Chapter 15: The King's Letter

Lilly woke up early the next day in the best of moods. She got dressed in a black button down shirt, brown pants, brown boots, and put her hair in a braid. Lilly grabbed Arthur's old satchel and journal, then skipped out of her room and opened the nursery quietly. The bairns were still asleep. She went and kissed them both before leaving. She skipped down the hall, went down the steps two at a time, and trotted into the kitchen, humming to herself. Breena looked at her strangely as Lilly began to raid the pantry.

"What has gotten into ya?" she asked Lilly.

Lilly grabbed a piece of salted meat and smiled. "Nothin'," she said innocently.

Breena leaned in close. "M'lady, I havena seen ya this cheerful in a long time. What has got ya in such a good mood?"

Just then Arthur walked in and Lilly beamed at him. "Mr. Morgan," she greeted.

Arthur smiled back at her and went to the pantry. "Mrs. Morgan."

He hovered near her, their eyes staying locked as he reached for something to eat. It was some bread and cheese. He started munching and winked at her before walking away and out the door. Lilly let out a sigh of happiness and giggled. "I may go huntin' later today, Miss Harrington. Be on the lookout for deer, or seal, if I feel like goin' to the coast."

"Yes, m'lady," Breena said with a smirk.

Lilly looked at her with a grin before skipping and humming out of the kitchen. She almost bumped into Karen. "Oops, sorry."

Karen giggled as she held onto Quinn. "It's alright. Hey, do you know why Arthur came to see Sean last night?"

"Not a clue." Lilly kissed Quinn's cheek and it made the boy giggle. "My sweet little nephew."

Hosea came walking down the stairs. "Hello Lilly, hello Karen, hello Quinn," he said.

"Hi Hosea," Karen said.

"Ah, Athair. How are you this morning?"

Hosea got to the foot of the stairs and looked at Lilly strangely. "Something is different about you. You seem...happy."

Lilly grinned as she reached for her spring coat. "I am happy," she said, giggling at him.

Karen eyeballed Lilly. "Yeah, why are you so happy?"

Lilly smirked. "I'm always happy, what are you talkin' about?"

Hosea crossed his arms. "How did the hunt for werewolves go yesterday? Arthur went with you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. Arthur did very well. Even saved my arse and took one down on his own with his guns."

"Sounds good. Maybe he should be training those men to shoot."

Lilly hummed. "That's not a bad idea. When I see him, I'll ask." Lilly turned and skipped out the door as she hummed away.

Lilly found it hard to focus as she kept watching the sun. It was overcast and getting close to noon, finally. She turned her attention back to her knife fighters. They were coming along nicely, though they still required a lot more practice to come close to being great. She noticed one man making a misstep each time he tried to parry a knife and she stopped the duo to correct him. "Always keep your lead foot forward," she said. "Otherwise you'll just stumble over your own feet. Okay?"

"Yes, m'lady," the man said.

Lilly pat his shoulder and backed up. "Alright, continue on."

The man started doing much better and she grinned. She wasn't so bad at training after all. Just when she was about to call for a break, she saw Patrick riding up in the distance. She felt nervous about that. Lilly had to call everything off with him and she wasn't sure how he'd take it.

"Okay boys, why don't you take a break for some lunch? I'm sure my cooks have made something real good. Come back in an hour." The men bowed to her and then made their way to the manor. Patrick slowed his horse and got down. He looked serious. Lilly frowned at him. "You don't look happy."

Patrick shook his head. "I'm not. I got a letter from the king this morning."

Lilly frowned more as she looked at the letter. "More diseased werewolf attacks in England and Scotland. Great." she looked at Patrick in shock. "And you have to leave?"

"Yes. Tomorrow morning. Almost all the major nobles are being called tah give men and supplies."

Lilly frowned. "What about me? Am I gonna be called too?"

"I dunna know. The king knows yer out here trainin' men, so...perhaps he'll skip ya?"

