Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it.
I do not own Merlin or the characters, neither do I own Truce: The Historic Neighbor from Hell.
Gwen ran her eyes over the man standing in front of her. This could not be happening!
She was not going to faint or scream, she decided, as she tried to remain calm.
She shoved her hand inside her reticule and pulled out the small piece of paper and opened it, while keeping her eyes focused on the small group in front of her, all the while smiling charmingly as she prayed that this was all a mistake.
As discreetly as possible, she looked down at the piece of parchment in her hand, and groaned inwardly.
Because, on the paper clearly written, was the name Arthur Pendragon.
Again, this could not be happening!
Meanwhile, Arthur's smile disappeared, only to be replaced by a sharp scowl in Gwen's direction.
She was about to say a few choice words to him, when Henry stepped forward.
Good lord, the man was still a sight to behold.
"Lady Gwen." He took her hand and bowed over it. "You've grown into a lovely young woman."
She curtsied, even as her eyes shot back to Arthur.
Her face burned with embarrassment, just thinking about what they'd done, just a short while ago.
And Arthur's scowl intensified when he noted her blushing.
"They're about to begin the supper waltz," Lady Abbot said, none-too-subtly, intensifying Gwen's mortification, when she really hadn't thought it was possible.
"Ah, there you are, Lady Gwen!" came a male voice.
Arthur looked back and almost laughed. Lord Bradford was coming to claim her.
'Good,' he thought. 'There isn't anyone who deserved it more than this woman.'
It surprised him how quickly she went from being his minx, to this horrid woman in his mind.
All those memories came flooding back to him.
God, he hated her.
It didn't matter that he still wanted her. He hated her and that was all that mattered.
"May I have the pleasure of the supper waltz and then perhaps, escort you to supper?" Lord Bradford asked, with that damn pompous tone that grated in the worst way.
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I've already promised another gentleman to dance and dine with him tonight," Gwen sweetly said.
"Who?" Lord Bradford asked rather rudely.
"Me," Henry said firmly.
'Damn it!' Arthur raged internally.
Henry held out his hand.
"I believe this is our dance, Lady Gwen," he said smoothly. And their parents were practically giddy.
'This was planned!' Arthur thought. They wanted his brother and Gwen together.
No way in hell was that going to happen!
He would not stand for it.
Gwen was in all sorts of turmoil. She had no choice but to accept Henry's offer.
Although, she wouldn't mind fulfilling a childhood fantasy by dancing with him, she needed to speak with Arthur and get their stories straight.
Once that was done, she would happily beat him upside the head with her book, she thought with a smile.
"I believe you're correct, my Lord," she said, as she took Henry's offered arm, leaving Arthur behind to glare after them.
Gwen and Henry took their place among the other couples on the dance floor. He smiled down at her.
"I must say, Gwen, you look nothing like the child I remember."
"Fourteen years will do that, my Lord," she said coolly, making him visibly wince.
"Ouch. I suppose I should now apologize for my absence. I did not do it to be cruel, my dear. I had to support my brother and all that."
"I thought as much. You were always close to my family. But I assumed your absence was in support of your brother."
"Well, you couldn't blame the boy. You were clearly driving him on the path to Bedlam," he said with a grin.
She took pride in that.
She really shouldn't, but she did.
"He wasn't such an angel if I recall," she pointed out, just as the waltz began.
Henry chuckled.
"No, he certainly wasn't. I do recall an incident where he cut off your hair."
"Yes, I believe someone put tar or some sticky substance on his saddle," she said innocently.
Henry laughed heartedly.
"Yes, I believe I remember that. He was forced to leave his breeches behind and run to the house, wrapped in an itchy horse blanket."
Gwen shrugged delicately as they turned.
"I still don't see how he blamed me, for someone's careless placement of such a sticky item."
Henry's eyes twinkled with merriment.
"How ever did he get to you? If my memory is correct, you were both so wary around each other and constantly on guard."
"I was walking beneath a tree with my sister, when he reached down and grabbed my braid. The silly oaf was hanging upside down from a branch. He held on tightly, ignoring Evangeline's slaps, while he cut my braid off with a dull pocket knife."
Henry cringed.
"That must have hurt."
She smiled sweetly.
"Not as much as that spanking your father gave Arthur later."
"I bet." Henry laughed. "You two were awful."
"I was worse," she said with a gleam in her eye. And he chuckled as he led her around the dance floor.
