Chapter 5
'Let her get wet. See how much she likes it over accepting my kindness...!'
Niles' thoughts harrumphed and huffed as he stared moodily out of the carriage window. The world passed by at a medium-to-slow pace, taking him ever further from Lady Babcock and her ridiculous insistences, insults, and rejections. He'd done everything he could've done – he'd taken the time out of his day to apologise; he'd brought flowers; he'd even offered to make sure she got back safely…
She'd rebuffed it all. Had what he'd done not been enough to make up for…for all of the things he'd done those last few days?
That couldn't have been it. Could it? Everyone else had accepted whenever he'd apologised to them before, on those rare occasions when he'd needed to. So it didn't sit at all right with him that she wasn't, even after all of this…
It made him doubt. Gave him the feeling he could be in the wrong. Dreadfully in the wrong.
But he was the Prince of Wales. By birth and by right, surely he could never be in the wrong? So perhaps Lady Babcock was just being as overly stubborn and bloody-minded as he had thought before, back in the churchyard.
Well, a good walk in this weather would cure that! If she wanted to refuse him so badly that she'd rather be soaked to the bone than take up his offer, then that was fine by him.
Thunder cracked overhead and the heavens opened up right then and there, as if to agree with his statement. The raindrops were hard on the roof of the carriage right away, and the prince shivered slightly as the wind started picking up and whistling around the edge of the window. It really was getting cold out..
It didn't change, either. The further the horses took him from the churchyard, which was no doubt dank and sodden by now, the worse it seemed to get. The rain turned from beating like light fists on the roof of the carriage to truly pounding, and it pounded the road worse than it did his travelling vehicle.
What had been a perfectly serviceable path in dry weather quickly churned into mud and covered itself over in yet more mud under the force of the rain. It made Niles wonder how Lady Babcock possibly thought she could walk through it. She might've been obstinate to the point of exasperation, but even that and an apparently endless amount of spite wouldn't help her when she needed to wade back through all of this to get home to the palace…!
And she was on her own, he noted quietly to himself. No one to help her if she slipped over, or got her shoe caught in a crack in the road…
The thought started to gnaw at him slowly, like a dog that had been given a bone. He had left her completely by herself. No real thought about what that might mean for a young, attractive woman, dressed nicely in the finest wear she had available, and entirely helpless and vulnerable out there in the middle of nowhere. Both to the weather and to…miscreants.
Guilt was an unfamiliar feeling to the prince, but that didn't stop it from swirling unpleasantly in his gut at the very idea. He'd let his pride get in the way of someone else's safety. And he might've let it go and continued on his merry way home to a warm bed and some fine food before, considering what she'd said to him, but now he didn't think he could…
He watched out the window, suddenly drawing in breath as lightning blinded him with a flash, and he knew that was it. He couldn't just sit there and let the carriage take him home when Lady Babcock was out there and could soon find herself in a whole lot more trouble than she'd bargained for!
He was picking her up and taking her back with him, even if he also knew she wouldn't like his insistence. It didn't matter. She could hate him later, when she'd returned to a warm fire at the palace and had avoided a case of pneumonia for her troubles!
He whacked the wood panel behind him twice, which his driver knew was his cue to stop the carriage.
"Head back to the churchyard!" the prince ordered with a shout over the weather, once his driver had approached him, half-ducked and covering himself as best he could from the downpour. "We must get back to the Lady Babcock before this wretched storm gets any worse!"
The coachman bowed in subservient agreement, and they were soon on their way back to the graveyard.
The rain continued to worsen as they made their way back, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't see some scenery – he'd seen so much worse when he'd been in the military. Lady Babcock would stand out a mile away, until the worst of the storm rolled in, and that wouldn't happen for some time yet.
He eventually managed to reach her before the worst of the weather had; he could already see her in the distance, still marching along with the confidence of a person who wasn't walking through a potential storm, all alone, with no shelter against any of the elements. She was walking along with the built-up kind of fire that no amount of rain could ever douse, and the fury of the rumbling thunder that had been drumming in the distance for some time now.
The prince had been wrong – this woman had spite to last her a lifetime. Niles was sure that, had Orpheus had her resolve, he'd have been able to walk out of the underworld with barely a scratch and Eurydice on his arm. It was certainly admirable, even more so considering she was a highborn lady.
But it didn't last for long. Niles didn't know if she'd heard and was distracted by the carriage over the sound of the rain, or if she simply stepped on a particularly slippery patch of muddy road, but the woman had soon lost her footing, tripping, falling and smacking her head on the road in quick succession!
Niles immediately leapt out of his seat, his head pushing through the carriage window.
"Lady Babcock!"
He almost didn't wait for the carriage to stop before he flung the door open and practically jumped, missing the steps entirely. He slipped and skidded in the mud, landing hard on his behind, but he didn't care. Scrambling slickly back to his feet, skidding and covering himself in wet mud, he went to her.
"Lady Babcock!" he cried out. "Lady Babcock, I––"
He cut himself off with soft cursing, kneeling quickly down by her side as she tried slowly, painfully, and apparently half-blinded by said pain, to sit up and get her bearings. But it was hard; the deep red gash marring the golden hair at the back of her head, looking like an inkblot spreading on a page, was making it difficult for her to focus…
Niles felt his stomach squeezing even tighter, to the point where he thought he might be sick...
It must have happened when she'd fallen. The cut on her hand (the one his actions had resulted in, he thought shamefully to himself) had opened up, too – she'd probably tried to cushion her fall with her hands and wound up hurting herself. But he had to swallow back the bile and do something – she couldn't stay where she was, and there was no way on Earth he would let her even try to go back to the palace in this condition! She was hurt; she needed a doctor! That was the only logical thought he could form in that moment...
Well, that and where he could take her.
Potts. Potts was a doctor – he could help! Well, maybe one of his assistants – they'd be more likely to tend to this for their employer. And it would still be the best treatment she'd get anywhere. They'd know exactly what to do to tend to her wounds! Properly, anyway; he had to stop the bleeding on her head right now if they had any sort of chance doing something about it later!
At least the military had taught him a few useful things, too, like how to staunch blood flow.
Shoving his hand quickly into his jacket, he brought out a long, clean handkerchief that mostly hadn't been soaked through by the rain and made to tie it tightly around Lady Babcock's head.
But she didn't stay dazed for long. And as soon as she'd registered that it was him who was trying to touch her, she let out a shout, weakly shoving at him while nearly bolting away from his hand and the makeshift bandage it still held.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Feeling a jolt through his chest at the sudden movement, Niles shushed her loudly, loosely holding her shoulder in the hope that she'd rest for a few more moments, at least. She needed to take it easy before she tried going anywhere!
"Stop! Take it easy!" he ordered. "You're injured, for Heaven's sake!"
Lady Babcock looked back at him with all the defiance she could muster, still trying to shrug him off.
"I fell, sir…! Just a little slip on the wet road, nothing more! That hardly constitutes an injury…!"
Nikes restrained himself from rolling his eyes, "No, you're bleeding! You cut your head open when you fell!"
He must have worn an extremely serious expression, or else the pain was too much and she had to check it for herself, because she weakly reached up and around to gingerly feel the area. She winced when she made contact, and even by merely touching the bandage, her fingers came away stained with blood.
She gasped under her breath when she saw it, and Niles hurriedly hushed her so she didn't try to scramble away in her panic.
"It's alright, it's alright…! Nothing bad is going to happen. I can help," he showed her the bandage. "Here, see? I learned how to bind wounds like this in military service."
He watched as Lady Babcock's breathing slowed a little, and even if she hesitated at first, she did eventually hold still of her own accord and let him wind the bandage carefully around her head.
Had it been any other time or person, Niles might've felt pleased with the work. It was tight enough to be held in place, but not so tight that Lady Babcock felt worse for it. And even if it was quickly becoming stained with blood, it was doing its job – temporary, even though it was.
But he didn't have time to stand around. The important thing now was to her get her out of the rain and seen by someone who knew a great deal more than he did about injuries like this.
"We have to get you back to the palace," he continued, starting to get to his feet. He tried to bring her with him, too. "I'll take you to see one of our physicia––"
He didn't get to finish before Lady Babcock determinedly cut him off, all the stubborn resistance she had shown him before flooding back in once the shock of her wound had worn off and the bandage was holding it as well as it ever could.
"I hardly require your assistance, sir," she declared, trying to pull herself back to her feet. "I may be injured, but I'm not…not helpless. If I am going to any doctor, I will make my way there myself, thank you…"
As she tried to get up, she immediately lost her balance again and slipped, spinning and falling. This time directly into Niles' arms, as he leapt out to catch her before she could spill herself on the ground again.
That did it. She was injured and she couldn't walk by herself! She was going back with him, whether she liked it or not.
"I really don't think you'll be doing that, somehow, my lady," he would've called it a retort if he'd been more in the mood to argue. "You aren't even able to stand on your own two feet!"
Nothing was stopping him from doing what was best, right now, and getting her to the doctor himself. He was a bloody prince; by his very birthright, he was permitted to intervene how he saw fit! And, considering the less-than-acrobatic display he'd just witnessed, he could safely say that Lady Babcock was hardly well enough to decide what the best course of action was in regards to her current health. He had to make the decision, and he just had.
Not that he was sure if she was truly going to be able to walk, even with the support of his arms. Cuts on the head had made him dizzy before, but he'd seen men collapse and die from the same thing. He didn't want her to get worse, because of some unseen injury, just beneath the visible one...
He wasn't even certain if she'd walk slowly to the carriage with him, to test if she could. She was already clearly uncomfortable and protesting greatly against their – admittedly, close – current...situation...
But he couldn't get distracted. She needed a physician and she needed to be somewhere warm and dry, whether she liked it or not. And whether or not she liked the person who was taking her there. So, he had to come up with another plan. One he couldn't even prepare her for, in case she struggled and hurt herself further. So, without a word, he scooped her up into his arms and started to carry her towards the carriage.
