Out of Time

Chapter 24

One week later

Dani waited in her room, staring at the dress. Arthur had commissioned the best seamstresses in the kingdom to work on a dress fit for a queen on her wedding. It was lovely. Simple by modern standards of decadence, but considering the entire item had been stitched by hand, it was impressive. As she dared to lean forward to get a closer look, she marveled over the small, straight stitches and intricate detail they'd accomplished in just two weeks.

She couldn't imagine anyone accomplishing that without a sewing machine. Considering her own less than exemplary sewing skills, she had a hard time believing anyone could accomplish it at all. Dani shook her head and backed away, somewhat intimidated by the grand dress.

She'd had a friend at the university who'd specialized on women's clothes throughout history. Whenever they got to talking about work, which was really their passions, her friend always ended up on some rant about how little was documented about women's fashion throughout the years. Some eras and cultures had absolutely no information about what women wore, even when plenty was known about what men wore.

Dani had heard plenty over the years about the bizarre and complicated fashions of noblewomen, and while she was grateful that the dress was fairly simple and had no corset, it was still intimidating. Many times, the clothes were designed in such a way that a woman needed to be trained all of her life to be able to maneuver in the clothes without issue.

The gown cinched up the back, so she would need assistance in donning it, which turned her cheeks red in embarrassment. She hadn't needed help dressing since she was a young child. She didn't relish the idea of needing that assistance now. It bit at her pride.

Any moment now servants would come in to help her get ready. She resisted the urge to barricade the door. With a frown, she realized most of her resistance came from the fact that she would be hard-pressed to find enough furniture to make an effective barricade...

#

"Leodegrance!" Arthur said, gripping the man's arm boisterously in greeting.

"Arthur." King Leodegrance proved far more reserved.

In the background, Guinevere stayed back, far more reserved and yet drawing the attention of the room.

"Come. Join me in my office for a drink."

Leodegrance nodded.

Arthur had not been looking forward to this conversation. While Arthur had the man's loyalty, he found it hard to come up with words to smooth things over between the two of them. After all, they had been in negotiations for Arthur to marry the man's daughter. For him to suddenly invite him to his wedding with another, it was bound to create hard feelings on some level.

And he couldn't tell the truth. He would never dishonor his bride in such a way. Yet lying didn't sit well with him. It never had. "I know this comes as a surprise to you," Arthur said as he handed his guest a drink.

"Surprise? Of course it would come as a surprise, Arthur. What happened?"

Arthur frowned, and sat down before he started pacing. "After our last meeting, I had more or less decided to go through with the marriage. But I would be remiss if I did not consult advisors on such an important part of my life."

Leodegrance bristled.

He didn't want to mention Danielle's name, especially because she was the one who replaced Guinevere as his bride. "One told me that I should not jump headlong into this sort of a decision, that I should have Guinevere visit quite a few times to see how well we would get along and what she could bring to benefit this kingdom."