Chapter 203: Bored Like a Good Lady
14 March, 1361. Ferrenthor Manor, Marquessate of Niarnol, Islia.
The winds roared outside the manor house, rattling the timber shutters. Camilla sat in the window seat of the guest bedchamber, watching the gales swirl the dead, brown leaves around the large courtyard below.
She leaned back in the seat, feeling boxed in and restless. The weather was too wild to spend ti outside. Wandering inside the manor was strangely unsettling. The servants all glided around in silence. No one spoke or so much as raised their eyes from the floor. The whole building seed steeped in quiet lancholy, like a fog that clung to every surface.
Camilla wondered if Sarai, as the lady of such a property, was as thoroughly bored as her. How did she fill her ti?
On her first day at Ferrenthor, Camilla had walked through all the galleries and corridors alone while William had been whisked away hunting by Lord Michal.
Camilla had definitely not been invited to the hunt by her host.
On the second day, she’d tried visiting the library. The horrified looks she’d received from the servants had made her so uncomfortable, she hadn’t lasted more than two hours. She didn’t want whatever negotiations William was in the middle of, to be made harder by her scandalous actions.
Like, Lord forbid, reading.
By the third day, Camilla was ready to climb the walls. The marquis had suggested more than once that she should join his wife in her chambers for wine. The man was oblivious to the way the two ladies studiously avoided looking at each other at every al they were forced to share.
I can’t believe I missed out on ti with my baby for this, she thought sulkily. A knock on the door echoed through the silence.
"Enter." Camilla called out listlessly, watching as a black haired maid shuffled in. Camilla recognised her as a maid that often attended Sarai at altis.
"Is there anything that Your Grace needs or is lacking?" the maid asked in a timid manner.
Besides sothing to fill my hours, Camilla asked silently? Out loud, she replied. "Nothing I can think of. You wouldn’t happen to know where my husband is, would you?"
"I believe he is with Lord Michal, touring the estate on horseback, Your Grace." the maid said, her eyes shifting as she slowly scoured the room. "The lord said they’d be back in ti for dinner."
Camilla knew when she was under surveillance. "That’ll be all. When you report back to your mistress, you can tell her I’m not doing anything heathen. She’ll be pleased to know that I’m thoroughly bored and idle, like a good Christian lady."
The maid’s face turned red as she bowed and hurried away.
After a few more monts of silence, Camilla rose to her feet. She had to get out of the room, even if it was just to walk through spaces she’d already grown bored of.
Slipping out of the guest chamber, Camilla wandered through the first floor until she found herself floating through the sa echoey spaces over and over. Once she reached her limit, she walked down the main staircase to the ground floor.
The grey clad servants watched her warily by didn’t dare approach her. Everyone looked almost cowed in fear.
Unnerved by the silent stares, Camilla turned a corner blindly and found herself in a small courtyard. Bare vines climbed the surrounding walls, though at least the walls blocked off most of the winds. She sat down on a stone bench, imagining the courtyard would be a rather lovely place to be in the warr months.
Camilla sat quietly for a while, lost in thought. All of a sudden, she saw what looked like a face peeping from around a corner, from the corner of her eye.
She quickly stood up and turned in the stranger’s direction and found a lanky young man with dark ringlets looking at her with an impish smile.
"Hello." Camilla said hesitantly, wondering if she’d stumbled into private quarters.
"Hello." the man replied. He was neatly dressed in plain but obviously expensive clothing. That ruled him out as a servant.
The man lumbered over to Camilla, limping slightly. She noticed he was extrely pigeon toed, which gave him an odd gait. He moved nimbly enough, however.
"You must be the latest Islian princess." the man said as he looked down at her. There was sothing almost childlike about his mannerisms and his smile.
Camilla nodded. She guessed the young man to be about William’s age, perhaps a little older. His hunched shoulders and slim, coltish body made him seem far younger, however. When he moved, he had the self conscious gestures of an awkward young lad.
His smile was open and friendly though, revealing small, neat teeth. "What is your na?" he asked without any preamble.
"Camilla." she blurted out. "And I assu you are Lord Ned Michal?"
"I am! I see my fa precedes ." Ned smiled. "Just call
Ned. Do I look how you imagined?"
"Well, I...I wasn’t really thinking..."
"Oh, co on now." Ned smiled wider. "You must’ve been curious about . You must’ve wondered why I never joined you for als or was even presented to you once. I’m now the illustrious heir to all this-" Ned swept his arm in gesture across the courtyard, "-yet my father acts like I don’t exist. Didn’t you ever ask yourself why?"
"I suppose I was curious." Camilla admitted. "Did you keep out of sight or were you kept out of sight?"
"A little of both. I’ve gotten very good over the years at not being noticed."
"But why?" Camilla spoke without thinking, then felt like she should apologise. "I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I didn’t want to stir up trouble with your mother and father by asking about you. I could tell that neither of them wished to say much."
Ned giggled briefly. "Did you just call that silly young bitch my mother? She’s younger than , you know."
Camilla shrugged helplessly. "How else should I refer to her, then?"
"As nothing. She’s nothing to , and I am nothing to her. We simply coexist."
She nodded quietly at his bleak description.
Suddenly a bright smile appeared on Ned’s face, making him look like a mischievous young boy. He sat on the stone bench and gestured for her to do the sa. "My father’s new wife doesn’t like you at all. I heard her complaining about you to Father one night, when both of them had forgotten I was there, as usual."
Camilla grinned back at Ned as if they were co conspirators sharing a delicious secret. "Well, now you have to tell
what you heard her say!"
"You’re apparently a foreigner of loose morals, with wild, barbarian blood."
Camilla groaned out loud. "Not that again! If I’d known I was going to be considered a wanton by the whole country regardless, maybe I should’ve led a more adventurous like before marrying. The only man I’ve ever been with is my husband. What a wasted opportunity!"
Ned laughed in delight at her response. "You should’ve mastered the art of moving as silently as a ghost, like I have. Then you could’ve done as you pleased. Too bad you’re shackled by marriage now."
"Not too shackled." Camilla smiled shyly. "My husband is a wonderful man."
"That’s sothing else my new lady mother dislikes about you. Any woman who has found happiness in marriage, she despises. Her marriage is less than joyful, you see."
That made Camilla laugh out loud. "From the little I’ve witnessed, I can see that. But it’s also because Marchioness Sarai once had a fondness for my husband. She hoped to marry him herself, you see."
"I’d guessed as much. Then again, I’ve seen your husband a few tis. His Grace is so handso that even n would be hard pressed to deny it." Ned ran a hand through his curly hair. "So why are you hiding out here?"
"I’m not hiding, I’m bored. Lord Michal keeps William in his company all day and I’m expected to just wait around doing nothing. I decided to go for a walk and ended up here." Camilla looked into Ned’s eyes and hurried to reassure him. "Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that I t with you if it’ll get you in any trouble! I don’t think any of the servants saw
here."
"Don’t worry yourself about them, you’re safe. Even if they did see us here, it’s not like they can really talk about ." Ned grinned at her.
"They haven’t said a single word about you since we arrived." Camilla agreed. "They’re obviously very discreet and obedient."
"Huh! I don’t know about obedient. The fact is though, even if they wanted to gossip about , they physically can’t." Ned said almost casually. "Father had most of their tongues cut out."
"What?" Camilla squeaked, feeling like the air in her lungs was being sucked out.
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