Chapter 199
Beth looked out the window at the homes they passed by on their way back to the Blackwell castle. She ignored Fraser who was doing all that he could to make her acknowledge him. She wasn’t pleased with how Fraser conducted himself today or other days. No one was taking him seriously as the next king of this kingdom. All her efforts were being wasted.
"Mother," Fraser spoke up as he could no longer wait out the silence for her to speak first. "When will you be on my side?"
"You are my son, Fraser. I am always on your side but it does not mean I will accept this behavior and arrogance you have. You have done nothing great to be so arrogant. The north and this kingdom are back on bad terms-"
"They will not do anything now that Amelia is queen," Fraser reminded his mother. His stubborn cousin loved their kingdom too much to allow her husband to destroy it.
"First you say she will have no power in the north but when you cause trouble you say she will stop her husband. Which is it, Fraser? Do you truly believe Amelia could hold that man back if you hurt more of his people or insult him? The things I heard you have said," Beth touched her forehead as it still ached from her worrying about what would happen next. "Why would you look down on your cousin before Killian?"
"Why can’t I? She has looked down on me for years because she lived in the castle but I did not. It is my turn to knock her back down so she knows her place. I’m sure Killian controls her in private so I don’t see why he would care about what I say. Perhaps he wants to be the only one who gets to speak to her as he pleased," said Fraser.
Beth wanted to laugh at Fraser’s words but it would only anger him more and she wasn’t in the mood to put up with it. "The king of the north fancies your cousin already. If you did not notice it today then I am telling you now that he loves Amelia so it will not end well for you to talk down to your cousin when he is around. Matter of fact, bite your tongue when you are around her," she advised him.
"Women always think the groom is happily in love with them while his thoughts are solely on bedding his new wife. That man does not care for her. He is amused that we have offered a princess to him who can use to his liking," Fraser replied.
"Him grabbing your throat for the way you spoke to her wasn’t enough to convince you that he does in fact love her?" Beth said, reminding him of why Killian had attacked him in the first place. They all thought they were sending Amelia off to a life of horror but it was the opposite. Amelia caught the eyes of a powerful king who deeply cared for her. Beth was truly glad to see that a marriage for a princess to save ties was working out well.
"Tsk," Fraser looked out the window, irritated by her bringing up what happened in the meeting. He would never be able to look into the eyes of everyone present unless he did something big. Killian made a fool out of him and then even more when he had them rush to get off the northern land. "You don’t understand anything. Ow!" He touched the back of his head where his mother smacked him.
Not once in his life had she laid a hand on him. She would not allow any of the maids who took care of him to lay a single finger on him.
"I understand nothing? I know to control my emotions to get what I want. Do you think I liked your uncle or grandfather? I hated the two of them but I kept my hatred from being noticed to remain near them and get what little I wanted. I stayed close to Richard so you would have a better chance. Do you think if I made my hatred for him known he would have entertained you?" Beth asked, her hand still in the air to slap him again if he gave a foolish response.