Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 35: Short Term Habits
12 September, 1358. Magdaline Castle, Islia
William leapt down from his stallion the minute he entered the main courtyard and handed the reins to one of the stable hands that had rushed over. Sweat stung his eyes and he pulled the gauntlet off one hand so he could swipe at his sunburned brow.
He had spent the last several weeks in the wild sun baked plains of southwestern Islia, arbitrating disputes between squabbling lords and helping clearing some of the roads between the villages of armed robbers. Last year’s harvest had been poor and this year didn’t hold great promise either. The instances of thievery and grain smuggling had grown alarmingly among the poorer regions of the country and the local lords had started accusing each other of unfairly hoarding grain stocks. As a precaution, King Edward had commanded Princes William and Thomas to travel to those regions with a contingent of soldiers, to pacify the people.
Neither prince had wanted to leave the ease and luxury of a summer court at Magdaline, to play peacemaker for a bunch of petty lords. It had been a bad tempered campaign. The heat had been stifling, spoiling much of their supplies and fodder. A fever had swept through the forces in mid August, adding to everyone’s misery. William felt like he had spent as much time keeping his own men from each other’s throats, as he had mediating between lords.
William was relieved to be back at court, feeling drained. He figured the only silver lining of the southwestern campaign had been the distance it had placed between him and the Moraigthian princess. He felt like he had his sanity back.
There had been little time to concern himself with women during his time away from the court, though his soldiers would always somehow manage to sneak in local doxies and prostitutes into the army camps wherever they travelled. On several nights, William had found women in his tent who had snuck inside to try and seduce him. He tried amusing himself with one or two but the encounters had been brief and unsatisfying, leaving him filled with an odd sense of guilt.
After that, he had gotten into the habit of sending all the doxies he found sneaking into his bed, straight to Richard’s tent instead.
But away from the court’s trappings, William managed to convince himself he’d somehow been bewitched by the Moraigthian girl and all he needed was some distance from her to regain a clear mind.
The passing weeks had left him feeling more like himself again. He cringed when he thought about how he’d obsessed over a single girl and was confident he could stop it from happening again. After all, there was an abundance of attractive ladies, some single and some married, for him to choose from. Restricting himself to one made no sense, especially one who was so aloof.
"Women are best as a short term habit." he murmured to himself, repeating one of his late father’s favourite sayings. The man may have been a foul tempered bastard but in this instance, he probably had a point.
After calling out a few brief orders to some of his knights in the courtyard, William handed his helmet, gauntlets and vambraces to a squire to clean and polish the armour. He then turned on his heel and started walking towards King Edward’s apartments.
He would’ve far preferred to go straight to his own rooms as he was desperate for a bath and a hot meal. However, he knew his greatest priority was to first greet and report to the king.
He crossed paths with several fawning courtiers as he walked, including a number of ladies who smiled warmly and showered him with praise over the success of his recent campaign. William smiled back, basking in the attention.
He also ran into Sir Robin Sainsbury, who had been unable to take part in the campaign due to a jousting injury. He looked fully recovered now though and he clapped William on the back in affectionate greeting.
"While you have been gone, a new batch of girls has arrived at The Summer Lotus." Robin grinned.
William smiled back. "I look forward to seeing them all then. The wenches we came across in the south weren’t much to talk about. Let Tom know as well, he’ll want to join in. Every day brings him closer to his wedding day, and he’s one miserable bastard."
William kept walking, taking long strides up the spiral staircase that served as a shortcut to the second floor where King Edward’s presence chamber was located. At the top of the stairs he turned a corner and promptly collided with someone.
The brunette lady quickly dropped in a bow. "Apologies, Your Highness. I wasn’t watching where I was going." When she looked up, William recognised her as one of Princess Camilla’s ladies. Perhaps her name was Elizabeth?
William dismissed the collision with a wave of his hand and was about to keep walking when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Bess? Why are you in such a rush-"
William felt a thudding in his chest when she turned the corner and stopped short in front of him. They just stared at each other for a moment, though to William it felt like an eternity.
Why did he think he could just forget about her?
His eyes roamed over Camilla’s face, enthralled. There was something about her exotic beauty that always made him feel like he was drowning in a vat of the sweetest honey. All thoughts of visiting the bathhouse that evening with his companions vanished from his mind. He tried to speak but no sound came out and his vision started to swim.
Damn her to hell and back.
She bowed, then gave him a faint, enigmatic smile. "Welcome back, Your Highness." Gracefully stepping around him, she started descending the stairs.
Elizabeth’s eyes had been flicking between the couple but she turned to follow her mistress. Before disappearing down the stairwell, Elizabeth turned and looked back at the prince briefly. There was a little smile on her face and something akin to sympathy in her eyes.
No, that’s not right, William told himself. Why would a mere lady-in-waiting have any reason to pity me?
