The Lord's Passionate Lover(8)

“Of course, I treat him well,” Prince Louis defended himself. He looked at Francesca. “Why are you so quiet?” he asked her.

“I am actually not a talker,” Francesca replied. It was true. She was quieter than Macee and Liane but this time she was especially quiet because of Lord Jacques's presence. She could feel him looking at her whilst she was eating making it hard for her to make eye contact with him.

“Are you not?” Lord Jacques asked.

“No.”

“You just have to find what she is interested in and she will talk to you,” Macee said to Lord Jacques.

“Well, what is she interested in?” he asked. Francesca usually did not mind being the centre of attention but not in this moment. She did not fancy discussing herself or being discussed in front of Jacques. She could not put her finger on what it was yet, but she was not keen on him. He was older than her and he always seemed to know what she was thinking. No matter how attracted she was to him, she was going to have to keep her libido in check.

“My beautiful niece. We went to see her yesterday. She is the cutest thing,” Francesca said hoping to shift the focus away from herself. Jacques raised his eyebrows. He could tell that she was avoiding his gaze, which amused him.

“Do you have any children?” Macee asked Jacques.

“No, your highness, I do not have any. Hopefully one day I will,” he replied.

After dinner, Francesca mentioned that she was tired and was leaving. “I will walk you, as I am on my way out too,” Lord Jacques said. Francesca narrowed her gaze and reluctantly left with him.

As they walked, Francesca turned to see him staring at her. “Mr. Jacques you glare a little too much,” she said. She could not help but point it out, as she had caught him looking at her on far too many occasions.

“There is something about you that intrigues me but I have no clue what it is yet,” he replied, as he continued to look at her.

“Is that so?” She was surprised but not interested.

“Yes, and I intend to find out what it is.”

“Good luck with that,” Francesca replied as she quickened her pace. As he watched her walk away, he thought about how cold she was toward him and how she avoided looking at him. But despite all of it, his presence clearly affected her. He could see how he made her uncomfortable. She seemed like a confident woman but around him, she was nervous.

He knew that there was a significant difference in age and while he had sworn off women, he found himself wondering about her. And the fact that she was beautiful made it that much harder to avoid her. He slipped his hands in his pockets and carried on walking.

* * *

The following afternoon, Princess Katherine returned from Paris. It had not even been ten minutes since she was back when the queen came to her quarters. She kissed her daughter on both cheeks and led her to the sofa. “How was Paris, dear?” the queen asked her.

“It was fine, mother,” Katherine replied. She knew what her mother was there to speak to her about as she waited for her to bring it up.

“Sir Augustin came over for tea yesterday.”

And so it begins, Katherine thought. “What does that have to do with me?” she asked her mother.

“He is single-”

“Oh! I forgot, I promised Macee that I would have lunch with her upon my return,” Katherine interrupted her mother as she jumped to her feet.

“What? I was not done speaking with you.”

“I will speak with you later.” Katherine kissed her mother on the cheek and rushed out of the room. Not only did she not want to speak about match making, but she especially did not want to speak about Sir Augustin. He was not her type and she would never consider him.

Katherine rushed down the palace hallways to get away from her mother and arrived in Macee's quarters moments later. She found Macee lying on the floor, looking at the ceiling. “Are you alright?” Katherine asked her as she rushed over to her.

Macee jerked her head upwards to see who it was. “Yes, I am fine now,” Macee replied. Katherine sat down next to her and put her hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

“Are you sure you are alright?”

“I was throwing up and it seems that lying here like this makes me feel better.”

“That is quite strange.”

“Tell me about it. How was Paris?”

“I should have stayed longer.” Katherine threw herself backwards and laid on the floor next to Macee.

“What happened?”

“I was not even back for ten minutes when my mother was already talking about yet another suitor that she found for me.”

Macee turned her head to face Katherine. “Are you alright lying on the floor?” she asked her. She had never expected to see Katherine on the floor. It seemed that the more she got to know her, the more she realised that she was not your typical princess.