Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 113: Performing Animals

31 May, 1359. Magdaline Castle, Islia

Camilla opened her eyes as she heard the maids moving outside her bedchamber door. She had fallen asleep quickly the previous night but had only managed to rest fitfully again. She had been disturbed by the nightmares that had plagued her since Richard had found her that day in the forest.

She sat up, pushing her tangled hair out of her eyes. The lack of sleep was catching up to her. Between her nightmares and worrying about William these last couple of weeks, she barely had the energy to crawl out of bed. She eyed Sophie, who was sprawled on the bed dozing, with intense jealousy.

The bedchamber door slowly opened and her three maids, Louisa, Bonnie and Matilda entered.

"Good morning, Your Grace," chirped Bonnie as she placed a mug of warmed ale in Camilla’s hands. "We shall bring in your bath right away. Princess Violet is holding an early luncheon in her apartments at eleven this morning and she requests your attendance. I believe even Her Majesty will be attending."

Camilla nodded listlessly, knowing it was impossible to decline such an invitation from the most senior Islian princess, especially as a royal bride-to-be. She frowned for a moment, remembering William’s comment about being a performing animal for the spectacle of the court.

I’ll be attending another round of wine and sweets, served with a generous side helping of vicious gossip, Camilla told herself. So I’d best look pleased about it. She plastered a smile on her face so that one of her maids didn’t spread the word that she looked anything but thrilled by the invitation.

As the curtains were pulled open, she could see it was well past dawn. She bit her lip to stop herself sighing with fatigue.

Sipping the ale and absentmindedly scratching Sophie’s belly, Camilla wondered if the pace of events would slow down after the wedding, or whether married life would always be this frantic. Would her and William ever have any time alone that didn’t feel rushed or hidden?

Casting her mind back to her own parents, she could remember all the time they’d managed to spend together. She’d seen them on so many occasions walking through the gardens peacefully, hunting for game or even just relaxing in her mother’s presence chamber. Duke Robert had loved laying with his head on his wife’s lap while she softly sung ballads from her youth. Camilla hadn’t understood a single word but the duke had always closed his eyes and smiled, as if he were hearing a choir of angels singing.

Then again, her own parents had deliberately exiled themselves in Arlen Castle instead of being part of King Kenneth’s court. Perhaps her days now were just the pace of daily life alongside the monarch...

"...is that alright, my lady?"

Camilla jolted out of her own thoughts when she realised Bonnie had been speaking to her and she hadn’t heard a single word. "Please repeat your words, Bonnie."

"Prince William has sent a message that he wishes to join you for breakfast and will arrive shortly."

Camilla perked up at this unexpected message. The first couple of days after their betrothal, William had joined her and her ladies for breakfast. Then his time had quickly been monopolised by the many events planned by the king and queen.

"I’ll be glad to have him join us. My ladies enjoy his company as well."

"Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but the prince has requested your ladies-in-waiting only join you once you reach Princess Violet’s apartments. He said he’d like to be able to spend a little time with you alone."

"We shall also be present of course, my lady, to safeguard your chastity." Matilda sniffed. "It has to be said that it’s quite unheard of for a man to request time of this nature with an unmarried lady, even if she is his betrothed. His Grace should be more considerate of your reputation."

"Well then, thank you Matilda for playing your part in safeguarding my chastity." Camilla clapped back drily. "I’m sure it’s of the utmost importance to you."

Finishing the ale and climbing out of bed, she tugged off the previous day’s chemise and stepped into the bath Matilda and Louisa had dragged into the room.

At least I’m no longer covered in bite marks and can have my maids serve me at my bath, Camilla thought with grim humour. She still was somewhat uncomfortable with being attended, even though it had been a common occurrence throughout her life to have maids bathe her. She hoped her apprehension would fade in time, along with the nightmares.

Her maids laced her tightly into a pale green silk gown and blotted her hair dry until it fell in loose waves, knowing the prince favoured her hair unbound. Sitting in an armchair, Camilla wasn’t sure if she was eager to see William or too shy to face him after her uninhibited behaviour last night. Did he think she was a complete wanton?

The more she thought about it, the more confused Camilla became about how a married couple should interact. Everything William made her feel and want to do was in direct contradiction to what her childhood nursemaids had told her was the correct behaviour for a modest, virtuous wife. Did William not prize modesty or virtue? Or had the advice from her nursemaids been wrong all along?

William seemed to not just enjoy but encourage physical passion. Were all men like this with their wives or was he just unusual in his tastes?

At that moment, William entered the presence chamber, putting an end to her confusing thoughts for the moment. Camilla hastily stood to bow to him. She was so distracted by his stunning looks that it took her a moment to notice he was carrying a tray of food, as if he were her maid.

"Good morning, my dear," he smiled at her. "I wasn’t sure what you like best so I asked for everything." He placed the tray on the table in front of her and took a seat next to her. Camilla’s eyes widened at the selection of food.

William’s gaze on the other hand, was openly raking her in from top to bottom. Camilla could feel her cheeks turning pink.

He took a seat next to her and for a few moments the two of them just stared at each other, the tray of food remaining untouched. Camilla noticed his gaze was clear - free of the darkness from the last few days like a cloudless sky after a violent storm. It was also more...profound? Almost like he would read her thoughts.

She knew William had bared himself emotionally to her last night but hadn’t she also done a similar thing? He had forced her to voice her desire and pure need for him. Oh lord, what had she done? How could she have acted and spoken like she did? She could feel herself blushing again, feeling more exposed and vulnerable now than when he had undressed her the night they had lain together.

Matilda pointedly cleared her throat, snapping the couple out of their reverie. "My lady, I must remind you that there isn’t a lot of time for you to linger over breakfast. You’ll need your hair dressed for Princess Violet’s event and I’m sure you’ll want to organise a small thank you gift for her."

"If we don’t have a lot of time, then I don’t want to waste it hearing your goddamn voice." William replied cheerfully. "We have what we need here. Unless one of us specifically calls for you, do your best to disappear and stay out of my sight."

Matilda turned purple at the rebuke and scurried into the bedchamber to tidy and give the couple at least a measure of privacy.

Camilla turned to face him, unsure if she should mention the previous night or pretend it never happened. But before she could open her mouth, William brushed his thumb under her left eye. "You’re not sleeping well these days?"

She shook her head.

"I can ask Tession to prepare a sleeping tonic for you. If you recall, they work rather well." The corner of William’s lush mouth quirked.

She smiled back, then dropped her gaze to her lap, feeling somewhat embarrassed at telling him the truth. "It’s not falling asleep I struggle with, it’s staying asleep. I, um, I have a lot of nightmares."

When she looked up at him, there was sympathy on his face. Their eyes locked again and Camilla realised how truly in love with him she was spiralling. It probably wasn’t wise, she cautioned herself. It was also frightening.

He carefully picked up a raspberry with one hand and a blackberry with the other. "Which do you want me to feed you?"

"I prefer blackberries but I don’t need you to feed me, William. My own arms work perfectly well."

"Just indulge me in this." he smiled deviously, showing his beautiful white teeth. "If we’re to be married, you’ll need to practice your wifely obedience beforehand." With that, he brought the blackberry to her mouth.