Page 26 of A Foreign Crown
He was quiet, but she wanted to hear his voice, longed for the comfort he brought her. “Are you enjoying your time in England?”
He wrinkled his nose before chuckling. “I would be, were my purpose not so urgent.”
“Is it? Urgent?”
“My country is in need of assistant from the navy, so I’m here to petition for it.”
“Ah. And have you found much success?”
“Unfortunately, my attempts to converse with the King have been unfruitful.”
Aribella shuddered.
“What is it? Are you cold?”
She swallowed. “No; it’s nice here with you beside me, actually. I was just thinking how difficult it must be to seek an audience with the King.” And, of course, she’d been reliving the moaning from behind that closed door. “He is rather busy and difficult to... um... access.”
He turned to her, and she felt he was searching for her secrets. “You know something.”
Immediately, heat flooded her face; she felt a blush spread down her chin and neck. She looked away. “What I know I cannot divulge.”
She felt his gaze in silence for what seemed like many minutes before he spoke again. “And I would not want you to betray a confidence.”
“Thank you.” She exhaled slowly, her tightened shoulders lowering. She kicked at the path with her slipper. “I will tell you that the King might be unwell sometimes and his inability to see you might have nothing to do with you and more to do with circumstances he cannot control.”
“I see.” He turned his face up to the moon overhead and sighed. “Do you suggest I might get further if I were to seek an audience with the military leaders?”
“Yes, most definitely, although you will have time with the family, will you not? At Windsor?”
“And with you as well,” he said quietly.
Their eyes connected, and even in the dark, Aribella could see his growing interest. She held her breath, wanting nothing more than to drown in his expression. But she stepped away. “I’m certain the princesses will be pleased to hear it.”
“Hmm.” He tipped his head, replaced her hand on his arm, and continued their walk. “So tell me, Lady Aribella. How does the daughter of one of the oldest families in England come to be waiting on the Queen?”
“The responsibility is as ancient as our family.” She stepped nearer once more, her draw to him unaccountable. Suddenly she wished to share every detail of her life and to hear the same from him. “Once a year, a duchess comes to be with the royal household and wait on the Queen. It is a short time only, and then she returns to her estate.”
“Duchess?”
“Yes, typically. But my mother passed away this year...” The pain overwhelmed her throat, and she turned away. “I’ve said those words countless times, but somehow, telling you makes them raw all over again.” She lifted a finger to wipe at the moisture under her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” He placed his hand over hers again on his arm. “I do not wish for you to have to discuss uncomfortable things.”
She waved her hand. “I would like to share with you. I’m all right. I quite enjoy this opportunity, actually. I don’t often get to have moments like this one.”
“You must miss your mother.”
She nodded. “With pangs as sharp as those when she was first taken from us. Does it ever lessen, I wonder?”
“I don’t have an answer, I’m afraid. I am blessed to have both of my parents living.”
“Tell me of them.”
“Understanding the Wilhelm family is quite an undertaking. We are eight sons.”
“Eight? That’s lovely. Oh, that we could have had a son and brother in our family.” The entailment wouldn’t be a problem at all were her parents to have had one son. Eight would have been a blessing beyond measure. How she longed to have so many in one family, so many siblings.
“Are you alone, then?”
