A Delicate Matter

The estate, after the attempted Kidnapping and the murders had gotten back to some semblance of order. It had taken a week but everyone had regained their sense of calm. There was more security ofcourse and Trevare had gotten credit for saving the princess but he would take none if Angelique was not included in that recognition. For that reason Angelique had become closer to the queen however being ‘closer’ with her wasn’t always a good thing. Right now she sat with a book in the anteroom just off of her music room. Loud noises of passion were coming from inside. Louise-Marie liked the young man who was to teach her the harpsichord today and he was taking her now on the bench. There was no door to the anteroom where she was at save for the exit to that room into the hallway. She could lean forward at any time and see the princess there, her dress off completely and her undergarments pushed down. She straddled the bench and Gailen? She thought his name was, a young man of about 22 with long, nut brown hair and nice hazel eyes, was behind her fucking her in her butt. The Princess moaned as he came inside of her ass. Something Angelique knew she’d have to get a servant to clean up when they left the room.

More and more she was beginning to see just how much trouble the princess was. She could drink most men under the table and she enjoyed a kind of opium that she smoked once in awhile. She had made Angelique try that and it took the better part of the day to get her feet back under her. She also touched Angelique affectionately at times when she felt like it. She, like most people, found her very attractive. However she did show Angelique some restraint and respect by not forcing herself on her. She’d done that on the other girls more than once, especially Janine who enjoyed sex as much or more than she did.

“Angelique...I need you!” The princess called. She was having difficulty getting into her dress. Gailen had his clothes righted already and was now working on his wig. Tutors and Scholars always seemed to wear wigs. He smiled brightly at Angelique but the princess addressed him. “Leave us!” She said as she just stood there waiting for Lorelei to help her. She was in a pouty mood which meant that she did not achieve orgasm which was why she loved sex in the first place.

Angelique sat in the anteroom of the music room wishing she could be anywhere else but there right now. Princess Louise-Marie was supposed to be receiving a music lesson right now...but she was receiving something else entirely and the noises coming from the room were not at all music to her ears. She and Armand had reached some sort of agreement and she was allowed to continue her espionage work for D'Artagnan. After the attempted kidnapping was foiled with her help, the princess made her her favorite overnight. This was exactly what she had been hoping for. She knew that by getting closer to the princess that she would get closer to the king and learn things that she might not otherwise.

Finally, the ''lesson" was over and she walked in when the princess called her. She glanced at Gailen slightly as he hurried out of the room. She quickly began to help the princess to redress. She couldn't help but notice that she didn't seem happy.

"Was it over too quickly?" she asked delicately.

The princess scoffed and tisked as she cooperated to get back into her dress. “Quickly? I could hardly tell anything had started….Angelique, have all the big cocks left France!?” She asked exasperated. “ i mean, even bad sex is pretty good but...it's been days and days since I’ve orgasmed and it's making me...agitated!” She said almost pouting. “I try and try and nothing happens...it just...escapes!” She says as if she were talking about catching an elusive mouse. Angelique guessed it had something to do with her near kidnapping. The princess played at being strong but she was more and more suspecting that she was not. She looked at Angelique a moment then winced. “Oh, how...insensitive of me...How long has it been for you?” She asked in a softer tone.

Angelique listened quietly as the princess ranted as she got her dress on and began to re-fasten it. She then began to fix her hair, which had gotten a little mussed. She figured that she was probably still tense about everything that had happened, which could prevent her from achieving orgasm. When the princess then turned her to her and asked her how long it had been for her she shook her head and looked at her.

"I haven't been with anyone since my husband died."

The princess smiled at how well Angelique did with her hair in the mirror. And she smiled back at her through it. “Well, we’ll just have to do something about that, won’t we?” she said with a grin. “I can understand that you loved your husband but you only live once Angelique. A good orgasm can set me right for days,” she added as she nodded and then walked with her. “Uh, what about that large guardsman, Trevare? He looks like he could show you the way,” she added diplomatically. “I highly doubt that ‘he’ is married...well, you ‘are’ a beautiful woman Angelique,” she added. Well, so much for diplomacy!

They continued to talk as they walked down the hallway toward the west exit that led onto the grounds. She wanted some sun today and to feel the wind on her face. As they exited, birds chirped and the sun shone brightly down at them on the patio. Several servants stood by in case she had need of refreshment. Two men sat on loungers there, their drinks barely touched. One had short, blonde hair and deep blue eyes and a tanned complexion. The other was paler with dark hair and eyes. She heard the princess sigh when she spotted them.

“Mind Fariel, he fucks anything with a heartbeat but I hear he’s good at that. Hugh is Belgian and hung like a mule but he is much more...selective...or so I hear. Janine has been trying to bed him for months and he is ever the gentleman...unfortunately. At their approach the men stood and set down their drinks.

