Indiscretion

“Nothing you say will change my mind or my heart. We love each other. It is not fair that we cannot be together because of your say. I wish I had never been born.”

“Do not say such things. If I did not have you I would have no one.” Even as I said the words Cecile’s face came into my mind, but now was not the time.

I’d kept her in my bed until daybreak. Only then did I carry her back to her rooms to sleep off the night’s excess. If she wasn’t breeding after last night’s hours of hard unencumbered fucking I would be much surprised.

I put away thoughts of her and I rolling around on my bed in delight and concentrated once more on the sister who was doing her best to make me daft.

I listened to her scathing words and the curses she heaped upon my head with patience. No matter what I said she did not give an inch. That’s the Aguilon pride and stubbornness at play.

I left her rooms with nothing resolved and a very angry little sister on my hands. I should find Nicholas and run him through with my sword but from what she’d said while she ranted and raved at her king, the other man had done nothing to encourage her.

From what I could gather in between her tears and invectives, he had simply sought to console the young sister of his friend.

***

For the next two days I had a battle on my hands. Lillian had taken to her bed indefinitely and the latest from her maid was that the hardheaded little miss refused to take sustenance of any kind.

I had avoided Nicholas these last days but refused to allow him to leave court until I had resolved what was to be done about the mess he’d made for me.

“Wessex where the hell are you?” I went to his rooms early the morning of the fourth day to put an end to the whole mess. He was in his rooms, alone for a change.

“Your majesty.” The condescending bastard! “Get dressed we’re going on the hunt.” He quirked his brow and folded his arms.

“If I wanted to end your miserable life I wouldn’t use the guise of a hunt to do it. I’d just take your head off in the middle of the hall and be done with it.” I left him and went back to my rooms to get ready.

A good hunt always cleared my head and with all the uproars around here it would certainly do me good. Apart from Lillian’s theatrics, lady Georgina seemed bent on causing havoc in my court with her wiles and wagging tongue.

I am this close to having her sire remove her, but I found it hard to farther damage the reputation of one so young; especially since it was because of me, and my treatment of her, that she was acting in this way.

She had taken to flaunting her charms among all and sundry, only to leave the poor sods who had found themselves caught in her web in dire straits. More than one young gallant has been heard to complain of the lady’s predilections. I didn’t have the time to donate to such trivial matters, not when I had a stubborn as a mule female on my hands who was threatening to starve herself to death if I did not give her her way.

I’d even tried forcing her to eat. I’d ordered, threatened, to no avail. She wouldn’t budge. Poor Cecile had tried talking sense into her head but she wasn’t having much more luck than I.

“I suppose you’ve heard by now that you’ve turned my sister into a shrew.” Those were my first words to Nicholas once he met me at the stables to fetch our horses.

“Nothing to say you miserable sod?” He was ever a most formidable sort himself when he chose to be. “I have said all I mean to on the subject. You have forbidden me to even attempt being in her presence. I do not see what help I can be to you with that stipulation.” I glared at him because I heard more what he wasn’t saying than what he was.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“What is that your majesty?”

“For me to allow you access to her again.”

“You have made your feelings on the matter very obvious your majesty, I see no reason for me to even think such a thing.”

“You call me that one more time I’ll have you hung.” I gave my steed his lead and went on ahead madder than I had been when I awoke this morning. When I calmed down enough to think without all the noise in my head it was clear that he too was suffering.

He looked drawn, that jovial air I was accustomed to from my friend missing. These last few days my anger has kept me away. In fact, once I’d handled the more pressing matters of the court early in the day, I’d made myself scarce, more often that not seeking out Cecile to spend more time buried between her thighs.