Of course, that set Lady Babcock off screaming and wriggling in his hold.
"What on Earth are you doing, sir?! I am more than capable of walking – I only need a moment! I'll be just fine if you unhand me this instant!"
But the prince wasn't about to do that. She was soaking wet, which made her slippery, and she was putting up an extremely good fight (for someone who had just smacked herself silly, she was still tough), but he was stronger and held firm. He didn't want her to injure herself further, which could happen if she struggled too hard.
"I'm not going to let you walk anywhere while you have a head injury!" he shouted over the top of her yelling and the falling rain. "You need to rest in the warm – have a lie-down!"
"The last thing I need is a "lie-down", sir," the contempt was starting to leak out of her tone. "And believe me, I am far more well-versed in what I need and desire than you are!"
Niles pursed his lips and ignored it all. He had to keep her steady and focus on getting her to the carriage, which was only a short distance away now...
Soon, they'd be out of the god-awful weather...
Of course, the more she attempted falling out of his arms in order to walk by herself, and the more she kept insisting she could do it, the longer it felt. He'd never been spoken to in such a manner in all his life – he was a prince! Men twice his age didn't dare to deny him any of his decisions, and women younger than she was would've begged for a hold such as this! And yet she did the former without so much as a hesitation and seemed to shudder at even the idea of the latter!
This woman was very different from any he'd ever met before…
He eventually made it to the carriage without losing his rag, slipping over, or dropping Lady Babcock on her already-bleeding head. The driver opened the door for him well in advance so that they didn't have to stand around getting plastered by the rain, and he tried as best he could to make sure he wasn't unceremoniously bundling the woman inside.
He knew how it must've looked to her (and to anybody who could see beyond the mist the rain was producing), being taken against her will into a carriage, but he didn't intend on doing anything to cause her any harm. He'd already told her what was going on. There wasn't going to be anything untoward of any kind. He knew she didn't trust him, so he was planning on giving her as much room as the carriage could give, once they were inside.
He settled her down on one of the seats once they were, and seated himself opposite to her, as far away as he could be in that location, just happy that she was out of that downpour and somewhere safe at last!
And all the while, he watched her glare at him.
"Well?" decorum was probably the only reason her words weren't literally spat. And because she may have still been dizzy from her fall. "What is my lord going to do with me now?"
Making sure his eyes never left hers, he slowly reached over and shut the carriage door. He tried not to feel insulted when she flinched away. He then leaned back in his seat and knocked on the panelled wood behind him. That set the carriage off moving, which in turn startled Lady Babcock.
Not that he intended to leave her afraid, even if she had been ticking him off on the way there.
"We are going back to the palace, you will get yourself some warm, dry clothes, and the physician will take a look at you," he explained straightforwardly, leaning back in his chair. "Don't give me that look, either – I'm only trying to help."
"Help which I have repeated – insistently – that I do not need, sir," Lady Babcock clenched her fists, but otherwise appears to hold herself back. "I do not need anything from you. I understand it all comes with a price and it's not one I that wish to pay."
Niles made an effort not to groan out in frustration – he was not trying to sleep with her! Well... not anymore. Or better said, for the time being...
He'd still very much take her in every room in the palace before he found new prey to chase, but he'd hold off for now. She was injured, after all, and it could be serious. And, annoying as she was, he couldn't help caring about that and about her; she had become a source of certain...fascination for him, in her time in service so far.
Being used to ladies (especially serving ladies) being demure and compliant, he couldn't help but find her noticeably feisty and argumentative personality to be an oddity. Something he'd never seen before and that, much to his chagrin, enticed his curious nature.
He wasn't used to women intriguing him. He considered them simple and vain creatures, who were usually more worried about their latest caprice than about intellectual or cultural matters.
But not Lady Babcock.
If anything she had a no-nonsense attitude and was always happy to go straight to the point. Not to mention she was remarkably hardworking and resilient! She was clearly keeping her feelings (and the extent of her pain, whether physical or emotional) to herself. She hadn't made one sound about any of her wounds hurting, or about getting mud and blood on the fabric of her dress, either!
Truly, the woman was an oddity!
But, he had to stay focused. And that involved...well, not lying, exactly. Just withholding all of his intentions until she was ready to be asked again so that she'd say yes. She just needed to be worn down. But that would come later, when she was well enough.
"I am not trying to get you…anywhere other than to your own room and to the presence of a doctor," he insisted. It was the truth for the time being, anyway. "I am trying to get the cut on your hand cleaned, your head injury seen to, and get you dry before you give yourself an infection or an awful chill!"
Lady Babcock attempted to fold her arms, "All of which I still believe I could do perfectly well on my own."
She said that, but Niles noticed that she laid her injured hand so delicately over her sleeve that it was barely touching it. It was obvious that it hurt a great deal. They needed to get to the doctor, and fast. He rapped on the wood again to make the driver speed the carriage up, not caring if going faster was dangerous on a wet path.
"You can barely walk, for the love of God!" Niles maintained angrily. "I'm helping you! Anything could have happened to you if I hadn't come back! You could have been on that road for hours before anyone realised that you had injured yourself!"
Lady Babcock stiffened, "It was a mere fall, and a few cuts here and there, sir – it isn't as though I knocked myself unconscious on the road!"
Niles groaned inwardly. What was it about this woman that meant nothing he said was presented as fact? It all seemed to translate into an opinion with her.
And, quite clearly, his opinion meant very little.
For some infuriating reason, that made her a lot more appealing.
What on Earth was wrong with him?!
"Alright. Believe that, if you wish," he eventually said, frown firmly set on his features, "But there is no denying that you are hurt – if I hadn't come to help you, something awful could have happened. Or you could have been found by the wrong people and God knows what they would have done to you!"
Lady Babcock's eyes went to the window, "In this weather, coming across anyone seems unlikely, sir. More likely, I would have found a wet but clear pathway to return me to the palace."
She didn't turn to look at him again. She was already being as polite as she was able, considering she hardly wished to be at all. The man was no good, prince or not, and she had no desire to engage in civilised conversation with a brutish boor that believed women to be idle playthings to cavort with and then drop as soon as he got bored of them.
No, she had dignity and self-respect.
She would not stoop so low as to be the latest notch on his bedpost. She might have been a servant, but she wouldn't yield to his demands.
Had she been looking at him, she would've noticed Niles' anger. He was truly finding her the most frustrating woman in England – maybe even the world!
And he should know about that last point; women from overseas were not immune to his charms. Even if his latest quarry was proving elusive for the time being, he had racked up a fine number of successful chases.
Women truly were like deer – elegant to look at, fun to chase, and best when mounted in a fine stately home. But this one was fighting back, so he had to make a tactical retreat. They would be nearing the palace soon enough (hopefully the journey would not feel as long as carrying her to the carriage) and they'd get her hands and head seen to, and get her drying out before it gave her a cold.
Not that it was to anyone's great shock, but the beginning of the ride was…difficult. And awkwardly silent, even with the rain still hammering down on the roof of the carriage. Niles' immediate thoughts had gone to Lady Babcock taking on a self-important air of indifference and putting on a show of ignoring him, but the longer they stayed sat there in the complete and total opposite of a conversation, the more he realised that that might not have been all of it.
Lady Babcock looked…pale, and like every breath was an effort. She was in pain, and the movement of the carriage was probably making her even more light-headed than she had been on solid ground…
Niles frowned to himself. She was already feeling bad enough, and God only knew what would happen if she didn't get some rest as soon as possible! Even if he couldn't stop the carriage from shaking about (they still had to move, after all), surely she'd feel at least a little bit better and less weak and unsteady if she had a lie-down, like he'd said about? There was more than enough room on the seat, after all.
It didn't seem like too bad an idea, in his mind.
"My lady," he began, watching as she cast her eyes over him. She was listening, even if she would also clearly rather he wasn't talking at all. "Perhaps you should consider having a lie-down right here, in the carriage?"
Anger flashed like lightning in Lady Babcock's eyes, and Niles realised immediately how that might have sounded.
"I have not gone back on my promise," he added quickly. "I mean it – I truly mean it; you may feel a little bit better if you are not sitting up. And you will be safe, that much I am able to guarantee."
C.C. stared at him, unimpressed and untrusting. It didn't seem feasible that the prince would do exactly as he had said. His actions and his additional reputation far more suited the portrait of a liar…
But he was also right. The thought of lying down made her ache, every part of her body yearning for even a hint of the rest that not being upright could give. And perhaps it would be better for her throbbing head, if she rested it and gave it some support against the seat, instead of letting it bounce around in the carriage with the rest of her?
He'd agreed to keep his hands to himself. She supposed she had to give him the benefit of the doubt that he'd honour that…and the idea of lying down was becoming far more attractive than ignoring him anymore…
"If you say so, sir," she mumbled, relenting. The movement of the carriage was making it hurt more to speak and she couldn't get much louder. "I'll try…"
Gingerly, she turned herself on the seat and lay down, facing outwards. She didn't much like the empty gap of the seatless space between where her head was now supported and the seat opposite, but she wanted to keep her eyes on the prince. It would've been easy to explain it away as never turning her back on royalty, had anybody asked, but she knew that wasn't the true reason. And she knew damn well why she wasn't actually turning her back on him…
Her benefit of the doubt only stretched as far as lying down. She was giving some way, but she wasn't gullible or a fool.
And that was how the rest of the ride to the palace passed; her silently watching him from her new position, head resting against the seat and no longer swimming as much as it had when she'd been sat upright.
To acknowledge the prince's…slightly surprising…behaviour, he didn't move at all from his own seat, either. He looked like he might, at one stage, but C.C. begrudgingly understood that that had been because the carriage had passed over a particularly large bump in the road and it had almost seemed like she'd fall from the seat. But she'd saved herself before he'd had any need, and that started to reinforce the thought that she might feel well enough to go and find the doctor herself when they arrived back at the palace.
