She saw him walk around her, his eyes not breaking eye contact with her until he came to step in front of her. Because of his height, Madeline had to crane her neck up to look at him, “You are free to walk back to your room,” said Calhoun looking into her brown eyes.
“Where are my clothes?” she inquired, her eyes breaking away from him to search the room but it seemed that the dress she had been wearing had disappeared.
“On your body,” came the nonchalant answer from him. He knew what she was speaking about, but he behaved like he had no clue.
“The dress that I was wearing earlier before you asked me to be your muse,” she asked him by keeping her patience.
“That one, they got dirty because of the paint. I had it sent to get it cleaned,” he informed as if it was nothing. He playfully pushed her buttons, watching her struggle to keep her sanity. She parted her lips only to close them. Calhoun had tried to rile her emotions, and it seemed that it had worked when he had mentioned about him painting her provocatively. Explaining about her body and looking at her suggestively.
“I cannot leave the gallery like this,” informed Madeline. No sane woman would step out in the open for others to see the woman in nothing but petticoat and stockings. It would give the wrong impression of her, especially when she was with the King, “People will get the wrong idea.”
“Like what?” he breathed the words and placed something in his pocket.
“That something transpired between us.”
“Let them,” came his quick reply as if he didn’t care about it. His hand reached her face, his thumb running across her bottom lip, “The only person you should care about is me and not what others think.” A shiver ran down her body when he spoke to her with his thumb that gently brushed her lip and then smiled.
His hand slipped away from her lips, and he walked towards one side of the room, pulling out the coat he had been wearing earlier that was hanging. Returning, he put the coat around her shoulders. The coat felt utterly loose and it reached just above the hem of her petticoat.
Madeline had a look of surprise on her face when he was done putting the coat on her.
“Better?” he asked her before lowering his voice, “Go on before the big bad wolf gobbles you up in this empty room where no one is there.”
Calhoun was angry a few hours ago, and now he was being gentle with her even though it was his fault that she wasn’t having her dress on her right now. She didn’t know how she would be able to make it to the room in this state, but she took what she got. Madeline didn’t have to be told twice and left the gallery room.
Her shoes made sounds with every footstep she took against the white marble floor. She walked quickly, trying to get back to the room while her eyes skimmed the corridor in front of her, hoping there was no one to witness her in such a state. But even though the castle was a closed one, Madeline came to walk past the maids and other servants. When they heard the footsteps, they turned to see who was coming before quickly lowering their eyes. Even though they wanted to look at the human who was coming from the gallery who had spent time with the King, they knew better than ogle at her rudely.
Madeline clutched the coat that was around her tightly, making sure she was covered while her legs were covered in stockings. On her way, she met the King’s right-hand man, Theodore who was coming from the other end of the corridor.
She continued to walk without stopping to talk to him. He had informed Calhoun about James even though he said he wouldn’t. If she knew this was going to happen, she would have…She didn’t know what she would do, but at least she wouldn’t be wearing scarce clothes. As they crossed each other, Theodore didn’t stop to talk to her and Madeline continued to walk until she reached the room. Stepping inside, she closed the doors.
Back in the gallery, Calhoun was covering the canvas he had worked on before cleaning his hands with a wet cloth as it was covered in charcoal and paints when Theodore arrived at the door. The man bowed his head to hear the King speak,
“Where does your loyalty lie, Theo?”
Theodore, who had raised his head, looked at Calhoun who glanced at him before throwing the wet cloth on the ground, “It lies with you, my King,” the man bowed his head again.
“Then is there a reason why you didn’t tell me that you saw the low-life in the castle?” Calhoun had raised one eyebrow of his in question. He picked up the covered canvas and placed it to face the wall.
“I didn’t see them talking to each other, milord,” answered Theodore, which was the truth. Calhoun was not someone who missed things, and if his eyes were on the girl, it meant he would find out the truth.
“If I didn’t know you better, I would have taken that you have formed a liking towards the girl, but I know that wasn’t your intention,” said Calhoun who turned around to meet Theodore’s eyes.
The man bowed his head, “I apologise, milord. I thought you would have him killed and it would strain the relationship that you are building with her. Also, I thought you would notice it. I didn’t mean any harm. It won’t happen again.”
“‘Course you didn’t. If you did, we wouldn’t be standing here now, would we?” Calhoun’s lips twisted to a smile. He knew Theodore since they were young boys; therefore if there was someone whom he trusted, it was the man who stood in front of him.
Calhoun didn’t want anyone coveting Madeline because to him, she was already his since the first time his eyes had fallen on her in the ballroom. He wasn’t someone who cared about little things like rumours. Even if it did spread in the castle, it would only solidify the words that were relayed to the servants and other ministers in the castle.
“Did you have a good time?” asked Theodore as Calhoun had made sure no one would disturb his time with Madeline.
Calhoun ran his fingers through his thick locks of black hair, “Wonderfully torturous one.” It was too hard not to touch her. He wanted to give her time to ease into the castle life, but he lacked patience. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and treat her the way he wanted to, to not let her out of his bed.
Theodore didn’t know what that meant, but if he wasn’t sending people to fetch the man who had come to meet the lady in the castle, he took that Calhoun was in a good mood. But he thought wrong as the next moment he heard Calhoun say,
“Call in the tailor man. Tell him the ministers need a new pair of clothes.”
