The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 209: Questioning (1)

"I haven’t seen or heard much from your mother these days. Is she ill?"

"No. My mother is often home taking care of it while we are away. There is much to do when you have an army of men not too far away from where you live and she is always travelling to see relatives. I will inform her to send a letter to you. She meant no harm," Linda answered.

Linda looked to Hazel who was quiet since she arrived only giving short responses when her name was brought up. Linda felt like she was stealing Hazel’s time with Tabitha and if not for wanting to make sure Hazel was happy instead of being gloomy, she would have come up with an excuse to leave.

"So Hazel, how are the preparations for Helena’s wedding going? I never thought she would be excited to move to the countryside but she has proven me wrong," said Linda.

"From the letters she sends it looks like the wedding preparation is going well. It is a small ceremony so there is not much to do. She is stressing over the wedding that will happen in the countryside. Leave it to Helena to have two weddings," Hazel said, her mood changing as she thought of her sister.

"It is like her. I imagine that the second wedding will be grand. It is unfortunate that I can only attend the one here. I must find a way to make it up to her," Linda replied.

"A future viscountess. She did well in snagging a good man without my help. The gentleman I introduced her to is yet to wed. I believe he is still a little upset that Helena suddenly stopped speaking to him. Might I know why?" Tabitha inquired as it was a bad look on her part.

Tabitha had gone out of her way to do something for Helena that she would normally only do for Sofia only for Helena to ignore the man she was introduced to. While a viscount was good there was so much more to gain from marrying a man picked personally by the queen.

"She fell in love with someone else. I know that she sent him a letter to end their meetings so anything else said would be a lie. I’m sure that he will find the woman meant for him sooner or later. We shouldn’t dwell on it," Hazel said, hoping Tabitha could end it here.

Helena was getting married soon and didn’t need anyone speaking of who she could have married before. With Helena genuinely happy with the man she picked, Hazel would not let anyone ruin her happiness. One of them should have a happy marriage without others trying to involved to ruin it.

"Very well," Tabitha sighed, deciding to bear with what came of her good deed. "It was kind of your sister to send an invitation me but I am not ready to leave the palace. I have a gift in mind that you can give her for me."

"I will. It is getting a bit late, isn’t it? My feet are starting to feel numb from being in one position for so long. I would like to go for a walk. Will you be joining us or going back to the mansion? I overheard Sofia speaking of spending them with you today," said Hazel.

Hazel had enough of Tabitha for one day and needed some time away from her to breathe. Today had gone better than another other day that they sat together aside from the attention shifting to Linda since she arrived. They had taken enough baby steps to be on a better path but now they needed to part.

"It is time that I leave. I was going to invite you to sit with Sofia and me but I don’t want to keep you from Linda. I hope that they uncover the truth of what happened to your maid and mine. I am starting to believe that something happened to Jane," said Tabitha.

Tabitha couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling that something terrible had happened to Jane and now she no longer suspected Hazel. Hazel had no one who would be able to help her hide taking Jane. This was the work of someone else and since Jane had not shown up, Tabitha concluded that Jane was dead.

"I hope you find your answers too," Hazel said as she stood.

Hazel wasn’t fond of Jane but it didn’t mean she wanted the woman to be punished like this. After losing Lynn, Hazel knew what Tabitha was feeling.

"Were you expecting guests?" Linda asked after she heard a knock on the door.

"Not that I was aware of. It might be the king," Hazel said, excited to see him.

"It is a group from the court, Your Majesty."

"Send them in. They might have found something. I hope," Hazel muttered. She played with her fingers as her nerves rose.

Hazel had waited all night and morning for any extra news that concerned Lynn. It was taking too long to get answers but she didn’t want to speak up as those investigating might find it rude considering they were doing their best.

"Queen Hazel," Mark greeted her first. He bowed his head and the two men behind him followed. When Mark looked up his gaze went to Linda standing not far away from Hazel.

"I shall take my leave," Tabitha excused herself. Learning about the dead maid wasn’t of any interest to her and she couldn’t keep Sofia waiting.

Mark waited for Tabitha to leave before speaking.

"Everyone else aside from Linda, please leave," Hazel ordered her maids. They would learn in time what news the court had found. "Please tell me that you brought news. That you know she was killed and have thoughts about who," she said after the room was cleared.

"I share the same thought that Lynn was killed and someone made it look like she had gotten drunk. Forgive me for listening to rumours but I must check everything. One of the men here overheard maids speaking about the king having a lover and it is the woman standing behind you," Mark informed Hazel.

Declan became nervous as he had been to a few parties to know that news like this might lead to a lot of screaming and hair-pulling. The queen wouldn’t be any different than other women when told that her husband was seeing someone else. Unless their assumption that she picked her friend was true.

Hazel slowly turned to face Linda who appeared just as confused as her by the news.

Unlike what everyone in the room expected her reaction would be, Hazel laughed.