The thought only got stronger as they made their way further into the city, and eventually she heard the gate guards shout out at the arrival of the carriage.
They'd made it back, at last…!
She didn't try getting up until she'd felt the slow turning of the carriage and the ensuing halt, telling her that they had to be exactly outside the doors of the palace. There wasn't any way the driver would let His Royal Highness get wet by walking any of the way across the courtyard in this weather!
It left her in the perfect position to get up and walk straight to the doctor he'd kept on mentioning so many time. So, as soon as she was sure that the carriage had stopped, she lifted herself heavily up from her resting spot, only to immediately lurch to the other side.
The prince's hands were on her upper arms instantly, annoyingly steadying her.
"My lady! Please, stop trying to hurry – I'm helping you to the doctor, remember? There is no need to rush."
C.C.'s face pulled downwards into a scowl. She truly would rather have gotten up without so much as one slight slip. It would've been proof that she could have gotten up and gone to the doctor by herself. She still didn't know for sure that she couldn't. Her head might've set itself off spinning again, but perhaps that would clear with time?
"I am not rushing, sir," she told him, leaning back and away from his hands. Having a solid back to rest against certainly made the dizziness easier to bear. "I am intending to make my way to the doctor, by myself, at my own pace…"
Niles shook his head, "No, no, my lady – you really are in no position to do anything under your own pace, for the time being! I insist on finishing helping; it really won't be much farther."
There was a pause, like he was letting her consider what he was saying.
"If you allow me to carry you, I can bring you to your quarters quickly and go to fetch the doctor from there. You can rest easy on your bed while I do…"
C.C. tried to bring herself up and off the seat, intending to protest (the last of her politeness was as thin as pond ice, currently), only for a surge of painful breathlessness and nauseating dizziness to overcome her again. It only got worse as the someone outside opened the door and she found herself staring into the open space of the outside world…
She nearly felt herself retch, and as irritating as she found it to have to admit, the prince really was her only option for getting out. So, with a mutter of "Alright" and acquiescing to his request for her to lie down again, she allowed Niles to pick her up and carry from the carriage and up towards the palace steps.
She nearly felt herself retch, and as irritating as she found it to have to admit, the prince really was her only option for getting out. So, with a mutter of "Alright" and acquiescing to his request for her to lie down again, she allowed Niles to pick her up and carry her from the carriage, making their way for them both towards the palace steps.
Niles didn't consider it any extra annoyance or effort. He was just relieved that she'd actually apparently seen sense! No matter what she actually thought of him, she needed to do what was best for her health, and right now that meant getting to her chambers as quickly as possible so he could run and fetch a physician. They only had to go a little further, up into the palace and along a few corridors. Then she'd be able to rest.
Unbeknownst to them both, the king and queen were just above them, in the royal bedchamber. Joseph's gift of jewellery hadn't been appreciated by Marie, but he'd gone looking for her (and for what he wanted from her) in their bedchamber anyway. She'd given him an eye roll when he'd showed his face and told him to "get on with it", which to him was as good as any swoon.
It meant he got what he was after. That was all he cared about.
From the windows about the palace doors, one could see everything. And King Joseph was not enjoying the view whatsoever. He had been, previously, when he'd managed to get his half-naked wife up onto the ledge by the window (one of his favourite spots to fuck her – part of him got a kick out of someone potentially looking out from the rain, in through the window, and seeing how much of a man he was) and hoist her skirts so that he could have his way with her.
He'd been about to start when he'd made the mistake of looking over her shoulder and he'd peered down into the miserable weather outside. That was when he'd seen his own son, the bloody Prince of Wales, carrying what appeared to be...a serving girl...up into the palace, like a bridegroom carrying his bride!
Not only that, but he'd obviously soaked himself to the skin in doing so, had dirtied his clothes with mud and what appeared to be her blood, judging by the reddened handkerchief tied around the girl's obviously wounded head.
What did he think he was doing, playing the hero? All for a filthy, injured maid, covered in mud that they were both about to track into the palace?! It was unacceptable! Unseemly! No prince should be parading a dirty servant around like that in public! What on Earth did he think he was doing?! How bold had the boy become?!
Bold enough, he bitterly thought to himself when the two hurried close to the palace and Joseph managed to catch a glimpse of the girl's face. He'd seen that face before, during mealtimes and in one or two erotic dreams. That girl was the late Duke of Bedford's eldest daughter! He remembered Marie telling him about her entering their service, after her father's death.
She might've once been the eldest child of a close (and very rich) friend, but that was in the past! Stewart was no more and her name was mud now. The family title had been passed over to a man, just as things should be. If Joseph had known things would turn out this way, he'd have never visited the Babcocks just after the girl had been born. He'd certainly never have suggested that she should be betrothed to Niles! They'd managed to avoid that happening, fortunately. The girl was not one for their family!
She was probably good for a bit of fun though – her beauty was striking, without a doubt, and he'd wondered about taking her himself on more than one occasion. He'd congratulate his boy later on bagging such a prize, but he expected him to be more discreet and less stupid than this!
"What does that boy think he's doing?!" he nearly hissed, not minding his wife's flinching as he pulled away from her. "Has he got no sense?!"
"What eez eet?" she asked, turning to look at the allegedly offending sight.
"That's what!" Joseph barked, pointing at their waterlogged son and the unconscious lady in his arms.
And not just any lady, Marie soon realised with growing horror. That was C.C.! Her darling lady-in-waiting! What had gone on out there? She'd been supposed to go to visit her parents' graves! What on Earth had happened that had ended with her being carried by her son?!
Admittedly, the way Niles was carrying her through that awful rain outside was...so careful. Like he didn't want any part of her disturbed whatsoever, and not even caring in the slightest that she would be so very uncomfortable to touch. It reminded her so much of seeing him hold C.C. as a newborn, when he'd looked down into her little face and then back up with his eyes shining, like she'd been the most amazing creature in all of creation.
The two acts felt like mirror images of each other. They were the kindest she'd ever seen him behave towards any woman, and hope blossomed in her heart, along with a warmth at knowing he'd obviously stopped to help her out of whatever trouble she had gotten into out there, and had soaked himself to the skin to do so – not caring about his appearance or his well-being at all!
It was the complete opposite in Joseph's heart.
A spark of annoyance had quickly become a flicker of anger – the boy could carry on in private as he was all he wanted. Joseph would encourage it, and as long as he gave his future wife children it wouldn't matter if he slept with all the whores in England. But this wasn't in private. This was blatantly open, and a relationship between a prince and a disgraced lady-turned-serving girl was something Joseph would not allow.
"I'm going to nip this in the bud right now!"
He tried to turn, fumbling at his britches and hurrying to catch them, but he felt his wife's hand grip at his shoulders to pull him back. She might not have been looking forward to their evening, but she'd bear it to keep their son and C.C. together and undisturbed for a little while longer.
Especially if it meant giving the girl time to get her head checked over.
"You will do no such zhing!" she told him sternly. "'e eez obviously 'elping after some terrible accident, and you are not to interfere!"
Joseph narrowed his eyes at her, "Our son is wandering around in public – carrying on in public – with a common maid!"
"For your eenformation, she eez a serving girl no longer. I 'ave 'ired her as my newest lady-een-waiting," snapped Marie. "And eet never bozhers you when eet'z you doing zhe carrying on!"
Joseph stumbled a step back but kept his footing. This scenario was different from his own escapades! He was the king, and kings had mistresses and had their fun where they could take it – wives were supposed to understand!
It was just his rotten luck that he'd gotten one that didn't.
One that seemed to have another trick up her sleeve, as well.
"And eef you decide to go after zhem anyway, you shall 'ave to carry on exclusively wizh zhose...zhings you find on zhe street," her face was deadly serious. "You will not get anyzhing more from me!"
Joseph nearly stumbled back at that. She'd refuse him his right as her husband?!
"What?" he spat, heat now rising unpleasantly in his veins. "What the hell are you talking about, woman?! You mean you'd dare to refuse my—"
"Yes, I would dare to refuse your…whatever pazhetic little name you intend to invent for…zhat," she waved in disgust towards his nether regions. "Eef you do not agree to let zhem be, of course."
Joseph scowled, "Why the hell do you even care?! It's a serving girl – she won't ever mean anything to anyone!"
Marie's expression didn't change, and that only made the king angrier. She'd truly lost it this time! Calling his manhood names, demanding respect for a servant, expecting their son to treat a woman like…like more than a plaything!
"I really don't know what's gotten into you!" he exclaimed. "Have you turned stupid? Gone insane overnight? Or are you just saying all of these things to fuck around with my head?!"
The queen leaned forward, her voice becoming dangerously low for a woman.
"Zhis 'as nozhing to do wizh me. Eet 'as everyzhing to do wizh zhe fact zhat your son eez – for once in 'is adult life – treating a woman wizh even a fraction of zhe respect she deserves!" she told him, pointing in the direction of where they'd just seen the two. "'E eez putting 'er needs in front of 'is own! 'E is acting like a kind, decent man and I want 'im to stay zhat way! Eef not for me, zhen for zhe girl 'e marries."
Joseph scoffed, "And what's that got to do with you? Why would you care at all about that?"
"Because zhe last zhing I want on zhis Earzh eez for some poor foreign princess to arrive 'ere, friendless and alone, only to find zhat she will start off and stay as miserable as you make me every day!" Marie snarled. "So you will do zhis one zhing, for me, eef you want to keep zhings just zhe way you like them!"
The king rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how overdramatic his wife was being! Made miserable every day? She was the Queen of England, for God's sake! She couldn't possibly be that miserable! Peasant women begging for money in the street got to be miserable, and widows who'd never again get the touch of their husbands, but not queens!
