173 The broken mirror(4)

"Who is that man, and what did he just say to you?" Loretta asked as soon as the man was out of sight. She had dragged Marlena to the end of the room to interrogate her. 

"I don't know him." Marlena lied. "I've never seen him before today."

Loretta narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing her. 

"Why would I know him? He has to be a prince or a lord. I'm just a maid—I don't interact with royals." Marlena added. It was a plausible explanation, but the queen still felt she was missing something. 

However, she had more important things to scold Marlena about. She pulled the young woman further away from the banquet and her smile faded as soon as there was no one else within earshot.