Inside Darling (Darling #1) [complete]

Chapter Twenty-One

" L O U E L L E ! "  T H A T C H E R knocked heavily on the balcony door.

He made sure to rush to see her after his last meeting of the day. He was in utter disbelief with himself that he gave in to both the king's and Louelle's demands to hit her. And did he have to be so rough? He should have taken the consequence from the king for not obliging his request. What had overcome him to strike Louelle, he was unsure. He hadn't realized he had done so until he felt the sting on his hand and saw the red mark left on her cheek.

Although he saw the encouragement in her eyes for him to follow through, he felt as if he misread her signs when she did not show up for dinner that evening. His eyes remained on the door, waiting for her to waltz in and apologize for her tardiness. Maryann was attached to him more, since she'd been kissed by him that morning, but he ignored her presence.

His focus was only on one thing: Louelle.

Perhaps she had been alright with the prince handling the king's punishment in the moment, but as soon as it happened, her mind changed. He wondered if she was not upset at him (even though she did not meet his eye afterward), but was more upset with herself.

If he was reading her correctly, which was rare of him not to, he wondered why she was so eager for her to be punished. Ruby, her lady in waiting, was a dear friend of hers. If she saw her lady in distress, he wouldn't have put it past Louelle to take the hit for her. Afterall, she would have done the same for him. She wished to when she witnessed his pain after the king had whipped him. She all but nearly begged him to allow her to be punished.

And then another thought came to him: was Louelle attempting to make up for a loss of punishments she should have received?

The conversation Barclay was having with King James at dinner sparked his interest, briefly turning his gaze from the door to the two men.

"Your Grace," Barclay had begun in a voice just above a whisper. His ears were turning red and although he wore an embarrassed expression, he kept eye contact with the king. "Rumors had gotten around of Louelle intercepting your business affairs."

The prince tried to distract himself in order for it to seem like he was not eavesdropping. So, he played around with his food.

Barclay cleared his throat. "I wish to inform you how apologetic my wife and myself are. We are deeply humiliated by the inappropriate behavior of our daughter."

Elizabeth's head was hung in defeat, but the muscles in her jaw often ticked. Thatcher knew she was embarrassed by her daughter's "defying" behavior, but she was also livid and trying to contain it.

King James appeared to be unbothered; almost relaxed. His shoulders lifted into a subtle shrug. "The rumors are true," he confirmed nonchalantly.

Barclay and Elizabeth released a heavy sigh simultaneously. Elizabeth looked as if she were about to implode on herself. Her food remained untouched. The seat beside her remained empty. Barclay shut his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. It was as if he did not fully believe the rumors, unlike his wife who often thought the worst of Louelle.