He almost wanted to shout all of this right at her – to let her know how powerless she actually was there, but he knew his wife's temper. She hadn't even gotten started with what she'd shown him so far this argument. The woman could be awfully stubborn when she meant business, and he was painfully aware that she truly was bold enough to carry out her threat. She didn't care at all that, as a man, he had needs that she would never be able to comprehend but had a duty to fulfil. And if she couldn't fulfil them herself, it was well within his right to go looking for tighter holes that fit his girth like a well-made glove.
She didn't give a shit about what he did though, did she? He'd have to go out for it every time, which would be inconvenient...and he wouldn't always be guaranteed the finish he liked. Especially not with some of the less experienced whores – those lot that needed breaking in, or hadn't had many men inside them to show them what a man liked. Those ones were boring. It was a wonder anybody ever chose to toss a coin in their direction for anything, sometimes!
No, he couldn't let Marie go. He needed something close at hand when his manhood began to twitch and he wasn't in the mood to go out for it. He already knew exactly what he liked to do on her and in her. It was an easy pleasure, and not one he was willing to give up.
Besides, if he let her get out of it so easily, he'd be shirking one of his duties (arguably his most important duty) as king, while giving her permission to not fulfil her own as queen. It was their responsibility to produce as many heirs as possible, and even if it had been years since they'd last had a child strong enough to last the winter, the possibility of another suddenly arriving nagged at the back of Joseph's mind. Miracles happened all the time after all, and he doubted that God was punishing him with a completely barren wife. He hadn't done anything to deserve that, so it couldn't have been that.
He didn't want to risk the chance of another son – the spare to his heir – slipping away forever. Marie had to stay right where she was. It was her duty as his queen, no matter what she thought or felt.
And even if he wanted to stop his son and the toy he'd been carrying, they'd be somewhere in the palace by now and it was unlikely he'd find them. He'd obviously talk to the boy later if it did turn out that anything needed nipping in the bud, but Joseph didn't think that likely at all. He knew his boy, and he knew just what kind of a stallion he was becoming – he had a pile of women stacked behind him already, and that wasn't going to stop. He wasn't going to turn out soft, like his mother. Especially not one particular part of him.
So, Joseph thought he could let it all go for now. He'd be watching carefully, though. Just in case.
"Fine, I won't go looking for them for now," he said moodily as he returned to his previous position, clamping his hands down on her thighs. "But if shame is brought upon us because he won't stop parading her around when he'll be having to look for a wife soon, then it will be on your head!"
Marie looked smug, but there was also a fire burning in her eyes, almost like she wanted to say more than she was about to.
"Good," she said curtly. "Zhen your… fun time… eez safe, for zhe time being."
She basically spat the words "fun time", they were so sarcastic, but Joseph ignored it. Just like he'd ignore what she said about Niles (after he was done). Marie didn't get a say in any of this, so she'd just have to deal with whatever "feelings" came about as a result.
He told himself that none of it even mattered, beyond what he thought – he was the king, and what he said went. Always. He didn't have to change for anyone. And he most certainly wasn't changing his mind about Niles and the little bit on the side he currently had. He could do whatever he wanted with that maid in private, but he had to find a princess (or at least a noblewoman) to marry as well!
He could have all the maids in England once he was married, including the one he'd just been seen carrying, if she was smart and went back at his beck and call, instead of becoming incensed at being dropped.
But that was for later.
He'd told Marie he wouldn't interfere this time. And he wasn't going to go back on that when she was there and had already agreed to let him have what he wanted.
But the next time couldn't be very far away…
He smirked to himself for being so clever and getting around it, before he undid the front of his britches again and pulled his wife towards him. He thought only of how good he was, as he pushed into her and began to enjoy himself.
Marie wasn't enjoying herself. Not in her head, even if her body was involuntarily betraying her. Joseph might not have wanted to make it good for her, but he did it anyway to spite the fact that they both knew she was enjoying herself anyway. She was repulsed by him, but he pushed into her so deeply, causing a long groan of pleasure that she hadn't meant to let slip. She saw him smirk as he drew out of her again.
"Yes, that's it," he growled. "Make noise for me. Tell me how much you love it."
Marie wouldn't utter a single word that suggested such a thing. But to Joseph, she didn't have to – all he had to do was pick up his pace and she'd gasp without warning, gripping at his shoulders and trying her damned hardest to remain silent even as the pleasure built up inside her. She didn't want to reach any kind of peak. Not for the disgusting pig she'd had to marry, and whose triumphant, self-satisfied grin she still saw when she closed her eyes. But it was going to come anyway, and when it did, the cry that left her didn't leave her throat on purpose.
"Don't you feel a little better?" he leered at her. "Or do you need some more?"
That was all the warning she got before he started again, not letting her fully recover so the feeling would be more intense.
"How about I get you to say my name this time, hm?" Joseph gripped her arse, squeezing it tightly as he started to thrust again. "You know you want to..."
She didn't want to, but she'd bear the humiliation if it came out. She had for years now, and she would for years to come, as well. At least on this occasion, there was something that would make it worth it. Niles finally had a chance to treat a woman right for once.
He finally had a chance to put somebody else first.
Unlike his father, he still had a chance at his soul being saved.
Niles couldn't stop cursing the winding nature of the servants' corridors, and the vastness of the rest of the palace, and everyone else's apparent incompetence at letting him know what went on around the place anymore. He'd been halfway to the servants' quarters when Lady Babcock had then decided to speak up and ask him where he was going. He'd asked if it wasn't obvious, and told her that they were headed for the servants' quarters.
She'd then, frustratingly, thought to mention that she was now his mother's lady-in-waiting, and had informed him that she had her own quarters away from the rest of the servants! Had he not been carrying her at the time, Niles felt he might have kicked or punched a wall. How was it that no one ever kept him abreast of all the goings-on in the palace? Was he not the Prince of Wales?! How could he have been left in the dark about news like this?!
Of course, he really knew the answer to at least one of those things; Lady Babcock's raising up to the position of lady-in-waiting could only be his mother's doing. It would be typical of her to do something like this and then not tell him, claiming it was "none of his business or concern" or something like that!
But he didn't ask any of the questions he'd had, and there was simply no time for his complaints about his mother's handiwork. He'd simply replied "Oh" and maybe made a slight remark or two about how no one ever told him what was going on around the place, before he'd taken in a deep breath to press down the rising feelings of annoyance and had asked her to give him directions to her new room.
So, that was what they'd done. Lady Babcock had told him whereabouts in the palace her room was, and he had just set off taking them both there while trying not to grumble too loudly about it all.
They passed corridor after corridor on their way, and occasionally a face peered out at them from a door, or from around a corner, or they'd run into servants who'd quickly back away towards the wall to let him through. It didn't bother him at all until they passed by a couple of the other, older maids, whose eyes were quickly cast over both his form and Lady Babcock's state, turning from contempt to concerned sympathy in record time. She was injured and helpless, he held all the power, and he was strong enough to carry her wherever he wanted…
It was obvious they were imagining something awful, even if propriety and knowing their place forbid them from even uttering words in that direction.
Niles felt like he could've have fired back at their silent, judgemental faces that he wasn't blind and he was certainly not some monster, but he had more important things to worry about than potential gossipers (his gut told him those maids' looks would turn to talking), no matter how malicious they were. Lady Babcock needed to be lying down properly, and he was only able to make that happen when they finally arrived – after that exasperating delay – at her chambers.
He only set her down briefly, insisting that she lean on him the whole time (even if she did it with noted reluctance and indignation), while he opened the door. Then, he returned her to his arms to help her the rest of the way. It was only a few more feet to her bed, and there she'd be able to rest and wait in the warm and dry.
And he'd move on to the next part of his agreement, just as planned.
Leaving the door open, he carried her quickly across to her bed, intending to set Lady Babcock down there. Having a view right into the room had to hush up any overly-curious or suspicious bystanders, and it would make his leaving all the swifter.
Quite frankly, that was all he wanted it to be at this point. No one had to ask the lady-in-waiting if the feeling was mutual, either; from the moment he got her settled on her bed and actually got to take a look at her face, Niles read her expression as a closed invitation to leave, especially for him. And he would've left right away, had he not noticed that she couldn't reach down and undo her own shoes – she'd probably flop over like a rag doll if she even tried!
And she was about to really try. She was gently leaning herself over, fingers about to stretch outwards…
"Allow me, my lady," he said, getting on one knee rapidly and taking her shoes off for her before her hand could reach. "It won't take me a moment."
He looked up once her second shoe had slapped down lightly against the floor. He was met by a face that wasn't only currently being bothered by physical pain.
"I suppose I must thank you for that, sir," Lady Babcock sounded like thanking him was the last thing she wanted to do in the world. "Even though I am more than sure that here, in the comfort and privacy of my own chambers, I should have been able to handle such a small task."
The prince bit down on the edge of his tongue to stop himself from snapping.
"You are most welcome," he said instead, getting back to his feet as she eased herself round and onto the bed fully. "Now, I shall go in search of a doctor, if you are quite comfortable where you are…"
Despite saying that, he didn't see how she could be. Lady Babcock might've been on her bed, away from the wet and in the warm, but she herself was still soaked through and her clothes were one extra mud splash away from ruin. She'd probably still catch her death of cold, dressed like that, even with intervention!
"I'll also go to find someone who can help you out of those wet clothes and into a warm bath, then something a bit more comfortable after that."
Lady Babcock gave him a look that was as dirty as her dress.
"I'm sure that it will be His Royal Highness' favourite part of this whole ordeal."
The frustration Niles had previously subdued took a leap, desperate to get out and avenge his pride against that slipped-out slight. He wrestled with it, wanting nothing more than to shout back and argue and to demand her thanks and gratitude for saving her out there on the road. But he couldn't do that – it wouldn't be helpful to anybody. It certainly wouldn't get her head looked at any quicker.
He clenched his fist, bringing it down to his side.
"Fine; I won't do that last part, then," he replied gruffly and sarcastically instead. "Have it your way! Have the doctor look at you while you're all wet and shivering from the cold...!"
