Matilda was skeptical about eating the food that was in the plate. Earlier on, she had stepped down from the bed and taken a look at the food on the table.
The food had a strange look as was with everything in this place. It looked like some sort of porridge but it was thicker than a normal porridge. On further thought, she decided that it was meant to be like that. After all, nothing in this place looked normal.Matilda's greatest fear was that the food might have been poisoned. She also thought about the red coloured liquid that Alexander had sprinkled on the food. What if it was some type of medicine that turned her head upside down? As for the idea of poisoning, she thought about it more. Alexander had called her his wife, so he would not poison her right? Still she was determined not to eat it. Beside the wooden plate of food on the wooden tray stood a wooden cup of water.She looked longingly at the water. She was very thirsty and not even a drop of water had passed through her lips since she had woken up in this place. She could do without food for a few days but not without water. She was feeling dehydrated already. Matilda thought about it further and decided on a course of action. She would wait for Alexander to come back from wherever he went to and ask him to have a taste of the food and a sip of the water. That would convince her that neither of them had been poisoned. This is a good idea, she concluded.As soon as Alexander left the room, he had locked the door. He did not have any pressing matter that he needed to attend to. He just told Beatrice that because he had wanted to get out of the room to think and clear his head. He paced in front of the room with different thoughts running through his mind.Beatrice seemed alright to the eyes. She was okay except for the words that came out of her mouth. She didn't sound like a mad person but her words had no meaning. The healer had also said that nothing was wrong with her except that her temperature was quite high. Richard was a trusted healer and he had been practicing the trade since before Alexander had been born. His examinations had always been correct and Alexander had never had any cause to doubt him even for once. Why was he doubting him now then?He did not believe that all what Beatrice said was the truth. He refused to even consider it. It could not be true. She was Beatrice, his wife whom he had been married to for a year. There was nothing about her appearance to suggest that she was not his wife. He had already concluded that Beatrice was slowly loosing her mental functions and the only person that had noticed it was him because he was the only one around her. The healer had not noticed it because he had not heard Beatrice's ramblings and he could not believe that someone like Beatrice, the Marchioness of Ludlow, could go mad.Alexander wondered what he could do to make Beatrice see reason with him and accept that she was his wife. He ran through many options but none of them seemed worthwhile. He would just tread with care and take each day as it came.With the way things were going, it would take a long time before Beatrice would be able to step back to her role as the Marchioness. Tongues would start wagging once she had not been seen outside in a months time, that he was sure of. He needed to find a way to to keep Beatrice out of the public eye for now. Her mental ailment would have to remain a deeply guarded secret. Infact, only few people in the keep would know of it. She had to remain in a room that was far from the eyes of many. A room like that would surely do.Alexander thought of no other room suitable for this purpose than his chambers, the one they had shared before her fall. Perhaps, moving her to the room would jar her memories and she could begin to remember what her life had been like before the fall. His mind was made up. He would relocate her to his chambers.Back inside the room, Matilda had dozed off while waiting for Alexander to come back. When she woke up, she looked around and didn't see any sign of him in the room. Surely, he was supposed to be back by now. She really needed to quench her thirst but she could not drink the water for fear that it had been poisoned so she needed him to take a sip of it.Matilda was tired of waiting for Alexander. She went to the door and tried the handle. It was locked as she had expected it to be. She began to hit it with her fists in the hope that someone passing by might hear the pounding and decide to make a dash for Alexander.Alexander heard the pounding on the door and stopped his pacing. What is wrong with this woman? he thought. He had told her that he had an urgent matter to attend to. Surely, she should realize that he was not meant to be disturbed. He walked to the door and unlocked it. Alexander stepped into the room and fixed his gaze on Beatrice."I told you that I had an urgent issue that I needed to attend to. Didn't it occur to you that I did not need to be disturbed?"Matilda fixed him with an equally steely gaze and spoke."I could not be sure that the food and water had not been poisoned. I am also in doubt of the medicine the healer asked that I use which you sprinkled on the food. I want you to take a bite of the food and a drink of the water so that I can eat without any fear whatsoever."Alexander was amazed. What went on in Beatrice's head? Shouldn't she know that he would never hurt her? Then he realized that he had not been exactly gentle