**3rd Person POV**
“This is a deliberate attempt to rue us. If we start something here, it'll be a perfect excuse to cause us all harm,” Reginald tried to reason with his sister. Charlotte sighed, Reginald was right. She had to put away her anger for now before things got ugly.
“Do you think the king is in on this? How could he invite two of our enemies to this place?” questioned Charlotte as she sighted Major Drieden.
“It would appear that our enemies are in cohort,” returned Reginald when he saw Major Drieden whisper something to Nydia.
“I cannot believe it. The point of the exile was so she could suffer. She is not suffering,” Charlotte was getting incensed again and this was because whatever Major Drieden had told Nydia, had elicited a laugh from her. It was painful to watch her enemy laughing.
“We should have some cake,” Reginald said, leading his sister away from where they stood. He knew that the more she saw Nydia the more her anger would grow and his too.
“We should have nothing. You should shadow Harlin. She may want to whisper nonsense in his ears. I don't trust that devil. We must keep Harlin safe,” Charlotte said, not liking the fact that Harlin stood not too far away from Nydia. More so, Nydia seemed to be staring at Harlin with intense jealousy. Charlotte had got to know many years later about Nydia's affair when she was her father's mistress. She had known about the pregnancy and what Nydia had supposedly done to it. She did not trust Nydia to stay away from hurting Harlin. After all, if she had kept her child, that child would be about Harlin's age right now. Then perhaps, she could have been able to plead mercy; to somehow beg her way out of exile.
“On it,” returned Reginald as he left his sister's side to stand with his friend. He happened to cut Lady Francesca as he walked towards Harlin. He saw her frown, she had wanted a private audience of sorts with Harlin. She seemed to be contemplating if she should wait or continue to walk towards Harlin as she was fully aware that the twins did not exactly like her.
“Harlin,” Reginald and Lady Francesca both chorused. Reginald turned to Lady Francesca with an eyebrow raised.
“Harlin? You will dare address the prince by his name?” quipped Reginald, surprised that she would call Harlin by his name in the presence of another royal.
“I apologise. I and Harlin share…”
“We share nothing. Reginald?” Harlin responded and taking his friend by the arm, he walked away from Lady Francesca. Reginald blinked, he wondered what had transpired between the two of them.
“I had thought you two were close,” Reginald said once they were out of earshot from Lady Francesca.
“She is trouble,” was all Harlin said.
“And yet, you cannot stop thinking about her,” whistled Reginald, reminded of his affections for Lady Lowell.
“I'm screwed, aren't I?” quipped Harlin with a sigh.
“We are so screwed,” came Reginald’s absent-minded response.
“I know you are not talking about Lady Francesca, so spill. Who is it?” asked Harlin.
“Lady Lowell,” they were both quiet for a long time after this. Then as one they chorused, “We are so screwed.”
****
Lady Francesca stood in the middle of the large hall not knowing what to do. Harlin had walked out on her as though she meant nothing to him. He had not even looked at her face. She was perplexed. Whenever she thought she had him, he would manage to slip between her fingers like water. She looked back and there was Lowell with an expectant expression on his face. She nodded no, meaning that his plan had fallen through. He looked very angry, she knew he would scold her about it later and then he would make wild love to her afterwards. She had told him that they had to end their affair. At least while she was here, she could not sleep with him. Because right in that hall was the reason she could not continue her affair with Lowell; her husband. Her husband had graced the event with a she-werewolf in his arms. She thought that the woman looked familiar but she could not place the face.
She would have to end things with Lowell temporarily. She did not doubt that her husband knew about her affairs but she knew that if he happened to catch her, he would shred her to pieces.
“Lovely party,” commented Lady Lowell. Lady Francesca shuddered a little, she hadn't noticed Lady Lowell standing so close to her before. She flashed her friend an uneasy smile. She wondered if her friend knew that she was sleeping with her husband. The affair had started on their wedding night. Lady Lowell's marriage was an arranged one and all the while the wedding was being planned, Lowell would tell Francesca how he wanted her and not Lilac, his wife to be. However, it was not until their wedding night that she had first slept with Lowell. It had been a pleasurable affair and she had vowed never to do it again only that she had continued to do it until she fell in love with her best friend's husband.
When Drieden had asked her father for her hand through back channels (because she was a hybrid werewolf), she had told Lowell about it. She had encouraged him to leave his wife so they could run away together but Lowell had instead seen an opportunity. He had used her connection with Drieden to become acquainted with the man and through that, he had tripled his black market business.
Lady Francesca smiled. She had to give it to Lowell for having guts. He was sleeping with her and still doing business with her husband. Francesca tried not to think of what would happen if they were ever caught.
“Indeed,” came Francesca’s response to Lady Lowell's comment.