Chapter 92

Chapter 92 I don’t trust anyone here.

“Doris…” The carriage had come to a rough stop, Doris woke when William caught her from sliding out of her seat again. “We’re here.” Doris slowly let go of his arms and nodded. “How long was I sleeping?”

“Hours. I knew our little prince here has nice shoulders but who would have known he was that comfy.”

Patrick said with a wink. William kicked him. “Ow! Sorry, I meant James.” 1 Doris avoided looking at either of them. She pressed her hands to her cheeks and took a deep breath. She peered out the window to see they weren’t moving anymore, it was too dark to see much else. “What are we waiting for?”. “The guards are checking paperwork with our driver and then he will come check the carriage before we’re allowed in.” Patrick said. He looked much calmer than she felt . “Look natural, you don’t want them to stare at you too hard.” Doris parted her lips to object, but she didn’t want her words overheard. No one was looking for her, they were looking for the prince next to her. Doris leaned back as William put his arm around her shoulder. He didn’t look at her when he did so, she assumed it was part of the act. Now it was only harder for her to calm down and pretend everything was fine. 1 A minute later, the door opened and a man in a dark uniform peered in. He eyed William and Patrick before he looked Doris up and down slowly, she felt William tense beside her. Doris casually put her hand on his knee to calm him. Or at least hope he didn’t lunge at the man, the last thing they needed was another dead guard. “Travel far?” He asked. “Very, we’re exhausted.” Patrick answered with a yawn. The man shut the door and smacked the side of it and the carriage lunged forward again. Her grip tightened on his knee before she quickly removed it. She couldn’t be comfortable with him. It wasn’t right, it never would be.

When they stopped again, this time the door opened for them to get out. William got out first before he helped her down and put her hand on his arm. Patrick stood slouched by his side. “Hello, there.” A man around their age greeted. He looked wide awake even though it was the middle of the night. “You guys certainly picked a good time to arrive, everyone is still sleeping.” He held out his hand to shake each of theirs. “I’m Robbie, I’m here to get you guys settled in before your first day. Follow me.” Robbie picked up Doris’s bag for her and led the way towards a building that was almost big enough to be a castle. It looked like some sort of giant academy where one way led to work and the other led to housing. He led them towards the rooms first. “How long have you two been married?” Robbie asked conversationally.

Doris cleared her throat. “About a year.” She said quickly before William said something else. She twisted the gold ring around her finger just to give herself something to do. “A year?” He whistled.

“Married young, eh? You’re lucky.” He said to William who stared forward as he walked. “There’s not many women like that around here, I would keep an eye on her.” “I can handle myself—“ “No one will touch her.” William said at the same time. Robbie must not have noticed his possessive tone as he kept on in a light step. “No doubt if you’re her husband, they wouldn’t dare!” He laughed. “I put you two in a slightly bigger area in case you guys decide to have kids.” Robbie said. Doris must have made a face because he laughed again. “You’d be surprised how little there is to do here, kids pop out like crazy.” “We aren’t planning any children for a while, but thank you.” “So what led you guys here? Robbie asked as they rounded a long comer that stretched endlessly “We hoped for a better life here.” Patrick said simply.

His collar was popped and his hands were dug deep in his jacket. “We were lucky to have found work, I was getting worried we would starve.” Robbie chuckled to himself. It was short and died out quickly.

“Yeah, people come and go here but a lot stay. There’s always room for more. Hopefully you three last longer than the last family that came through.” “Oh, I didn’t realize people came and went so easily.”

Doris said causally. Her eyes flickered to William but he said nothing. It looked as if he was trying to calm his expression to boredom like Patrick’s was instead of his more grumpy stare. “Yeah, the work can be a lot on some people. There’s a lot of fumes and sometimes it gets into ya head so I would just try to get as much air as you can here.” Robbie pointed to a door that looked like it was for a coat closet. “Here’s for your…” “Cousin, Oscar.” William said in a nicer tone than Doris expected. He must have been settling into his role. “Right, sorry. I’m awful with names. Oscar, this is your room. And Isabelle and James, yours is right across.” Robbie pointed to a larger door across the way. Patrick frowned and she thought she saw William’s mouth twitch a little. “Thank you.” Patrick forced out. “Do we start tomorrow?” “Ah, yes. We hope you can come for an hour to see your new positions before a full day.” He handed them each a letter with their fake names on it. “I put you each in different sections. If there’s any problems, come see me and I will try to fix them. If I’m not around, don’t go to Charlie. He has no patience and he might fire you just for annoying him.” “Where should we look for you?” Doris asked. Robbie winked at her and William’s brows furrowed-definitely from annoyance this time. “I’m always around. Your envelope will fill you in on the rest, try to get some sleep.” Robbie handed off her bag and a pair of keys before he left down the hall. Doris unlocked the door and Patrick followed them inside. He groaned when he saw the room they were given. “I already know this is three times bigger than mine. They give me a closet!” Doris and William ignored him as they tore open their papers. She quickly scanned her own. “It says I’ll be at the sorting section to sort all of the medicine into bottles. I’m supposed to be there in the afternoon to learn what to do.” Doris looked up at William. “What about you?” “I’m set in the labor section. Apparently it’s to load and unload the heavy boxes.” William grumbled. She couldn’t believe a prince was about to be set as a commoner worker. She would have laughed if he didn’t look so bothered. Still, it was hilarious. 1 “Mine just says mixing.” Patrick frowned. “Damn, that sounds rather boring.” “At least we will be spread out.” Doris whispered. She glanced around the room to see a bed, small table and dresser beside a bathing chamber but nothing else. She wrapped her arms around herself. Why couldn’t they at least have a fireplace? “I’m going to try to sleep in that dreadful room. I’ll see you two later.” Patrick grumbled before he left into his own room. Doris made sure it was locked before she turned to face William. He unbuttoned his shabby coat and slid out of it. She never imagined him as a peasant boy, but that’s what he looked like. With the dark stubble on his chin and dirty clothes, he looked like a rogue and it sent her heart into a dangerous beat. He was so handsome, even as messy as he was. He watched her with a slight lift of his brow. “Is something wrong?” He asked. His deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Of course something was wrong-everything was wrong and she didn’t know how to fix 1. it.

“No. It’s just cold.” She whispered. She dug through her bag for an oversized sweater before she disappeared in the bathroom. She did not want any conversation with him. None, just sleep. No touching, nothing. When she came out, he was in bed with his shirt off and back to her. She saw a small lines around his shoulder and remembered herself grabbing onto him as he moved inside her. She didn’t realize she had cut him so badly. Doris shook the thoughts of them away and lightly crawled in bed. She put her back to him and stared at the wall. The sun was not far off from raising, they’d been up traveling all night but she could easily sleep a day or two if it would let her escape her thoughts. William turned and wrapped his arms around her small frame to pull her against him and fill her with warmth. She shuddered and sighed. 1 “Come find me if anyone touches you.” He grumbled against her ear. “I don’t trust anyone here.” 2