“Ah, Princess Louise-Marie, it is so good to see you,” Fariel said and he kissed her cheeks. “Princess,” Hugh said and bowed to her then kissed her knuckles when she presented him with her hand. “Lord Fariel, Lord Hugh, this is Angelique, my savior,” she said. Both men’s lips seemed to go dry and they stammered to get to her first. Hugh let Fariel ahead of him. “My lady, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said and he kissed her cheeks far more warmly than the princesses. “My lady Angelique, please, call my Hugh,” Hugh said as he bowed to her as well then kissed her hand and then released it though he did so reluctantly. The princess tapped them both on the shoulder with her fan. The men coughed to play it off and the whole exchange seemed somewhat comical. “Please?” Hugh said and gestured to the loungers.

Angelique smiled a little, but remained quiet. She was not at all interested in bedding anyone, but it seemed that the princess now had that idea in her head. When the princess mentioned Trevare she glanced at her slightly as they walked. She couldn't deny that Trevare was incredibly handsome and attractive. He had this rouge quality to him that she liked. Was she not in love with Armand and married to him he certainly would have been the type she would have pursued.

She followed the princess outside where the sun was shining brightly. It was rather warm and she was glad to have remembered to bring her fan. As they walked out onto the patio she couldn't help but notice two men sitting on the loungers out there. They were both young and attractive, but as the princess began to tell her about them she sighed on the inside. It looked like it was going to be a long afternoon. As the princess introduced them she smiled politely, but immediately noticed their hungry wolf like stares. Yes, it was going to be a very, very long afternoon indeed.

"Thank you," she replied as she took a seat on one of the loungers. She opened her fan and began to lightly fan herself as a servant brought over some drinks.

The darker one spoke up first though he was looking at the princess. “I was just telling Hugh here that the King has seemed to be in an awful humor as of late. He nearly tossed me out on my ear two days past. I only asked him about expanding my ancestral estates when he became angry all of a sudden. I can appreciate that all of France is feeling the pinch right now but my family paid well for that expansion and our plans to develop that land have already been delayed,” he said in an arrogant voice then took a sip of his drink and winced forgetting that it was mixed with some kind of juice that he did not favor.

A servant all in white, an older man who wore a white wig approached them then set down two more glasses of the punch that smelled like peaches then hurried back to where he had been sitting. The princess took a taste and made an approving sound. “Pa Pa has been under a good deal of strain lately I think. I can hardly blame him if youngling Lords are tossed out on their backs for bothering him for trivialities,” she said with a gleam in her smile. Hugh chuckled at her mocking Fariel.

“France has a good deal of debt, my father has been asked to aid in the book-keeping but I do not think that is going well. You are lucky your estates haven’t been sold off or given up altogether as collateral Fariel,” he said also just as mockingly. Fariel glowered but stopped himself from taking another drink just before he had.

“So, Angelique I’ve heard some about you, where did you learn how to use a sword?” Fariel asked in the same, simpering tone. “I’ve not heard of a woman using a sword before,” He said wonderingly.

Angelique listened closely as Fariel spoke about the king. She remained quiet and sipped her drink. It was a little sweet for her taste, but had a nice refreshing flavor. Nothing much was said that she didn't already know. She hoped that the princess might open up to her a bit more in private.

"My father felt that I should be able to defend myself," she responded to Fariel when he asked her where she had learned to use a sword. "I started learning when I was young and am quite good if I may say so myself."

The princess nodded approvingly, her ability had likely saved her along with that large guard named Trevare. She wanted to bed him as well but opportunity had not come yet for her and she was going to wait to see if she could get Angelique into his bed. The woman seemed...tense and she felt she needed a little relaxation. A good orgasm could bring that she thought as she thought about Hugh and Fariel taking her together.

Hugh chuckled, “Well, last I checked my father has had just about every financial record for the past two years and he looked about to chew rocks when I asked him about how it was all going. I bet he’s in his office still trying to make them out. Every time he tries to ask the King a question about them the King is ‘suddenly’ unavailable,” Hugh said wryly he said to the Princess. “He left today to see grandfather in Narsaille and asked me to bring his questions to the King...considering what happened to you Fariel...I think I will ‘conveniently’ forget that request,” he said with a smile. Hugh did have a nice smile and being from Belgium, he had a favorable accent as well.

“Have you ever been abroad Angelique?” he asked her. He had very blue eyes that reminded her of the sea and his face exhumed kindness and compassion unlike Fariel who seemed more selfish and self-concerned.

Angelique smiled at Hugh. He had kind looking eyes and the way he looked at her made her heart beat a little faster. She also enjoyed listening to him speak. He had a nice voice and a gentle accent.

"I have," she replied. "I have been to England and my late husband and I honeymooned in Italy. Have you ever been to Venice? It's beautiful."

