Chapter 67

Chapter 67 A bit of gossip.

When William left to go speak with Patrick, Doris didn’t waste a second of her time. She bathed and dressed in something warm before she wandered out to the village. People were gathered around a fire and swapping stories with warm cups of tea and chocolate. Doris smiled at them, but they looked at her and quickly avoided her eyes. She noticed a beautiful woman seated by herself watching Doris as she passed by, but didn’t offer any kind greeting either — just a curious look. “Doris!” Eliza came out of one of the cabins and hurried her steps to catch up with her. Doris wondered how old the woman was. She had to guess somewhere around her mothers age which wasn’t that old. Possibly in her forties. “Oh hello Eliza. How’re you today?” Doris asked as she slowed her steps to walk with the woman. She followed her to a table that had warm tea and cookies.

She wondered if it was a daily thing to gather around a warm fire together-how lovely that sounded Eliza snorted and bumped her arm with her shoulder. “I should be asking you that. Has the poison passed through your system yet?” “William told me it should have. I was asleep for days while my body fought it. I haven’t felt anything more than the occasional dizziness since I got out of bed.” Doris piled a napkin with the sweets and followed Eliza to a bench nearby. “Thank you for helping me while I was sick, by the way.” “Oh, no thanks are in order. Your lover made sure he took care of you the entire time. He wouldn’t even let us come in to visit you once.”

The woman rolled her eyes and sipped her tea. “Male wolves are so possessive of their women. Though, he probably wins an award for being the most possessive one I’ve ever encountered. Doris felt her entire face heat. “Oh no no. He’s a prince, not my lover. I work for him at the castle. I only came on this trip to aide him as a servant.” 2 Eliza raised her brows as if she couldn’t believe Doris was trying to make an excuse. “I’m serious, we have nothing between us.” Doris continued. Her silence made her more nervous the longer it passed “No? I don’t think my husband would have even waited on me like that when he was alive.” Eliza said. Doris frowned and went to say something, but the woman held up her hand to stop her. “It was a long time ago, don’t worry yourself. Still, no man I know would sit day and night by your side unless he loved you.” Doris stared at her as if she was insane. She felt a laugh bubble up her throat but she swallowed it. Prince William? In love with her? Now she was absolutely mad for considering that. “That’s absurd—“ “You didn’t see him when you were unconscious. He was like a crazy man, desperate for you to get better. He ate next to you and slept in that chair for days. Everyone saw how much you mean to him.” Doris shifted uncomfortably. “I assure you that he’s not in love with me. I’m nothing but a maid to him. He doesn’t like when he loses things that he thinks belongs to him.” Eliza leaned back a little as if she was taking a wider look at Doris. “You think he doesn’t think you’re worthy?” “What-no, I just know that he doesn’t love me. He has a lady back at the castle. She’s the reason we’re here.” Doris brushed her hair behind her ear and suddenly wished she never left her cabin. Was it too late to go back and hide? “You’re the most beautiful girl that has ever passed through this village, don’t let a man make you think you’re less.” Eliza said with a lifted chin.

Doris sighed. “I appreciate your compliments but I truly think you’ve gotten the wrong impression. Prince William has a lady back in the palace waiting for him and he doesn’t harbor those feelings for me like you think he does. He’s just… a good prince.” “Hmmm.” Eliza shook her head. “I am not the blind one. Come with me.” Eliza stood suddenly and started walking away from the crowd. Doris quickly stood and followed her. “Where are we going?” Doris asked, catching herself from falling face first in the snow. A bit of her sickness still lingered in the smallest ways. One being the desperate need for her body to either sit or lay down at all times but she fought against it and kept on.

“Enzo had something made for you while you were out. Since you’re finally awake and well, I thought it would be a good time to give it to you since your prince isn’t hovering over your shoulder.” Doris rolled her eyes and followed her into the small cabin. The air immediately filled her with warmth from the roaring fire and made her want to curl up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket and a good book. If only she had brought a few comfort items from the palace to fill in her cabin. Not that-she would be staying.

William would drag her back to the castle himself if he had to. And she couldn’t imagine what would happen to Beth if he knew she was here alive and well. Still, she loved how homey this cabin felt. Littered with Eliza’s life in books and decorations across the dark wood. It was nice. Doris wished she had a place like this to call home.

One that belonged to her alone. “Sit by the fire, I’ll be right back.” Eliza said without a glance back at her.

Doris seated herself and held out her hands to defrost. The air smelled like cinnamon and spices when she inhaled deeply. Truly lovely When she came out again, she had a large bundle in her hands. Doris stood “Oh, this is too much. Enzo shouldn’t have went through any trouble-“ “He didn’t, most of this is leftover stuff that nobody wants. We make a lot of things here since we have so much spare time. A lot of it goes unused, but he did have this made for you.” Eliza set the pile on the table and pulled out a leather belt.

“You can wear it around your hips or waist. It’s meant to keep your knife secure so you don’t loose it.”

Doris took the leather in her hands and inspected the design closer. It had vines and small flowers embroidered in a lovely pattern that made Doris smile. “He had it made just for me?” “Yes, he saw you shove the blade in one of your pockets and knew you were going to get yourself cut if you kept on. Or rip all of your clothes.” Eliza patted her cheek. “Enzo is a good man. People try to take his kindness for granted but he will cut anyone that crosses a line without a second thought.” Doris nodded and fitted the belt around her waist. “He is a good man. I can see why you love him as your leader. if only more men were like him in leadership.”

“I can see your prince has quite the temper on him.” Eliza said with raised brows. “He doesn’t have a lick of patience like Enzo.” “Well—” Doris felt the sudden urge to defend William. It wasn’t fair being judged by people that knew nothing about him or what he has been through. She’d been judged her entire life by people who didn’t bother to know her . “Well, he’s a man of little words and he knows what he wants. I think he’s quite smart and knows how to be a good leader, people just underestimate him.” “Hmm, I heard his father refuses to give him his own pack.” Eliza started to fold the winter clothes that she had brought out for Doris. “1-don’t know anything about those sort of things, I’m sorry. Maids don’t get into royal business.” Doris said patiently. The woman laughed a little. “Don’t look so tense! I was just trying to find out if the bit of gossip was true or false. The king is a horrible man, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if he denied his son something so important for a prince.” Eliza said. Doris pressed her lips together and ran her fingers across the belt. It felt wrong to talk badly about the royals-even if they were awful to them. Doris had been loyal to the kingdom for years and the thought of anyone from the palace over hearing Eliza made Doris a bit nervous. What if they thought she was talking bad about them too? “Thank you for all of this, truly.” Doris said quickly and gathered the bundle in her arms. “Oh, you’re more than welcome my dear. Please come by any time you wish.” Eliza said as she followed her out. Doris released a breath and hurried across the path to her own cabin, She almost dropped everything when she saw William already inside, asleep on her bed.