Chapter 11

#Chapter 11 Your maid has to come “No, of course not!” Doris quickly explained. “I was just thinking of what’s best for your own good, my lady.”

Despite her own harsh feelings towards Melody, Doris didn’t want the girl to make a fool out of herself.

She risked losing his affections entirely if she made the wrong choice and bribed his valet. It wasn’t like Prince William would ignore her forever, he wasn’t the type of man to make brash decisions. He named Melody his lady—he had his own plans for what he was doing. Melody just needed to be patient.

“Have you so quickly forgotten you’re nothing more than my maid?” Melody’s voice lowered into something almost threatening. “You do everything I tell you to do without questioning me or my reasons.

That is all you exist for. You know how much harder I can make it for you if you don’t.”

Doris’s lips parted, but no words formed. Melody lifted her chin—daring Doris to say something back.

“That’s what I thought. Go and stop wasting my time.” Melody dismissed her with a wave of her hand as if she were nothing more than a fly that wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Yes, my lady.” Doris curtsied before she turned to leave to find Peter.

It didn’t take long, she caught Prince William’s Valet in the garden speaking with another maid. Their laughs greeted her long before she ever saw either of them, Doris stayed out of sight and waited for the other maid to leave before she would approach him.

“Thank you for your help,” the maid spoke softly, she slipped a small box out from her apron and handed it to him.

Peter’s smile widened at the sight of it, he immediately looked inside before he slipped it into his own pocket. “Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll remind Prince William soon.”

Doris watched as the maid’s face brightened before she left. Doris slipped the bag of coins into her pocket before his eyes caught her.

“Ah,” Peter spread his arms with a smile and walked towards Doris as if he’d been expecting her. “Did your lady send you here?”

He already knew Doris had something for him from Melody. It seemed more than common for him to get bribes from the maids that wanted Prince William’s attention. It made Doris sick to her stomach how shameless these girls were. Doris couldn’t imagine herself ever even considering tipping someone for a man’s attention.

“No,” Doris saw the surprise flash across his features. “I was just passing by.”

It was a risk, she knew it was. But Doris was certain that Prince William would come around on his own and it would be worth the wait for Melody. Perhaps he had his own reasons for delaying it, but this wasn’t the answer.

“Just passing by?” Peter’s smile slipped from his face. He snorted and turned away. “We’ll see how much longer she’ll last.”

Three days, Doris swore to herself. She’d wait three days before she brought the gold to Peter and did it Melody’s way. She could wait three more days—Doris hoped.

The three days passed rather quickly and nothing happened at all between Melody and Prince William, much to Doris’s surprise. Melody’s mood had only gotten worse towards everyone, but mostly towards her own lady’s maid. When she wasn’t screaming at Doris, she paced her bedroom worrying about why she hadn’t been called yet, and spent her nights lonely by her tall window.

Perhaps it was a mistake, perhaps she should’ve just given the gold to Peter after all. Doris knew she had to go tomorrow to pass it off and make this right. If she had three days ago, Melody might have already—

Two quick knocks broke her thoughts. Doris opened the door to find Prince William’s footman standing on the other side. He gave a slight bow to Melody. “Lady Melody, Prince William has invited you to accompany him tonight.”

At his words, Melody shot up from her chair and almost tripped over herself to get to her closet. Doris swallowed the lump in her throat and quietly closed the door after the man stepped out before she leaned back against the wooden surface. Something inside her didn’t feel right when she heard his official invitation. This entire time Doris had only hoped it would come for Melody so she would quit being in such a sour mood. But now that she’d gotten it… Doris felt off. It wasn’t jealousy, it couldn’t be. She just didn’t feel happy about it, perhaps she was just worried about how it will all turn out. What if it goes wrong and Melody only grows more vicious?

“What are you doing just standing there? Come help me!” Melody shouted at Doris.

“Yes, my lady.” Doris pushed away from the door and laid out all of Melody’s makeup at her vanity. She enhanced her lovely eyes and brought a soft rose to her lips and cheeks, her shaky hand was extra careful not to ruin anything she did. When she was finished, Doris stepped back to look at her in the mirror next to Melody. She looked… absolutely beautiful. Almost like a princess. Doris looked pale and tired in comparison, she lowered her head so she didn’t stare.

Melody didn’t seem to notice Doris’s mood at all, she was giddy as she stood and hurried to the door.

Prince William’s footman started to follow Melody to the prince before he paused. “My lady, your maid is required to accompany you.”

“What?” Doris’s eyes widened at his words. There was no way—

“It’s protocol.”

Doris deflated when she realized he was right. In the Golden Palace, if a lady was spending the night with one of the royal members, it was required for her maid to stay outside the door in case the lady or prince needed anything inside. As awful as that sounded, she wasn’t allowed to argue.

Doris felt her cheeks redden. She’d never thought she would have to stand outside anyone’s room while they made love.

The worst part was it being Prince William’s room.

The thoughts left a horrible taste in her mouth and left her even more confused than the moments before. Prince William was a horrible man who did something unforgivable to her, but a traitorous part of her heart didn’t like the idea of him with Melody.

The word mate still haunted her thoughts, he’d said it so many times it was hard to forget the way he whispered it into her ear as if he was claiming her. She knew what a mate meant to a werewolf, but it was nothing more than a mistake. Clearly he’d meant his mark for Melody or whoever his true mate was when he marked her. There was nothing worse than this fate, she wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Doris was just an omega—she had no wolf inside her. It was impossible for her to be William’s mate, she knew that. And she was glad of it. The last thing she wanted was to be tangled up with a hot tempered beast of a man. She wanted to be free, to no longer go to bed with a million worries. She wanted a simple life with a man who only wanted her, and that was not Prince William. Even worse, being the mate of a prince would immediately mark her as the target of every jealous woman in the kingdom. It was just not worth it.

“What on earth are you doing just standing there?” Melody frowned. “Didn’t you hear him? Get moving!”

Prince William’s footman walked ahead, Melody shot a smirk over her shoulder at Doris.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have a fun night hearing all the things Prince William and I are going to do.”