Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 202: Roles Reversed
Camilla was slack jawed over how much Lord Elias could eat and drink, all while continuing his gloomy spoken commentary without respite. Plate after plate of food was delivered to the table by silent, grey clad servants. The marquis insisted on tasting everything served.
Sarai sat there, picking at her food and quietly sneering at her husband.
The meal had to eventually reach its end, after what felt like hours. Camilla sighed inwardly in relief when Lord Michal finally announced that he would be retiring to his chambers to read and nap, as was his afternoon routine. With a bow, he lumbered off.
As soon as the marquis had left the pavilion, William leaned over to purr in Camilla’s ear. "Will you take a nap with me, wife?" He knew her disdain for sleeping in the middle of the day.
She turned to frown at him.
"Oh, don’t be so difficult." William murmured to tease her, squeezing her thigh under the table. "Then at least keep me company while I rest. You know I don’t sleep well without you."
Knowing full well that Sarai was listening to their conversation, Camilla crisply replied, "And you know you deserve nothing but my side eye."
William grinned like the poorly behaved rogue he was and stood from the table, pulling Camilla up with him.
"Well, then. Thank you for the meal and have a pleasant afternoon, Marchioness. We’ll see you for dinner, no doubt." William nodded in Sarai’s direction. Then without waiting for Sarai to even acknowledge his words, he started leading Camilla by the hand to through the gardens and back towards the manor building.
Once inside, a pair of grey clad servants silently guided them towards a guest chamber where their trunk of belongings was already waiting. A large wooden bath had been set up in the room, full of steaming water.
At the sight of the bath, William started pulling off his tunic and shirt. While he undressed, Camilla opened the trunk and started pulling out clean clothes for the two of them.
She turned when she heard him sigh in contentment, watching him sit back in the tub and lean his head against the edge of it. He closed his eyes briefly, then blinked at Camilla.
"Join me, pretty girl." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Camilla raised her brows. "Do you really think we’ll both fit in there?"
William shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. But I think we’ll have great fun in trying." He waved her over.
Camilla slowly unlaced her riding dress and let it fall to the floor. Feeling William’s heated gaze on her, she moved to kneel behind him. "Why don’t you let me wash your hair first?" She knew he’d never turn down such an offer.
She grabbed the bar of soap and started lathering his hair, running her fingers through it again and again. William hummed in satisfaction as she massaged his scalp.
"All done." Camilla eventually said so that he could rinse his hair.
Of course, instead of simply rinsing off, William grabbed her by the arms and started hauling her over his shoulder and into the bath.
"No! No! William!" Camilla shrieked as she tried to struggle against his strong grip, but it was pointless. A moment later, she found herself in the tub and sprawled on her laughing husband’s lap, her chemise quickly soaking through.
"I knew you’d never agree to share the bath with me otherwise." he explained. "So you see, you left me with no choice. Now that you’re here, can you please help me rinse my hair?"
"Don’t ask for my help after that! You know I’ll just use the chance to hold your head underwater." Camilla tried to squirm off his lap. Much to her surprise, she could feel William growing hard under her.
"Don’t tempt me, wife." he sniggered, then turned in the bath slightly so he could dunk his hair into the water. When he rose, he pushed his dripping hair out of his eyes, pulled her onto his lap again and kissed her.
Camilla didn’t bother resisting. He was just too beautiful. She ran her hands down his chest as he felt his grip fumbling with her chemise. She raised her arms and a moment later, William had tugged the sodden garment up and off her, throwing it carelessly on the floor.
He then positioned himself behind her. "I can wash your hair, if you like." he said.
Camilla nodded, surprised. That was certainly not the offer she thought he’d be making to her, given they were both naked. A few minutes later, she was sighing with bliss as William carefully soaped up and ran his fingers through her long, tangled strands.
He rinsed her hair and then washed her back. By the end of it, Camilla had started nodding off. She lay back sleepily against William’s chest.
"You’re not going to fall asleep on me, are you?"
"It’s tempting, but no." Camilla sat up slightly. "I’m glad to wash the travel dust off, though. I was surprised we were taken straight to Lord Michal instead of being allowed to wash first. What if we’d been all mud splattered? Would he still have wanted to dine with us right away?"
"The thought would’ve never even crossed his mind." William snorted in derision. "No doubt the marquis thought we’d be so eager and honoured to see him, that we wouldn’t want to delay it with trivial things like a bath. I look forward to the day when I also start thinking the entire world revolves around me."
Camilla turned to face him in the cooling water. "I see what you meant about him being slow to smile."
"I think the words you’re looking for are pompous ass."
"And did you know that Princess Sarai was his new wife?" Camilla peered at him, wondering if her husband had deliberately kept that fact from her.
William stared at her with guileless eyes. "I actually didn’t. All I knew was that he’d married a Haviettenese lady. When we were here last summer, he kept her completely out of our sight. I suppose it makes sense though. Sarai was her father’s eldest unmarried daughter and theirs is the smaller kingdom. I can see why King Aron would want to form an alliance with a powerful Islian noble."
"I don’t think Princess Sarai thanks her father for the match." Camilla murmured.
"Marchioness, you mean. She’s not a princess anymore. Sarai was always so insistent on everyone using and honouring her correct title. We should do that for her now, don’t you think?" William flashed her a wicked grin.
Camilla smiled back slyly. "And here I was thinking that you were rather fond of her at one point."
"Who, that haughty shrew? I only paid attention to her to make you jealous. Did it work?"
"Maybe a little." Camilla stood up and wrapping a towel around herself, carefully stepped out of the tub. "Hers is a terrible existence now, though. To be waiting anxiously every month to see if she’s conceived, knowing every month that goes by creates even more pressure."
William raised his brows. "I thought you’d pity her for being married to a miserable grouch."
"Well, that too." Camilla sat on the bed and started blotting her hair dry. "But to be reduced to nothing but a womb...the poor lady."
"Rich lady, you mean. She’s one of the richest in the kingdom now." William stepped out of the bath and approached her with a towel around his waist. "And you know that if the roles were reversed, Sarai wouldn’t feel a twinge of sympathy for you. She’d probably gloat about it, actually."
"Oh, I know that." Camilla smiled bitterly. "No doubt she’d gloat about having you in her bed instead of Lord Michal. I’m sure she thinks I took her rightful place as your wife."
"I don’t know how you can feel any pity at all for her, given how cruelly she treated you. When she told you about how my men and I found your father’s body at Arlen..." William frowned and shook his head. "I told her afterwards that she was a bitch. I think I even made her cry."
"I never knew that."
"That’s because you and I weren’t really on speaking terms at the time. I didn’t want you to know that I’d defended you to her."
Camilla wondered what other things William had done for her benefit in those early months, all the while feigning complete indifference. She pulled him towards her by the towel around his hips. "Well, now I know about it. So how should I best express my gratitude, husband?"
William smiled wider as he let her pull him into her embrace. "When I’m old, will you patiently listen while I tell you about my aching joints and gout all day? That’s what a good wife would do."
"Oh, dammit William. Shut up!" Camilla couldn’t stop giggling as she tried and failed to picture him as a grouchy old man. He pinned her down on the mattress with his weight and kissed her.