When the dance ended, Henry led Gwen off the floor, towards the supper room. Then he walked with her to a table by the far wall and held a chair out for her.
"There you are," Arthur said, taking one of the extra seats at their table.
He placed a plate overflowing with food and a glass of punch on the table.
"Please do join us," Henry said dryly.
"Thank you, but I believe I shall," Arthur said cheerfully...a little too cheerfully.
"I'll get us something to eat," Henry said pleasantly to Gwen, before he sent a brief glare in his brother's direction.
Gwen watched nervously as Henry walked away.
"Never going to happen," Arthur said, around a bite of biscuit.
"What?" she asked.
"You and my brother. Henry will always think of you, as the fat little pain in the ass that used to follow him around."
"And you'll always be the annoying little boy, who used to leave more puddles around the house, than my dog."
Arthur's temper flared.
"Why you little..."
"Ah, Lady Gwen, may I join you?" a man with an eager expression that annoyed Arthur, asked.
"No, go away," Arthur said, glaring at the man.
The man opened his mouth, but quickly shut it, as he scurried away.
"That was rude!" Gwen hissed softly.
But, Arthur merely shrugged as he dug into his food.
"Here you are," Henry said, as he placed a small plate of food and a glass of punch in front of Gwen.
"Thank you, my Lord."
"Henry. Please call me Henry. Our families are old friends, after all."
"Thank you, Henry," she said pleasantly.
Arthur rolled his eyes and looked back down at his plate.
'Damn, those biscuits were actually warm and pretty good. Not the norm for ball food.'
He reached over and snagged the biscuit off Gwen's plate.
"Thanks," he muttered.
But she simple rolled her eyes.
"Arthur!" Henry hissed.
"Oh, very well..."
He reached over and snagged his brother's biscuit as well, couldn't have improprieties after all.
"Are you enjoying yourself this season, Gwen?" Henry asked, pointedly ignoring his brother now.
And immediately, her eyes shot to Arthur.
'There is that blush again,' Arthur thought. He rather liked seeing her do that, come to think of it.
"Yes, thank you," Gwen replied.
"Have you had a chance to see the sights?" Henry asked.
They both knew that she'd been coming to London every year of her life. Henry really needed to work on his dinner conversation, Arthur decided.
"Not yet," she said with a polite smile.
"You should really check out the orangeries. They're very interesting," Arthur said, before he could stop himself.
And Gwen felt her face heat like a furnace.
'Well, at least she blushed again.'
"What?" Henry asked, sounding confused, as he shifted his gaze between the two of them.
"Nothing," Arthur mumbled.
This woman was his enemy.
If he kept saying stupid things, they would be found out and then he would be stuck with her for eternity.
He shuddered at the thought.
And for the rest of the meal he remained quiet, limiting himself, to refilling his plate five times, instead of his customary ten, so that he could keep an eye on her.
When they were finished with their meal, they met up with their parents. And plans for the rest of the night were quickly made.
It was decided, that both families were going to his father's house, for a game of cards and a drink.
Arthur waited until their parents and Henry were ahead of them, before he grabbing Gwen by the arm and dragging her towards the small hallway behind the grand staircase.
It was dark and, but most importantly, it was private.
"Get your hands off me!" she demanded.
"We need to talk," he said through clenched teeth.
"We have nothing to talk about."
"I beg to differ."
He forced himself to ignore her soft warm body pressed up against his, as she tried to push pass him, but he wasn't having that.
He gently pushed her back against the wall.
"Arthur, let me go! They'll notice our absence."
"Too bad. I want to know why you tricked me."
"No one tricked anyone. It was just a mistake, one better off forgotten."
'A mistake?' The most passionate night of his life was a mistake? 'Her first time and that's what she thought.'
That grated on him in the worst way.
"Is that what you think, Guinevere?"
"Don't call me that."
"Why, Guinevere? Isn't that your given name."
"You know I hate that name. And no one else calls me that...only you."
"Oh, so sorry, Guinevere. I do apologize, Guinevere."
He was being petty and he knew it, but he didn't give a damn. She'd always brought out the very worst in him.
Gwen, having enough, reached up, grabbed Arthur's ear and twisted it.
"Ow!"
"Out of my way, Lemonade Arthur," she said casually, pissing him off in the worst way.
She released his ear, just as she stepped back into the foyer, after making sure that it was empty.
"Good seeing you again, Arthur."
Stay safe!