Doris POV
I squinted off into the distance of the terrace and saw a couple of guards searching the grounds. I rose my eyebrows and looked over at David who was now standing and looking panicked.
“Why would they be looking for Prince Daniel out here?” I asked, curiosity impeaching my interests.
“Uh, I’m not sure,” he said with an almost nervous sounding laugh. “But I should probably go and help them look.”
That made sense because he was a guard.
“Okay,” I told him. “I’m just going to wait for the rest of these clothes to dry. Thanks for helping me, David.”
He gave me a sheepish smile.
“Anytime, Doris,” he said. “I’ll see you around. Hopefully soon.”
A smile tugged at my lips as he disappeared through the doors.
…
Melody waited back in her room as I returned with her clean clothing. She gave me an exaggerated sigh as I walked into her room.
“Where have you been?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“My apologies, my lady. It took a little longer than expected to dry,” I answered as I began putting her clothing away.
“William wants me to return to his room tonight,” Melody explained. “I need you outside that door again.”
I frowned; thinking about the last time I sat outside his door while they had sex. I cringed at the memory; of the sounds, I heard coming from the room. Then when it was over, it only got worse. William opened the door and I fell directly into him.
Both William and Melody think I did that on purpose, and I still haven’t been able to look him directly in the eyes after that. I felt nothing but shame and Melody made sure to make me feel even worse about the situation and labeled me as a whore in front of the other ladies. Including Lady Jane.
My face reddened as the memory of my naked body resurfaced in my mind; the look that Lady Jane had given me as I knelt in front of them. I wanted to cry just thinking about it.
But I couldn’t deny Melody this request; as much as I wanted to, I had to abide by the rules if I wanted to leave this castle. Leaving this castle was the most important thing to Beth and me.
This also meant I couldn’t see Beth tonight because William wasn’t going to Lady Melody’s room; she was going to his room, and I was expected to stay outside his door all night.
I still don’t fully understand why Melody wanted me to stay outside the door all night; it’s not like Lady Jane has any intentions of bedding with William. If she had that intent, she would have done it already.
“His footman will be here any moment to escort us to his room,” Melody said as she undid her hair, allowing her silky blonde strands of hair to fall around her shoulders and down her back. “What nightgown should I wear for the evening?”
I looked over at her bed and she had a few different options already lied out and waiting for her choice. They were all lacy and looked almost identical, just different colors. They were long enough to go down to her ankles, but the cleavage area was low enough to reveal her breasts given the right angle.
I stared at the choices for a few moments, and she groaned in aggravation.
“Today,” she barked after I didn’t say anything for a few moments.
“The pink one compliments you, my lady,” I answered.
She stared at it for a moment and grabbed the black one.
“I like this one better,” she said as she went to change clothes.
As soon as she was out of view, I rolled my eyes.
Why did she bother asking if she didn’t care about my opinion?
I heard a knocking on the door, and I went to open it; William’s footman stood tall in front of us and bowed as Lady Melody made her appearance.
“Lady Melody, Prince William would like to see you in his chambers,” the footman said, bringing himself back up.
“Of course, thank you,” she said as she finished adjusting her nightgown and fixing her hair. I watched her run around her room to grab her slippers before accompanying the footman out into the hallway.
I followed closely behind as we made our way to William’s chambers. My heart was racing heavily against my chest. My fingers trembled and grew moister the closer we got to his chambers. I imagined his hands on Melody and for some reason, my stomach grew ill with discomfort.
I knew William absolutely hated me and I had no reason to be feeling this ill when I think about him having sex with her. But it was upsetting knowing that it wasn’t even Melody that he marked that night and yet he’s treating me like complete garbage whenever he’s around me.
I held my arms close to my chest and felt the goosebumps coating my skin. A shiver coursed through my body as I caught a slight chill. Melody glanced in my direction, her face morphed into disapproval and her lip curled up in disgust as she scanned my face.
“Don’t even think about it,” she muttered, low enough to where the footman couldn’t hear.
I glanced at her, frowning in confusion.
“I’m sorry, my lady?” I asked, blinking at her a few times.
“Prince William is mine. If you think for a second that you can…” she tried to say but I cut her off without thinking.
“I assure you, my lady. I don’t want Prince William,” I blurted.
She stopped walking and glared at me; an angry silver gaze flashing through her eyes.
“You have no respect,” she hissed as she stormed past me to continue following the footman.
I took in a deep shaky breath and followed her until we reached William’s chamber door. The footman bowed to Melody before taking off down the hall; Melody knocked on the door almost too eagerly. As before, I pressed my back against the wall to try and keep my body from shaking horribly.
William opened the door and peered down at an excited Melody. He glanced over at me momentarily; I caught his eyes but only briefly.
Curtsying I said, “Good evening, your majesty.” Then went back to pressing my back against the wall.
He said nothing to me as he went back into his room; Melody didn’t even look at me as she went into his room after him. I let out a sigh as I was holding my breath.
I slid down to the ground, like I did before, and hid my face in my lap. It was humiliating having to sit out here and listen to them. I counted down the moments until I would start hearing Melody’s moans. She was always so loud and his grunting I could never get out of my head.
He would call her his mate as he did to me the night he marked me; I knew I couldn’t be his mate because I didn’t even have a wolf, to begin with. Having Melody as a mate only made sense because of how strong-willed she was and the fact that she did have a wolf.
Melody had mentioned that William has a type, and she was right. Both Lady Grace and Lady Melody were strong-willed and beautiful wolves with hair of blonde and features fair and radiate. William told me that he wanted nothing to do with me and I don’t know why it stung as it did. Perhaps because it damaged my ego.
My heart hurt thinking about it, but I had to brush the thought out of my mind. I didn’t want William either.
Before I started to hear the moans, I pressed my hands against my ear to prepare myself. Maybe if I started blocking the noise out before it happened, it wouldn’t be as bad. Perhaps I could try and sleep before it began.
I closed my eyes and felt my body relax slightly, but it didn’t last long because the bedroom door swung open, and Melody stumbled out of the room. She looked alarmed in a way, but her eyes were also misty as though she was about to cry or was crying.
“My prince,” she said to William softly who was also at the doorway; his arms folded across his chest.
I noticed Melody’s strap of her gown was halfway down her arm and her hair looked a bit messier than it had when we arrived at his chambers. I stared between the two of them as I stood to my feet, grateful that I didn’t fall over again, trying to figure out what just happened.
“Are you sure you don’t want to continue?” Melody asked him, peering up with tears clearly filling her eyes. “Perhaps I could…”
“No,” he said with annoyance in his tone. “You’ve done enough.”
She flinched at his words as though he had just struck her across the face. She swallowed hard and turned away. She met my eyes and the broken expression hardened and her lips formed a thin line as she stared around my face.
“What are you staring at?” She hissed to me. “Get moving.”
“Yes, my lady,” I said, trying not to meet William’s eyes.
What had he done to her? Or what had she done to him?
I turned and started down the hallway with Melody following beside me.
“Maid,” William said, stopping me in my tracks. I turned slightly to see him eyeing me. “Stay.”