Chapter 2 Safe At Last?

• I mingle with other royals as the evening progresses. Sadly, for the most part, Daniel and I are separated. Every time we think we have time to at least stand beside one another, we're pulled apart. The royal ladies take me to an opposite corner to interrogate and let me in on the latest gossip. Well, the kind that doesn't involve me or my husband. Daniel is grabbed by other foreign officials who wish to speak to him about who know what. Based on their tense and professional body language, I think it's business related.
• We pretty much spend the entire evening ping-ponging back and forth, barely spending enough time with each other to ask the other how the evening is going. I don't mind this though, because the way Daniel looks at me, reassures me that we'll be spending much more time together--as close as we can be.
• The evening dies down, and people start to leave, filing out of the ballroom. To keep up our appearances, Daniel and I stay behind alongside the current King and Queen until pretty much everyone has left. Michael and Cassandra left a few hours ago, claiming they had to take care of their children, but considering the way they looked at each other, I would bet money that they're going to take care of something else. I should know, because Daniel's looking at me the same way right now, like a starving man stares at a juicy steak. It's both unnerving and unimaginably sexy, and I find myself squeezing my thighs together. I'm already horny enough when I'm in his presence --like a rat conditioned to push a button for food, all he has to do is look at me, or heaven forbid speak-- but now that I'm pregnant, it seems that's multiplied ten times over.
• Clarita and Stephan make small talk with us. Clarita asks me the same questions everyone else asks me but I don't blame her, or everyone else, because I know that they're just curious. Clarita is happy for me, and like Daniel, she's worried and protective about the baby and I.
• "Can I steal your wife for a minute?" She asks.
• I can tell he doesn't like it, but Daniel accepts it with a nod of his head. "Don't be too long, Mother, she needs her rest."
• I think everyone knows that there won't be much rest when we're alone.
• Clarita leads me to the right of the ballroom, out of earshot from Daniel and The King. "I have good news for you, Annie."
• My pulse spikes and my chest swells with hope. I'm practically on the edge of my seat, awaiting the words I desperately hope she's about to say. Is it over? Are we safe?
• "I know what you're thinking. I found the cause of your little... problem. A few rouge nobles admitted to the crime. They've been dealt with, and for your sake, I have yet to inform Daniel."
• "What? Is that true? Who was it?"
• She rolls her eyes. "A few distant cousins and relatives who are backing Michael. I put my top guards on the case and they discovered it was all just one big bluff. They don't have the capability to hurt anyone, they were just hoping you'd turn tail and run in fear." Clarita grins. "Unfortunately for them, we both know better."
• I'm stunned in silence. Is it true? I hope with all I have that it is, and I want Clarita to be right, but...
• "I'm sorry, I'm still worried." I voice my concerns to her aloud.
• She nods sympathetically. "I completely understand. You have every right to be on edge, Annie. I trust my men. I trust we have the right people." She gives me a small reassuring smile. "I will leave it up to you to tell my son or not. I think you and I both know that he would want their heads."