The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 249: Throwing stones and hiding hands (5)

Hazel returned to the table to find some of the ladies quiet while Penelope and the others were in a deep conversation.

It wasn’t hard to guess what occurred between the ladies, but again, Hazel wasn’t going to pry.

"I know all of you want to get a look around the palace and to stretch your feet, so we shall take a short break," Hazel announced. "You may walk where it has been marked, and there are guards as well as maids. You must listen to them."

Selina sighed in relief. She couldn’t wait to get away from the table, but there was something she needed to bring to the queen’s attention.

Selina remained seated as Penelope and her friends stood up from their chairs.

"Julie," Hazel called to the young lady. "I must speak with you."

"Queen Hazel," Selina stood and curtised. "I request an audience with the queen."

Hazel looked at Selina and answered, "Very well. Wait here for me, Julie. I must speak with you in private, and then you shall go to your friends. Come with me, Miss Selina," Hazel said, leading Selina away from the table. "You may speak."

"Your majesty, I must bring to light an awful conversation held at the table when you were not present. There was a misunderstanding, and following that, there was a threat by Miss Rue," Selina shared.

"A threat? That won’t do," Hazel said, thankful nothing occurred in her absence.

"Tell me more. What did someone say for Rue to issue a threat? It is an important matter, so I must know all of it."

Selina bit her tongue.

Was she to tell the queen that Rue didn’t know how to conduct herself because of where she came from?

"Miss Selina, you have approached me to talk, and I have offered you my time. I must look into what you say if there was a threat, but I must also know all that was said. If you will not share, then I must ask the others," said Hazel.

Selina looked down at the floor. "I made a grave mistake of saying that Miss Rue doesn’t know how to conduct herself because of what I have seen. There wasn’t a need for a threat to follow." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Hazel suspected there was more to the story, but she would have to speak to every lady at the table.

"I know what you were trying to say about how she conducts herself. It is no secret that this kingdom is trying to keep its ties with the border. What you have heard about the border is wrong, and what you say goes against an order sent out by the palace," Hazel said.

Hazel continued to say, "I shall see to it that both of you are spoken to for what you said, and punishments will be issued if it is needed. I will send for your parents to come to the palace so we can speak after the gathering."

Selina’s eyes widened. "Your Majesty! I only wanted to bring attention to the threats. If she did it to me, then she would do it to other ladies. We all know you are close to the Callahans, so perhaps it clouds your judgement."

Selina regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. She was horrified.

Had she ruined what the queen thought of her?

"My judgment is not clouded since I am looking to punish you both. You cannot do wrong, hide your hands, and point at others. I suggest you take a stroll to calm yourself and think about your actions. You will need to be prepared for your father’s arrival," said Hazel.

Hazel walked away from Selina to return to Julie. She wasn’t going to tolerate violence in the palace today, and there weren’t going to be any threats said.

Hazel could think of one thing to upset Rue to make her threaten someone, which would be bad for Selina if Hazel’s guess was right. Selina’s family were going to have to pay a price if she spoke carelessly about the border.

Hazel didn’t bother to ask Selina what the threat was since she knew the young woman would twist it, and Selina seemed to regret speaking of it.

"Are you well, Your Majesty?" Julie asked, worried due to the expression Hazel wore.

Hazel appeared to be tired.

"I am well," Hazel replied with a smile. "Was there a threat at the table? I must gather all the ladies when we are done here."

Julie looked at where Selina stood. ’She ran to the queen?’ She thought.

Julie relayed what occurred to Hazel and added, "The fork was spoken of after Selina tried to insult her. To me, Rue’s only serious threat seemed to be writing to her mother."

"That would not be good," Hazel spoke softly.

Hazel had to do everything in her power to stop those letters from going out.

"I didn’t ask you to wait just for this. Since you have arrived, we haven’t had the chance to speak in private. Would you like to stay behind after all the other ladies leave? Penelope might be around with my son if you don’t want to be alone with me," Hazel offered.

"Or, you can come tomorrow with your mother. I saw how much you enjoyed the cake prepared. I can have much more of it tomorrow," said Hazel.

"I would love for my mother to come to the palace, so I will return with her. Thank you for the kind offer," Julie said, smiling ear to ear. "Can I be the one to tell her? I wish to give her some good news."

"You may," Hazel replied. "I won’t keep you from your friends much longer, so we shall speak of what time you should tomorrow at a later time. Go be with your friends."

Julie curtsied as Hazel left her. She was close to jumping for joy because of the excitement.

Julie hated that her grandmother wasn’t inviting her mother along with her aunt Sally. A day with the queen should make up for it.

"Julie!" Ally called and tapped Julie’s hand. "I have been waiting for you. Why are you so happy? Did the queen compliment you?"

Julie locked arms with Ally and started to walk to find their friends.

"Even better. I will return with my mother to see the queen so we may have a private talk. My father might not like it, but my mother will be thrilled. She might hear of stories to put in her books," said Julie.

"It is wonderful news," Ally agreed. "Can I join you?"

Julie stopped walking and faced Ally. Any other day, she would have asked for Ally to join, but she needed this moment to herself.

"No," Julie replied.

Ally showed her disappointment by letting go of Julie’s hand.