Lady Babcock didn't appear to have anything to say to that. She obviously knew he had too great a point to quarrel, even if she desperately wanted to come up with something that could stand up as a riposte. It was clearly infuriating her more the longer she had to lie there without a single witty comment or sharp remark coming to mind.
Niles' frustration slipped back down into his gut, waiting for her to come up with something at the last moment. It was just biding its time.
Eventually, it all became too much and she caved in.
"Alright," she muttered. "I…I will accept someone's help with a bath. Thank you."
Relaxing, Niles felt the corner of his mouth raise a little, satisfied that she hadn't been able to come up with anything and was now having to go back over her rudeness with courtesy and respect. He'd been right, and she hadn't. He was still owed deference. That was all there was to it.
But he didn't stop to say "I told you so" or anything of that nature. There'd probably be time for that in the future.
"But," Lady Babcock continued. "If I'm about to have a maid come and help me with me with a nightgown, I must insi…"
She trailed off, perhaps thinking "insist" was the wrong word to use. She started again.
"I must request that you leave the room, and turn away from the door until I have fully changed."
"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes at her and pretending he wasn't bothered by being bossed around – that was what it was, "request" or no – by a servant. "Anything else before I go get you help?"
There was a coldly annoyed pause, during which Lady Babcock unclasped the necklace hanging about her throat. She caught it before it fell and let it down slowly into her lap.
"I would also appreciate it if His Royal Highness would pass me jewellery box. It's on top of my dresser," she said, gesturing with a hand in that direction before lifting both to start working on her earrings. "My lord can't miss it; it's carved with flowers."
Sighing, Niles turned, went, and located the box exactly where she'd said he'd find it. He carried it back over and set it down next to her, not wanting to waste another moment in going to fetch the doctor.
Under any other circumstances, he wouldn't have allowed anyone – let alone a maid-turned-lady-in-waiting – order him like this. But, he figured, he could cut her some slack. She was injured, he'd been an arse to her, and now that he'd been proven right, he could afford to give a little back and make sure she got what she wanted, couldn't he?
There wasn't any harm in a little kindness…
"There we are," he said, turning again and aiming for the door this time. "Now I shall go and fetch—"
The gasp that halted his very steps (he'd barely made it three paces) was so strangled that Niles felt his stomach knotting up. What was that? Was something wrong? What on Earth could've possibly gone wrong in under five seconds?!
He spun on his heel immediately, and his eyes met the sight of Lady Babcock desperately clawing her way through the jewellery box. She was digging harder than a man looking for water in a desert – the prince would've sworn that she'd have dived in, had there been room!
"What's the matter?" he asked.
He was met by a disregarding silence. Mostly a silence, anyway. He could hear Lady Babcock growing more and more agitated, until he swore she was quietly whimpering in her anxious state. Then she suddenly upended the box onto her bed, spreading the contents out across her sheets.
He tried again, coming closer and saying it louder, "Lady Babcock, truly, what is the matter…?!"
Again, she didn't give him a straight answer.
"It's gone…!" were the only mournful words he caught before she leapt up from her bed, swaying as she did, and she started to scrape her hands across the nearest shelves.
She was searching, despairingly, for God only knew what!
Not that she should have gotten as far as the shelves! Niles grabbed at her arm, knowing he was toeing a line between hurting and helping but not really caring at that moment. She needed to rest!
"What on Earth do you think you're doing?! Stop this at once!" he cried out, trying to get her away from the shelves. "You need to get back in bed!"
"No!" the lady-in-waiting shouted, pulling away from him. "I've got to—"
"You have a head injury!"
"I don't care!" she yelled at him again, on the verge of tears as she continued looking. "Let me go – I need to find it!"
Niles could feel the frustration waking up again.
"Find what? What is so important?!"
"My mother's bracelet!" she all but screamed at him, the tears breaking through and pouring down over her cheeks. "I can't find it! I left it in the box, and it's not there anymore!"
What? Her mother's bracelet?
The prince's face sunk as he thought more deeply about that. She didn't have her mother anymore – she didn't have anybody. But…surely she'd have something else to remember all of the people she'd lost? A small portrait, perhaps, or a book or two from her family home? Why was this bracelet so special that misplacing it upset her so?
Just as he was about to ask, Lady Babcock took off again to the next set of drawers and shelves, dizzily ripping her way through them and crying aloud as he rushed after her, his insides wracked with panic.
"Wait! Lady Babcock, slow down!" he exclaimed, hurrying to her side as she turned everything over in the room and looked around, behind, and under furniture. "What's going on? Is this bracelet really that important…?"
Lady Babcock pushed away the items she'd been tearing through in her grief, before staggering out into the middle of the floor and sinking to her knees.
Her sobs only grew more terrible from there, leaving her entire body shaking, "It…it was the only thing I had left of her…! Of any of them!"
She buried her face in her hands and continued to cry, clearly feeling utterly defeated.
Niles' heart quickly joined his face in sinking. It didn't take a scholar to work out what she'd meant by "of any of them". He'd never once imagined that one little thing like a bracelet could be the only thing a person would have left of their entire family…!
But what could he possibly say to that? He doubted she'd be comforted in her hopeless state by such an open promise as "we'll find it". And he'd never actually had to properly console anybody before with more meaningful words or actions – that was more his mother's job.
Not that she was here. He was. That really meant it was up to him, then, didn't it?
Mirroring what his mother had done for him years ago, when he'd been a boy, he walked over and knelt down by Lady Babcock. He then went to reach out, but as he did, he began to feel odd and itchy underneath his skin, which made him think twice. His gut felt all twisted up inside, too, and he thought the room suddenly felt oddly warm. Was it alright to do this? He'd never had to do anything like this before – was this what he was supposed to do…?
His hand twitched back and forth between them in his hesitation. Eventually, he just went for it, and quickly gave her a light pat on the back.
"I, um…I really am sorry about that," he said, clearing his throat as he did. "If…if I can ask, why is it all that you have left? Surely there must have been other things that you'd wish to keep…"
He regretted the question almost as soon as he'd asked. That happened to just be long enough for Lady Babcock to pull her hands away from her tear-stained face, sniffing, and she looked at him like the thought of the answer completely destroyed her.
"It…it was all I could get!" she explained bitterly, still trembling. "I stole that bracelet. I had to – my cousin wouldn't let me take anything!"
Niles frowned, "Your cousin?"
Lady Babcock nodded, pulling a soggy handkerchief from her bodice (in an act that would've excited the prince before, but now the situation felt far too grave) and pressing it to her eyes and dabbing delicately at her nose.
"He…he's the reason I'm here. The new Duke of Bedford…!" she sounded like she would've spat, if she'd been able. "He got everything when…when my parents…"
She trailed off, but Niles understood what she meant. He nodded encouragingly.
"Please, go on."
Lady Babcock took a moment to take in a breath, lowering her handkerchief into her lap for easy access if she needed it again.
"Once they were gone, he moved in. And when I refused to marry him, he decided that he wanted me gone, too," she said miserably. "But he hadn't wanted to deal with my parents'…their bodies. He only gave me time to do that, before he kicked me out of the house!"
She hung her head heavily after that, looking as though she felt ashamed of herself.
"That bracelet was the only other thing I'd managed to snatch from that place, before being forced out forever! And now I've lost it!"
The prince felt something tug sharply inside his chest, and he put his hand on Lady Babcock's back again, but this time he kept it there. He'd heard things about her family before, but he hadn't heard much about her cousin. The new "richest man in England", most likely. And a most heartless and cruel man, in Niles' mind! What kind of a man tossed a newly orphaned girl of good blood, family name and standing from her own home, out onto the street, all because she wouldn't submit to being his personal slut? There might've been no harm or law against asking for her hand, but asking under the threat of homelessness and abject poverty? Where was the nobility in that? More to the point, where was the sensitivity? There was no talk of a courtship, or wooing Lady Babcock, like men of noble birth were expected to do when it was time to get a wife – just an outright threat and a chance of starvation unless she tied herself to him and his bed forever!
It wasn't at all how the game should've been played, and Niles couldn't look at any man who played it that way and see him as an equal. These were the kind of choices only a blackguard would make, turning a highborn lady into a harlot under such duress! And what kind of a choice was it that Lady Babcock had had to make? To sacrifice her home and the place she'd had in society, or to sacrifice her dignity and her maidenhood in such a humiliating fashion? To lower herself so that she was no better than a whore, when she'd been born the daughter of one of the king's friends and allies?
Yet she obviously hadn't gone crawling to her cousin simply for the sake of keeping her home, or for the sake of eating. She had chosen to come to the palace, to work and to serve others rather than give up the dignity she still had. She'd lost absolutely everything, and all because of a cad she happened to share blood with, and Niles realised then that she must truly have felt desperate then. Desperate and, naturally, unhappy.
And yet he himself had done his own part to keep her feeling unhappy in the humble life she'd managed to scrape back for herself there at the palace! He'd gone and made the whole thing far worse than he'd imagined he could have!
An unfamiliar pang of guilt crept through him, just thinking about it. All that had been on his mind up until that very moment in time was her opening her legs for him, when that was exactly what had led to her downfall in the first place! It was no wonder she didn't trust him – she probably didn't trust any man who came at her wanting that and nothing more from her!
Being cast down so low hadn't been her doing, and while it had been her choice, it had been the lesser of two evils! Servitude had to be less of a shame to any woman of note, than being fucked by someone so contemptible simply to keep a roof over their head.
He should've been more understanding, given her circumstances! He was a prince; he was supposed to be tactful!
His father had taught him to only care about himself – he'd drilled into his head that his position as future king put him above others and that his wishes came first and foremost. He'd told him that nothing but what he felt mattered, especially when it came to engaging with the opposite sex...
And yet...
And yet her tears were making those words fall flat.
He was frustrated – she made him frustrated. And angry. And upset...
