Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 61: Deja Vu

8 February, 1359. Westerhaven Palace, Islia

After the dinner plates were cleared away, Camilla watched as William lowered his head to have a few words with one of his knights at a nearby table. Several ladies surrounded him and were following his movements carefully. He ignored them all. William then quickly strode back to the high table and held out his hand. "Dance with me, little Princess."

It was less a request than an order. Camilla was torn between the annoyance of being ordered about and the small but undeniable thrill of knowing he wanted to dance with her.

Ever since the morning of the fox hunt a few days back, he’d insisted she dance with him every night. He still didn’t say much to her but the quiet between them no longer made her uncomfortable. She didn’t even mind that he kept his gaze on her the entire time they danced. His piercing stare had softened and no longer seemed so hostile.

I want you.

That’s what he had said to her that day. His words echoed in her mind.

But what exactly did he mean by that? Just that he wanted to lie with her? Camilla had no interest in being one on his list of conquests. The rumour mill suggested that list was a fairly long one.

She tried to put all such thoughts out of her mind. Who could know what the future held, especially in her precarious position? For now, she was better off just focusing on the good things. She was safe from her uncle for now, she had good friends in her ladies-in-waiting. And now, the most handsome young man at court wanted to dance with her.

William spun her around, then pulled her back into his arms. He still handled her as if her bones would break at the slightest touch but there was a hint of a smile on his face, as if he genuinely enjoyed her company. She couldn’t help smiling in return.

Camilla looked to the side and saw Prince Thomas approaching them. She smiled politely at him but noticed William didn’t even give him a second glance. Thomas opened his mouth but before he could even make a sound, William cut him off.

"Not now, brother. You’re not cutting in." William said with brisk cheerfulness.

"But-"

"Find someone else to bother. Better yet," William aimed a sly smile at his cousin. "Ask your lovely wife to dance. Aren’t the two of you still supposed to be in the honeymoon phase?"

"Fuck. Those are probably the cruelest words you’ve ever said to me, Will." Tom glared back.

"My apologies." Will shrugged, not sounding even slightly sorry. "But this lady is spoken for."

Camilla tried to smile reassuringly to Prince Thomas as he started to stomp away. Instead, she ended up giving a startled little scream when William picked that exact moment to whirl her around. He laughed at her reaction.

"If you’d kept your eyes on your dance partner and not on Tom, you wouldn’t have reacted like that."

There was something in his words that struck her as familiar and a strange feeling of deja vu hit her briefly. Shrugging it off, she looked up into the prince’s striking eyes. There was something about his gaze that made her feel like she was the only person in the room.

"You shouldn’t have said that to him." she finally managed to say. "No one should be teased for being in an unhappy marriage. Don’t you feel even a little sorry for him?"

The corners of his lips twitched. "He can use the deeds to all his new land titles, to mop away his tears."

Camilla sighed, doing her best to keep a straight face. "Is there anything you take seriously?"

"No, not much. Now that Tom’s married, I don’t think it will be long before His Majesty forces me to pick a wife from a suitable shortlist of rich, ugly heiresses. I’m sure I’ll end up as miserable as Tom and Rufus, even Leo. Until then, there’s nothing I want to take too seriously." He gave her a heart stopping smile.

No wonder the ladies of the court flocked to him, she admitted to herself. He’s more charming than the devil himself.

- - -

King Edward nibbled on a honeyed plum and cast a tired look across the banquet hall. Next to him sat his queen, who was feeling well enough to join the court for the formal dinner. He wouldn’t readily admit it but he appreciated her company. Her warm, steady presence brought him a type of comfort that no one else could.

The evenings she remained in her apartments, there was never a shortage of young women willing to keep him company both at the table and in bed. But he was wise enough to know that those wenches felt nothing for him. Like everyone else around him, they were all there for their own benefit. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Everyone wants their piece of the king.

He could see his youngest son sulking, refusing to sit anywhere near his new wife. He knew Tom resented the marriage arranged for him but the gold and tracts of land the De Buer clan had offered had been too good to turn down. He hoped that with the passing of time, his hot tempered son would learn to at least accept his wife.

Across the hall, Rufus and Annabel looked like they were in the middle of one of their heated arguments. The courtiers around them were listening to every word while politely pretending to look elsewhere.

King Edward’s keen gaze then caught something unusual. His nephew was dancing with the Princess of Moraigth. His nephew dancing wasn’t in itself unusual. The lad had been blessed with the most handsome of the Devon features. Women flocked to him in droves.

What caught the king’s attention was the air of familiarity, almost intimacy, between the two young people. William had what looked like a genuine smile on his face, instead of his usual aloof smirk. He leaned down to whisper something in the girl’s ear that made her tilt her head back and laugh.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen the two of them together dancing. They made a strikingly beautiful pair.

When had they started getting along so well? He stroked his grey beard as his suspicious mind started churning.

He turned to his wife, who had her eyes closed to better lose herself in the music. "Did you know about this?"

Queen Celia slowly opened her eyes and gazed in the direction her husband was gesturing. "Know about what, husband? What am I looking for?"

"William, dancing and acting the fool with the Moraigthian girl."

"What about it? Is he not allowed to dance now? It looks rather innocent to me."

"Not just that." King Edward replied impatiently. "Didn’t her give her a pile of gems as a New Year’s gift?"

"Perhaps he thought she might feel left out if she was the only person in my apartments that evening that didn’t receive a gift." Queen Celia’s voice was smooth.

The king scoffed. "You truly believe that? That an arrogant, self absorbed boy like our nephew had the foresight to buy a gift for a girl just to prevent her feeling left out?"

Queen Celia watched the stunning young couple for a couple of moments, smiling softly. Then she finally replied to her husband. "What I believe is irrelevant. I’m just glad to see William smiling for once. He deserves a little happiness, don’t you agree?"

King Edward grunted. Celia had always been the dreamer, whereas he was far more pragmatic. "I suppose. So long as the pursuit of this so called happiness doesn’t interfere with his future. I have grand plans for William. His marriage will likely be useful for Islia."

"It hasn’t even been a month since Tom’s wedding. Isn’t it a little early to start planning another royal marriage?" The queen tried to stop an edge creeping into her voice.

"Nonsense. You’ve always had a soft spot for that boy. Even greater than the one you have for children that were born from your own belly. Don’t think that it has gone unnoticed." The king accused her.

"I’m simply tired of seeing my children unhappy." Queen Celia sighed. "Three of our four sons are leading miserable lives with the women they’re cleaved to. You married both of our daughters off when they were barely out of their childhoods and I haven’t seen their faces in years. All I have are letters from them, telling me their husbands treat them poorly."

"I secured good, advantageous marriage for all our children!" the king protested. "As part of the Devon line, they’ve always known they’d need to play their parts in securing our royal line. William will have his part to play also."

"In that case, let William have a little happiness before you compel him to play his part for our royal house."