not allowed another woman into his bedchamber, and I had to wonder if he now felt he could move forward and possibly take another woman. I looked around the office before I followed behind him, closing the door behind me as I wondered if my mother would be joining us for dinner. I was not sure what to expect and after telling the servants to stop their gossiping, I had to wonder if things had always been like this. I, now, wished that I had paid more attention to my surroundings growing up. Maybe then I would feel a lot more comfortable in my home with my mother. I entered the dining room to see my father had sat down at his usual spot and my mother was seated in my spot. I did not dare say anything to either of them as I went to the middle of the large table on the right and pulled out a chair.

“Evening, Rose,” my mother greeted softly. “I hope you do not mind me sitting here,” she added, and I quickly shook my head as I threw her a smile. As soon as I had sat down, the servants came out with our food, and I breathed out a soft sigh of relief that we did not have to wait. I was not sure I could handle trying to have a conversation with my parents at this point. I glanced down to see a plate had been placed down and I smiled. Roasted beef with summer vegetables, fluffy white rice, and a rich gravy sauce that had my mouth watering. No one said anything as we began to eat. I was not sure what my mother’s plans were, moving forward, but for right now I was content on enjoying my meal and the silence.

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