Betrothed

Chapter 10: Nikki

I watch the time get closer to 13:00, each minute going by like molasses, and each one increasing my nerves just a bit. Granted I have been busy cleaning and cooking, normal stuff, so it is not as though I have been staring at the clock for the whole morning. Allie said that she would make sure her father would not notice while I am out, and I cannot help but thinking that I have the greatest best friends in all of England. This would be a lot harder without them. I am in the kitchen brewing tea when Allie comes down stairs.

"Nikki, it is almost 12:50. You should get going if you want to meet Lord Quentin in time." She tells me.

"Okay Allie I am going. If I did not know better, I would say that you cannot wait to get rid of me." I reply back to her.

"Of course I am not wanting to get rid of you. I just do not want you to be late and ruin your chance at true love." She responds back a little dreamily.

"Of course. You know you sound like Maddie right now."

"I know! Now go! I promise to make sure someone finishes brewing the tea." She says cheerfully. I sigh and we walk to the back door. We both check both directions to make sure that no one will see me. With final thumbs up from Allie I leave and start to make my way to Harrison Tavern in the village.

***

As I walk up to the small waterfall I see a figure. Ducking behind a tree to avoid being caught, I peer around cautiously. I inwardly sigh in relief; the figure was Lord Quentin, sitting on a rock with his back towards me reading a book. I just stand there and watch him for a minute, the scene was so peaceful. It is ruined a minute later though by my clumsy self, snapping a twig under my feet as I try to get a better view. Lord Quentin turns around then and he stands when he sees me.

"Nicole!" He exclaims with delight. "How long have you been standing there? I was beginning to think that you would not show up." I quickly do a slight curtsy, because no matter what the circumstances, he is a Lord and I am just a Servant.

"I have not been here long really My Lord." I say. "I just had a little bit of trouble getting away from the castle. Please forgive my tardiness."

"Nicole, please do not curtsy or say 'My Lord' when it is just us. I would wish to get to know you better, without the boundaries of social classes. When it is just you and I we are equal in every way. Oh, please excuse my manors, would you like to sit down?" He says motioning to the rock that he was previously sitting on. I am surprised by what he said before he offered me his seat though; no classes, no titles, equality, this is a new concept for me. My whole life I have been seen as inferior by the upper class and here I am now in the forest with one of them and he is offering HIS seat, to ME.

"Yes I think that I will sit, thank you." I reply and despite what he said earlier it took every once in my being not to say 'My Lord' at the end. Old habits die hard as they say. I walk over and sit down next to him. For the next hour or so, it is hard to tell when you have no clock, Lord Quentin and I talked. I learned that he left England for five years and just got back, which explains why I had not seen him before yesterday. I also learned that he does not like all of the publicity that comes with his title; he would rather be a commoner, which is strange considering that every commoner would love to have his wealth and title. I told him about my friendship with Allie and Maddie, making him the first person that any of us has told. However, he informed me that Maddie had already told him last night and that she also told him to call me Nikki but that he wanted to ask for my permission first, which I of course granted him. Oh Maddie, it is just like her to do this kind of thing. He also asked me to call him just Quentin instead of Lord Quentin.

After an hour though I say that I have to go, because I do, not because I want to. I cannot be missing from the castle for too long and remain undetected. Quentin and I walk back to the Wembley manor together, following the stream through the forest. We say our goodbyes and agree to meet again in three days at the same spot. After that I sneak my way back in through the back door. I immediately go to the kitchen and start working on supper.

No more than three minutes later Allie comes bounding down the stairs with the biggest grin on her face.

"I thought that you would be back by now!" She exclaimed gleefully. "So how did it go?"

"Oh Allie, it was wonderful!" I tell her. "We just sat and talked the whole time. Guess what though."

"What?" She replied.

"Maddie had already told him about our friendship last night."

"She did! Well then again it does not surprise me, it sounds like something Maddie would do."

"Yeah it does." I agree. "You better get upstairs though and change for supper Allie; I am preparing it right now."

"Uh, fine I will go change just please tell me that you arranged to meet again soon." I nod my head yes in response and Allie squealed in excitement. She gave me a quick hug and then bounded back upstairs. I have no idea why she is so happy but I am glad. I prefer to see her happy as opposed to upset and hurt like last night. I freeze, last night. I had almost forgotten about last night in my joy. Last night, the night Lord Wembley yanked my purity away from me. I forgot to tell Quentin. What will he think when I tell him in three days? He will probably be hurt that I did not trust him enough to tell him today.