He didn't really understand why, either. No woman ever usually held his interest so long, especially if she had made it her apparent aim and objective to consistently reject him. Granted, that didn't happen often, so there was something rare about all of this that probably made it that little bit more gripping (and perhaps a little titillating), but he could've easily dropped her by now to seek out an equally warm and firm body that was far more open and welcoming!
But he simply didn't want to do that. She fascinated him, and God only knew why. Not that it was currently even significant in terms of what he should've been thinking about – he had more important things to take care of with her. He still hadn't made up for upsetting her those few days ago, she wasn't well, and she had just been made freshly upset by the loss of her bracelet.
Niles thought he could at least help to rectify those things, if not take care of them entirely.
Now it was down to the business of starting the whole thing off. He'd never done this kind of thing before, and he wasn't really sure that he was going to do it right, but he wanted to give it a try anyway.
Taking a deep but quiet breath in (he didn't want her to hear him building himself up to it), he began.
"Lady Babcock…I know I've been…well, something of a bounder and a cad, as of late. And recent. And perhaps all of the times in between…"
This was already starting to feel a lot harder than he'd anticipated, but he powered on through anyway.
"But please believe me when I say that I am truly sorry, and I promise I will do everything in my power to help you find that bracelet," he said quickly, getting it all out. "It must be somewhere here, in the palace – it can't have gone far, it…it probably just got lost in the move on the way over to your new quarters! One of the servants most likely found it and assumed it was my mother's, and it's probably in her safekeeping right now…!"
He'd wanted that to be encouraging, but for the life of him, he couldn't be sure if it was or if it had just made everything that little bit worse again. After all, he couldn't promise that it had been found, or that his mother was the one who currently had possession of the bracelet! But he didn't enjoy seeing Lady Babcock so upset, and the thought of the thing being with someone she trusted so much had just seemed like the soothing she needed…
The soothing she needed to make her go back to bed and rest. All the stress she'd just put herself under within the last ten minutes (it was probably closer to five) couldn't have been good for her – Dr Potts would probably go spare at how long it had taken him to get there by the time Niles actually got to go find the man!
She looked like she could be on the verge of wavering into agreement, though, so he kept going.
"Now, if you'll just return to your bed, and try to rest and recover for a while, I assure you we'll start looking for your bracelet as soon as the doctor has seen to you and said that you can move around freely. Because I still need to go and fetch him for that head of yours, and you shouldn't be working yourself up or worrying over this when you're still hurt…"
Lady Babcock stared at him, her expression somewhere halfway between confusion and anger. It was as though she couldn't decide which she wanted to be, or if she wanted to explore another emotion entirely.
"Might I ask, why are you saying all of this, sir?" she asked, suspicion creeping about her tone, as usual. "Helping me find my bracelet will not change where we stand, if that is what you've been imagining."
Niles nearly recoiled a little but managed to keep his composure, even if the words did sting at his ego.
"This isn't about that, and I truly am sorry for the way I've behaved," he said plainly. "All I want to do here and now is help you, Lady Babcock, so please let me do that. Let me help you find your bracelet, after the doctor has seen to you and you're well again."
C.C. looked at him, the last of her tears still drying on her cheeks as she mulled over the pleading in her mind and watched him wait for her answer. He didn't look like he was getting impatient, or angry, or anything else like that. He seemed…genuine, and genuine about all of it. But how could she possibly believe that? This was still Prince Niles she was talking about! He could easily have a trick up his sleeve (or, no doubt, disgustingly concealed somewhere else on his body), and she wouldn't know about it until it was too late!
But what indication did she have that he wasn't telling the truth this time? He'd…he'd actually seemed quite honestly touched about the loss of her bracelet, and the story behind its coming to the palace with her. Maybe he could help her find it? That didn't have to mean she'd owe him anything beyond that; she'd refused him before and would do it again in an instant! Besides, what better help would she get than that of a prince, even for something as small as this? He could command the servants to scour the palace corridors looking for it…!
It could…maybe it could be found that way? Once she was feeling better, she begrudgingly had to admit. Her skull and injured hand were throbbing now, probably made worse by the rushing around she'd just been doing, and the world had only just stopped spinning after it had started when she'd stopped and sunk to her knees...
She did need a doctor. And if he was going to get her one, then she wasn't going to stop him.
"Alright, Your Royal Highness. We'll do that, then. Thank you…"
Niles brightened immediately. He almost couldn't believe that she'd agreed to do this, especially after everything he had put her through these last few days! It was far more gracious of her than he had certainly expected…
"Please, there is no need for that – I should really and truly thank you for the opportunity," he said, laying a hand over where his heart would sit in his chest. "And you may rest assured that I won't let you down, either, even if I have been…rather unpalatable in certain aspects up until now…"
The very word brought back the memory of that disastrous tea with his mother, and an idea struck him as quickly as a bolt of lightning could come from the sky. He could invite Lady Babcock to another tea! It was perfect; he wanted to prove that he wanted to make up for what he'd done, and what better way to do it than to recreate something he'd completely and utterly ruined and have it all go right this time?
"Tell you what," he nearly reached out and laid a hand on her wrist, but he thought better of that at the last second and withdrew it. "To show you how much this means, and to show how much I want to make everything up to you, why don't you join me for tea? As soon as the doctor has declared you to be in full health, of course…"
Lady Babcock's relaxed expression rapidly fell away into a disgust that would've made other people's stomachs churn just to look at it. Even Niles felt his own insides turn over, and he realised as his own face fell just what had set her off. Panic started to rise and course through his blood. That request had sounded like he was trying to get her alone again and, even worse, like he was trying to make her owe him something!
That wasn't what he was doing at all – this was all an innocent mistake! He hadn't meant to make it sound like he wanted anything more than tea!
"W-what I mean is, will you join me for tea as…uh…friendly company? Please? The tea is to make up for…uh…being unpleasant," he explained, knowing it was done poorly and feeling like no one else on God's green Earth had ever been so awkward in a simple conversation. "It's an attempt at an apology, and a friendly tea – no more than that. I promise I will be on my best behaviour throughout!"
He waited in the silence that followed, both expectant and yet oddly dreading the answer she had to give. He'd never actually invited a lady to tea before. Not one that wasn't his mother, at any rate, but it wasn't as though she entirely counted! Lady Babcock was the first one that he wasn't related to, and had…well, had tried to invite to other places…
Somehow asking this felt worse than asking for that. The answer meant more.
Eventually, she took a deep breath in (and probably some pity on him) and gave her answer.
"Oh, fine. That will be fine, sir. As soon as I've recovered, I will go to tea with you, and you'll help me to find my bracelet."
Relieved, and a little incredulous that she'd agreed, the prince started to beam, ignoring the fact that she'd had to remind herself to be polite to him during said agreement.
"Oh, Lady Babcock, thank yo–"
She cut him off with a warning finger, "But you must also understand that I mean it when I say it's just tea. The minute it becomes anything else, I will take my leave and you shall never see or hear from me ever again. Do we have an agreement?"
Had any other person used that tone with him, he'd have demanded that he or she begged for his forgiveness if they didn't want to risk being flogged. But, well...he didn't really mind anymore if she spoke to him insolently. Lady Babcock had plenty of completely valid reasons to warn him that he ought to toe the line. And he was certainly planning on being nothing but a perfect gentleman with her. He wouldn't do anything else after everything he'd just heard!
"We do, Lady Babcock," he said, beginning to smile a little. "But now, I really think you ought to be seen by a physician. The cut on your hand needs to be cleaned, and the wound on your head will need checking more than ever after your ordeal just now. So, if you wouldn't mind obliging and returning to your bed…?"
Lady Babcock fixed him with another strange look, but in the end, she merely nodded. Now that the adrenaline had worn off her hand was throbbing as well as her head, and if he was going to live up to his end of the agreement, then she obviously had to live up to hers.
"Alright, Your Royal Highness," she said, returning to her feet but deliberately refusing the arm the prince offered her as assistance. "I will rest now. If you're heading in that direction, will you also be sending back that maid you spoke of, to help me get on with my bath and getting into clean clothes?"
Niles rose from the floor with a smile that started to widen. The first statement certainly pleased him. The fact that she hadn't taken his arm to get up and her question...well, those did not please him so much, but he had to stay true to his word. He didn't like that she didn't want his direct help when she was still injured, or the thought of having to delay his journey to go and fetch whichever doctor he could find first (he couldn't be sure if it would be Potts; not for a lady-in-waiting), but those were all part of the bargain, weren't they?
Besides, it would save him a ridiculous injury to his character if he was off and busy while she was changing. "Standing with his back to the door", indeed!
Come to think of it, he could probably use some the time given to him to get changed, himself. He wasn't exactly dry as a bone after collecting her out in the storm, and it was starting to make him feel slightly sticky. Besides, it would give him extra reason to be away while she got ready to head back to bed.
"I will be, my lady," he answered. "I'll send one along on my way to fetch the doctor, so you can be in bed and resting by the time he comes and I return."
But he didn't even think of making his way towards the door until he checked and saw that Lady Babcock was busying herself with scooping up her jewellery and putting it back in its box. Satisfied that she was simply clearing a place for herself and making sure that nothing else was going to go missing there in the room before she went to bed, he then made to leave.
But he was stopped almost at once by her voice.
"Your Royal Highness...?"
He didn't know if her tone meant something was wrong or not. Was she uncomfortable? In pain? He didn't think he'd ever get it off his conscience if he left and something had happened without him noticing or checking. Especially not after things were finally starting to sound civil between them…
So, he turned back towards her.
"Yes, Lady Babcock?"
C.C. managed a faint smile, "I really did mean what I said before, about your promise to find my bracelet. Thank you."
That let relief flood Niles' heart. He smiled warmly and nodded.
"You are most welcome," he said, and then was off out the door to look for a maid.