with her."This is absurd! Why would you think that I or anyone for that matter would want to poison you? What does anyone stand to benefit from your death?" Alexander questioned."I do not know about that but I need you to comply with my request. I am already feeling symptoms of dehydration and I need to quench my thirst very soon." Beatrice replied."Alright then. As you wish, milady," Alexander concurred.He walked towards the table, took a bite of the food and after chewing, took a sip of the water. He carried the tray to the bed and placed it on Matilda's lap."You can eat it now," he said."When I am done, I would like to speak to you."" You have said that before. Just eat the food and I shall listen to whatever you have to say. I hope it will be meaningful this time."Since Matilda was thirsty, the first thing she did was to take a sip of water from the cup. She took another sip and set it down carefully. She skeptically took the first bite of the porridge. She was in awe. It tasted really good and it was not like any other porridge she had ever tasted. This one also had fresh fruits like apples, cherries and grapes in it. Before long, she was done with the food. She walked over to the table and placed the tray on it. She turned to Alexander and spoke."Are you ready to hear what I have to say?"" Yes, I am. Hurry up with it because I have some rather important things to do before the night sets upon us," he replied.Having been given permission to speak, Matilda thought of how to phrase her words. She had to put them in a way that could convince Alexander. This place did not suit her and she needed to go back to her world. She was not even sure if they took their baths or brushed their teeth. She also needed a bath because she was beginning to emit an offensive odour and she said as much to Alexander when she finally cleared her throat and started to speak."Alexander, you need to listen to what I have to say. I have been saying this and I would still say it again and again. I am not Beatrice, your wife. I have never even been married before. I live in Oxford and staying here will be hard for me. I am not used to this lifestyle of the old times. I simply cannot survive here. It would be dangerous to my health."She adjusted her position on the bed and continued to speak."As far as I can tell, you people here do not take your baths with a sponge and soap and you do not brush your teeth. Also, these clothes I am putting on do not suit me. They are too constricting and I do not feel comfortable in them. Please, I really need to get back to Oxford. I cannot go on like this."Her voice had been laced with emotion as she spoke and she took a deep breath when she was done.Alexander stood up and spoke to Matilda."I had thought that your words would be reasonable. How wrong it was of me to think that. You seem to have begun your mental ramblings. I have important things to do with my time than listen to this."With those words, he left the room and slammed the door after him.Alexander slammed the door shut behind him. His thoughts were jumbled together as he headed for his chamber. On his way there, he came across his mother.Victoria Thomas was a middle aged woman of fourty and eight years of age. She was short and had a mop of brown curly hair. Neither of her sons looked anything like her. She was a sweet old lady who saw only the good side of people and nothing of their faults. On seeing his mother, Alexander came to a halt."Mother!" he called out."Allie, how is Beatrice doing?" his mother asked.Alexander grimaced. He had always hated the nickname his mother had bestowed upon him since his childhood days. Thankfully, now she only called him Allie in the presence of family only. He pondered on the response to her question. He considered telling her of Beatrice's mental state but thought it wise not to do so. There was no knowing who his mother would tell it to. Victoria had always Ahad a bit of a loose mouth."She is alright, Mother. Beatrice is ju
Alexander gazed on at Beatrice as she slept on the bed. She clenched the red and white coloured coverlet in one of her fists as she slept. Alexander remembered the promise he had made to himself earlier on before he had gone to fetch Beatrice for her wash and he vowed to keep it at all costs.He was done being harsh with her. That was all in the past. Her sleeping form twitched a little and he took in her angelic face. She truly was beautiful. That was what had attracted him to her in the first place. Her firm breasts nestled under her night dress as they moved up and down due to her breathing. Her hips were not were not too generous but they were the right shape and he loved them that way. Her also loved her slender waist, her elegant legs and her milk and butter complexion.Alexander's gaze moved to her lips again and he took in how rosy they were. They were full and enticing. At this moment, there was nothing he wished more than to capture her lips with his and kiss her with the d
