Like a queen
Evie had not been fully aware of her own expectation regarding the prince’s reaction to these disturbing news – not until he reacted in an entirely different matter. He did not hurry off to give his guard a thrashing, instead he remained utterly calm and for a moment, she was left wondering if he was to react at all.
Then he got up and for a split second, all of her thoughts dispersed as the realization hit that he was standing in front of her, completely naked. In all his glory. But although the thought of allowing her eyes to travel south was intriguing to say the least, she never got to that point. Her eyes remained fixed on his.
It was true that Dominic was a knight of the royal guard. The king and the prince trusted him with their lives and for her to claim that he had attempted to force himself upon her was a terribly grave accusation. That did not make it any less true.
The prince turned around and for a split second, Evie’s eyes fell. Even from behind, he was absolutely magnificent.
By the time he turned back towards her with the towel wrapped around his waist, Evie had diverted her gaze back to the bathtub and the steaming hot water. She no longer shivered from the cold – the adrenaline soaring through her veins might have a thing or two to do with that – but she did envy the prince for getting a chance to enjoy that bath. She might have felt bad about interrupting him too, had she not been so very distraught.
It was out of pure defiance that she remained standing even though he told her to sit, and she crossed her arms above her chest. With each passing second she came closer and closer to the realization that the prince was unlikely to believe her word over that of his own guard.
“He wanted us to find a room together.” She began, voice sour. “I declined and went for the stairs but he came after me, grabbed me and pulled me up again. Then he started touching me. Underneath my dress.”
She honestly did not know what she’d do if her fears came true and the prince did not believe her but with his initial reaction she did not expect much else.
“Perhaps you would like to call him in here so he could show you exactly where he touched me? I’m sure he would not mind doing it again.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down but it only fed the fire that was her fury because of course he wouldn’t believe he. She was nothing but a woman.
“Either way, I gave him a kick in his knightly balls.”
Then he got up and for a split second, all of her thoughts dispersed as the realization hit that he was standing in front of her, completely naked. In all his glory. But although the thought of allowing her eyes to travel south was intriguing to say the least, she never got to that point. Her eyes remained fixed on his.
It was true that Dominic was a knight of the royal guard. The king and the prince trusted him with their lives and for her to claim that he had attempted to force himself upon her was a terribly grave accusation. That did not make it any less true.
The prince turned around and for a split second, Evie’s eyes fell. Even from behind, he was absolutely magnificent.
By the time he turned back towards her with the towel wrapped around his waist, Evie had diverted her gaze back to the bathtub and the steaming hot water. She no longer shivered from the cold – the adrenaline soaring through her veins might have a thing or two to do with that – but she did envy the prince for getting a chance to enjoy that bath. She might have felt bad about interrupting him too, had she not been so very distraught.
It was out of pure defiance that she remained standing even though he told her to sit, and she crossed her arms above her chest. With each passing second she came closer and closer to the realization that the prince was unlikely to believe her word over that of his own guard.
“He wanted us to find a room together.” She began, voice sour. “I declined and went for the stairs but he came after me, grabbed me and pulled me up again. Then he started touching me. Underneath my dress.”
She honestly did not know what she’d do if her fears came true and the prince did not believe her but with his initial reaction she did not expect much else.
“Perhaps you would like to call him in here so he could show you exactly where he touched me? I’m sure he would not mind doing it again.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down but it only fed the fire that was her fury because of course he wouldn’t believe he. She was nothing but a woman.
“Either way, I gave him a kick in his knightly balls.”
Jasper escorted the lady to the empty table she had located for them. Being around all of these men with a beautiful woman as his companion did not feel particularly safe. He did not trust men. Most of them thought of one thing and one thing only. The king himself was an example unlike any other.
When the lady offered him a purse which he could only guess contained money, his eyes saddened. No… This was the very thing he had wished for not to happen. He did not want the lady to take pity on him or his status, or look at him and see less of a man then when she looked at the king or the nobles at court. But he realized, with a punch to the gut, that she already did. She always would.
He received the purse and forced a smile forward.
“Thank you, My Lady. You are very generous.” Defeated, Jasper made his way to the bar, holding in his hand more money than he himself would ever have to spare. He could have put this money to good use by giving it to his family but he had to use it to buy the lady a decent meal – perhaps more than one, depending on how long the storm lasted and they were forced to stay here.
“I want you to treat that lady like a queen.” He told the short, chubby woman behind the bar while nodding towards Lady Andrea. Then he placed the purse on the bar. “I hope this will be enough. If not, I will find a way to bring you more. I promise.”
“You look familiar.” The woman smiled. “Tell me, are you Peter’s boy?”
“Peter is my father, yes.” Jasper admitted, not sure how she could know such a thing. He had never met this woman before in his life.
“I thought so.” She kept on smiling. “You know, you look just like him. He talks about you all the time.”
“My father comes here?” Jasper asked, still confused.
“He used to. Things break here all the time and Peter helps me fix them up again for a small payment. Hiring someone else would ruin me.” The woman chuckled and then took the purse with money. “Don’t you worry young man, the woman will be given the very best service. She’s a real looker!”
Jasper looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks. “She is.”
The woman patted him on the cheek which he found rather odd, but he sent a smile her way and then trotted back to the lady and their table. There he stopped, watching the empty seat but not daring to sit down.
“The food will be here soon.” He said. “Is there anything else I can do for you, My Lady?”
