Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 223: Lakeside

21 October, 1361. Westerhaven Palace, Islia

William walked absentmindedly around one the small lakes in the extensive gardens to the north of the palace. The day was crisp and clear, meaning the gardens were full of strolling courtiers.

The rest of summer had disappeared in a blur of picnics, festivals and exuberant dinners. He’d been disappointed as the day of the autumn progress had drawn closer, being reluctant to leave Magdaline for warmer weather.

Then again, his aversion to Westerhaven was no longer as fierce since he’d returned home from the war against Moraigth. That season seemed like a lifetime ago, almost as if another man had lived through it. If William was completely honest, any roof over his head would suffice so long as Camilla was at his side, making him laugh during the day and indulging him at night.

He swept the gardens with his gaze, looking for his little family amongst the crowd. His battalions had finished their sword training a little earlier than planned so he’d looked for his wife in their apartments. The rooms had been empty save from the chubby, homely maid that was always eyeing him. Louisa had explained that Camilla had taken Malcolm to feed the ducks.

The little boy had recently become obsessed with the white and grey ducks that skimmed the surface of the nearby lakes. Knowing this, the castle cooks were always setting aside little pouches full of bread crusts to give to Malcolm, so that he could feed the animals to his heart’s content.

William finally spotted his wife and boy in the distance. As he walked closer, he could see Malcolm throwing bread into the lake with his little fists and clapping with delight as he saw the ducks jostling each other to reach the food.

Laughing, William called out and both of them turned in the direction of his voice.

Malcolm beamed with excitement and immediately started toddling in his direction. William dropped to one knee so the little boy could run into his open arms. He stood and lifted his child, marveling at how Malcolm’s open, obvious joy at seeing his father always filled his chest with warmth. He pressed his cheek to the top of Malcolm’s head, sniffing the sweet scent of his skin.

"Duck, duck!" Malcolm piped up, smiling at William and using a plump hand to point at the animals. He placed his other little hand on his father’s chin, to steer his face towards the lake.

"Yes, I can see them without you trying to twist my neck, boy." William laughed. "I hope you’re being a good little lad for your mother."

At the mention of his mother, Malcolm turned his head to look back at Camilla, who was walking towards them with a smile. She always patiently hung back and let Malcolm approach his father first.

William figured that she wasn’t troubled by the occasional jealous twinge that he felt when he saw their son enfolded in her arms.

As she approached, William used an arm to pull her against his side and kissed her mouth briefly. "I have the rest of the afternoon free. Is there anything in particular you’d like to do?"

Camilla smirked. "Good luck trying to pry Malcolm away from being lakeside. If you don’t have a bill and a coat of feathers, he’s not interested. He even tried to run into the lake a couple of times and I had to hold him back. He didn’t thank me for my efforts."

William shifted his gaze to the toddler. "Is this true, my lad? Did you try and get into the water and give your mother grief when she wouldn’t let you?"

Malcolm simply blinked his eyes, then flashed his father a dimpled grin, bouncing cheerfully in his arms.

"Well, fuck." William sighed. "This one will prove hard to discipline when he’s older, especially if he smiles at me like that."

"Is that so, husband?" Camilla said with a wry chuckle. "And to think I used to worry that I’d end up being the softer parent."

William gave her a shamefaced smile. "You’ll have to be the one that doles out the discipline then. But for now, let’s head to a part of the garden where there’s no water for him to run into." Taking Camilla’s hand, he led the two of them back towards the palace.

Malcolm immediately began howling in protest, pointing at the lake. William shushed him calmly until they reached an expanse of lawn where a scattering of pigeons were roaming. As soon as he put Malcolm down, the little boy shrieked with excitement and started trying to chase the birds.

The two adults sat an on nearby bench as they kept an eye on their son. William looked quietly at his wife, at the way she sat straight backed on the bench like a young queen. He could tell something was troubling her.

"There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, actually." Camilla glanced back at him, biting her lower lip. "It’s not an easy thing to bring up."

William nodded and waited patiently.

She looked down at her hands in her lap and started twisting the ring on her smallest finger in anxiety. In a quiet voice, she finally said, "I think, no I’m actually quite sure that I’m with child again."

William slowly released the breath he’d been holding as he let his wife’s words sink in. He couldn’t really pretend to be surprised, given how often they lay together.

There was definitely a twinge of fear that trilled in his belly, but he noticed it was nothing like the choking, burning panic that nearly drowned him with Camilla’s first pregnancy.

"Are you sure?" He managed to keep his tone even.

"Yes. I mean - well, it’s still very early. But yes." she stammered. "I didn’t want to wait to tell you...like the last time."

William simply nodded. "When?"

"June, I think. Are you very upset?" Camilla refused to look at him, keeping her eyes fixed on her lap, shoulders rigid.

Was he unhappy, William asked himself? He felt he owed her a reply that was completely honest. "I’m not unhappy, pretty girl. I’ll admit I’m somewhat scared though." he finally said.

Camilla raised her eyes to him, her gaze taken aback. She’d clearly expected a different reaction.

"It’s not the thought of another baby that scares me. If they turn out to be another little ray of sunshine like Malcolm..." Both of them glanced at the laughing toddler as he scampered after a pigeon, "...then it wouldn’t bother me at all. Have a quiver full of those, if you like. I just don’t want you to endure another horrible childbirth. Seeing it the first time nearly killed me."

Camilla cracked an incredulous smile. "Nearly killed you, you say?"

William rolled his eyes and slung his arm around her tense shoulders. "You know what I mean. I’d never felt such sickening fear before."

"I remember the midwives telling me that the first birth is always the most difficult. Perhaps this time it won’t be as gruelling."

"Well, let’s hope that in this case, they’re proven right. Speaking of which," William’s expression hardened, "that means we need to find new midwives. I’m not letting those heartless bitches anywhere near you this time."

Camilla laughed shortly. "It’s sweet for you to worry but I don’t think we have any choice. They’re the royal midwives. I can’t just turn them away when I know I’ll need someone around to help me."

"Of course we have a choice! If you have gold in your pocket, you have a choice. And we have plenty of gold." he replied stoutly. "I’ll speak to the queen about it. Surely she’ll know where to find other women. They’ll need to be near Magdaline, though."

Camilla nodded quietly, watching him from the corner of her eye as if she was still just waiting for his temper to rain down on her.

William grinned at her and pulled her against his chest. "Stop fretting, wife. We’ll manage alright with another child."

"You think so?"

"Why not? I’d like to think we’re doing a rather good job with the one we have. He’s always happy. And I’m not even scared anymore of picking him up or changing his clothes. That’s progress, isn’t it?"

Camilla tipped her head back and laughed her musical laugh. "The way you used to look at the baby, like he might break a bone if you even breathed on him."

"And see? Despite all my clumsy efforts, our boy is still intact. The odds are good that I won’t accidentally harm a second baby either."

"The odds are good?" She slid her arms around his waist and squeezed. "No woman can hope for better reassurance than that, can she?"

William looked down at her beautiful face, the relief evident in her eyes. "You know very well I never imagined children, but here we are. I’d like to think I’m not doing a bad job as a father. And so long as you rise up from childbed as happily as you lay down in it, I’ll be content. I’m not sure our son will appreciate having a rival in the nursery, though."

They both looked over at Malcolm, who was sitting on the lawn and clapping his hands. William tried to picture another little one at his side.

"Hell, maybe I’ll even be allowed to name this one. What do you think?" he asked, tickling Camilla’s neck. "We can’t have all our children stuck with Moraigthian names, can we?"