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THE evening an as a somber affair Apparently all orried about the health of their queen But Arthur stood tall and announced she was quite on the way to recovery, and the htened Even Lancelot had arrived, which sort of stunned Isabel She thought for certain the poor little puppy would be atteuarded quarters or be off plotting revenge against mushrooms ide
As her platter was placed before her, she realized that she&039;d been served a ton of vegetables and duck and not one ounce of eel
She looked over at Arthur, and his plate was piled high with the vile stuff He grinned and winked at her, then whispered to a server That platter of eel was replaced with a bowl of what looked to be some kind of stew
She ducked her head and sies Oh, yes, like it or not, she had fallen fast and hard She was so in love with Arthur it almost hurt
Arthur spoke into James&039;s ear, who then spoke into Tom&039;s ear, who then spoke into Isabel&039;s ear "He says that the bet did not include actually having to eat the eel Does thisout of her nose and ether Then she whispered into To called a loophole And he is lucky to be given reprieve this tie to Jaoose pole?"
"A loophole," Tom said to Jaet aith so sneaky tactics! Jeesh And the countess has decided to give the king reprieve on this one"
Again, Isabel and Arthur&039;s eyes met, and neither were able to contain it They both fell into gales of laughter Isabel covered her face with her napkin, hoping when she lowered it, everyone would have ically disappeared No such luck
But, instead, Arthur stood "Sirs, the Countess Isabel and I oose poles in our potential treaties at thePlease stay and enjoy the sweets"
He caies, Countess, I did not discuss whether you would prefer to stay for the sweets"
"Oh, no, King Arthur," she said, standing "I am quite anxious to explore the possible repercussions of these goose poles"
ALL decorum they attempted to maintain dropped the moment they entered the solarium, two rooms away And then Arthur took her hand and led her back out to the gardens, both finally allowing their laughter to let loose
Isabel had to hold her turinned, the light froleam "Yes, but it felt so wonderful"
"We should return to the table, having resolved our disagreeain "We shall announce oure break fast in the ainst it?" she asked
"I assume we must define what &039;it&039; is"
Isabel alrinning, then pulled her close "I am so happy when I am with you, Isabel You make me feel like I can soar Fro, your presence sofrom me"
Isabel sucked in a breath because she couldn&039;t have said it better It was a busy afternoon, yet empty Without Arthur there, it just wasn&039;t the same
She nodded "Yes, Arthur, I miss you when you aren&039;t there as well"
"You fill a need inside me I cannot describe it I know not what our solution is that will make us all happy, I only know this: I do not believe happiness is available to ure it all out, Arthur Somehow, someway, I believe that Gwen and Lance, and you and I will end up happy Let us trust fate again on this one"
There was a knock from inside the solarium, and they quickly stepped apart Jaous feet
Arthur picked up a pebble froarden and tossed it at the door When James looked up, startled, Arthur motioned him out
"What is it, Jae for the countess," he said, with a small bow in her direction
"What is it, James?" Isabel asked
"Mary, miss Mary, the one who - "
Isabel smiled "I knoho she is, James She is my trusted friend"
"She, well, she asked me to tell you that she has come doith a bit of a headache, and that she will be unavailable for the rest of the evening She sends her sincere apologies and hopes that you" - he coughed - "are able to turn down your own bed furs this night She is ht Isabel would bet that Mary had never taken a sick day or night in her life But it was so sweet that she almost cried "Please, James, convey "
He looked up and nodded "Oh, yes, she will beI ht"
"If there&039;s anything I can do? Shall I visit her?"
"No, no, I believe she is already abed"
"Well, then, Jaest that if she is still awake that she sips a bit of tea, with a dollop of honey and perhaps just a drop or two of sweet mead"
"I will most certainly offer such" He went almost as red as Mary&039;s hair "Iit to her, should she wish"
"Thank you Please give her my best"
"I will"
"And James?"
"Yes, mum?"
"Tell her thank you"
"I will And I believe she will already know you would say such, Countess"
"Of course she will She and I are pinky-finger friends"
James&039;s chuckles followed hier friends," he said "I have had a good laugh over that one"
Arthur looked at her, his puzzlement all over his face
"Want an interpretation?" Isabel asked
"If that means that you will explain what just occurred, then indeed, I most definitely need an interpretation"
"Quick or detailed version?"
"The one that I will understand"
"Okay, here&039;s my take James left the dinner table and went to see Mary Mary assessed the situation and created an excuse she could giveintofor bed"
"Because?"
"To give me complete privacy"
"To what purpose? Did she expect aa visitor? Who is he?"
Okay, Viviane, I&039;m really stunned Are all these men quite so dumb?
He&039;s a man newly smitten, and he is so taken his recent history has left hi me mute
Oh, coht Isabel knew that all of the emotional scars could not possibly have completely healed by now Maybe that was part of her role To help heal him
She looked up at him and raised her hands to attempt to s, his eyes begging for answers
"Arthur - "
"Tell me true, Isabel"
"Listen to me Mary has become my trusted friend She knows me better than anyone here"
"Yes?"
"Who do you think she was clearing the way for? Who do you think she felt I would want to spend time with privately?"
"Every in to count - "
"Arthur Who do you believe Mary would be convinced I would wish to be alone with?"
She watched as the lightbulb finally switched on in the big duht to behold, but she knew laughing at this point would not be a good idea
"Me?" he said
"The ive you and me time alone?"
She shook her head "As was Jaether without being interrupted"
"There is no other?" he asked
Her heart broke She placed a hand over his "I know you&039;ve been hurt, Arthur But ill go nowhere while you keep suspecting that I ht be the next to hurt you"
He took her hand and kissed her fingers, then placed it right back against his beating heart "I am so sorry, Isabel I know not how to properly ask for your forgiveness"
She could think of several ways But first things first
"You told me today that you confided in me because you felt you could trust me"
"&039;Tis true"
"And yet tonight, that trust was gone"
He frowned Really frowned "Not true It was a totally different matter, Isabel I trusted you with private matters"
"Have I broken that trust?"
"No, of course not Still, &039;tis not the same"
"Tell me, what is so different?"
"You have soto do anything to make you happy You evenI have ne&039;er been able to do"
"Your point?"
He looked down and then finally up "So many men want you, Isabel It eats at me"
I so want to kick his ass, Viviane
I agree, Isabel, but form a better plan
Isabel sat down "Just what happened today in the woods, Arthur?"
"I ads for you," he said
"And?"
"And you also said what you felt for ?"
"It would hurt beyond iination should that be a lie"
"Yet you still harbor doubts" Isabel stood up "Mary was trying to give us time alone It would have been perfect You could have shown me how to undress you We could have made love But you are so sure I&039;m just as other women, that trust you said you felt was not entirely true, was it?"
"Please do not let us end the evening this way, Isabel I have made so many mistakes, and I am sorry for them all But you toldyou to take that back because I am adolt? Then I am a dolt But that does not mean I do not love you as much as I do
"I answer to s for you I refuse to say are wrong You tell s, as you said this day, that you can turn your back on me now?"
Isabel didn&039;t think she&039;d ever love another ht be, she turned to look at him
"There are no other men, Arthur Tom, Dick and Harry are friends As for others here in the castle, I believe you are a bit overly concerned on that front Not a single one of your men has made an inappropriate move or said an inappropriate word to me Well, maybe Mordred, but we took care of that The others in your realentlemen"