Page 11 (1/2)

ISABEL couldn&039;t sleep The bed wasPETA would not approve of the fur blanketing it She&039;d flopped from one side to the other, from her back to her tu and fall into sluht about now

Her door opened silently, only the light fro her She sat up, alarirl&039;s ars for the fire

"Oh, you startled ies," she said with a sht you would be deeply asleep by this hour"

"The question is, why aren&039;t you?" Isabel asked "You are way too young to be working such long hours"

As Mary carefully laid the logs on the dying embers and waved to flame the fire, she said, "&039;Tis my pleasure to serve you, Countess" She stood and turned, an impish smile on her face "And truth be told, when you have no need ofthe day I receive plenty of sleep"

"I&039;lad to hear that, but answer me this, Mary What do you really do for pleasure?"

"M&039;lady? I&039;m not sure I understand your question"

"You and your friends What do you do? Do you play games? Play sports?"

"There&039;s not s"

"Solike that, yes, mum"

"We&039;ll see about that," Isabel , nothing, Mary" Isabel threw her covers aside and stood "Listen, I just cannot sleep Maybe a short ould dodown and through the great hall?"

"Yes, there be, Countess, but the back staircase is for servants, not for the likes of royalty"

"Tonight, I a cloak, and show ardens she had shared with Arthur several hours earlier Luckily, they encountered no one along the way The castle seemed to be sound asleep

Isabel thanked Mary profusely and tried to tip her with one of the hundreds of coins she&039;d discovered in a pouch in one of her trunks Mary stared at it in horror and backed away "No, Countess, I cannot If this be found, I may be accused of theft"

"Hohen I will readily tell one and all that it was a gift from me for your excellent service?"

"I aifts"

Wow, tell that to the service personnel on cruise ships They whistled in the air while holding their palms out at every opportunity Isabel vowed to herself that she&039;d find a way to repay Mary for her help and kindness in ways that would not get the girl in trouble

"Apparently another faux pas on ize if I&039;ve offended you, Mary"

"Fo paw?"

"Never o to bed, and thank you for helping et on Isabel&039;s nerves But she bit her tongue and wished Mary a good night "I will findbath"

"Thank you,for"

Isabel wished for the sa but was afraid peace eluded her at thethat peace tonight"

Isabel practically jumped to the turrets She twisted around to find the source of her torods, you just scared the livingdaylights out of ies, Isabel &039;Twas not my intention"

Her eyes narrowed "Are you following me?"

He pushed off from the tree with his shoulder then stepped forward, that catlike silence of his movements almost eerie "I believe you have followed ardens for some time"

"I had no idea," she said, affronted "I just could not find sleep" Then she thought of so "This is not Mary&039;s fault! I demanded that she helpus through the great hall"

"On my oath, I will assure Mary is rewarded, not punished, for her actions In truth, she has de than I have witnessed fro tiical bench and took Isabel&039;s hand "Please join me and tell me why it is that you cannot sleep, Countess Isabel"

"I am afraid I don&039;t know"

"Are the acco done to make you more co hi her bed His warmth, his hard body, his scent Which, come to think of it, was vastly different than earlier He had obviously bathed and washed his hair She couldn&039;t identify the spicy scent, but it was delicious

She sat down on the bench, acutely aware that she earing only a nightdress and a cloak How she wished she&039;d found some jeans and T-shirts stuffed in those trunks

He stood in front of her, not joining her, just shaking his head "I told her, Isabel"

She stared into the troubled green eyes of her drea "Guinevere?"

"Yes"

"And you told her what? Your bowling score? Your credit rating? Hoork a Clapper?"

Arthur grinned and sat down "You have a way ofa sad time"

"Well, that&039;s dandy, but what are you talking about?"

"I told her that I are of this thing betwixt and between her and Sir Lancelot"

"Oh boy Why?"

"Why? You advisedboy "IOr at least I thought I did"

Didn&039;t I, Lady?

Did you, Isabel? &039;Twould see up their e was not my intent; I&039;ll feel like shit if this is why I&039;ve been sent

I sent you here to make happy both Arthur and Merlin To satisfy thean pacing in front of her, so she&039;d already noticed was a habit he had when he was deep in thought Or possibly looking deeply into his own soul

"From the moment I set eyes on Gwen, I have ne&039;er felt lust for another Not even after I had learned the truth Ne&039;er"

He stopped pacing and faced her directly "And then oura woman as not my wife"

"I&039;ize for this? You are apologizing for being beautiful? For beingyou?"

"I have no desire to be part of the crash and burn of a e"

"Crash and burn? Has it not already crashed and burned?"

"You tell et-me smile on his face Isabel was certain he didn&039;t realize that hat he was transn to her "You opened ht, Countess You are so lovely and blunt, and that mouth of yours spouts fierceness, and yet your actions show compassion"

Well, that was as clear as quantum physics "Thank you I think And how did this little chat with Guinevere go?"

His hands waved in the air "She did not deny She did not beg for mercy for herself, but for Lancelot She hoped that his punishment would merely be banishain his deep grass green eyes lifted to hers "And your thoughts?"

Therapist, she decided, was not her forte Especially when she wanted thisdown that one path that led straight to her own selfish desires

"Please tellto out them"

"Out them?"

"Gwen and Lancelot Hurt them Have them punished?"

"Never However, much is out of my hands I can protect both only so far"

"So then let&039;s protect them"

"My pardon, Isabel?"

"You love them both, yes?"

"Most assuredly Not as afore, but still, they mean much to me"

"You have decided, in your soul, that you do not want to punish them, correct?"

