Out of Time

Chapter 29

Arthur walked with Leodegrance into the keep. "So, how long will you be staying this time, friend?"

"A few days, just to make sure Guinevere is settled in."

"She'll be well cared for here. You have my word." He smiled. "And Danielle has been waiting quite impatiently for your daughter to arrive." He frowned and sighed. "I don't think she likes my sister very much. I don't think I should have offered her the position without asking my wife."

Leodegrance laughed, slapping him on the back, hard. "Welcome to the wonders of marriage. I don't fault you for your choice in bride, though," he winked, "I suspect it will be an interesting life."

"No doubt."

He grasped the younger man's shoulder. "If there's one thing I've learned from married life, it's this—women are not the weak simpering imbeciles we sometimes think. Treat them as such as your life will be a misery."

"I would never."

Leodegrance shook his head. "You'd be surprised what you do without thinking. Like assigning a lady in waiting to your wife without consulting her. While some women might appreciate it, we men are not perfect creatures, nor can we read their minds, so it is best just to get their feedback and then act. Better to ask and maintain peace in one's home."

"Thank you."

Lancelot walked into the Great Hall, whistling to himself, which brought Arthur's mind back to Danielle's comment about her thinking Lancelot and Lady Guinevere would be a good match. He'd promised his friend that he would help find his daughter an advantageous match, but he would hold off judgment for now, and wait and see. Lancelot was one of his most promising knights, and definitely had the ability to provide for a lady such as Guinevere, but the seeds Danielle planted in him mind long ago had taken root, and he wanted to ensure that they truly did deal well together before suggesting the match to her father.

#

The next day, Guin greeted the day with enthusiasm. She was finally back in Camelot! Though she'd originally thought she would be queen of this castle, just being back made her gleeful and wish to dance with the emotions surging through her. But of course, when she reached the Great Hall, all that enthusiasm dried up in the face of all those people.

She smiled demurely at the crowd, but had a hard time keeping her chin lifted high as she'd been taught all her life.

"Ah, daughter. Come, join me."

She smiled at her father, and easily crossed the hall to his side. "Father." She did the slightest of curtsies.

"How did you sleep?"

"Oh, quite well. Her Majesty put me up in wonderful rooms just down the hall from her own chambers. I'm glad to be here."

"Good. I think this place will do you some good."

#

Dani sat at table, feeling utterly exhausted. Arthur and Merlin both seemed to look at her pensively, as if wondering what might be wrong with her, but it was all Guinevere. The child had a nearly inexhaustible font of energy which just wore Dani out. At the moment, she couldn't imagine how she could survive having children of her own if she couldn't even keep up with one teenager.

And honestly, if she saw Guin pout one more time to get her way, she would scream. She'd seen the girl pout to get the maids to serve her meal when she arrived at table too late, pout when she wished a servant who was already busily doing his own tasks to help her with carrying something, and the list went on. She also seemed to have the cook wrapped around her little finger because every meal that had been served since she'd arrived had been one of Guin's favorites.

But she smiled whenever she saw Guin blossom while interacting with Lancelot. Most times, while the girl seemed capable of manipulating the world with her pouts, she spoke so little, too shy to say a peep in a crowd, but her lips flapped as quickly as a hummingbird's wings when she had Lancelot to converse with. She suspected the girl had stars in her eyes for him, and just being with him made her forget everyone else in the room, forget her shyness.

#

Arthur had been watching Danielle carefully for the last week. It had now been five weeks since their marriage and she had not bled yet. And he'd noticed this last week that she'd become increasingly tired. He'd often seen women newly with child constantly tired, and thought that must be it. He smiled at the idea.

She hadn't said anything, but he could think of nothing else it could be. Why wouldn't she tell him, he wondered. Or maybe she simply hadn't realized yet. What with all the new things in her life, he supposed she could have lost track. She could also be shy about speaking about it. After all, she had been incredibly nervous on their wedding night. Arthur didn't see her as the shy or nervous type, but he supposed everyone had their insecurities, their weaknesses. Perhaps this was one for his wife.

With a nod of his head, and a little extra pep in his step, he decided he would let things progress naturally. After all, things would out themselves in time. In the mean time, he could enjoy the feeling of impending fatherhood with no one else the wiser.

#

"What has you in such a good mood?" Merlin said to Arthur as he sat across from him in the younger man's office.

Arthur gave Merlin a knowing smile, and there was an innocent joy in his eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time. "Well, I cannot say for certain. It has not been confirmed to me."

"Out with it, you grinning madman!"

Arthur laughed. "Alright, alright. I believe Danielle is pregnant." His grin only grew as he disclosed his news.

"Congratulations, assuming you are correct, of course?" Merlin winked. "Has Danielle not told you?"

"No, but I suspect she may be uncomfortable with the subject."

"Really? Danielle?" Merlin laughed.

"I know, I know. I would have laughed too, except she was so very nervous on our wedding night, and you know full well that wasn't a result of fearing the first time or fear of the unknown."

"You think she's uncomfortable with the subject of sex, and thus anything related to it."

Arthur nodded.

The more they talked, the more Merlin had this nagging feeling that something was wrong. He couldn't pinpoint it, and it was driving him mad. Looking back at Danielle's behavior over the last little while, he suspected that Arthur was right on her anxieties toward the subject, but something told him that wasn't what he was picking up on.

A sick feeling churned in his stomach, and he feared that this wrongness would derail Arthur's current happiness in tragic ways...