“Hugh is very well traveled Angelique. He’s been more places in Europe alone than I have and elsewhere besides. He is a, sailor?” The princess said unsure if that was right. Fariel chuckled and the princess gave him a rueful look. “A navigator princess but also a sailor,” he said and gave the princess a reassuring nod. “All navigators are sailors to a fashion. I tried my hand at commanding a ship of war but...it didn’t agree with me,” he said with nearly a wince. “A terrible thing to watch men drown, my lady Angelique,” he said with almost haunted eyes. Eyes that had seen much though he couldn’t be older than Armand she’d wager. “Or getting eaten by sharks or orca right, hugh?” Fariel said grinning. Hugh’s eyes shifted over to him and his cheeks colored slightly. If Lorelei hadn’t known better she’d think hugh was a bit angry about that comment. So could infer from that that he had seen that as well. The princess made a vexed sound and winced at that.

“My father was wounded, long ago while on a ship,” The princess said spontaneously as she took another sip of the punch then smacked her lips. Dutch pirates tried to take one of the cargo Frigates that had lingered behind. His ship and others turned back to fight them and he was wounded in the leg,” she said as if it was a well known fact. The men nodded as if they had known.

Lorelei couldn't help but be impressed by what she learned about Hugh. It was clear that there was more to him than she had initially thought. She still didn't think much of Fariel however.

"That sounds terrible," she responded when he spoke of men drowning or being eaten by sharks. "I think being a Navigator is wonderful. I mean without you the ship wouldn't know where to go. A sailor can be easily replaced, but I would imagine that finding an experienced Navigator would be much more difficult."

She took another sip of her drink and then listened as the princess began to speak about her father. Her ears perked up when the princess mentioned he had been injured. This was exactly the kind of information she needed.

"I didn't know that," she responded. "Did it leave him with a limp or a scar?"

Hugh seemed to take heart at her words and Fariel only raised his eyebrows as if to suggest her interest in Hugh was ill-placed but she suspected it was his way of being jealous. Or in other words, not being the center of attention. The princess smiled at Angelique’s apparent interest in Hugh and seemed to straighten when she asked about her father.

“A scar,” she said with a wink. “If he hadn’t had one of the best Surgeon’s aboard he could have lost his right leg at the thigh. A large piece of wood struck him there when a yard arm snapped and came down upon him,” she pointed to her right thigh about halfway between her hip and knee.

“Perhaps Hugh might show you his scars sometime,” she added and Hugh blushed quite satisfactorily for her as she grinned at him and patted at his hand. “I know I tease,” she said consolingly. Fariel held back his own smile and then winced when he took another drink. Hugh drew his eyes down and didn’t look at anyone for a while.

The afternoon continued and they ate lunch there. Hugh talked about the sea, sailing and ports of call. He spoke about strange peoples, Fariel called them savages, that he had met and actually taken the time to learn some of their languages. He had a way with languages it turned out and the princess and Fariel had made a game of it with Hugh for Angelique’s amusement. He knew 14 languages she discovered, 19 if you included dialects. He was very intelligent she quickly discovered. But had not met the right woman who shared his explorers spirit. His father had a castle, Belgium had several, and lands of rolling greens near one of the only lakes in Belgium near the High Fens. He had learned how to swim there when he was a boy. And the last time he had commanded a ship of war his had been destroyed and he had trolled water for two days as sharks ate his companions. Most sailors refused to learn to swim due to that and he cited that drowning was a much more favorable fate than surviving only to be eaten by sharks. The experience hadn’t seemed to lessened his love for the Sea, it only heightened his respect for it. At the end, it was getting to be late afternoon, the men said their goodbyes but Hugh asked if he could talk with her a moment. The others stepped a respectful distance away.

“My lady, I find myself...captivated by your beauty and your intelligence. It would please me greatly if I could...call upon you in the future, if it is convenient for you, I mean,” he added respectfully. She knew what he meant though. He wanted to ask her to join him at some point for a walk or for another afternoon like this one, however with just her. “I to know what it is like to lose the one you love,” he said softly to her and he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze then released it. His hand was very warm upon hers. An action more forward than she might have expected from him and indeed his cheeks flushed at that. And she saw his eyes, large deep pools of blue that looked a little sad for a moment until they changed when he smiled and bowed to her with a slight tilt of his head.

It would be about time the princess needed to get back to be changed and made up for the evening meal.

Lorelei found that she greatly enjoyed the afternoon, which was a little surprising to her. Now that she knew a way to test to see which was the real king she was able to relax a little. She ate and drank and talked with the three others. She enjoyed talking to Hugh. He was intelligent and polite.

As the afternoon wore on she realized how late it is as getting and wanted to speak to Armand to tell him this news. However it would still be a few days before she could see him again. As the princess stood up she did as well but Hugh stopped her and asked her if he might speak to her privately. She anticipated what he was going to say, but politely waited and listened to him speak. She wasn't sure what to do at first. He was very nice and she liked him, but she loved Armand (although that was Lorelei...not Angelique). She knew that if she refused it would appear suspicious so she smiled a little.

"I would enjoy that very much."

ooc-new thread!