The king

6

THE KING
~ Arabella's pov ~

The evening was hot. It was a good day to be in the garden my mother and I planted when I was a small girl. It was one of the other places where I could escape my thoughts and drown alone here.

Plucking the weeds, I couldn't help but let my voice overcome my lips and I started speaking to myself. Anyone who would hear would think I'm a mad woman and put me somewhere, but I was alone.

"I-" I pull on the strong weed. "Am-" Pulling again, I find struggle. "So-" Again. "Tired-" Pull. Fail. "Of-" Struggle. "My-" Pull once again. "Mother." Fail miserably.

"I don't know why they treat me like a child. I'm twenty," I grunt out when trying to pull.

"Need some help?" I jump in my sitting position, twisting to look behind me to see Oden, my new personal servant as my mother likes to call it.

I hold my chest tightly, breathing out. "I do not need help, thank you for asking."

He doesn't say a single thing and all he has to do is look and raise his brow, silently asking me 'are you sure?'

I breathe out again, looking at my progress seeing that I'm not getting anywhere because of this weed I'm having a hard time pulling out. I start giggling to myself, earning a chuckle from him.

"Here, move over." he laughs out, coming to take a seat where I once was and I slide over on the grass. I move some of my dress over, showing a bit of my leg and we both pause.

I awkwardly cough, fixing my dress over my leg and he shakes his head, the weed gaining his attention when he starts pulling. He pulls two times and the weed gets pulled out of the dirt, but I can't stop staring at his muscle retracting from his skin.

His arms were big through his shirt, and I have to break eye contact before I make myself drool.

"Thank you, I've been pulling on that rigid thing for a while now." I smile at him and he throws the weed out in the bucket beside me.

"You would've still been out here pulling on it if I didn't help," he replies, his voice so deep. Dark even.

I couldn't read him like I always can with everyone else.

"I'm glad you insisted on helping," I say with a laugh.

"I know you don't think you need the help, but I really would like to help you around here. Be a friend, even," he offers.

I nod. "Well, I won't be going around calling you my servant. You'll be known as a friend."

"Friends." He holds his hand out for me to shake and I don't care that I'm gloveless and shakes his hand.

My first friend other than Lady Agatha who is older than my own mother.

"I don't know what my mother has said about me to you but I can say they are not true," I tell him.

"What do you suppose she has said?" He tilts his head, gathering his hands behind him.

"That I'm a nuisance when it comes to my sister getting married," I reply. "I'm all for my sister to find love, but she won't be finding it in the gentleman that her and my mother find."

"You're the first lady I've met that isn't worried about herself getting married rather worried about the right fit for her sister," he exclaims, in shock.

"I do love my sister, it might not look like that, but I do. She's meeting up with Sir Kingsley, whom I dislike," I state.

"Whom is this Sir Kingsley?"

"The duke of Lockwood-" I stop myself from speaking. "You're not from here, are you?"

"Traveler," he answers.

Got it.

"Do you have a family back at home?" I ask him, packing dirt where the weed once was.

"I do, I have a mother. My father has passed."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that." I frown. "Any siblings?"

"None, but my mother couldn't have any more after me." He begins to pack dirt in with me.

"Arabella!" My sister calls for me, looking at me suspiciously as to why I'm alone with Oden. "Mother wants to have a fitting before we meet Sir Kingsley."

"Alright, I'll make haste," I yell back. I give Oden a smile, silently telling him I'm sorry. "It was lovely talking to you. I hope we do this again sometime."

"Of course." He shares a soft smile. My heart flutters.

Why did mother have to hire such a charming gentleman?

I make haste inside the home, my mother glares at me when she notices my disgusting dress.

"Serena, help her take her dress off and meet me in the fitting room," mother tells Serena who nods.

Serena and I walk into the fitting room after undressing myself and my mother has a dress out for me to try on. I slip inside without a corset which fits loose on me and the tops are falling off on the shoulders.

I hold the top to keep it covering my breasts and stare at my reflection in the mirror. Mother pulls the hair out of my face and I give her a small smile.

"This would be beautiful if it could fit." she tsks.

A knock is present at the door, and we all turn our heads at the sound. Oden stands in the doorframe, pausing when he sees me and I hold the dress close to my body but I can do nothing for the straps that have fallen down.

"Oden, this is a private matter. Please seek the living room until I can speak with you," mother gasps aloud, speaking to him.

He coughs, nodding. "I'm truly sorry, I did not know this was your changing station."

"Now you know, please leave," mother pleads, stress rising in those eyes of hers.

"Yes, of course." I meet eyes with him again and he swallows when he has a look over at me. When he walks away and mother closes the door, I'm left breathless.

I try to not let anyone see my reaction. It had a hold on me, but I felt hot and needed to get out of this dress before I ruined it with sweat.

Serena meets my eyes. "He won't bother us again."

That's not what I'm worried about, sister.