"Mister Lucas?" My eyes widened. "What, um, what about him?"

"You two are seeing each other, are you not?" The Queen said casually. She took a drink of her glass of water.

"Um..." I paled. How would Queen Klara know? "You mean, like, I see him around or..."

"Dating," she answered. "I was under the impression that you two were dating."

"Oh," I said. "Well, we sort of are. I mean, we just started going on dates. I'm not super sure of anything yet."

"I see," Queen Klara said. "How fun for you."

"Yeah, it's fun," I said, taking a drink of my own water glass. "Did Prince Coleman tell you or something?" I hadn't thought he knew, but maybe he was more aware than he let on.

"I think Coleman is oblivious to it, truth be told. He's not very sharp when it comes to these sort of things."

"Oh, good." I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Good? How so?" Queen Klara raised an impeccable dark eyebrow, and her green eyes dazzled with mischief.

Oh geez. I thought. I didn't even know why I was relieved myself.

"Well," I started. "He might just find it unprofessional, that's all. Wouldn't want to make him feel strange knowing his two main employees are...kind of sort of dating."

AKA...Coleman might rag on me if he knew and would be all weird and annoying about it.

Queen Klara nodded. "True. Probably best we leave him in the dark, no?"

I was surprised that she wanted to hide my 'thing' with Luke from Prince Coleman.

"How did you hear about it?" I asked.

The corner of her lip pulled upward. "I'm the Queen," she said.

Apparently that was all the explanation she felt was required.

And yet, it made sense. Everyone at the palace worked for the King, technically. As his wife, she could really get whatever information she wanted.

"Queen Klara?" Despite her prior brief answer, I wanted to ask the question that had burned in my mind for weeks now.

"Yes?"

"Why did you choose me to be the Queen Maiden?" I asked.

Before she could answer, to my dismay the door opened, and three people entered the room. Two were kitchen staff that I had seen around each carrying a platter, and leading the crew was none other than Chef Jonathan. I felt very uncomfortable having these people come to serve me. It wasn't that I was above having someone serve me food—I went to restaurants all the time—but these were my coworkers. Chef Jonathan was my friend. I fidgeted in my seat, and focused on adjusting the napkin on my lap.

"Your majesty." Chef Jonathan bowed before the queen. I placed my elbow on the table and held my hand at the side of my face, as if somehow Jonathan wouldn't recognize me or would forget my existence.

"Today we are serving garlic butter shrimp scampi with a side of garlic bread and a salad," Jonathan said.

"You've outdone yourself as always, Chef Jonathan," the Queen told him as the two kitchen hands placed our plates in front of us. The servant setting down my plate looked at me coldly. I peeked a glance at Chef Jonathan, but he wasn't looking at me. Maybe it was intentional, but maybe I was overthinking things.

"Before you go," the Queen started, directing her gaze to Jonathan. "I have a question for you."

"I would be happy to answer any question you may have to the best of my abilities, ma'am," he said with a smile.

Queen Klara smiled. "What are the servants saying about Miss Carmichael?"

His eyes flicked to me—he looked taken off guard. "Miss Carmichael?"

"What? Do you expect me to believe that announcing Miss Carmichael as Queen Maiden caused no stir? No gossip or speculation?" She rose an eyebrow. I was, quite literally, on the edge of my seat.

Chef Jonathan looked a little pale. "You-you're quite right, ma'am. People have been talking about Miss Carmichael a fair bit this morning."

"You said you'd answer to the best of your abilities. You are being quite vague, Chef Jonathan." Her voice held authority.

"Well, the general consensus is that Cassie—Miss Carmichael—that she, um, that she's been having an affair with the Prince. Prince Coleman, that is."

My heart snarled, and I felt my temperature rising.

The Queen's eyes narrowed for an instant. "Really? And why do they think that?"

Chef Jonathan looked at me, and I could see the contempt in his blue eyes. "Why else would she have been chosen to be Queen Maiden?"

"It's not true!" I blurted out, my fists clenched and my teeth bared. "It's all lies."

"Calm down, Miss Carmichael," the Queen said. I took in deep, angry breaths. I still felt a fire simmering throughout my body. "Continue, Chef Jonathan. Why would an affair with my son procure her the coveted Queen Maiden position?"

"Well, some people think she might be pregnant," he started. I grabbed the arms of my chair, tightening my grip until my knuckles were white. "Though, not everyone believes that. But she probably curried favor by sleeping with the Prince."

"Is that so?" The queen was stone-faced—unreadable.

"Yes." I saw beads of sweat forming on Chef Jonathan's temples. It was all I could do to stay put in my chair and stop myself from attacking him.

"Do you know why I asked Miss Carmichael to be Queen Maiden?" Queen Klara's asked.

Now this I wanted to know.

"I met her. I liked her. And I thought 'what a pity such an interesting girl is just a simple maid.' It has been five years since someone not of noble birth had been picked for the position, and I decided it was time to appoint a regular girl to the Queen Maiden. And so I did. These rumors are insulting—not just to Miss Carmichael, but to me, your Queen." Her voice was icy, cold enough to send shivers down your spine on a hot summer's day. "I created the position of Queen Maiden. It has been an honored tradition for over 20 years now. These rumors insinuate that I personally reward women for whoring around with my son. It makes me look like pushover and a fool. Do you see Marstella Allegro sitting before you as the Queen Maiden?"

Chef Jonathan looked surprised.

"Yes, I know all about Marstella. I am aware of my son's many affairs. Do you think I would appoint Miss Carmichael if she was merely sleeping with him? The implication of this rumor insults me and my integrity. Miss Carmichael is engaging in no sexual relationship with my son. I do not want this nasty rumor going around anymore, do you understand me?"

Chef Jonathan silently nodded, looking as though he was searching for those words 'yes ma'am' but couldn't seem to find them.

"And you two," she addressed the servants behind Jonathan. "What are your names?"

"Elizabeth."

"Jonah."

"Elizabeth, Jonah, Jonathan," Queen Klara said. "I have ears everywhere, and I don't want to hear anything more about these false accusations against Miss Carmichael and against me. I do not want to go to the servants' hall myself to clear up these misconceptions. If I have to do so, I can promise the experience will be unpleasant for everyone."

Jonathan, Jonah, and Elizabeth stood looking someone petrified. Queen Klara didn't even seem mad at me and I was scared.

Without even looking at her servants, the Queen announced, "You are dismissed."