Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 203: Bored Like a Good Lady
14 March, 1361. Ferrenthor Manor, Marquessate of Niarnol, Islia. πππππ¨π²πππ¨π―ππ.ππΌπΊ
The winds roared outside the manor house, rattling the timber shutters. Camilla sat in the window seat of the guest bedchamber, watching the gales swirl the dead, brown leaves around the large courtyard below.
She leaned back in the seat, feeling boxed in and restless. The weather was too wild to spend time outside. Wandering inside the manor was strangely unsettling. The servants all glided around in silence. No one spoke or so much as raised their eyes from the floor. The whole building seemed steeped in quiet melancholy, like a fog that clung to every surface.
Camilla wondered if Sarai, as the lady of such a property, was as thoroughly bored as her. How did she fill her time?
On her first day at Ferrenthor, Camilla had walked through all the galleries and corridors alone while William had been whisked away hunting by Lord Michal.
Camilla had definitely not been invited to the hunt by her host.
On the second day, sheβd tried visiting the library. The horrified looks sheβd received from the servants had made her so uncomfortable, she hadnβt lasted more than two hours. She didnβt want whatever negotiations William was in the middle of, to be made harder by her scandalous actions.
Like, Lord forbid, reading.
By the third day, Camilla was ready to climb the walls. The marquis had suggested more than once that she should join his wife in her chambers for wine. The man was oblivious to the way the two ladies studiously avoided looking at each other at every meal they were forced to share.
I canβt believe I missed out on time with my baby for this, she thought sulkily. A knock on the door echoed through the silence.
"Enter." Camilla called out listlessly, watching as a black haired maid shuffled in. Camilla recognised her as a maid that often attended Sarai at mealtimes.
"Is there anything that Your Grace needs or is lacking?" the maid asked in a timid manner.
Besides something to fill my hours, Camilla asked silently? Out loud, she replied. "Nothing I can think of. You wouldnβt happen to know where my husband is, would you?"
"I believe he is with Lord Michal, touring the estate on horseback, Your Grace." the maid said, her eyes shifting as she slowly scoured the room. "The lord said theyβd be back in time for dinner."
Camilla knew when she was under surveillance. "Thatβll be all. When you report back to your mistress, you can tell her Iβm not doing anything heathen. Sheβll be pleased to know that Iβm thoroughly bored and idle, like a good Christian lady."
The maidβs face turned red as she bowed and hurried away.
After a few more moments of silence, Camilla rose to her feet. She had to get out of the room, even if it was just to walk through spaces sheβd already grown bored of.
Slipping out of the guest chamber, Camilla wandered through the first floor until she found herself floating through the same echoey spaces over and over. Once she reached her limit, she walked down the main staircase to the ground floor.
The grey clad servants watched her warily by didnβt dare approach her. Everyone looked almost cowed in fear.
Unnerved by the silent stares, Camilla turned a corner blindly and found herself in a small courtyard. Bare vines climbed the surrounding walls, though at least the walls blocked off most of the winds. She sat down on a stone bench, imagining the courtyard would be a rather lovely place to be in the warmer months.
Camilla sat quietly for a while, lost in thought. All of a sudden, she saw what looked like a face peeping from around a corner, from the corner of her eye.
She quickly stood up and turned in the strangerβs direction and found a lanky young man with dark ringlets looking at her with an impish smile.
"Hello." Camilla said hesitantly, wondering if sheβd stumbled into private quarters.
"Hello." the man replied. He was neatly dressed in plain but obviously expensive clothing. That ruled him out as a servant.
The man lumbered over to Camilla, limping slightly. She noticed he was extremely pigeon toed, which gave him an odd gait. He moved nimbly enough, however.
"You must be the latest Islian princess." the man said as he looked down at her. There was something almost childlike about his mannerisms and his smile.
Camilla nodded. She guessed the young man to be about Williamβs age, perhaps a little older. His hunched shoulders and slim, coltish body made him seem far younger, however. When he moved, he had the self conscious gestures of an awkward young lad.
His smile was open and friendly though, revealing small, neat teeth. "What is your name?" he asked without any preamble.
"Camilla." she blurted out. "And I assume you are Lord Ned Michal?"
"I am! I see my fame precedes me." Ned smiled. "Just call me Ned. Do I look how you imagined?"
"Well, I...I wasnβt really thinking..."
"Oh, come on now." Ned smiled wider. "You mustβve been curious about me. You mustβve wondered why I never joined you for meals or was even presented to you once. Iβm now the illustrious heir to all this-" Ned swept his arm in gesture across the courtyard, "-yet my father acts like I donβt exist. Didnβt you ever ask yourself why?"
"I suppose I was curious." Camilla admitted. "Did you keep out of sight or were you kept out of sight?"
"A little of both. Iβve gotten very good over the years at not being noticed."
"But why?" Camilla spoke without thinking, then felt like she should apologise. "Iβm sorry. You donβt have to answer that if you donβt want to. I didnβt want to stir up trouble with your mother and father by asking about you. I could tell that neither of them wished to say much."
Ned giggled briefly. "Did you just call that silly young bitch my mother? Sheβs younger than me, you know."
Camilla shrugged helplessly. "How else should I refer to her, then?"
"As nothing. Sheβs nothing to me, and I am nothing to her. We simply coexist."
She nodded quietly at his bleak description.
Suddenly a bright smile appeared on Nedβs face, making him look like a mischievous young boy. He sat on the stone bench and gestured for her to do the same. "My fatherβs new wife doesnβt like you at all. I heard her complaining about you to Father one night, when both of them had forgotten I was there, as usual."
Camilla grinned back at Ned as if they were co conspirators sharing a delicious secret. "Well, now you have to tell me what you heard her say!"
"Youβre apparently a foreigner of loose morals, with wild, barbarian blood."
Camilla groaned out loud. "Not that again! If Iβd known I was going to be considered a wanton by the whole country regardless, maybe I shouldβve led a more adventurous like before marrying. The only man Iβve ever been with is my husband. What a wasted opportunity!"
Ned laughed in delight at her response. "You shouldβve mastered the art of moving as silently as a ghost, like I have. Then you couldβve done as you pleased. Too bad youβre shackled by marriage now."
"Not too shackled." Camilla smiled shyly. "My husband is a wonderful man."
"Thatβs something else my new lady mother dislikes about you. Any woman who has found happiness in marriage, she despises. Her marriage is less than joyful, you see."
That made Camilla laugh out loud. "From the little Iβve witnessed, I can see that. But itβs also because Marchioness Sarai once had a fondness for my husband. She hoped to marry him herself, you see."
"Iβd guessed as much. Then again, Iβve seen your husband a few times. His Grace is so handsome that even men would be hard pressed to deny it." Ned ran a hand through his curly hair. "So why are you hiding out here?"
"Iβm not hiding, Iβm bored. Lord Michal keeps William in his company all day and Iβm expected to just wait around doing nothing. I decided to go for a walk and ended up here." Camilla looked into Nedβs eyes and hurried to reassure him. "Donβt worry. I wonβt tell anyone that I met with you if itβll get you in any trouble! I donβt think any of the servants saw me here."
"Donβt worry yourself about them, youβre safe. Even if they did see us here, itβs not like they can really talk about me." Ned grinned at her.
"They havenβt said a single word about you since we arrived." Camilla agreed. "Theyβre obviously very discreet and obedient."
"Huh! I donβt know about obedient. The fact is though, even if they wanted to gossip about me, they physically canβt." Ned said almost casually. "Father had most of their tongues cut out."
"What?" Camilla squeaked, feeling like the air in her lungs was being sucked out.
