Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 193: Old Lechers, Young Wives

2 March, 1361. Westerhaven Palace, Islia

"The king has said repeatedly how important our visit to the Marquis of Niarnol is." Camilla was laying facedown on the bed, one arm dangling off the edge and tracing the pattern of the plush rug on the floor with her fingertips. "Yet not once has he explained to me why. Surely you must know why, at least?"

William looked up from the inventory list he was reading on the other side of the bed. He’d forgotten how much organisation and endless lists were involved when the court relocated from one castle to another. This time, there was even more to think about, given they had to plan for Malcolm and his nurses to travel in comfort.

He skimmed his wife with his eyes, glad for the distraction. She looked awfully tempting as she lay there in only her nightgown. "The marquis, Lord Elias Michal I should say, has been a thorn in my uncle’s side for a couple of years now. I guess you could say the aim of the visit is to try and placate the man and stop him doing anything too rash."

Camilla lifted her head and cupped her chin in her hand, wide eyed with curiosity. "Oh, this sounds scandalous. You have to give me a little background information here, William."

He pretended to give her a stern frown. "Wife, I’m disappointed. You’re turning into one of those gossipy court ladies. I may have to start calling you Annabel from now on."

"Oh, stop it. Tell me about this Lord Michal and what I should expect. He doesn’t live in some rundown, haunted old castle, does he?"

William smiled. "His country manor is actually quite lovely. Our army spent a few days there last summer, during our return from the war. Ferrenthor, I believe his estate is called? And it isn’t haunted that I know of, unless the ghost of Lord John resides there now."

"Who’s Lord John?" Camilla asked.

"Lord John Michal, the marquis’s eldest son. He died in battle against your uncle’s army last spring."

"Oh, yes. I remember hearing that from one of the battlefield messengers at the time." Camilla nodded, a faraway look on her face. "Was he his father’s only child?"

"No, the marquis has two married daughters and a second son named Edward. Everyone calls him Ned for short." William leaned back and looked around the bedchamber, which was in the process of having all of its contents packed up for the upcoming travels north.

"Do you think you’ll miss this palace, given you’ve been here for so many months?" he asked, trying not to become distracted by the seductive curve of Camilla’s hip as she rolled onto her side.

"No, not at all." Camilla replied. "Having Malcolm born here will always make me appreciate Westerhaven. But spending the warmer months here was a unique form of penance. The heat was unbearable, and the amount of bugs flying and crawling everywhere..." she shuddered with revulsion. "I even considered hacking all my hair off because the heat and damp were driving me to madness."

William’s jaw dropped at the thought. "How could you think of doing such a terrible thing?" Burying his face in the dark, glossy lengths of his wife’s tresses was one of his life’s great joys.

Camilla regarded him, lips pursed in thought. "Well, clearly I didn’t carry it out. And don’t think that you can change the subject so easily, William. You need to tell me more about the marquis. Nothing you’ve mentioned about him so far, sounds very scandalous."

William couldn’t help smiling at her. "Well, a couple of years ago, he petitioned to the king to divorce his wife. My uncle refused to even consider it. That was when the relationship between the two men soured somewhat."

"Why did the marquis want a divorce?"

"Why else? To marry his young mistress, who I’m told was a kitchen servant. Lord Michal has a great fondness for young women, you see."

"Don’t most older men, though?"

Laughing, William picked up a length of Camilla’s hair and ran his fingers through it absentmindedly. "You’re probably right. But the Marchioness of Niarnol was from a powerful family. The turmoil such a divorce would’ve caused...well, my uncle wanted no part in that mess. The marquis wasn’t best pleased when his divorce petition was denied."

Why was the world full of foolish old lechers, Camilla asked herself silently? Out loud, she asked, "So the marchioness remains in her rightful place?"

"Actually, no. She died of plague a few months later. The marquis has since remarried and I hear his new wife is far younger than him."

Camilla sat up abruptly. William felt his groin tighten when he saw the outline of her luscious breasts through her nightgown.

"Are you telling me the marquis managed to marry his mistress after all?" she asked, looking deliciously scandalised.

"Wife, which would you prefer first? That I finish the story or that I ravish you?" William sighed. "Because when you sit there looking like that, I know which one I prefer."

Camilla blinked and looked at him as if she suspected he jested. That was all it took.

William pounced, pushing her back onto the bed and pulling off her nightgown in quick succession.

"Will you ever finish telling me the story...oh!" Camilla gasped as he closed his mouth around one of her nipples.

"Maybe later." William mumbled as he suckled with unbridled eagerness.

- - -

"In response to your earlier question, no, the marquis didn’t marry the kitchen maid." William stretched out his frame on the bed, feeling thoroughly sated.

"Why not?" Camilla squirmed against him, still feeling shaky from their lovemaking. The way the man could make her scream was quite disturbing.

"Too controversial." William sighed. "Imagine the outcry if my uncle had permitted it. Lord Michal, the illustrious Marquis of Niarnol and one of the crown’s richest vassals, taking a serving wench to wife. Many nobles would’ve been outraged and with good cause. The nobility and peasantry simply can’t mix in marriage."

Camilla rested her chin on William’s chest. "So what would you have done if I’d been a serving maid?"

He chuckled. "It might’ve made my life a little easier, actually. I wouldn’t have had to give the king copious explanations about why I’d brought you to Islia and what use your presence could be to our country. I’d have just kept you here as my mistress and no one would have cared much."

"Really? That’s what I would’ve been to you?" Camilla scowled at him.

William sighed and smiled at the same time. "What you’re forgetting, my love, is that I had no need for a woman in my life when when you and I met. I certainly wasn’t looking for a wife! So princess or maid, it would’ve made no difference to me who you were. I didn’t need more complications in my life and you women have a way of making life terribly messy. Ask the poor marquis!"

Not satisfied with his explanation, Camilla tickled William’s ribs in the way that always made him laugh like a child.

"Ahhh! Stop it!" he howled, as he cupped her hands in his. "Be glad that our ranks in life were equal and we were allowed to marry. In the same manner, Lord Michal has had to choose a high born lady as his second wife."

"Was it a love match?" Camilla asked.

"I actually don’t know. When we meet her, I guess we’ll find out." he replied. "Though the marquis is one of those pompous, overly grave types. I can count on my hand the number of times I’ve seen him genuinely smile."

"This is all well and good but it still doesn’t explain the need for our visit. The marquis has remarried without creating scandal." Camilla yawned.

"I think all was relatively well until war with Moraigth broke out. The loss of his elder son hit the marquis hard, as you can imagine. He even threatened to abdicate and retire to a nearby monastery." William explained. "Fortunately, his second marriage will give him hope of eventually having more sons. But that’s why the king wants us to visit - so I can check the marquis is still carrying out his duties as expected for an important royal vassal."

"And what am I supposed to do during the visit?"

"Flirt with the man, of course. Make him think he’s still alluring enough to attract all the pretty girls. Keep him of good enough cheer that he’ll see the benefits of continuing his duty to the House of Devon."

Camilla gave him a wounded look. "William, be serious."

"I am being serious! Why do you think King Edward’s been so insistent you join me on this visit?" William squeezed her thigh.

"So I’m to use the marquis’s fondness for younger women as a weapon against him, to twist him to the king’s wishes?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Why, yes. It’s called diplomacy, my dear." William smiled as he gave her a kiss on the mouth.