Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 138: First kiss (1)
Ophelia avoided Dante until night fell upon the town and it came time for her to go to his chamber. As fun as it was to eat dinner with the knights, Ophelia arranged for the dinner to be brought to Dante’s chamber.
To thank Dante for the garden and all that he did for her throughout the day, Ophelia decided to give in to his request a little by spending a bit of time in his chamber.
Ophelia stood outside Dante’s chamber and built the courage to knock on his door. Neither Thomas nor Alice was at Ophelia’s side since she sent them to have their dinner.
Ophelia waited patiently for Dante to come to the door, and when he finally did, Ophelia looked away.
"I did not know you were having your bath," Ophelia said, being polite not to stare.
"You are still welcome to speak to me. It won’t take long for me to get dressed. Come inside," Dante said, making room for Ophelia to enter. "I prefer the woman who once said we saw each other on our wedding night, so she doesn’t need to be shy."
"It is different between us now. It is not your body that makes me this way, but the change in how you behave. If I started to be more bold with you, wouldn’t you find it hard to be composed?" Ophelia asked, wanting to test it.
Dante was doing all the teasing as of late, so Ophelia wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. Being alone in his chamber presented the perfect opportunity for Ophelia to wipe the smile off Dante’s face.
Ophelia tried to fight her smile to not reveal her plans.
Ophelia entered the chamber with confidence. She would allow Dante to have his fun while it lasted.
"I might find myself to be a little shy," Dante answered and closed the door behind Ophelia. "Have you come to seduce me?"
"No, I did not. I came for you to write the letter to Mary as we planned, and I thought that since you were so good today, I would have dinner with you here. I’ll apologise to the knights tomorrow for not attending dinner after I made the change," said Ophelia.
"You don’t need to apologise to them. In fact, you might want to avoid them. I had to silence them on their comments about us not being able to stay away from each other. I’ll leave it to you to think of what they will say when we don’t attend dinner," Dante said.
Ophelia smiled, not the slightest bit worried about what the knights would say. "I’d rather them root for us to be sharing a bed, than be hating me because I came from the Valthorns. I’ll allow them to have their fun, and you mustn’t scold them."
Ophelia sat down on a chair to wait for Dante to get dressed.
"Thanks to you, the castle is in better spirits. You’ve succeeded in getting them to take a liking to you. Did it go well with the maids?"
Dante left Ophelia’s sight to gather his clothing and return to the bathing chamber to get dressed for Ophelia’s comfort.
"I have told them that I can be worse than you in response to their behaviour. It will take some time for them to get used to me being the one ordering them around and see that I am serious in punishments, but so far, I have not received bad reports," Ophelia said.
Ophelia was pleased after her tour with Frances.
"I wish I had advice to offer you on how to deal with the maids. I always left that matter to someone else," Dante’s voice was heard from the bathing chamber.
"I know what to do concerning the maids. I can be patient and wait for the changes to show. I made it my duty to care for the castle so that trouble amongst the maids does not reach your ears. If the maids are rude to me, I will deal with it alone. Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?" Ophelia asked, but she wasn’t surprised by how Dante dressed.
"I thought you would like to see me like this after all the staring you did earlier. Is it not to your liking?" Dante asked, leaving the chamber wearing only long pants.
"You cannot use your body to grow my feelings for you. Trust me, I can do well at ignoring you. I need a friend, and Mary is a lady I can find myself getting close to. Since none of the ladies on your land have invited me to their homes, and I know they won’t come to the castle with good intentions, I will only seek a friendship with her," Ophelia decided.
"We spoke a little about her husband, and she didn’t hide that there is no longer any love between them. I would like to offer her some peace by having her here. Perhaps you should write that it is an invitation for only ladies to gather. Would it be rude to say that men won’t be welcomed?" Ophelia wondered.
"It is your home. You can state your rules, and they must obey," Dante said, picking up what he needed to write the letter and sitting down beside Ophelia.
"She also has her boys. If I were in her shoes, I would want to get to know Lady Hastings better before I bring my sons with me. If it goes well, I will invite her and her sons when Theo is here. I don’t know all that occurs between Mary and her husband, but I know that I am lucky," Ophelia confessed.
"How so?"
"Her marriage wasn’t out of love, was it? She has sons for a man she doesn’t appear to love, and the other women mock her about her husband’s age. Already, I can tell that she puts up with the marriage. I, on the other hand, have not been forced to give you children, nor do you annoy me so often," Ophelia explained.
"I annoy you?" Dante asked, faking ignorance.
"You know that you do, and despite how many times I voice that you bother me, I am grateful that it is you. Had it been anyone else, I am almost certain I would have killed my husband and be on the run by now," Ophelia said, followed by Dante’s laughter.
Ophelia thought now was the best time to tease Dante, so she placed her hand on his leg. "You did appear to be quite alluring today. Despite my efforts, I could not take my eyes away from you. Would you indulge me a little in the thoughts I had today?" She asked in a soft tone. "Please."