"I hope so. I don't want to leave my family."

Patrick sighed. "I suspect that includes Arthur, huh?"

"Well, I...um..." Lilly began fiddling with her fingers. "Patrick, I..."

He grasped her hands and kissed them. "If ya want yer husband back, I wilna object tah us calling things off. I may not be particularly happy about it, but I will get over it."

Lilly frowned at him. "I...I'm sorry, Patrick. I wasn't tryin' to lead you on or anything, I swear. I am fond of you, I am, but I-"

"Ya love Arthur, I understand, lass," Patrick said. "It's okay. If he makes ya happy, I concede. Does he make ya happy?"

"...He...he did last night."

Patrick raised a brow. "That was quick."

Lilly laughed and shoved his shoulder. "Nothin' like that, ya eejit. We only flirted a bit, that's all."

Patrick laughed. "I see. Well, alright then. I'm just gonna go say goodbye to everyone at the house. I expect to be gone a while, Lilly."

Lilly nodded and held his hand. "You take care of yourself, Patrick Nolan, ya hear me?"

Patrick gave her one last, small kiss. "I will, Lilly Morgan."

Lilly backed up from him. "Patrick...don't do that."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted one last kiss from you."

"Oh." Lilly felt uncomfortable about it, but she understood. She just hoped no one saw them. "Okay, but no more of those, please."

Patrick smiled at her and got on his horse. "I understand." He trotted over to the manor and Lilly watched him go. Suddenly she remembered she needed to meet Arthur now. It was noon.

"Ah, shit!" she yelled at herself as she went running towards the direction of the barn. She got to it and ran in. "Arthur?" she called out. "You here?"

"Why'd you kiss him, Lilly?" she heard Arthur say from the hayloft.

Dammit. Lilly shut her eyes. "I called things off. He just wanted a goodbye kiss, but I backed off."

Arthur appeared over the hayloft with a pair of binoculars. "Did you really? Why should I believe you?"

Lilly started fiddling with her fingers. "I swear it was just a goodbye kiss from him and I didn't kiss back."

Arthur climbed down from the ladder and approached her. "That didn't look like it to me."

"Well obviously ya didna look long enough," she snarled.

Arthur glared at her. "I don't believe you. Did last night mean nothin' to you?"

"It meant the world tah me."

"Liar!" he shouted.

"Bithiúnach!" she shouted back.

Arthur blinked at her. "I...what does that mean?"

"It means reprobate. It's a pet name I gave you."

Arthur pulled her to him angrily. "I still think you're a liar."

"And I still think yer my bithiúnach." Arthur looked in her eyes as if searching for the truth. He then let go of her and walked away. Lilly rubbed her face and went after him. "Arthur, please! I am tellin' ya the truth!"

Arthur didn't respond and Lilly kept trying to stop him but he kept shoving her off. She followed him into the house. "Arthur! Talk to me!"

"There's nothin' else for me to say! I saw what you did!"

"You don't know what you fucking saw!"

Arthur bumped into Patrick as he was leaving the kitchen. He grabbed the man by the collar and shoved him to the wall. "Why did you kiss my wife?!"

Patrick glared at Arthur. "You will release me, sir!"

"The hell I will. I saw you both. Why did you kiss her?!"

"Arthur!" Lilly shouted. "Get off of him!"

"It was one last kiss because she chose you, and she didn't even want it!" Patrick yelled in Arthur's face.

Arthur let go of him. "...Seriously?" He looked at Lilly. "You were tellin' the-"

Lilly suddenly slapped him across the face. "Yes, I was tellin' the truth, ya bastard!"

Arthur held his face and looked stunned. Suddenly Michael popped out of the study down the hall. "What in the hell is goin' on out here?" he asked.

Lilly turned around, looking abashed. "N-nothin'."

Michael sighed. "Ya have a letter, m'lady. It's on yer desk."

Lilly shut her eyes and walked into her study. She went to her desk and looked at the envelope. It was from the King of England. Her heart sank as she opened it.

