"Lady Fitzgerald." Alexander addressed the wife directly, sensing her hesitation. "I ask once more: tell me what weighs heavily on your mind." He knew it, but they must tell it.She hesitated for a moment. "We fear for her future, Your Majesty. She is young and unmarried."Alexander's smile widened at the woman's honesty and concern for her daughter's welfare. He was glad to know Guinevere had received a fair amount of love from them. "Return home now, rest assured, Guinevere's future is safe." He noticed Guinevere's countenance of unbelief."Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. We shall depart at once." Lord Fitzgerald expressed his gratitude, bowing respectfully.Alexander nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention to his manservant. "Edmund, assist Lord and Lady Fitzgerald in their departure." He instructed, then turned to Guinevere with a warm smile. "And as for you, Guinevere, allow Edmund to guide you to your bedchambers.""Your Ma-jes-ty?" Lady Fitzgerald turne
***Paula helped Gwen prepare for dinner and, together with Reginald, escorted her into the dining room. The king was already seated at the head of the table when they arrived. Gwen stopped as soon as she entered and bowed to him. "Your Majesty." She greeted, giving all possible best not to look at him with scorn. Paula bowed too, before quietly leaving the room to stand outside with Reginald, closing the door behind them.The king was seated with an air of ease, relaxed into his chair. He gave a casual gesture, inviting her in. "Take a seat." His tone was calm, it irked Gwen. She walked to the left side of him and sat down, eyes away from him. She walked to the left side of him and sat. "It is not a good virtue, lateness. And more so even wrong to keep the king waiting."Gwen bowed again and murmured. "I am sorry." She was not. In truth, she had been preoccupied with thoughts of how to avoid dining with him altogether. When no credible excuse presented itself, she reluctantly decided
"Not in the way you intend for them to earn it." She replied sharply then remembered in whose presence she was. Comporting herself properly, she asked "Do you honestly believe they'd be content accepting money from you after you've taken their daughter away from them?" Her mother would be devastated. She might just about die. "For permitting me to remain…" "Permit? They permitted nothing, dear Guinevere. I commanded it." His smile was gone for a moment. Then, "Am I to believe that Carlisle does not provide them with financial assistance?" "My sister is Lord Carlisle's wife!" She cried. She was his hostage. He paused, his expression pensive. "Hmm, I understand." What did he understand? What was he thinking about? "Do not ask for any check to be sent to them. Send nothing. If you are so eager to send something, send me back." Alexander snickered. "Eventually Guinevere, as I intend for us to spend a very long time together, you will come to understand that sometimes when you utter t
Alexander stepped out of his bedchamber, leaving the maids to their morning chores of seeing to the tidying of his sleeping quarters. After a deep inhale and an even stronger exhale, he strode past Edmund who had been waiting for him."Your Majesty, three ministers from your court have arrived." His attendant informed him."Very well, I shall attend to them immediately." Alexander replied. The day had only just begun and already the demands of his courtiers required his attention, leaving him without the luxury of breakfast.The morning was beautiful, much like the woman who had come to him the previous day. If he so wished, he could make his ministers wait while he shared breakfast with her, but he refrained, despite the temptation. She needed her privacy to mourn over the fact that she was away from her family, and he would let her have it. For now.Alexander walked briskly to the courtroom, his steps echoing crisply against the marble floors. The sooner he attended to them, the soo
Alexander finally moved his gaze, shifting it away from Guinevere, to focus it squarely on the daring minister who, it seemed, had forgotten his position. He was a hidden ally of Denney, though not as easy as he thought, and if he moved to annoy, Alexander reckoned he would have been the proper reason to dismiss him from the courtFeatings persisted. "A lady in waiting? For a king? Why do you have a lady in waiting?" His tone dropped. "Or is there something more to her esteemed position?" His words were masked enough to be seen.Guinevere's head snapped, eyes turning to Lord Featings. She bit her lower lip, pressing her hands into the other. Alexander saw her distress. He did not like it."I find the tone of your voice quite insulting, Featings. Take a care how you speak to me, lest you find yourself subject to a royal inquiry for daring to question your king." The man swallowed hard, stepping back into place.How dare the lowly placed man demand an answer from him? He was still king
Alexander's expression softened. "Your words hurt me." Untrue. He had been expecting the question. "Why entertain thoughts of departure so soon when you arrived only yesterday?" He waved her forward, gesturing her towards himself and she obeyed by a few steps. "We have shared pleasant moments together, have we not? I, for one, have enjoyed our time together." He relaxed his tone. "Did you not find joy in our dinner last night? And the comfort of the soft beddings, surely they were to your liking?"Guinevere averted her gaze. "Would you not retain Lady Farrington as your lady in waiting then?" Her voice was almost a whisper but he heard her."Why shouldn't I?" Alexander asked with a hint of amusement. Her gaze returned to him and he waved her forward again, this time, commanding her to stand by his side. She complied, climbing up to join him, though she maintained a cautious distance. "My uncle was gracious enough to offer his help, it would be remiss of me not to accept."Guinevere to
Gwen marched out of the courtroom angry at how easily she had allowed Alexander to win over her. Her anger at the loss irritated her more. His words were subtly but perfectly suggestive, yet he had the audacity to claim they were not what she had thought. How dare you with her like a fox on a foxhunting? He made a fool of her for his own gain and would see nothing wrong with it.How had she allowed him to fool her so easily?He was a master of diplomacy, a man who dealt with words and had skills in the art of persuasion and manipulation. She had naively underestimated his cunning. Had she thought she could win him so easily? Believed she could outmanoeuvre his schemes? She knew she couldn't, but losing so easily to him irked her.She sidestepped to allow Edmund entry, then sauntered away from the closed doors, pushing the heavy garment she wore along. The day had barely begun, yet it was going terribly already. How was she to survive through the rest of it? She started away from the c
As soon as Gwen crossed the threshold into the room, her steps slowed down when she caught sight of who was already seated at the breakfast table. Lady Jane Farrington, a woman of noble lineage and considerable influence. As the daughter of a marquess and the niece of Alexander's uncle, she was fitting as the candidate for the king's lady in waiting. Against herself, Gwen was uneasy at the simple presence. It shouldn't threaten her, but it did, and the air in the room grew heavier, tension weighing on it."Good morning" Gwen greeted with a polite nod as Reginald courteously pulled out the chair for her to settle into. Taking her seat opposite the other lady, she offered a small smile.A serving maid set a breakfast plate before her. "I had thought you had given up on eating at the table. Or completely for breakfast." Lady Farrington gave a casual remark.Gwen did not think it so casual. She grabbed her cutlery. "The thought was not far.""Then why bother pulling it near?" Lady Farring