"Mother, it’s dinner time. Dorothy is pregnant. It wouldn’t be too late to question her tomorrow," King Edward said. He was afraid his mother might frighten Dorothy. Deep down, he still wanted to protect her.
"Thank you, Your Grace, for standing by me. Anyway, the problem was discovered in time, and not much damage was done to my body. Physician Dorothy still carries the king’s child, something I am no longer confident I can do," Anastasia said. She felt there was no need to continue listening; the king clearly wanted to protect Dorothy. She could no longer bear to hear such words they hurt her deeply.
Mary looked at Anastasia and shook her head. She thought Anastasia was too kind for her own good.
"If you do not summon Dorothy tonight and give her the opportunity to defend herself, then I will have no choice but to refer this case to the palace’s punishment department. Anyway, Dorothy remains here as the queen’s personal physician. At most, she’s just a woman who climbed into your bed," Mary said firmly. Since she had promised Anastasia justice, she wouldn’t let her down. Besides, hearing her son defend Dorothy reminded her too much of the late king’s behavior toward his own mistress. She would not allow her son to become a man deceived by a woman.
"Mother?" King Edward was stunned. He had been grateful that Anastasia chose to let things go. He never expected his mother to speak so bluntly.
Mother and son locked eyes. In the end, King Edward lowered his head. He knew his mother wasn’t one to make idle threats. If the case went to the punishment department, word would undoubtedly spread through the royal city. He couldn’t afford to earn the reputation of aiding his mistress in harming his wife. If it were just about reputation, he might have risked it to protect Dorothy but giving greedy relatives a reason to stir trouble was something he couldn’t afford at the moment.
Seeing him lower his head, Mary breathed a sigh of relief. She had truly been worried that her son had lost all sense because of a woman.
"Send for Physician Nathan. One of them is responsible for this mistake," Mary said. When King Edward heard this, he, too, felt relieved. At least this meant his mother was really giving Dorothy an opportunity to defend herself.
Anastasia looked at the queen. She hadn’t expected her to stand against her own son just to defend her. She gained a deeper respect for the queen.
Hearing Mary’s words, Margaret sprang into action immediately. Get full chapters from novel•fire.net
Meanwhile, Dorothy had just heard from the maid she had sent to the king. The maid informed her that the king had been very busy all day and had only just come out of the study. He promised to visit her later that night.
Dorothy was not pleased with the reply, but thinking it through, she reminded herself that a king had many responsibilities. Now that she was his official mistress, she could go see him confidently.
"My lady, eat and be well. Don’t make His Majesty worry. There’s a lot going on in the kingdom," the nanny encouraged.
Dorothy felt the nanny’s words made sense and began to eat. She had barely eaten half her meal when Margaret arrived and invited her to the main palace.
When Dorothy heard that the king’s mother had summoned her, she was a bit puzzled, but she pushed aside her uneasiness. The king’s mother had never harmed her, so she convinced herself that it was likely to discuss the banquet celebrating her new status as the king’s mistress.
Although such a banquet wasn’t always necessary, if the man cared about his mistress’s status, he would host one.
So, although tired, she followed Miss Margaret to the main palace.
When they arrived, she was asked to wait in the side hall. The king, queen, and the king’s mother were still having dinner, so she had to wait. She noticed Physician Nathan was also waiting. When he didn’t acknowledge her, she felt a little slighted. With her new position, she no longer needed to bow to him.
After about a quarter of an hour, the king and queen emerged with the king’s mother.
Dorothy and Physician Nathan stood and bowed to the group.
The king walked over and sat down first. Anastasia stepped forward and allowed the king’s mother to sit before taking her own seat.
Seeing that Anastasia showed her such respect, Mary was pleased. She thought that although her late husband had many shortcomings, he had at least chosen a good wife for their son.
Once everyone was seated, Mary spoke first.
"Physician Nathan, what did you say was wrong with the queen?" she asked.
"Your Majesty, Your Grace," Physician Nathan greeted with a bow. When he saw Dorothy earlier, he guessed this was the reason they had both been called. Fortunately, no one had suspected him yet, so he had already ensured there was no evidence pointing to him.
"Her Majesty summoned me this morning. She must have eaten something bad. At first, her heart seemed in good condition, and I thought she was just overly tired and needed rest. But after further examination, I noticed something was wrong. With Your Majesty’s and Your Grace’s permission, I would like to ask Physician Dorothy—did you write this prescription?" he asked.
The king and Mary nodded. Anastasia, however, only looked at Dorothy. She held little hope. Given the king’s stance to protect Dorothy, she wouldn’t be surprised if the truth was covered up just like when Leah took the fall for Duchess Anita’s scheme.
Dorothy was shocked. When she saw the king arrive with the queen, she had assumed she was right; they were about to announce a banquet to welcome her as mistress. She hadn’t expected to hear about the queen’s illness.
The more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong. Even though she didn’t grow up in a noble household, her grandmother had once served in one and often told stories of its schemes and treachery.
Dorothy was already convinced Anastasia was jealous of her because of the pregnancy, and now the queen wanted to frame her.
When asked to confirm the prescription she had written the previous day, she reached out and took it.
It wasn’t her handwriting but upon reading the content, it was indeed the prescription she had given.
"What could be wrong?" she wondered as everyone waited silently for her answer.