The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 203: Truce (3)

Hazel didn’t know what to make of Tabitha’s offer at first. It wasn’t easy to think of accepting when Tabitha had agreed that she wasn’t here to do any kind of comforting. They might end up worse than they were now as they never had something good to speak about.

Hazel was ready to turn down the offer but then thought about her conversation with Tobias last night. Of how she spoke he might have made the wrong pick and she needed time to grow her influence.

Tabitha would be helpful now and then Hazel could watch to see if Tabitha truly had no involvement in Lynn’s death. Jane’s disappearance was strange but Hazel couldn’t believe it yet.

"I need some time to think about it. I am not in the best mood to think about anything other than solving what happened to my maid and we argue so often that we may ruin how we at least sit like this," said Hazel.

Tabitha understood Hazel’s concerns. This could go terribly and they might not say a greeting to each other but it could also go well and Hazel becomes a good queen. "I won’t try to control you. Just guide you where needed and allow you to make your own mistakes. I am doing this for my son so I have no plans of arguing with you this time."

"What kind of help are you offering?" Hazel asked, needing to know more about what this truce entailed.

"How to get around the men in the court, dealing with visitors, and how to get allies in the palace so you can protect yourself. Nothing more," Tabitha said as she wouldn’t waste her breath trying to teach Hazel anything else.

’Very well," Hazel agreed. She accepted starting over to receive Tabitha’s help. She was now in the position to send Tabitha away should this start to go wrong. "I hope we do not come to regret this. When do you want to start?"

Tabitha was surprised to see Hazel be so quick to accept when Hazel seemed against it at first. Telling Jeffrey and Tobias of this should have the two stop painting her to be a villain. "We shall start today. There is much you have to learn before you become queen so we must catch up."

Hazel smiled to avoid sharing that it was because Tabitha wanted to control her that she missed learning what she needed to before becoming queen.

"Before that, could you think of anyone who would want to hurt you but since they can’t, they went to your maid? Anyone other than me as I did nothing to Jane," Hazel added as Tabitha made it apparent that she thought of her as a suspect.

Tabitha smiled as they would be here for hours having to speak of who wanted to hurt her. There were people she didn’t know who would be out for her head simply because she was a former queen.

"There would be too many people for you to keep an eye on. I am no longer the queen so they gain nothing from hurting my maid. It is unlike her but I am sure Jane is somewhere in the palace and she will come to me with an excuse," said Tabitha.

Hazel thought Tabitha should be more concerned considering Lynn was dead. Was she the only one to find something happening to maids serving them to be suspicious? "Fine. So, are we starting now?"

"Will Linda be joining you today? I know that she has been frequenting the palace a lot. You’ve done well by keeping a friendship with her as you will need her family in the future," Tabitha said, her thoughts now going to Grant.

Tabitha for a moment thought of sharing Grant’s desire to have Linda as queen but she was still eager to see what he would do to get his granddaughter in the palace. Linda was more useful to Tobias as he needed the army so Tabitha decided to stay quiet.

As long as Grant didn’t try to harm Tobias, he didn’t need to worry about her revealing his plans.

Hazel disliked Tabitha asking about Linda as she knew that Tabitha liked Linda more. Linda being present could help make speaking to Tabitha a little less awkward but Hazel didn’t want to see the two be so close.

Tabitha was still her mother-in-law and it ached to see her getting along with another young lady. Especially one that was also in the selection.

’I’m a fool,’ Hazel thought as it was her best friend that she didn’t want to see Tabitha speaking to. She had nothing to worry about with Tabitha and Linda being close because Linda had no plans to enter the palace and would not stab her in the back.

Tabitha was the only one Hazel did not trust.

"She will be coming. I have made her part of my court and turned to her for advice. We can start before her arrival as she is not coming any time soon. I would like to know how you made allies here. I need more people loyal to me by my side," Hazel said, ready to learn.

If Tabitha was true to what she proposed and helped Hazel then Hazel would make every effort to become closer to Tabitha as it should have been in the beginning. There was a lot that needed to happen before there would be trust but they could one day be better.

"I know when the men here say things that you don’t agree with you want to open your mouth to correct them but it does more harm than good. They are all old with their thinking that women should be quiet. You need to know how to play them. Act as they think you should while manipulating them," Tabitha revealed.

"You have no idea how many of them tried to please me when I simply complimented their work and in time, you offer them something to bring them to your side. You need a few men in the court on your side but there is something greater for us to use. Women," Tabitha said, looking out the window at the view it offered of part of the town.

"We love to gossip and men do it more than us. Once you get the women in a comfortable setting they will speak of what their husbands are doing. You gained nothing by inviting women with no status to the palace," Tabitha said, hoping Hazel would never do it again.

"There is something you missed by only inviting nobles. Maybe one day you will realise why my idea is not bad," Hazel replied.

Hazel was not going to stop inviting Eleanor and others like her. Upon meeting Eleanor, she was already told of someone speaking about her.

Tabitha sighed as Hazel should listen to her but to avoid arguing, she decided to move on.