Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

T he little stop turned out to be a hill not too far from their home that overlooked a lovely field of daisies.

Richard held her hand as they walked up the hill, his other hand holding onto a small basket that a servant had hurriedly brought over to them before they moved away from the castle.

There was a tree on the hill, and he spread his jacket down for her to sit beneath the shade before he began to pull the items out of the basket.

Nancy watched as he set down some prettily decorated cakes in front of her along with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"He really did get everything I requested," Richard mused quietly as he opened the bottle of wine. "Thank you, Ernest."

"What is this?" Nancy laughed as he handed her a glass.

"A little dinner with my wife," he said, clinking his glass against hers.

Nancy's expression softened inexplicably. "You call this a ‘little' dinner?" she chuckled.

"Well. It is. This is only the beginning, my dear, so you'd better get used to it."

"There is no need to go to such lengths with me, Richard. Just spending time with you enough."

"This is spending time with me."

"I can't really win with you, can I?" she laughed.

"I think I am the one who's won here, darling," he said softly and stole a kiss.

"Is that so?"

"Mmhm," he muttered, "I am quite a lucky man."

"I find myself rather lucky too," she said as she planted a kiss on his neck.

She felt him stiffen momentarily, so she pulled back.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded, "Yes. I…" He sighed. "You're too good to me."

"So you say, yet you are the one who bought me such wonderful treats. And you brought me to this beautiful place. You have always been so kind and generous, Richard. You might not believe me when I say that, but your past mistakes will not erase the impressions of your good deeds," she assured him gently.

Richard was silent for a moment, and then he looked away from her, staring at the field of flowers below.

"I used to come here a lot when I was younger. My father was always irritable, harsh, cold, and cruel, even more so when he drank—and he was always drinking. I dreamt of running away and hiding somewhere, surrounded by nothing but silence. But this was the farthest I could get. Far enough away from his wrath, close enough for William to find me and bring me back before I incurred a heavier punishment than I was due. It was the only place I found solace in before I was old enough—brave enough, if you will—to move farther. I thought of… I wanted you to see it."

Nancy reached for his hand, smiling sweetly at him when he faced her.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to share this with me. I am thankful you were able to find some respite back then. It might have not been much, but it helped, and that is all that matters."

Richard held up a cake for her to try, kissing her forehead while she chewed on a small bite. It was soft and sweet with delicate notes of almonds that made her hum appreciatively.

"Oh, this is delicious," she moaned, cutting a small piece to feed to him. She waited for him to finish chewing before she asked, "What do you think?"

"It's… sweet?"

Nancy frowned slightly. "Yes, it's cake." She paused thoughtfully. "Do you not like sweets?"

"Not particularly," he said casually.

"Oh. You didn't have to eat it." She pouted.

Richard laughed, using a finger to tilt her face up and capturing her lips in a kiss.

"I wanted to, my dear. Ever since you walked into my life, I have found myself doing things I would never have done otherwise. You have… lit up my world. You inspire me to try harder, to long for things, to desire more than I have ever felt I deserved."

Nancy felt like she was seeing the sun shine for the first time again.

"And what do you desire, exactly?" she purred, running a finger down his arms.

He bit his lip and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him.

"I think you know exactly what I want from you, dear wife," he whispered and captured her lips with his own.

Just as she began to straddle him, ready to show him all the things she desired, a distant call made her pull away from him.

They both turned to the side, curious to see the source of the sudden noise.

It was Ernest.

He ran towards them, panic written all over his face as he waved a sheet of paper in the air.

"Your Grace! There is something you must see!"