Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 212: Getting Away with Murder

"What about questioning the new marchioness and finding out what she knows?" King Edward finally asked, after an awkward pause.

William quickly shook his head. "You’ll still have the same problem of the word of a foreign woman against that of an Islian man, Sire. And even if women did have the same legal standing as men here, why would any woman go against her husband’s word? It would ruin everything she’s gained from the marriage."

"Sarai won’t lift a finger to help. Especially if she knows it’s to collaborate what I’m saying." Camilla agreed.

The barest hint of a smile crossed the king’s face. "There’s truly no love lost between the two of you ladies, is there?"

"We never did learn to get along, Your Majesty." Camilla said diplomatically, sighing and rolling her eyes when William gave a funny sounding little cough at her side.

Clearly, he found the memories of two princesses vying for his attention back then, delightful. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Camilla said in a low voice, "There’s only one soul left who could prove that I’m telling you the truth, but it could be a very long shot."

Both men turned to her with avid eyes. "Who?" the king asked eagerly.

"My uncle." she replied flatly. "He has no real incentive to help you, of course. Then again, he has no incentive to stay loyal to Lord Michal either, especially now that the marquis has nothing left to offer as an ally."

King Edward stroked his beard, deep in thought. "Even if we could get a written statement from Kenneth that Lord Michal secretly aided his cause, I don’t fancy my odds of success. It would still be the word of a hated foreigner against a local lord. The most hated of foreigners, actually. The judges would never rule in Kenneth’s favour."

"But Your Majesty, I thought that since the treaty was signed last summer, my uncle had become your brother in perpetual peace again?" Camilla widened her eyes in innocence. Taking a small shot against the king was proving irresistible.

Edward glared at her. William elbowed her lightly in the ribs.

Camilla sighed and folded her hands in her lap. How slow were these men? They considered themselves wise enough to rule over great territories, so why couldn’t they see what was right before their eyes?

Gathering all of her patience, she finally said, "My uncle’s word may not be enough to convince the judges of this kingdom, but it should be enough if he also provides hard evidence."

"What evidence?" the king lunged at her, forcing Camilla to lean back in her seat.

"The maps Lord Michal sent to him. In Moraigth at least, the drawing of maps is a lucrative trade. All of the kingdom’s best mapmakers will sign and date each of their works. I assume it’s the same here?" Camilla clenched her hands in her lap. "Ask my uncle to send you the maps of the north he received from the marquis to plan his invasion. If they were signed by an Islian mapmaker, would that be enough proof?"

Silence.

Camilla squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, then turned to look at William. She found him staring back at her as if he’d just seen her walk on water.

King Edward pulled himself back from leaning over her seat, to her great relief. A cold yet astonished smile slowly overtook his face.

"Lucifer and his demons! The maps...the goddamn maps..." he kept repeating under his breath. Finally, the king stood up to his full height and stared down at Camilla with a wolfish smile.

"It’s a great pity you weren’t born a man, Princess. What a king you would’ve been for your people!" King Edward’s voice was gruff with triumphant laughter. "Your late father would’ve been canny enough to see it too. He would’ve surely passed over that hothead who was your eldest brother and made you his heir instead, purely for your foresight."

"Uhh..." Camilla’s voice died off for a moment while her mind went blank. "I mean...well, thank you Sire. I think?" She was fairly sure he’d just complimented her and insulted Duncan at the same time. Then again, the king was an unpredictable man, so who really knew?

Edward smiled down at the young couple with what almost looked like fondness. "You are both dismissed."

"Really?" William furrowed his brow and blurted out before thinking better of it. "I mean, thank you, Uncle. Are you sure there’s nothing more you need from us?"

"I’m quite sure. Go and rest after your journey, go see that child of yours. I’ll be rather busy this afternoon. You see, I have an important letter to write to my good royal brother of Moraigth." The king’s voice was suddenly cheerful.

"What will you do if my uncle refuses to help you, Sire?" Camilla hated to have to ask. At the same time, she didn’t want to be surprised by King Edward’s mood suddenly turning dark again because her uncle had refused to provide the evidence the Islian ruler craved so desperately.

"Don’t trouble yourself over that." Edward winked at her. "I still have some leverage over your uncle to use."

"I don’t doubt it at all." Camilla whispered under her breath, mostly to herself.

Rather her than sounding offended, the king laughed. "I won’t forget that your cleverness may be the solution to my problems, Princess. You have the gratitude of your ruler."

Camilla quickly bowed. "It has been an honour, Sire." she replied hesitantly. Trying to gauge where one stood with the wily Islian king was like trying to keep your balance on shifting sands.

William stood and bowed as well, then quickly led Camilla out of the presence chamber. It was only once they had placed significant distance between themselves and the king, that Camilla dared speak.

"Predicting how your uncle will speak or react is beyond my ability. He’s quite terrifying. I think he’s pleased for now, though?"

William turned to face her and grinned. "Pleased? Oh, he’s far better than that. He just told you that you’re smart enough to be a great king. Not a queen, a king. That’s probably the greatest compliment he can pay anyone."

"So long as he’s happy and will stop making me answer the same questions over and over, I guess - ah!" Camilla have a little shriek when she felt herself being pulled into a shadowed little alcove in one of the corridors walls. A moment later, William’s mouth pressed down hard on hers.

She happily complied, a little bemused but always glad for her husband’s affection. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she felt him kiss a trail from her lips to the edge of her jaw and to her ear. She then felt as well as heard his whisper.

"You, my clever girl, have made the king a very happy man. And tonight, I’m going to take all of your clothes off and you’re going to show me just how clever you can be again."

Camilla tipped her head back and laughed. Then she abruptly dropped the arms clutching William’s tunic and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. She could hear voices approaching around the corner and she refused to be caught pressed up against her husband.

William deftly let her go and linked his hand with hers again. A moment later, Princesses Eleanor and Annabel swept by.

"Ladies, a very good afternoon to you both." William nodded and smiled pleasantly at them, his smile widening when Eleanor stared at their clasped hands with disdain.

"There’s no need to look that way, Eleanor. Just because you’d rather hold hot coals than your own husband’s hand." William continued merrily.

"Husband!" Camilla gasped, both amused and horrified.

William continued striding down the corridor, tugging her along behind him. He turned briefly to flash her a wicked smile over his shoulder.

"You’ve got to stop going out of your way to create problems!" Camilla tried and failed miserably to sound stern.

"But it brings me such joy." he protested. "Besides, I think I can get away with it, given I’m married to a woman the king holds in such high regard now. Hell, I can probably get away with murder at the moment, thanks to you." He ducked his head to quickly kiss her lips.

Camilla could only shake her head and laugh.

They peered into Malcolm’s nursery again and found the baby finally napping in his cradle and the nurse looking exhausted. Camilla gave her an understanding smile and asked for Malcolm be brought to their apartments as soon as he awoke.

Once they finally reached their bedchamber, William sprawled on the bed with an exhausted groan. "All I want to do is wash all the dust off and spend the rest of the day in bed. Care to join me?"

"Only if you answer a question for me."

"Anything you like, my darling."

"When King Edward said he still had leverage over my uncle to force him to help...I’m that leverage, aren’t I?"