Chapter 11

Rain pattered against the window. It was an oddly cold, blustery day for late summer. Normally, the windows would be wide open, the palace tending toward being stuffy and hot. 

The closed window made me feel confined. Or perhaps it was that I was having to have this conversation with my mother—again.

“There have been reports of rumors circulating online about my true parentage,” I said as I stared out the window. “Apparently, the rumors have increased since my marriage.”

My mother, sitting across from me and sipping tea, merely shrugged. “When have we not had rumors floating around about us? That’s nothing new, nor nothing to worry about.”

“Perhaps, but rumors have a way of becoming truth online if you’re not careful.”

My mother didn’t seem concerned. She’d never been one for technology. She disliked computers, and found the idea of social media distasteful. Although she was hardly in her dotage, she preferred to act as though the world wide web simply didn’t exist.

“Conside