Something like guilt flickered across Homer's face. He gathered me into his arms, my body limp as a threadbare rag. "I'm sorry, Penny. It's not that I didn't want to help you, but the Crown Prince's wife is carrying a royal heir. I couldn't afford the delay..."
I gritted my teeth against the pain and pulled myself free of his embrace. I shook my head. "It's fine. You were up all night, my lord. Go rest."
His hands hung frozen in the air where I'd been. His voice came out scraped raw. "Are you angry with me, Penny?"
I closed my eyes. My answer was flat, toneless. "This commoner wouldn't dare."
"Commoner?"
Homer caught the shift instantly. He stared at me as though I'd spoken a foreign language.
Before, I had always addressed myself as "your wife" in his presence.
Now I'd changed the word. The line between us, drawn clean.
"Yes. This commoner was born lowly. Naturally, I can't be compared to the Crown Prince's wife. So you did the right thing, my lord. This commoner wouldn't dare hold it against you."
A violent cough tore through me, and blood splattered from my lips. Homer saw it, and for once, he asked nothing more.
He rubbed slow circles on my back, his voice softening. "You've always been the most sensible one, Penny. I was overthinking it. Rest now. Your husband will stay right here. I'm not going anywhere."
I didn't know how long I slept before the noise from the courtyard dragged me awake.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Ruby sprawled in the center of the yard, a rod cracking down across her body again and again.
Her clothes were soaked through with blood. Each breath she drew looked like it might be her last.
Chloe Fox sat nearby, watching with cold, disinterested eyes.
When Homer saw me stir, he didn't bother explaining. He simply pressed my shoulders back down. "The Crown Prince's wife is disciplining a servant. Don't interfere, Penny."
I had braced myself for some grave offense. But the crime, it turned out, was nothing more than this: after delivering the divorce papers to the Emperor, Ruby had taken it upon herself to summon the royal physician for me.
The Emperor and Empress already carried guilt over the Crown Prince breaking off his engagement to me. When they learned what had happened, they'd rebuked Chloe harshly.
Called her vicious. Said she'd shown callous disregard for another woman's life.