It was the peak of winter. There wasn't much to do except sit around and gossip.
In the past, Henry had brushed it off as nothing more than frivolous talk rather than a legitimate way to move information, but this winter, his opinion would change.
The moment Irene heard that she was also mentioned in the letter from the King, she could only imagine what it was about.
As they made it over the plateau that led to the Chemoian side of the mountains, relieved to see that time hadn't passed so quickly that the snow was starting to melt, anxieties grew ever so slightly.
"Do you think he figured it out?" Irene would ask.
The 'it' she referred to was their marriage behind closed doors.
It wasn't as if they tried to hide it all that much, but for a duke to go around without the King's approval could be seen as a slight. Henry was a vassal and had to take serious steps to gain his permission when talking about marriage.