"I have"

"Then we need to come up with a plan A battle plan, as it were"

His laughter was rich, and once again it reached down into her body "You are a constant amazement, Countess"

"Hey, what the hell, let&039;s get this done We ht all come out of this e want"

"What I want right now is to feel your lips"

"Keep your eye on the prize, Arthur"

"You have said this afore on our ride to Caed"

"You want to keep Caed"

"I cannot deny that I can, however, change what this prize I want ht be"

"THE plan, Arthur We ivably debating another plan Although the servants had doused the garden lanterns for the night, he&039;d lit theain when he&039;d come out to ponder the future It was all a jumble of what he had always envisioned, expected and desired So one awry When had he lost control? For so sods had made a mockery of his dreams and desires

Or had they?

Isabel sat staring at hihts, her eyes so large and inquisitive

"I love her I know that I do But what does it say aboutand that I have this attraction to another woman? How is it possible that I felt a desire for you on first sight?"

Wow, this honesty thing that the Lady&039;s necklace brought about was a lot ht

"Perhaps, just perhaps, that you fell for a beautiful wo for you?"

He again shook his head "Which makes me an old fool?"

"Arthur, you are neither old, nor a fool Gwen is a lovely young woman And I do believe she loves you as well I see it when she looks at you She respects and admires you, and is proud to be your queen"

"Do you see love or desire when she gazes upon h to discern such a thing"

That was the biggest bunch of bullshit she&039;d had to gag out All she&039;d noticed was lust and desire when the queen had kept sneaking peeks at Lancelot

"Bullshit Apologies for that word and for using it in your presence Ideceived You are not giving me truth"

She stared at hi "You, sir, are quite honest"

"You,the issue that you&039;ve promised to help one back and ic to go on now And the Lady, who she hoped would kick her in the chest if she rong

"May I be blunt?"

"Blunt?"

"Truthful to the point that it ht cause you pain"

"Then be blunt, Countess"

"I think you love Gwen enough to allow her happiness I think you shield her froo about this tryst if it allows her to find her joy I think you don&039;t banish Lancelot because you know that the two find joy together Would you like ht my own men to keep you here, Countess"

"Ask yourself, why do you per, do you not think? Arant ht to determine who should and should not find theirs, wherever it leads" He once again cocked his head sideways "The truth is, I honestly know not Strange as it seeood-hearted man, Arthur"

"With many, many flaws it appears"

"Such as?"

"Poor judg poor judg to kiss me?"

"No, ments"

"No offense, but do you consider yourself good at this?"

His eyes glittered and he shrugged "&039;Tis a mystery Mayhap I am mistaken and overly boastful in that skill How shall I ever know?"

"Sir, I&039;m well schooled in certain arts Perhaps I can determine if this is a deadly fault of yours?"

Isabel waited for the thump, but it never came

He went still "Madam, I would most certainly accept your honest opinion"

They looked at each other for a long time before he finally lowered his head Their mouths met tentatively at first, but the fire lit up fast Before she could even think, his one hand thrust itself through her hair and his other went to the s enough to stare into her eyes and whisper, "I must do better"

If he did any better, Isabel was going to get seared His ain, and he played so many million tricks on her lips that she needed him to hold her up He tasted like sex, he played her htly like pure sex

By the time he was done with her

Arthur broke the kiss and cupped her face, which left the rest of her body in peril of dropping straight to the ground Her knees certainly weren&039;t helping to hold her up She began to sink, but he quickly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back up "That bad?" he asked

She knew her eyes and brain were both glazed Her vocal chords were also in peril

Isabel cleared her throat "Sir, where I corade our students fro failure B, C, and D fall in between"

"And where do I fall, Isabel?" he asked, still grilling her with those reen eyes

"Not only would you make the dean&039;s list, you&039;d probably make valedictorian"

He shook his head "I&039;es do notis you get an A-plus"

He sood?"

"Valedictorian her than this valedictorian? I would very much like to achieve it"

"I&039;d very much like for you to try"

"You are very beautiful, Isabel Your hair is as soft as is your skin, and you s way too much, Arthur, when in truth, I&039;d prefer you just shut up and kissher lips with his, his head raised and he al is aain Or maybe it would be better if it were another rabbit

Before she kneas happening, Arthur had shoved her behind his back as he faced the darkness of the shrubbery down the garden path

"Present yourself!" he demanded "Are you friend or foe?"

A voice beyond the light of the lanterns replied, "&039;Tis only, I,&039;Tis Jae burly guy as the king&039;s first man She didn&039;t knohether to run and hide, or pretend to be a fence post Arthur didn&039;t give her a choice He held on to her so tightly that she couldn&039;t have moved if she wanted to

"Come, James Tellfor ely he walked as softly as a ballerina He, too, had learned hoalk softly but carry big - really big - bulk He reminded Isabel of Shrek, and yet when she peeked out beside Arthur&039;s side, his expression turned from worried to kind

"M&039;lady Countess," he said, bowing

"How&039;s it going, Jaain thinking Arthur had surrounded himself with kick-ass people

"I a, Countess Isabel A private word"

"What you have to say to me you may say in front of the countess, James I trust her with news As I trust you with my life"

Well, that was really sweet But out of the blue She couldn&039;t be certain she&039;d trust Arthur with all of her news after such a little tied from Arthur and moved to his side "I am certain what James has to say is no business of mine Please, let rabbed her hand, holding tight, but not to the point of pain "No, madam, whate&039;er the news, I know it be safe with you"

Jae brown eyes and hair that appeared not to have been combed since he&039;d been a child To anyone who didn&039;t know hi But as he glanced back and forth between the Which probably hat had earned hi," Isabel said, and once again tried to disengage

"Please do not," Arthur said, holding tight to her hand "What news, Jae shoulders "Mordred has arrived, sir"

ARTHUR was not certain whether to celebrate or worry over the news "In the ht?"