The King's Lover-Chapter 493: Right?

Rose rounded the manor, heading for the back. She would have preferred to go inside first, but she needed to see her father, and Lady Delphine wouldn’t rise until lunch. She wasn’t sure she could keep herself still until then. She needed to speak to someone.

The last time she visited, her father still worked in the manor, but by the looks of things, he had made a shed behind the building for himself.

The shed stuck out from the back of the manor, completely made of wood. It had a thick roof, a sturdy frame, a door with a handle, and it could easily be used as a house. Rose was shocked; she was only away for about two weeks, and her father had built this in that time.

When they told her he was in the shed, she had assumed it was something simple he had made to avoid making a mess in the manor and to store his wood properly.

Also, because of how much noise he tended to make, it was best for him to work outside, especially in the early hours of the morning when the rest of the house was still asleep.

She could hear hammering as she walked over the low, worn grass to the shed. Maximus still followed her, and Rose contemplated how she was going to tell him to give her some privacy with her father.

She wondered if he was sticking close because Caius may have given him strict orders not to let her out of his sight. Thomas gave her more freedom, and unless it was time to go, he didn’t stay constantly by her side.

It was hard not to think that Caius wanted her watched, especially when he suddenly brought someone she had never seen before to watch over her.

They got to the front of the shed, and she instantly stopped walking and turned to look at him. Maximus stopped too, about three feet away from her. That was how close he tended to linger—not enough to enter her personal space, but enough for her to be aware of his presence.

Rose cleared her throat before she started speaking. "I’d like a private conversation with my father. I would prefer it if you weren’t within earshot."

"Understood," Maximus replied and stepped back, closer to the wall.

No argument. No hesitation.

She stared at him for a moment, a little surprised he had been willing to do as she had asked without any protest. She eventually pulled her gaze away and knocked gently on the door.

Rose could have barged in, but she didn’t want to startle her father. He might be doing something delicate, and walking in without warning might cause him to make the wrong move and ruin his wood piece.

The hammering stopped at her knock, and the door pulled open. It was hard not to smile as she saw her father. He was covered in sawdust and wood clippings. His lashes most especially were covered in dust from the wood.

He blinked rapidly as he saw her, a look of pleasant surprise, and stretched out his hands to hug her. "Rose."

"Fat’er," Rose cried as she ran into his embrace, hugging him tight.

"What are you doing ’ere?" He knew about the burial, and Lady Delphine had already informed him that Rose might not be able to visit him anytime soon.

Rose slowly pulled away from her father. "I wanted to see you."

Vallyn was about to respond, but then he caught sight of Maximus leaning against the wall of the manor. Rose followed her father’s gaze and realized he was staring at Maximus.

"That’s Lord Maximus. He brought me from the castle," she explained.

"Not the lad, T’omas?"

Rose shook her head, and her father bent his head. Maximus lifted his chin in acknowledgment but didn’t say a word.

Vallyn looked down at his daughter’s face, and now that she was right in front of him, he could see that something was wrong. Her eyes were slightly swollen under the hat, and she looked upset.

Vallyn placed his hands on her shoulders and bent his face down for a closer look. "Did something ’appen?" he asked with worry.

Rose shook her head. "I am fine, Fat’er. I promise. I just want to have a word with you."

Vallyn’s face hardened, but he didn’t press. Rather, he led Rose into the shed and shut the door.

The inside of the shed was bigger than she had thought. There was a large stack of cut wood, enough wood to keep him busy for a while. Two big tables were in the corner of the room while one sat in the middle.

It was bigger than the rest and had a slit in the middle, one that she could easily fit in. There was a large piece of cut wood sitting on the table, and it looked like her father had just started work on it. The hammer he had been using was lying beside it.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Rose jerked her head to look at him. He got right to the point, and Rose knew it was because he was extremely worried. She wanted to ask what he was making, but she knew that would be her stalling.

"The King asked me to marry him," Rose blurted as she looked at her father.

Vallyn took a step back in disbelief. "’E did?"

Rose nodded and adjusted her hat for lack of something to do. "He did last night."

"Isn’t ’e married?"

Rose almost let out a smile at his question; it was the exact thing she had asked. "He says it’s a fake marriage," Rose whispered as she spoke.

"I see," her father replied. "What do you want to do?"

"I don’t know."

"Do you want to marry ’im?"

"We can’t get married, Fat’er."

"Because you don’t want to marry ’im?" Vallyn reiterated.

Rose grabbed her arms tighter. "That’s not it. Think about it. How are we going to get married?"

"It matters not," he simply said. "If you ’ave finally changed your mind about staying with ’im, we can run away now." His father stepped up to her and grabbed her hand. "You don’t have to deal with it anymore."

Rose’s eyes flickered as she stared at him.

"Don’t worry about ’ow we will do it. I will make sure we get out of Velmount safely, if you want to leave."

At her father’s last sentence, Rose wondered if she wanted to leave. She would never see Caius again, and she would be free of this. Yes, it would be hard, but if freedom was really what she wanted, then it should be worth it.

Right?