Memories Of Her Father - Part 4.
Making his way back into the room where everyone was still gathered, Joseph glanced around looking for the King, or one of the Prince's, when he caught sight of Addie still sitting in the chair he had left her in earlier, to go and talk to Clarisse, and Justin, who had now joined her and was sat perched on the edge of the footrest, just like he himself had been a short time ago.
"Addie," Joseph said as he approached them and watched as they both looked up at him, "sorry to interrupt you."
"It's alright," Addie nodded and gave him a small smile. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, I just wanted to let you know that I've had a breakthrough," Joseph said and looked at Justin, "hello Justin," he said and extended his hand out to him.
"Hey Joe," Justin said as he stood to his feet and shook Joseph's hand.
"Oh that's great news," Addie said as she slowly stood to her feet and looked up at him. "Did she let you talk to her?"
"Talk to who?" Justin asked as he looked to Addie now standing beside him.
"Clarisse, of course," Addie said as she looked up at her fiancé while putting her hands on her bump before looking back at Joseph. "Did she listen?"
"I have talked to her, yes," Joseph said quietly and nodded. "And I think she has listened, but only time will tell."
"Oh Joe," Addie exclaimed happily, her eyes full of tears, and reached up to hug him, clinging to him a long moment, "thank you so, so much."
"You're welcome," Joseph said sincerely as Addie pulled back and looked up at him. "It's still early days though, it's going to take time for her, but it's a start."
"Oh yes definitely," Addie nodded in agreement as she took a step back and dabbed her eyes with the tissue in her hand before glancing around the room and looking back up at Joseph. "Where is she now?"
"I've told her to go on up to her suite to have a rest while I grab her a plate of food and let Rupert know what's happening," Joseph replied and looked around the room. "You haven't seen him, have you?" He asked while looking back at Addie.
"No, not for a while actually," Addie said with a shake of her head as she once again looked around the room, "do you want me to let him know?" She asked and looked back up at Joseph.
"Please, if you could," Joseph nodded, "I can get the plate of food up to her then, before she changes her mind."
"Of course, yes, you go and do that," Addie nodded and put her hand out onto his arm, knowing that he was exactly what her sister needed right now, "and thanks again Joe, you honestly have no idea how much this means to me that you talked to her."
"It's alright," Joseph said and leant closer to kiss her cheek, and to whisper in her ear while he was close, "she's my world and I hate to see her this way just as much as you do, you know that."
"I do," Addie replied and watched as Joseph pulled back and looked into her eyes. "It's just a shame that you had to leave."
"I know," he said sincerely and nodded. "Anyway, I better go get her some food."
"Yes," Addie nodded, "and I will let them know and tell them not to bother her for a while."
"Thank you," Joseph said and looked to Justin, "Justin," he said with a bow of his head before turning and walking back across the room and out the door as Addie watched him.
Moments later Joseph was making his way into Clarisse's suite to find her stood by her french doors with her arms folded, looking absentmindedly out over the palace garden. "Here we are," he said softly while closing the door behind him and walking over to the dining table in her suite as she turned her head to look at him, "I wasn't sure what you wanted so I just put a selection on the plate for you, oh and I have asked a maid to bring us up some tea too."
"Thank you, Joseph," Clarisse said as she lowered her arms and walked over to stand beside him by the table.
"It's okay," he said and studied her a moment before wrapping one arm around her shoulder, and placing his hand on her back, while gesturing to the plate of food on the table with his other hand, "now remember, with you not eating so much this last week you might struggle to eat it all, so just eat what you can, okay."
"Okay, I will," Clarisse said and slipped onto the chair as a knock came to her door.
"That'll be the tea," Joseph said as he turned and walked over to the door. After accepting the tea tray from the maid, he closed the door back up and walked back over to the table.
"Who did you inform that I had come up here?" Clarisse asked as she watched him set the tea tray down on the table.
"I let Addie know, and she said that she would let Rupert know for me," Joseph replied as he watched her unfold a napkin and place it in her lap.
"Okay," she said as she looked back up at him and their gaze met a moment.
"Let me make you your tea," Joseph said and glanced down at the tea tray before looking back up at her, "and then I'll go and sit over on the sofa, let you eat in peace," he said and began to make her a cup of tea.
"Thank you," Clarisse said as she watched him a moment before turning her attention to the food on the plate in front of her. Food really was the last thing on her mind right now, but she knew Joseph, just like the rest of her family, was right. She had to eat something, and soon, or risk being ill. So taking a deep breath she lifted a half fork full of food and put it in her mouth.
"Remember, only eat as much as your body allows," Joseph said softly a moment later and placed the teacup down on the table next to her plate as she nodded in acknowledgement, "don't push yourself."