It didn't take him too long to find one, oddly enough. Servants worked in shifts in the palace, so he'd expected to have to search around a bit or else go downstairs to the kitchens and their quarters. But instead, he found one right outside – a young maid who was busy dashing off down the corridor but who also couldn't help but obey when he called her back. From where she'd been running, and from the slightly askew table that normally stood parallel next to the wall, Niles could guess that she'd been crouching there for some time.
"What were you hiding from?" he asked.
The maid shifted uncomfortably, looking ashamed of herself.
"Wasn't 'iding, Your Royal 'ighness. I was...supposed ta be keepin' an eye out. The others – when they saw you with C.C., they...they feared that–"
Niles stopped her right where she was, "Say no more, girl. But know this; I am not that kind of man. Lady Babcock needs my help, and now she needs yours as well – she has sustained an injury to the head and needs immediate medical attention. Your task is to run her a bath, and to help her with it, before getting her into a clean nightgown while I fetch a physician."
With a quick "Yes, my lord" and a curtsy, the maid quickly hurried into the room; the opposite direction from where she'd been running. Niles watched her go in with a lingering sense of hurt. He couldn't believe his own servants thought so little of him that they'd just assume…!
They…they couldn't possibly know about what had happened with him and Lady Babcock, could they? Because that hadn't been the same as what they'd been imagining would happen now – and it would certainly never happen again! He was in his right mind now. He wasn't caught up in a moment of unexpected, mad weakness. Or under the impression that she was simply playing at being coy!
Yes, he'd used women before and considered them playthings to entertain himself with, but he wasn't like those animals who knew exactly what they were doing, even after the woman had clearly said "no". They weren't real men, and it upset him that people he'd been around his entire life would happily lug him in with criminals and creatures of backwater swamps that thought of taking women so horribly as a sport!
He wasn't like that. He wasn't. He'd have come completely to his senses before it had gotten too far. And the servants had no right to judge when they clearly had no idea what he was like, or what he truly thought or felt!
Releasing an annoyed huff, he turned on his heel and set off to get Lady Babcock a doctor. He'd think about getting his clothes once someone was on his way to see to the patient. He hoped keeping busy would help keep his mind distracted from the many uncomfortable realisations (including a few things he was still busy trying to bury) about his personality.
For the first time in his life, Prince Niles was beginning to feel ashamed.
Not that he knew it, but it was a sign that change was coming, and it would catch him devastatingly off guard.
The late afternoon-to-early evening sun streamed in through the window, a beam or two of it hitting Joseph's face when he rolled over in his and Marie's marriage bed. Half-asleep still, he wiped at them, dragging his eyes open in the process. He yawned and stretched languidly, his bare body feeling warm, comfortable, and satisfied as he lay underneath the sheets. The room was quiet, and until he told the servants to come back in and serve food or drink or help with some other matter it would remain that way.
Well, it would remain mostly quiet. The only sound that disturbed the air was coming from next to him – a low, deep, even breathing.
He turned his eyes towards it and grinned wolfishly at what he found. Marie, overcome by the prowess of his manhood and exhausted like a mare he'd just ridden for days, was fast asleep there. She wasn't covered from the waist up by so much as a stitch, and if it weren't for the fact that she'd be too tired already to give him what he deserved from a fuck, he'd have been on her breasts again in a heartbeat.
But, alas! He'd already done his job too well, he thought with a smirk. He truly was a fine stallion of a man, and he knew how to keep his chief mare in line. Now, if only he could make that example hold and ring true for his son!
He hated that he had to think it, but it was the bitter and unfortunate truth. If Niles couldn't even carry on and treat his women like they were supposed to be treated, then how would he ever stand up as a man in the eyes of…of anybody? Any other prince in history knew that maids were for private entertainment and adding another body to their count of conquests, not for parading around, or for acting the gentleman towards! His boy was becoming soft. Not measuring up to the examples left by those who'd gone before.
Joseph knew that he had to do something about it, and he couldn't just sit around waiting for Marie to wave her hand and give him permission! It was humiliating – debilitating, even – that he couldn't openly go and talk to his son, man to man, about any of this. All because his wife was holding his marital rights above his head, tugging them just out of reach whenever he made a wrong move…
He looked at her again, frowning in thought. The idea of moving had set about a chain of events in his head, culminating in the notion of him…moving. Right now. Marie was asleep and was likely to remain that way for some time yet (and that could be more still, if the servants were expressly told not to disturb her). He could easily go and speak to Niles, get him straightened out, and be back before Marie had even realised he'd gone! It wouldn't take long – he knew the boy he'd taught and raised was in there somewhere. He just had to bring him back out.
Yes. That was what he would do. But he'd have to be quick and quiet about it. He might not have enjoyed the fact that he couldn't openly take charge of the situation, but he knew he'd enjoy going without his marital pleasures even less.
Checking on Marie once more to make sure she was definitely still asleep, he gently eased himself upwards. He couldn't let the mattress dip or crease in the wrong place. That was sure to wake Marie up, or to at least disturb her, which would then result in having to be even quieter, which was something he wasn't sure he'd be able to do.
Once he was in a half-lying, half-reclined position, and with no sign of waking from his wife, he slipped his legs sideways out of the bed, reaching them around onto the cold stone floor. He started peering around for his breeches then, as well as the rest of his clothes. He'd discarded them well before he'd ever made it to the bed, after all, and they were scattered in every direction and across every piece of furniture he'd taken Marie on that time around. Sort of like a map of this latest triumph.
Pleased with himself, he pulled himself slowly and steadily towards the edge of the bed. He didn't go fast or make any sudden movements. He was almost there, and he'd be able to move as quickly (but as quietly) as he wanted as soon as he was stood up…
He went to lift himself from the bed, only for a hand to close around his wrist before one buttock cheek left the mattress.
Leaping to his feet, hands waving and yelping in a way that would've embarrassed a six-year-old girl, Joseph spun to face his assailant, panting heavily and chest pounding. His eyes landed on a cackling Marie, who had clearly reached over and had been the one to grab his wrist.
"Did you truly believe zhat I was so stupid?" she cried out, sliding herself back to her side of the bed as she let the last of her laughter fade away. "Zhat I would not take you for zhe liar and zhe cheat zhat you are and just wait for you to prove eet? And 'ere you are! Going off, no doubt, to speak to Niles?"
The king let his breathing slow, his face reddening a little with the heat of the blood boiling beneath it. His fists clenched up by his sides. She'd seen through his ruse, and she'd chosen to make fun out of it. If she'd been smarter about it, she would've been openly angry. Anger he could've deal with – he'd dealt with it all the decades they'd been married! But she'd instead picked the insulting option. How dare she try and make a fool out of him, when he was king, lord, and master in that place? And her husband, to boot?! She had no right! She had no authority there, or anywhere else he happened to be present!
And she could wipe that self-satisfied grin off her face, too! She wasn't cleverer than him, or more quick-witted, or better in any kind of way, no matter what she currently thought! He'd put her in her place, and then she'd see just who was in charge out of the two of them!
"I am the king here, not you," he snapped. "I don't answer to you and I can come and go as I damn well please! Besides, I knew you were awake – you think you're so brilliant and educated, but you couldn't even act at being asleep!"
The lie was bold, but told with all the confidence a king could muster. He held his breath steady until Marie started spluttering with laughter again.
"Eef I was so unconvincing at acting zhe part of a sleeping wife, zhen why did you yell so 'ard and so loud, mm? Eef I couldn't 'ave scared you, zhen eet must've been somezhing else! Was zhe floor just too cold for your feet, or did you per'aps stub your toe on zhe bedside table…?"
Joseph scowled at her darkly, "You have no right to mock me, woman! And you have even less of a right to try and dictate what I should do in my own palace – you're an imported fuckhole that's supposed to spit out heirs when I say so. And you can't even do that right! So don't tell me what I can do with my time!"
Marie's expression changed then, and she sat almost bolt upright in bed, the glare in her eyes like the glare of the sun glinting off the edge of a blade.
"I am nozhing but an eemported fuck'ole, mm? Well, zhis eemported fuck'ole still 'as power of 'er own, even eef you want to deny eet!" she argued back, leaning towards him. "And as you never answered my question from before, I will assume you were going to talk to Niles. In spite of our agreement, no?"
Joseph balled his fists, hard.
"I don't need to follow any stupid agreement in order to talk to my own son!"
Marie leaned back again, a little bit away from him and suddenly seeming oddly casual. Like she had this all in hand.
"Well, yes, he eez your son…and you are right in zhat you may choose what to do wizh your time. And so may I, as your queen..."
Joseph's mouth formed a line, "Is that supposed to be a threat?"
Marie shrugged, "Maybe eet eez, and maybe eet eez not. I 'ave already told you zhat eef you choose to do what you please, zhen I will do what pleases me. And zhat includes returning to France, eef eet should come to zhat. Eet will make no difference to me what 'appens 'ere after, and you will 'ave no auzhority to make me return."
That felt like a slap in the face to Joseph, but it wasn't one that he was going to let floor him. He didn't enjoy letting her win, and he'd do everything possible to make sure she didn't.
And in this case, he was sure she couldn't.
"You can't leave," he told her. "We are married, and in the eyes of God, you are bound to live in my home!"
It appeared that Marie had – annoyingly – thought of that, too. And at least as deeply as he had.
"Hm. True. Zhen per'aps I will not leave England," she looked at him pointedly. "I will simply move to one of our many ozher castles, palaces, or stately 'omes. Living in your 'ome, just not wizh you. Or your...needs and issues."
She cast her eyes down towards his now limp manhood, and Joseph knew full-well what she was implying. She knew he was less inclined to go to brothels these days – travelling made him tired, and most of the ladies who came to work or to visit the palace were...well…starting to get put off by his age, to tell the truth.
He was running out of options, and she really was one of the few left.
The frustration of being backed into a corner (and not being the one doing the cornering) was making his chest tighten. He didn't like it one bit. And he was going to put an end to it. So, as much as he thought of what he had planned as the coward's way out, he turned on the bed and faced her properly.
