William walked behind Helen, ignoring the catcalls from a few won who leaned out from doorways and shalessly ran their eyes over him. One of the won even tried to paw him. William shook her touch off with disgust.
He’d never at all minded being admired and openly praised for his looks, even by won he had no interest in. He liked knowing he could dally with any woman he chose.
Now however, their blatant attention made him feel revulsion. His mind was still grappling with this change in his thought process when Helen suddenly paused outside a closed door. Swinging it open, she murmured, "This way please, my lord."
William stepped past her into a small, dimly lit room which appeared at least reasonably clean.
Helen quietly closed the door behind her, then sat on the bed and looked at him. Her dark eyes glead with curiosity.
For a few monts, the two just looked at each other in silence, him leaning against the wall and her on the bed.
"You don’t look afraid of ." William finally said, tipping his head as he considered her little smile.
"I’m not, my lord. Should I be?"
"No." William admitted. "I don’t harm won. But I assu you’ve co across custors that do. And all you have is my word that I won’t hurt you."
"This life teaches you to beco a good judge of character, my lord. That’s how I can tell you’re not a bad man." Helen smiled wider. "I’m just very surprised you’re here though. A man as stunning as you surely doesn’t have any trouble finding willing bed partners?"
William have a small laugh. "You’re right, I usually don’t. But my life is a little complicated these days." He didn’t really want to tell the doxy about his problem - that the woman he would give up half his inheritance to possess didn’t seem to want him back.
William looked over at her again and said bluntly, "Unbraid your hair."
"M-m-my hair?"
"Yes. Unbraid it. Wear it loose." William knew it was an unusual request to make but he refused to budge.
Quickly nodding, Helen unbound the braids until her long, wavy hair hung loose around her shoulders.
"Better." William looked at her hair but made no effort to move closer to her. Instead, Helen stood up and slowly walked over to him until they faced each other.
Seeing that he wasn’t about to initiate anything, she dropped to her knees and started unlacing his trousers.
William closed his eyes when he felt her hot mouth on him. With one hand tangling in Helen’s hair, he tipped his head back and let his mind go blank.
- - -
The two of them sat quietly next to each other on the bed, backs leaning against the wall. William had no intention of touching Helen again but wanted to allow a respectable amount ti to pass before he t up with his friends, to avoid their questions. He didn’t really know what he should say to Helen though. If fact, he felt almost shy around her.
Running her fingers along the fabric of the dark blue dress covering her legs, Helen eventually asked, "What is she like, my lord?"
"Who?"
"The lady nad Camilla."
William felt the blood drain from his face. "How? How can you even know..." He was too confused to even finish the question.
Helen gave him a lopsided smile. "You kept muttering her na. I assu she has long dark hair and wears it loose?"
Now William looked horrified. "How can you know all this?"
Helen laughed softly. "I told you. This line of work teaches you to beco very good at reading people and their intentions. You n think you’re all very smart but you’re actually rather simple when it cos to love." Her voice was quiet. "And you asking to unbind my hair was a dead giveaway."
"No! It’s nothing like that! I don’t love her." William said defensively. "I just desire her."
"And that is the only issue? You simply desire her and she doesn’t feel the sa?" Helen’s voice was shrewd.
"That is the only issue." He bowed his head with a sigh. "I’ve never faced this problem before."
"Oh, of course you haven’t, my lord. Look at you!" Helen grew serious. "She must be pretty."
"Yes. She’s absolutely fucking beautiful. She’s also brave and the cleverest girl I know."
"And how do you know she doesn’t feel the sa about you, my lord?"
"I just do." William sighed again and started playing with the buttons on his shirt cuffs. "It feels impossible between us."
Helen looked thoughtfully at him. "Are you sure? Sotis the impossible is actually possible though a bit of extra effort. Maybe you just need to try a little harder to win her affections."
William growled in frustration. "What the hell is with all this talk about winning her affections? First the old man, now you...". He gave Helen a flat look. "I don’t want her affections. I just want to bed her! Why the fuck is that so hard for people to understand?"
"If you say so, my lord." The doxy gave him a long look, then started braiding her hair again. "The easiest lies to believe are the ones we tell ourselves. I wish you the best of luck, whatever you decide to do."
- - -
William walked out of the room he’d shared with Helen and slowly made his way back to the tavern, where he found Tom and Robin at the sa table where they had all started the evening.
Robin gave him a roguish grin, then lifted a mug of fresh ale to his lips. "That took rather a while, brother."
William grabbed one of the untouched mugs of ale and took a long gulp. He would never tell a soul that apart from the first few minutes, he’d spent his ti just talking with the prostitute.
After a mont, William asked, "Where’s Rich? Seems like he’s taking even longer."
Tom shook his head and sprawled lazily back on his chair. "No, Rich is already here. He just stepped outside a couple of minutes ago. Said he had sothing to take care of and would be back shortly so that we can all ride back to court."
William slowly nodded, an uneasy feeling suddenly gnawing at him. "Which way did he head out?" he kept his voice low.
Tom gestured half heartedly towards a side door.
William told the two n that he was going to find Richard and bring him back. Robin and Thomas both nodded, half drunk and sated.
William calmly walked towards the door and opened it. The door lead to an outdoor area and a small building that looked like a storehouse.
What he saw next made his heart sink.
He could see Richard’s back facing him. There was another person between Richard and the wall of the storehouse. Stepping closer in complete silence, William saw a pair of terrified female eyes and bright red hair.
The serving maid from earlier. Goddamn it.
Richard hard the girl pinned against the wall with a burly forearm across her throat. His other hand was hastily pushing up her skirt. Tears were streaming down the girl’s face but she could barely make a sound with her breath being choked off.
"Just relax." Richard’s voice rumbled in the quiet, cold drizzle. "We both know you want it."
"Let her go." William’s words were hard and emotionless.
Richard cast a glance over his shoulder but didn’t let the serving girl go. Instead, his tone was dismissive when he said, "I’ll be done in a few minutes, Will. You can wait inside for with the others, can’t you?"
"No. You will let the girl go now."
Richard aid a glare at his friend. "What’s it to you? Since when did you start caring about happens to a wench?"
"Since it beca obvious that she’s an unwilling participant. There are plenty of won here that you don’t have to force. Let this one be."
"What the fuck does she expect? She works in a brothel!" Richard snarled, his face reddening.
"As a serving maid, not as a doxy. Now let her go!" The n’s voices were matched for strength and anger. "Don’t make command you again."
His face almost purple with rage, Richard finally let the serving maid go. The girl imdiately started coughing and gasping for air, her hand clutching her bruised neck.
"You’re different now. What the fuck is wrong with you these days, Will?" Richard walked slowly over to the prince, his steps soft and nacing.
William refused to back down in front of Richard’s considerable bulk. He stared hard at the man he considered his brother and hissed, "We’ll all be leaving now."
Richard clicked his tongue in disgust and stalked back towards the tavern door.
William was about to follow him inside when he looked back at the serving maid. She was slumped against the wall, bent forward and still wheezing for breath.
William crouched in front of her until their eyes were level. "Lilia," he spoke gently. "This wasn’t your fault. But in future, let this be a lesson to you. Never ever go sowhere alone with a man here. There won’t always be soone to intervene for you. Do you understand?"
She nodded and shakily wiped the tears from her cheeks.
William handed her a gold coin, then slowly walked away.
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