The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 142: Dresses and Drama (1)

"The queen wants you out of the palace? When she was greeting me, she asked that I take care of you," said Linda.

Hazel rolled her eyes. How many people was Tabitha going to tell to look after her? "I would like her to stop making others feel like I am stressed and wish to leave. She did it with Helena and now you."

"You shouldn’t have to put up with this. Have you spoken to the king or prince about it?" Linda asked, hoping there was someone Hazel could speak to and get help from.

"They are both aware of her dislike toward me. The king isn’t of much help and I’ve asked Tobias to let me deal with her alone. I don’t want to see him arguing with his mother. Helena and I believe that she might be planning something for the party," Hazel said, turning to Helena.

Helena nodded her head. "When I met with her today, she kept asking if Hazel mentioned being depressed and mentioned that the party was something to look forward to. After that party, I won’t be meeting with her any more."

Linda worried about Hazel having to face the queen. The queen was no easy opponent to go up against. All the women in town were quick to please her to get into her inner circle. "Why don’t you say something to your father? Or we can get my grandfather to help you. He has many friends here."

"No. I don’t want to bring anyone else into this. I won’t ruin the business my father has with the palace. It is something my family worked hard for and though I appreciate the offer of your grandfather’s help, I don’t want any more people to know of this," Hazel replied.

Should Tabitha stop and they can move on from this, having others know of the present would make future interactions awkward. Others might be unable to move on.

"I want to use the party to make a statement. Show the other ladies that I am worthy of marrying the prince. They will be quick to please me as they are to Tabitha. Surely, they would want to be close to the next queen. I just don’t know what Tabitha might have planned," said Hazel.

"Whatever it is, I will be present to help you. I was hoping that you were enjoying your engagement. This makes me reconsider something I turned down from my grandfather. Should I stay here with you-"

"No," Hazel declined the offer. "I am fine. I don’t need you putting your lives on hold to help me. I can take of myself so you don’t need to come here."

Hazel preferred that Helena and Linda kept from the palace. They shouldn’t have to experience what she did though Tabitha might treat Linda much better.

"I plan to pay the queen dust after the party. I cannot continue to argue with her as my words fall on deaf ears and I don’t want to tire myself out speaking. She’ll be arguing with herself soon," said Hazel.

Hazel did not want to spend every day confronting Tabitha in secret. She would watch her back and ignore Tabitha. Be civil with the queen and simply not argue when in the same room.

"I want to be here with her, but I see how I could be made a weakness to Hazel," Helena admitted.

"Why is it like this? Should you need more help, tell me and I will get my grandfather to help you. Just now he was speaking of helping you should you need it," Linda said, reminding Hazel that there was help close by. "I am nervous about the party."

"So am I. I am uneasy about what she might do to embarrass me in front of others. I can only wait and be ready for whatever she throws at me," said Hazel.

...

Days later, the garden was set up for women in Lockwood to visit the palace.

Hazel wasn’t free of not having to be with her tutor so she did her lessons first and then got dressed to attend the party. "You can pin it up," Hazel advised Mary, the maid who came from her parent’s home. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Hazel was able to relax by having a familiar face around. She worried about the other maids following the queen not giving Mary a kind welcome so Hazel tried to keep Mary close until it was time for bed.

"You look lovely, Lady Hazel. If only the prince could see you now he would fall in love with you all over again. You shall be the most beautiful young lady at the party," Mary said, filling Hazel’s ears with compliments.

Mary planned to serve Hazel well as a thank you for having her come to the palace. Working in the palace was something she wanted to do at least once so she would serve Hazel well as she promised and then return to the Wallace mansion.

"It would be nice to see him, but only women are allowed today. I hear that he has been working hard these days. It is going around that our wedding won’t be soon," Hazel revealed.

She overheard men from the court speaking about it as she was exploring and then Tobias spoke of it a night he visited her room. Hazel disliked the wedding being pushed back because being Tobias’s wife would give her more power than she had now.

The two of them getting married also meant they could share a room every other night. Hazel was tired of not getting to see Tobias as much as she liked and she started to miss him. He was her only source of happiness when Helena wasn’t present and Mary was away.

"Maybe he will make an appearance when the party is over. Sometimes men will send flowers to the woman they love at these parties. Some women might be the ones behind the flowers they receive to pretend that their husbands are still so in love with them. Some might be a little jealous should you receive flowers," Mary informed Hazel.

"Yes, I’ve witnessed how jealousy comes out at these grand parties. Not everyone will be looking to celebrate my engagement as they might have a sister or friend they wanted to be in my position. I need you to be my second pair of eyes today," said Hazel.

Mary would remain close by with all the maids so Hazel instructed Mary to pay attention to anyone giving her strange looks. Hazel wanted to know the names so she could be careful when around these people in the future.

"Of course, My Lady. I have also been trying to get close to your maids. A few working in the kitchen have been more than welcoming. I will try bringing news soon," Mary promised.

Hazel smiled, feeling a little weight taken off her shoulders with Mary here to help. She trusted Mary as Mary was a loyal servant of her family. She only hoped that the queen or anyone else wouldn’t be able to get Mary to betray her.

"It is time we got to the party. I can’t be late or I won’t hear the end of it. Let’s see what type of party the queen planned," Hazel said, getting up from her seat to make her way to the garden.

Hazel led the way out of the room and when she exited, she found two guards standing with her maids she ordered to remain outside. The guards were sent by Tobias to watch over her along with the other guards that already followed her.

Hazel knew she could trust the two guards just as she trusted Mary.

Hazel continued to walk toward the garden, taking her time as she would be early. Aside from the queen’s games, Hazel looked forward to seeing how the garden was decorated and if there were any new flowers.

"Lady Hazel."

Hazel slowed down, looking around for the person who called out to her. She stopped when she found a man leaning on a wall eating an apple. "Hello," she returned the greeting. He was someone she had not seen before.

The stranger wasn’t dressed like the men in the court or anyone else in the palace. He was dressed no different than a servant.

"I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to meet the woman to become our future queen," said the stranger.

The guards sent by Tobias came to stand between Hazel and the man.

"We must leave now," one of the guards advised Hazel.

Not questioning why they were hurrying to get away from the stranger, Hazel continued walking toward the garden.

"It’s a shame that I didn’t get to do the test on you," Berkeley said, tossing the finished apple on the floor for a maid to clean up.

Hazel froze, startled by this being the man they wanted her to be tested by. She turned around to get a second look at his face to remember it clearly but he was already walking away.

Hazel didn’t know much about the doctor but something about him roaming the palace to sometimes cross paths with her left an uneasy feeling.