The Reluctant Princess - a Novella

Chapter 15 - More Secrets

The rehearsal was mostly uneventful, if one ignored the awkward behavior of Lady Crawley and her eldest daughter, who had not had much time to digest the events of the last few hours. Lord Cawley seemed quite oblivious, which was a blessing Elizabeth thought, and if the King and Queen had heard of the little scene that had taken place outside of Elizabeth's chamber that afternoon, they thought it wise not to mention it.

The dinner that followed was unusually intimate, as it did not include the usual handful of courtiers, which would have been another blessing, safe for the fact that it made it nearly impossible for Elizabeth to ignore the baffled expression on her mother and sister's faces.

"How long before they figure it you, do you think?" Henry inquired much later.

She had been standing by a window, trying to put a little distance from herself and the rest of the dinner guests who were now starting to make their way to the terrace for some fresh air. Henry had appeared beside her, and she had welcomed his presence.

"I'm only hoping they will forget about all this and leave us be from now on," she replied when he circled her waist with his arm and dragged her back to his chest and pressed his lips to her temple.

"I'd welcome that as well," he said, squeezing her a little tighter "In a few days we will be husband and wife. We will have a hell of a lot of things to work out together as it is."

She hummed and nodded because he was right. Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest and a little shiver ran through her.

"I'm terrified too," he confessed then, speaking directly into her ear, which only made her shiver again. "I feel I should at least let you know that much."

She laughed a little then and rubbed a hand over his arm around her waist. It was comforting to know that the prince was not always the picture of cocky self-assurance.

"I really had not planned to get along with you so well, Henry," she said then, because while they were at it, she may as well offer a confession of her own.

"Me neither," he agreed, and dropped a brief kiss on her cheek, before dragging one hand up to her breast.

She gasped and stiffened, but he merely chuckled and squeezed gently, but his hand fell away quickly, hopefully before anyone had noticed, she hoped.

"There are many things I love about you, my sweet Lizzie," he was saying, his voice low and sultry now, "One of them is your integrity, the other is your sense of justice... shall we take advantage of those most laudable qualities?"

"I don't know what you mean," she whispered, looking over her shoulder at him a little breathless because she recognized that playful, seductive tone.

"I warned you I'd eventually seek retribution for being wrongly accused earlier," he explained. "I am requesting that retribution right now, Freckles."

She swallowed with some difficulty, her body reacting all too readily to him. Would he be so bold as to risk them being discovered again, she wondered.

"Right now?" she found herself asking breathlessly.

Her heart was now beating a mile a minute and the place between her thighs became slick and damp.

"Come with me," he whispered, as he began to drag her away from the window and towards the door "and for god's sake don't look so damn eager. There is little blood left in my brain as it is!"

"Stop giggling!" he said, feigning annoyance, minutes later, as he backed her into the darkest corner of the library.