"I won't," Clarisse said a moment later, once she had swallowed her food, and shook her head a little.
"Ok, well," Joseph said, giving her a small smile before gesturing to the sofa, "I'll be right over there if you need me," he said and watched as she nodded.
"Okay," she said and watched as he walked over to the sofa before looking back down at her plate of food in front of her. And taking another deep breath, she put another half fork full of food in her mouth.
After eating as much as she possibly could, Clarisse placed her fork down on her plate and lifted her napkin to her face, dabbing her mouth a couple times before lowering it back into her lap and looking down at it a long moment. Contemplating what she could say. Clearing her throat, she looked up and turned her head towards Joseph standing at the french doors with his hands in his pants pockets. "Thank you," she said and watched as he turned his head to look over at her.
"All finished?" He asked while turning and making his way slowly over to her at the table.
"Yes," she nodded while placing the napkin down on the table in front of her and got to her feet, "well, I have eaten all I can eat."
"Alright," he said and watched as she turned to him while pressing a hand to her stomach. "You have done really well," he nodded and moved to push her chair back under the table for her.
"Thanks," she said and looked down at the floor as he moved to stand in front of her.
"Why don't you go and get changed, have a lie down and try to sleep while I'm here?" Joseph said as she looked back up at him. "I won't go anywhere, I promise."
"Yes, I will in a minute," she nodded and nervously raised her hands up to the scarf wrapped around her neck and began to remove it. "But there's something that I want to do first," she said, slowly revealing the bruises to him that she'd had to live with, and kept hidden, for the last week.
"You don't have to do this, Clarisse. Not if you don't want to," he said with a small shake of his head, knowing how hard this must be for her. To show him what that man done to her that awful day.
"I know I don't," she replied, feeling apprehensive, scared, over what his reaction would be as she completely removed the scarf from round her neck and taking hold of it in both her hands in front of her as she looked up at him. "But I want too. I don't want to keep it from you."
A sense of dread filled him as he averted his gaze down from her face to the bruising on her neck and jaw. Oh how he wished he had been here that day, he would have killed the man responsible for hurting her the way he had. And he had to remind himself that Rupert was right, if he had been here when it happened it wouldn't have done him, or Clarisse, any good in doing what he wanted to do to him. Not when Clarisse needs him.
"Sabrina told me he didn't," Joseph said after a long moment and looked up into Clarisse's eyes as he stepped even closer to her, "but I need to hear it from you. He didn't do anything other than this to you, did he?"
"No, he didn't," Clarisse said and shook her head as she watched him turn his head to the side and look down at the floor. "I think, well I believe, that if père hadn't walked in when he did… that's where his attack would have gone," she admitted for the very first time since it happened as she studied his face. Watched him inhale a deep breath at her words.
"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry that I wasn't here to protect you like I should have been," Joseph said as he looked back up at her, "I really hate that I wasn't."
"We weren't to know that this was going to happen, Joseph," Clarisse said, her voice still hoarse, "we all trusted him, none of us could have predicted something like this was going to happen."
"But I left that morning," Joseph said, angry at himself for leaving when he did, as he looked across her suite. "I keep thinking that if I had waited, left later that day, or even in the evening, this could have been prevented."
"Joseph, look at me," Clarisse asked as she placed the hand with the scarf in her grasp against his chest, while reaching her other hand up so her fingers were resting against his jaw, her thumb tucked under his chin. "Please look at me," she said softly and watched as he slowly turned his head to look at her, their gaze meeting a brief moment when she had an overpowering need, a longing, to reach up and kiss him. A passionate kiss so full of desire, anger and sorrow.
"Clarisse," Joseph said as he broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, "we can't do this... you're grieving, you're vulnerable and I'm not about to take advantage of that, or you for that matter, I'm not that person."
"I know you're not, and I appreciate that, but what if I told you that it's what I want, it's what I need. To feel you," Clarisse said, studying his face before reaching up to kiss him once more while snaking her arms around his neck and grasping the back of his head with one of her hands. Because the truth was, she needed him to take away her pain. She needed to feel his strong thighs pressing her deliciously into the mattress like he had done so many times. She needed him, and only him, to make her forget what that man done to her last week. And feeling his hands now slip under her jacket and onto her sides a moment later, she instinctively melted against his firm body at his touch before pulling him back with her, until her bottom came into contact with the dining table behind her. Causing her to moan into his mouth.
He knew it was wrong and that he should put a stop to it as he lifted her to sit on the edge of the table and moved to stand between her legs.
She knew it was wrong and shouldn't go any further as her hands found his belt and began to unbuckle it.
But the temptation, the need, the desire between them was too overwhelming to ignore.