Chapter 201: I Am Not Leaving
Livia turned to her with a look that suggested this was a deeply unhelpful time to compliment the enemy.
Henry might be cruel in his wanting, selfish even but foolish he was not. Stephen cleared his throat.
"Mrs Crowe," he said carefully, turning to Tabitha, "would you require assistance with the packing?"
"I am not leaving," Livia said at once.
Stephen’s expression tightened. "My lady—"
"I am not staying at Whitehall."
Stephen looked pained. "My lady, please. I am only the messenger. If I fail in this task, His Majesty may have my head."
Tabitha arched a brow. "Do not exaggerate."
Stephen’s gaze flicked to her. "Mrs Crowe, with respect, you did not see his face when he gave the order."
That silenced even Tabitha.
"The Queen Dowager does not want Tabitha in Whitehall. I am not moving to Whitehall without Tabitha. You may return to His Majesty and tell him that."
"My lady—"
"That is my answer."
Stephen looked between them, despair creeping into his features. Before he could speak again, Tabitha stepped forward.
"Stephen," she said gently, "would you please give us a moment?"
Relief crossed his face. "Of course." He bowed, then escaped the room.
The door closed behind him.
Livia turned to Tabitha at once. "What is it?"
Tabitha’s face had changed. The firmness remained, but the softness beneath it was gone now. "My lady..." Tabitha held her gaze. "I cannot go with you to Whitehall."
"Why not?" Livia asked.
Tabitha gave her a small smile. "It is a long story."
"Tabitha, I need you." Livia stepped closer. "Please. The only person I know in Whitehall is Bella and she is also under the thumb of the queen mother."
"It is not that I do not wish to go with you," Tabitha said gently. "It is that I cannot."
Livia shook her head. "That makes no sense."
"If I go to Whitehall," Tabitha said, her voice lowering, "I will be useless to you."
"You could never be useless to me."
Tabitha took her hands. "Listen to me. In this house, I can make decisions. But at Whitehall?" Tabitha continued. "Whitehall belongs to the Queen Dowager almost as much as it belongs to the King. I will be under her control there...She can make my life miserable. Miserable enough to force me into giving her what she has wanted from me since the night the former king died."
Livia went still. "What is that?"
"I cannot give you that information, sweetheart."
"Why?"
"Because knowing it could cost you your life."
"I do not care about my life!" Livia cried. "What kind of life do I have anyway?"
"Believe me, sweetheart," Tabitha said. "This is not something you want to be involved in."
"Tabitha..." Livia reached for her hands. "Please. I will speak to the King. I will have him make certain the Queen Dowager stays away from you."
"The King is quite angry with you, my lady," Tabitha said gently. "You are not exactly in a position to ask him for favours."
She clung to Tabitha. "Please," she whispered. "Please, please, please. I beg you. Do not let me go there alone. I promise I will do whatever you say."
"My child..."
Livia shook her head fiercely. "No."
Tabitha closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there was pain there. "I am not abandoning you."
"It feels like it."
"I know."
"I am not leaving here without you."
"My lady—"
"I am not."
Tabitha took her by the shoulders. "You cannot say no to the King of England. Not in this. If you refuse, he can have you removed by force, and there will be nothing I can do except watch you dragged out of this house."
Livia pulled free and sank back onto the chair, pressing both palms over her face as if darkness might give her somewhere to hide. "I cannot do this," she whispered. "I... I cannot go."
Then suddenly she stood. Tabitha reached for her, but Livia was already moving, skirts gathered in one trembling hand as she hurried toward the drawing-room doors.
"Stephen!" she called. "Stephen!"
"Yes, my lady?" Stephen was standing near the entrance hall, waiting. He straightened the moment Livia appeared.
Livia stopped before him, her breath unsteady. "Go back to the palace. Tell the King I wish to see him."
His face tightened at once. "My lady...His Majesty’s instructions were quite clear."
"So are mine."
He looked past her, perhaps hoping Tabitha would intervene with reason, or at least a better plan. Unfortunately for him, Tabitha remained in the drawing room.
"Please," Stephen tried again. "If you would only allow me to arrange the carriage—"
"Just do it, Stephen!"
Stephen bowed immediately. "Yes, my lady."
Livia stood where he had left her, arms wrapped tightly around her middle. If she entered Whitehall without Tabitha, she would be alone. She could not stay there. She could not.
*****
Henry lost his temper the moment Stephen returned again and told him Livia had refused to leave Covent Garden.
By then, night had settled over Whitehall, and with it had gone the last thread of his patience. The first time Stephen had returned, pale and apologetic, saying Livia had requested to see him, Henry had refused.
He had given his orders and he expected her to obey. Henry might have a weakness for her—God help him, he did—but he was still King.
And a king’s word was not a request to be weighed and returned with objections. It was law. At least, it was meant to be. Livia, naturally, had developed the alarming habit of treating royal command as though it were an invitation to argue.
He stood in his chamber, one hand braced on the table, jaw tight as Stephen delivered the news. She would not come.
Livia was stubborn, furious, and increasingly determined to turn every command he issued into a personal war.
The thought of her in that house, guarded only by Tabitha’s devotion and her own reckless mouth, scraped against the last of his patience.
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