He groaned quietly in his frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly to help himself gather his thoughts. He couldn't let it end this way – he knew Marie would be angling for something! He just had to find out what it was.
"What do you want?" he asked. "What kind of bargain are you going to force me into, here?"
Smiling and clearly overly pleased with herself, Marie sat up more, leaning her back against the headboard and pulling the sheets up around her.
"My terms are not difficult to understand, even for you," she said. "I want you to allow Niles to fraternise – zhat eez, to associate wizh een any chaste way deemed fit, zhe Lady Babcock, my new lady-een-waiting."
Joseph started, the end comment catching him by surprise.
"Lady-in-waiting? When the hell did that happen?!"
"I told you when eet 'appened!" Marie hurled back. "You just never listen to what I 'ave to say!"
The king felt himself getting hot underneath his skin again, and he threw up his hand in anger to dismiss the conversation entirely. Who cared about when or where he didn't listen right now? They couldn't be getting off-topic like this, anyway!
"Oh whatever, it hardly changes matters! You still want the boy to sit and play pretend at being something he is not and should never be, with a lower order!"
Marie bristled, apparently insulted on the girl's behalf. God only knew why, though! In truth, God only knew why Marie was doing any of this – she had nothing to gain from it! What could their son being…around this girl, without any steps taken towards the natural conclusion…possibly do for her?
"Why do you even care? It won't do anything for you!" he continued. "There is nothing to be gained from it, either way, so you might as well just give up and let whatever's going to happen, happen!"
"I will not!" Marie shouted. "I 'ave told you this before – I've plenty to gain from zhis! Seeing my son as zhe gentleman 'e should be, instead of zhe pig you are raising 'im to be, eez my reward! 'im learning to treat a woman right so zhat any future wife of 'is eez 'appy and comfortable, no matter where she 'appens to be from, eez what I gain from zhis!"
Joseph scoffed, rolling his eyes. Every time he thought he'd gotten close to understanding the minds of women and the ridiculous ploys they came up with, something else happened to make him realise he was completely wrong! Doing this for someone else's happiness? It was pure folly to think that that ever had any kind of merit whatsoever, or that it was any true reward!
His wife was a bigger fool than he'd previously thought, too, if she genuinely believed that Niles would become this caring, considerate gentleman that spent innocent, completely celibate time with the lowest hanging and yet also the ripest fruit in the palace! He'd pick that fruit eventually and have his fill, and then he'd discard whatever was left over. It was the way it had always worked, and always would work, even after the boy eventually got married! Joseph would win, and be proven right, in the end.
So, truly, he had nothing to lose from any arrangement they were making and everything to gain. Even if he did hate to have to stoop and negotiate for it, rather than just tell Marie what he would be doing and then doing it…
"You are overdramatic to the point of being infuriating," he said. "But, if that is what you want, then that is what you shall have. I will leave Niles and the girl to their own devices, for the time being."
"Good," Marie folded her arms over expectantly. "And what are your terms? Somezhing disgusting, eef I know you as well as I imagine…"
At any other time, Joseph might've considered that an insult. But now, when he had the advantage and could use it to its fullest, he couldn't be anything other than pleased and satisfied with the outcome. He knew exactly what he wanted – it hadn't taken him long to think of his own terms.
And if he wasn't allowed to take out his frustrations with Marie on Niles or the girl for the time being, then he'd take it out on and humiliate his wife instead. In all the ways he'd never been allowed to before.
"You may think it disgusting, but it's not supposed to benefit you," he told her sharply, before starting to grin lasciviously. "I want to be able to fuck you like a whore in a brothel whose next meal depends on my coin."
He waited, expecting a gasp, or for her face to crack and fall, or for her to get angry and to spit poison at him over such a lewd suggestion. He was disappointed to receive none of them. Instead, Marie just looked at him with the vague air of someone who'd just heard a slightly unfunny joke.
"You mean you do not do zhat already?"
The corner of Joseph's mouth dipped, but he held steady. It was only what she wanted – to make him squirm. He wouldn't let her have that satisfaction. Not before his own, anyway, and she had no idea about that whatsoever.
She'd find out, though. She'd get more than she'd bargained for, too.
He came forward, leaning over the bed with his arms crossed, looming over his wife and sneering.
"You have absolutely no idea what I don't do to you, simply to spare your title the embarrassment. But you'll find out exactly why I'd normally have to pay double for it anywhere else, soon enough.
Even then, Marie's expression didn't budge.
"I suppose I shall."
Joseph straightened up again. Her face hadn't faltered at all, which was something of a minor let-down, but he wasn't going to complain too much about it. He was still winning, and getting everything he wanted out of non-action.
"You most definitely will," he told her. "And you must let me into your bed to do it at least three times a week, if you want our bargain to hold. You'll engage in our activities, too; be present in the moment, and tell me exactly how you are feeling throughout – every scream, sigh, name shouted aloud – you have to say and do it all."
He knew that would be the ultimate humiliation for her. To have to let him in, and to fall down in unabashed worship of his abilities, and to beg for more, all the while hating him and hating how good he felt inside her...it would be deliciously sweet for him.
He thought he finally had her across the silence, but eventually, she nodded once, looking as though she'd completely steeled herself for what was to come during her thinking time.
"Alright," she said, before adding her next condition. "But I am to be zhe one who decides when we finish."
The new, unacceptable term made Joseph flare up inside. Who did she think she was to decide how much fun he could have? If he was going to treat her like a whore, then he was going to treat her like every whore he'd ever had – none of them ever stopped until he'd said so! The only difference was that she wasn't going to get money tossed at her for it!
"No," he snapped. "If you're to be my whore then I decide on everything, including when I'm satisfied that we're done!"
Marie shrugged at him, still apparently nearly wholly unbothered by him or his terms.
"Even the most experienced of 'ores 'as limits. I am going to need my own, too," she replied smoothly, before pausing a moment to think. Then she quirked an eyebrow at him. "Unless, of course, you wish to forget zhe 'ole zhing and go and visit Niles anyway? In which case I shall begin packing my zhings and prepare to leave, zhough I may need time to choose zhe castle or palace I shall call 'ome from now on…"
She then had the gall to turn from him to start inspecting her nails. Joseph thought he could've exploded, but he kept it under control. He was winning this battle of negotiation – there was no sense in throwing it all away and losing the high ground by suddenly erupting.
"You really are impossible," he spat instead. "But fine, you'll get that one privilege. As long as we get in at least three rounds of whatever I say, every time!"
Marie's eyes lifted from where she'd been studying a cuticle, "Alright, zhen – I will be counting."
This still didn't seem at all like a fair negotiation, in Joseph's mind, even if he was coming out on top. But the last thing he wanted was for her to walk away entirely and leave him to scrape up whatever he could, wherever he could. He wasn't going to get this chance again – to have a whore in his very own home, and to get to treat her however he wanted! He couldn't let a few niggling details get in the way of him winning in the end, the pleasure he'd get from it, or the chance at getting to humiliate his wife regularly. What true man didn't dream of that kind of power?
He was ready for it to become a reality, too.
"Count all you want. As long as we're in agreement about the rest?"
Marie nodded, "We are."
"Good. Then we're starting now," the king approached the bed again, gesturing upwards with his hand. "Get on all fours – I'll show you how the head of a wolf pack treats his bitch."
The queen didn't move, apart from raising one halting finger.
"Not yet."
Joseph froze. Now what the hell did she mean? "Not yet"?! What could she possibly want to say or add now that they were in agreement?! She definitely couldn't add any more terms on – he'd be well within his rights to ignore whatever they ended up being!
"What are you talking about?! We've got a deal now!" he shouted. "Unless you're going back on it already?"
"I'm not going back on anyzhing," Marie answered. "But I am going to need energy to keep up eef you intend to play at being a dog. I wish to 'ave some refreshments before zhen."
The king glowered, but had to relent. No one had ever said anything about delays during negotiations. And as long as it still meant he'd be getting his fun, he supposed he had no choice.
"What do you want?"
Marie smirked, "Tea. And some of whatever zhey are currently baking down in zhe kitchens."
She waited, and watched as Joseph tried to form a complaint on his lips, but then just gave in and let it die away again. Instead, he dismissed her with an angry wave of his hand and started looking for his clothes. He'd have to put them on, even if not in the most presentable fashion, if he wanted to go and find a servant to bring her tray.
"Damn you beyond the gates of Hell, woman!" he declared, snatching up his breeches and marching off in search of his shirt. He began roughly shoving them on. "I'll find your blasted tea, and then I'll be expecting payment in the form of several open, welcome holes."
"Fine," came the queen's cool reply.
It was the last word she said to him then. Half-dressed, but definitely better presented than he had been when he'd been completely naked, Joseph stormed out as soon as he could to go and find the nearest servant. He'd probably order them to only bring her a cup, too, so that she couldn't refill the tea when she wanted and make it last longer.
She wished she could just keep pouring cups, and make it last until Joseph had dropped dead. Then everyone would be better off…
These…sessions…he'd insisted on were going to be the worst time she'd had in a long time. She knew that. She knew there was nothing she could do to change it, either; he'd probably mock her and tell her how she'd agreed to it so she should just lie back and enjoy it. And to make sure she "enjoyed" it loudly. So that he could hear how much he was triumphing and humiliating her at the same time…
She didn't need to be damned to Hell. She was already there with him as a husband. But she could bear it; she'd done it for decades now already, and recent events had brought about a whole new reason to just see this agreement through.
Niles, and the Lady Babcock. If she could keep Joseph off them, and let her boy become the good, decent man he was supposed to be, then it would all be worth it in the end. No matter what it meant having to do. She'd keep this up for the rest of her life if it meant her son learned to treat women with respect, and to actually value the one he was supposed to love more than anyone else in the world.
She'd take whatever revolting punishment Joseph had ready throw at her, as long as it meant Niles never did the same to his own wife in the future.