Beatrice managed to fend Annalise off by replying to her questions with one worded answers. Lady Victoria got the hint that Beatrice did not want to talk so she ushered Annalise outside the chamber saying something about a newly blooming flower that she wanted to show her. Lucia also left the chamber to give her mistress privacy.After they had all left, Beatrice felt lonely and didn't know what to do. She decided to wander around the castle. Matilda made her way down the stairs and pushed out of the great bronze front doors of the castle. Outside, she came across a guard post. A heavily built guard tried to come close to her but she waved him away.She made a turn to the right, past the beautiful fountain and kept on going until she came across a clear beautiful lake. She sat down on th edge, kicked off her shoes and dipped her toes into the water.A sudden movement in the water startled her and she looked at the ripples on the surface of the lake. Then the water surface broke in a
Beatrice made her way to Alexander's office. She needed to tell him the list of things she would need for the ball. When she got there, she did not bother to knock this time. She just pushed the door open. She walked to his side and beamed at him."My dear husband, I came to inform you about the items I shall need for the ball," Beatrice said. " I did not write them down so you have to take them down on a piece of paper."Alexander nodded and pulled a sheet of paper to put Beatrice's list down. "I am ready," he said. "Call the items out."As Beatrice called them out, Alexander wrote them down. When he was done, he spoke."I shall ask the housekeeper to get them for you. Some of them should be in storage while others will have to be bought. Anything to make you happy, my wife."" There is one more thing, two actually," she said. " I will need you to send for the dressmaker. I need a new dress for the ball. I also need someone to fill out the invitations."" I shall send for the dressma
Beatrice was totally confused by Alexander's expression. His face was contorted with anger. She had never seen him this angry. Not even when he had threatened to have the healer give her a large dose of sleeping medicine. Alexander's anger now was something else. Beatrice wondered what was ticking him off in her dress. It was a very beautiful dress, as beautiful as any one could get and it was decent too. It did not expose any part of her body that was not supposed to be exposed. "I said pull the dress off now! Didn't you hear me or have you lost your hearing function?" Alexander thundered again." What is wrong with the dress? What should I have to pull it off?" Beatrice questioned." Do not ask further questions. Pull the dress off now or you shall face the consequences!"Beatrice decided to do as he said. She still did not know why the dress seemed to piss him off but she decided to obey his order. Lucia was not in the room anymore so she had to get the heavy and layered dress of
Alexander wanted to talk but he did not even know where to start from. His mind was reeling and an ache was already starting to bloom in his head. This information was truly too much to process.Beatrice on the other hand, simply stared at Alexander, gauging his reaction and wondering how he was taking the information. From the look on his face, he seemed to be taking it badly. She knew he was at a loss for words.Alexander dragged air into his lungs through his nose to calm him down before he spoke."I have pondered on all what you said and I know that it is true. It is baffling me how you could come here but as you said, it was through magic. However, I do not believe that magic still exists in these parts." He cleared his throat and continued. " As for your presence here, you shall continue to stay in the keep and act as Beatrice, my wife and the Marchioness of Ludlow. I will not ask any sexual favours from you and I will be good to you. What do you say to this proposition?" Alexan
Alexander looked at Beatrice through sweat drenched eyelashes in suprise and disbelief. He was shocked by Beatrice's words. Was she lying? He did not think so because he saw the sincerity of her words in her gaze. If she truly loved him, then they could make it official by having a private marriage. He wanted to think about how the marriage would be when he realized that he was getting ahead of himself. He had not confirmed her words first before going ahead to think about marriage.Beatrice could see the disbelief playing on Alexander's face. She too did not believe that she had said it. The admission had just come out of her mouth because she was tired of keeping her feelings at bay. Now that she had admitted her feelings there was no going back."Beatrice, are you serious about this? Do you truly love me? I need to know."" Alexander, I am serious about my statement and I say this from the bottom of my heart without any doubt whatsoever. I love you so much, Alexander."Beatrice fix
The Marquess and Marchioness lived in bliss and content throughout the whole week, feeding each other bites of food in the privacy of their chamber and staring at each other through lovey- dovey eyes at the dining table. However, they did not keep the love blossoming between them a secret and others at the table were able to notice the love flowing between them. Isaac simply looked at them and wished to find a woman would love him the way Lady Beatrice loved Lord Alexander. Victor was joyous about the love between her first son and her daughter - in - law. Love that she had feared was lost before. She beamed from ear to ear and prayed fervently in her heart for a grandchild soon. Annalise stared at the couple especially Beatrice with contempt although she tried to mask her true feelings by smiling at the couple whenever any of them caught her staring. She hated Beatrice for having the love of Alexander, something she had wanted since childhood when she and Alexander had played in the