Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 76: Many Men, One Thought

27 April, 1359. Magdaline Castle, Islia

Camilla sat up in bed, watching her maids go through the same routine as every morning - pulling back the heavy drapes, lighting the fireplace and bringing her breakfast.

She had started going through the same morning routine also - opening her eyes and for just a split second, forgetting the reason why she felt so sad. Then she’d remember and her heart would break all over again.

She missed William desperately.

Good lord, she hated herself for missing him. She hated herself even more for admitting she missed him, because she knew he didn’t care about her at all. He had never hidden the fact that he pursued other women. It shouldn’t have hurt her so much to hear him admit to visiting brothels. Still, it did.

It hurt because his words had made her realise that she was just the same as all those other women - doomed to be part of his life only briefly. Despite all the recent times his actions had made her feel beautiful and special, she realised she wasn’t special at all in his eyes. She was just one of many.

She kicked the blankets off her legs angrily. She was sitting here pining for him and he’d probably spent the whole night enjoying himself with courtesans, without giving her a second thought. When had she become so pathetic?

Camilla was jolted out of her thoughts by a crash, followed by the angry voice of Matilda, her oldest maid. Looking over, she noticed Bonnie had tripped and dropped the breakfast tray she had been carrying. She looked about to burst into tears as Matilda sharply reprimanded her.

"It’s alright, Matilda. It was an accident." Camilla said wearily. It was far too early to be listening to her maid’s screeching tone.

"It’s alright for those who aren’t responsible for cleaning up the mess-" Matilda started grumbling but abruptly stopped when she realised she was still within the princess’s earshot.

Camilla raised an eyebrow and gave the maid a frigid stare. She had gotten used to Matilda’s nature and mostly ignored her. But lately, everything was irritating her more than it should. "Leave." she commanded in a flat voice.

After Matilda left in a huff, Bonnie remained, quietly picking up pieces of fruit that had landed on the carpet and blotting spilt ale with shaking hands. "I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness." Her voice quivered.

"Oh, it’s nothing." Camilla sighed. "Despite what Matilda might say, there are worse things in life than spilled food."

Bonnie stood up and nodded, one hand holding pieces of fruit and her eyes downcast.

Camilla frowned. "What happened to your face, Bonnie? You have a bruise near your eye."

Bonnie cupped the side of her face defensively and her eyes filled with tears. The maid stepped backwards as if planning to scurry from the room.

Camilla hopped down from the bed and stood between Bonnie and the door. Despite being only in her nightgown with her hair a tangled mess, she gave the maid a firm stare and tried to look as authoritative as possible.

"Tell me what happened. I want to know."

Bonnie looked aghast but couldn’t disobey her mistress. She started speaking regardless in a low, trembling voice. "I was...seeing a man. But that’s...over now."

"And he hit you?"

"We quarreled..."

Camilla scowled in disapproval. "That doesn’t excuse him hitting you, Bonnie. If he’s going to treat you this way, you’re better off having ended it with him."

"Oh no! He isn’t usually like this!" Bonnie sounded desperate to defend this man. Her face turned red. "Usually he’s very charming. I just...I angered him greatly yesterday."

Charming...Camilla felt sick as a dreadful thought crossed her mind. Was this charming man Prince William?

Has he been carousing with my own maid right under my nose? Camilla blanched in horror. She tried to tell herself that he wouldn’t do such a thing to her, but she didn’t truly know what he was capable of.

I only know of him what he has let me see, she realised.

Camilla shook her head to clear her thoughts and fixed her eyes on Bonnie again, who was staring back at her with a mixture of puzzlement and embarrassment.

"Go on." Camilla urged her gently.

"Well, I had been spending time with him these last few weeks." Bonnie’s voice was barely above a whisper. "He promised to look after me, saying I wouldn’t have to be a maid for the rest of my life. He even mentioned speaking to his family about me."

"And then what happened?" Camilla was cringing inwardly but steadied herself. If the man was William, she needed to hear the harsh truth. It might even help her shake off her miserable stupor if she knew for sure what kind of a man the prince was.

"Well, he said in order to explain me to his father, he needed to know that I was serious about him..."

At the mention of the man having a father, intense relief flooded through Camilla. She forced herself to give Bonnie her full attention, however.

"He said I needed to prove my feelings for him by uh, he wanted..." Bonnie’s face was almost crimson and her eyes were squeezed shut.

"He wanted you to lie with him." Camilla’s tone was flat.

Bonnie’s eyes popped open in surprise, despite her embarrassment. "My lady...how did you know-"

Camilla’s lips twitched into a wry smile. "Bonnie, you’re a maid and I’m the daughter of a prince. But we both have to deal with men. And men aren’t very different, are they? From what I’ve gathered, their thoughts all seem to run in the same manner."

Bonnie gave a tiny smile in return. "At first I said no, of course. But he was so persistent and said so many kind words to me. And eventually..."

"He wore you down?"

"He told me our futures were bound together." The maid whimpered, eyes looking at her feet. "I accept any punishment you deem fit for my unchaste conduct, my lady." She trembled on the spot.

"I’m not going to punish you, Bonnie. And I’m not going to judge your behaviour either." Camilla sighed, then her expression hardened. "But I think I know how the rest of this story goes. You finally lay with him and afterwards you found he wasn’t very interested in you?"

Bonnie nodded, tears rolling down her freckled cheeks. "All of a sudden, he started ignoring me, acting as if I didn’t exist whenever we crossed paths. When I finally confronted him, he just laughed. He said that he couldn’t believe I’d actually thought he’d speak to his father about me." Bonnie’s voice caught on a sob. "He said a mere maid wasn’t worth the mention."

"I’m sorry this happened to you, Bonnie. Truly."

"How could I have been so foolish? I thought he cared about me!" The maid wailed, wrapping her arms around herself and she continued sobbing.

"He made you feel special. You wanted to believe you meant something to this man. I can’t blame you for that." Camilla reassured her softly. Men truly are all the same, she told herself with bitterness.

"So I tried to speak to him again yesterday. I found him in the western courtyard speaking to Janina, one of Princess Blanche’s maids. He was saying some of the same sweet words he’d said to me at the start." Bonnie shook her head in apparent disgust.

"I don’t think many men have the imagination to vary the tone." Camilla muttered. "They probably figure that what worked once will work again."

"I got so angry, my lady. It was like I couldn’t control myself seeing them together." the maid confessed. "I confronted them and told Janina the truth. That he’d been pursuing me and calling me the same sweet names but that as soon as he’d lain with me, he’d stopped talking to me. Janina looked so upset and she ran off."

"That’s when you quarreled?"

Bonnie nodded. "He was so angry that he hit my face and told me if I ever even came near him again, he’d make sure I was dismissed from my position." Bonnie’s face turned panicky. "I can’t lose my position! My mother is a poor widow and I have six younger siblings. They rely on the money I send them!"

"Calm down, Bonnie. You won’t lose your position. I’ll make sure of that." Camilla tried to reassure her as her anger bubbled. "What kind of person makes such threats? He has no right."

The maid’s shoulders slumped. "He’s a nobleman, my lady. The son of a powerful family. I have no doubt he could get me kicked out of the palace if he wanted."

"Nonsense. You’re my maid. Queen Celia herself appointed you to my service." Camilla replied stoutly. "What is this poor excuse for a man’s name? I’ll speak to him myself and tell him to never threaten you again."

Bonnie’s voice was a quiet, wavering thread. Camilla had to strain to hear her say, "Sir Richard Bentworth."