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Rainier sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I was doing some office work, and I saw the record for Lance’s imprisonment. I guess Mum thought I’d never notice, and it’s not like I’d go to the prison to check. She freed Lance and didn’t tell me.”
Felix shook his head. “He committed assault!”
“I gathered men to look for him because I was afraid he’d go after you in Yorn, or he’d hang around and wait for you since he was so furious at you. Lance has a cousin here, and he was hiding out there. He begged me not to rearrest him because Mum paid him off to attack you.”
“What for? I haven’t done anything!”
“It was to scare you away because she didn’t want me to have another Kitten for months. She told him she’d free him after a while if he was arrested. That’s why she got a guard for me, and I’m sure she was hoping that whoever I picked would be frightened away, and they’d blab to everyone. I’m sure whorehouse owners talk among themselves and pass on rumors about people that shouldn’t be trusted.”
Felix absentmindedly scratched Inky’s ears as the cat sat between them. What the hell? He’d never imagined a parent here going that far, and Queen Eliza was considered to be a fair ruler, so he’d never thought of her doing something so underhanded.
“I had him taken back to the prison, and the guards who heard us talking took my side,” said Rainier. “A ruler shouldn’t pay anyone to hurt an innocent. They won’t let him out now even if she goes down and commands it in person.”
Felix bit his lip. Normally, a Queen should have power over the Crown Prince, but if someone took Rainier’s side… “Is that like treason? You defied a direct command from her.”
Rainier shrugged. “It’s one thing we can’t compromise on. It’s not like we’ll have a civil war. He’s a criminal, and he beat you. I got into a fight with Mum and…I can’t stand to go down to meals and sit next to her like nothing is wrong. I just can’t do it anymore. I’ve been keeping to myself, but of course, I’m wrong, and I’m pouting because I’m sick to death of her invading my personal life. I’ll never be fucking free of her ridiculousness. She brought over that guy she expected me to marry too and forgot an observant Christian likely won’t marry a male. And now I find that she must have been snatching the mail. Or someone did it for her.”
“So you lost weight because you’re stressed?”
Rainier shrugged. “I’ll be okay, Felix. I’m glad your Grandma is better too.”
“Me too, but how come no one has noticed that you’re so skinny? What about the servant who comes in here to clean?”
“She’d barely notice if my arm was hanging by a thread.” The Prince rolled his eyes. “If I was dead on the floor, she’d probably clean around me.”
Felix had seen the older woman who cleaned in here a couple of times. She simply did her job and hustled off to do the next thing on her list. But even if she was here to only clean and not pry in the business of others, she should have noticed Rainier appeared ill. If Felix saw one of the other whores was unwell, he’d immediately tell Tab.
“Your Mum hasn’t come up here?”
“No. I haven’t seen her, and I don’t care to.”
No wonder he’d lost his appetite. Felix fidgeted as he racked his brains and tried to figure out what to do. “How about if I stay here for a bit?”
Rainier seemed to brighten at that idea for a moment, but he shook his head. “If you’re back at Pierced Pretties, I know you have to work, and you’re trying to build your savi-”
“I’d rather make sure you’re alright, and you gave me plenty. Thanks for that too. Let me stay. Technically, I did have some time left, remember?” He wasn’t sure what to do, but how could he leave?
“I don’t think I’ll be very good at taking care of you right now.”
“Let me help take care of you. You’ve done a lot for me, and if you’re stressed-”
“You can’t because if Mum finds out, it’s going to start another fight. If you’re here, that might drive her into a rage that I don’t want to deal with. I’m positive she’s still furious because that’s how she is sometimes.”
“So what do you expect to do?”
“I don’t know.”
Felix ran a hand through his hair as he thought. If someone was in a stressful situation, the best thing to do was to take them out if possible, right? “How about if we go to the house tomorrow? It’s empty, right?”
“The lord who owns it lives far away. No one else uses it.”
“We could stay there for a bit,” said Felix. “You’ll get a break from all of this, and we can bring Inky too.”
Rainier quirked his mouth. “I didn’t want to bring you back there after what happened.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s a quiet spot, and we can go from there.” Not that Felix knew what the hell to do now besides feed Rainier.
“All right. I would like a break.”