To the Countess of Moycullen,

I hereby order you and your wolves to come to London and help with the our werewolf infestation. I expect you to leave immediately and report to me at Buckingham Palace as soon as you arrive in London.

Signed By My Own Hand,

King Edward VII, Empire of India and Soveriegn King of the United Kingdom and Ireland

Lilly sat down in a chair as Arthur walked in. "Lilly, I," he paused. "What's wrong?"

Lilly handed him the letter. "I have to leave for England."

She held her head in her hands and groaned. "But you can't leave," Arthur said, scoffing as he read the letter. "He doesn't sound very nice."

Lilly lifted her head just as Patrick walked in. He loomed over Arthur's shoulder and blinked. "Wow. He does sound...rather strict. That's not like the letter I got from him. He's only calling you and the wolves, too."

"You got a letter too?" Arthur asked Patrick.

"Yes. I'm tah report tah London, although I wasna ordered tah report tah the king." Patrick beamed at Lilly. "I must say, I'm a little jealous."

"What am I to do about the men I'm trainin' here?"

Patrick hmmed. "Maybe ya can get Charles and Sadie tah help train them? I can go ask them, it's just a twenty minute ride."

Lilly nodded. "Yes, thank you Patrick."

"Then perhaps we should leave together in the morning, as well."

Arthur eyeballed Patrick. "You and my wife alone together? Hell no."

Patrick sighed. "I will be a gentleman and not make any moves on her. We have already established boundaries that I will not cross."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Well, if you two are goin' together, then I'm goin' too."

Lilly gaped at him. "What?"

"Yes. We are goin' together. The three of us."

Patrick shrugged. "I have no problem with that."

Lilly looked at the both of them and blinked a few times. "Then...well, fine. Patrick, you go ask Sadie and Charles for assistance, and Arthur and I will...pack up and meet you at Achrann Castle in the morning."

Patrick left the room and the married couple looked at each other. Lilly made a frown while Arthur only glared at her. "You didn't have to slap me."

Lilly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're right, I'm sorry. But you didn't have to call me a liar, either."

Arthur scoffed. "Well, what was I supposed to think?" Arthur looked down at the satchel she was carrying. "Where did you get that?"

Lilly took it off and handed it to him before walking to the door. "It's your present. Your journal is in there too," she said before leaving.

Arthur followed her out of the room. "My journal?"

"Yes. That bag was yours before you...before you died. I have your hat upstairs, too."

"My hat?"

"Yes. It was your father's hat."

"Where's he at?"

"He died."

"Oh."

Lilly and Arthur made their way up the stairs, down the hall, and to their bedroom. When Lilly walked in, Arthur trailed in behind her. Lilly went to the walk-in closet and found his hat, then she gave it to him. "There you go."

Arthur fingered the hole in it as Lilly started packing up some of her mother's dresses in a chest. "You're bringing dresses?"

Lilly sighed. "Well I can't very well go to the king dressed like this, can I?"

Arthur eyed a green and white dress and walked to it. "...This was your wedding dress. I remember that." He turned and looked at her. "And our vows."

Lilly stopped what she was doing for a moment, and then she turned and looked at him. "Yes. Our vows. I remember."

"To have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, cherish, and protect, forsaking all others, now and forever..."

Lilly shut her eyes. "Arthur, I-"

"You were supposed to forsake all others, Lillian. For fucking ever."

Lilly turned around and continued packing clothes. "Yes, and I'm sorry I broke my vows, Arthur."

"You have dishonored me."

"Yes. I did." Tears formed in her eyes. "Now what will you do about it? Are you goin' to leave me?" she asked, barely able to restrain the sadness in her voice.

Arthur turned her around and lifted her chin. "I made vows too, and I won't break mine, even if you broke yours. For better or for worse...but that doesn't mean I forgive you for dishonorin' me, so you will spend the rest of your life makin' it up to me." And with that, he walked out.