Two

Henry was raging. He smashed another decorative bowl against the wall of the guest bedroom. It was the third one.

'Richard can afford buying new ones. Bloody arse.'

He sighed and crashed on one of the chairs. He was so angry at Florence, but not as much as he was angry at himself. He knew that the situation was suspicious. It was out of character for Florence Kalwen to kiss him. Her persistence should have been a warning to him, but he foolishly kissed her back. He even enjoyed it.

"Gods damn it."

His eyes darted to the door when a soft knock came. His mother entered and closed the door behind her.

"Oh my," she whispered as she took in the state of the room. "What happened?"

"Mother, I do not–"

"Is it true?" Sofia asked.

"Is what true?"

"That you were caught kissing Lady Kalwen?" The marquise walked to the chair beside him and sat.

Henry pressed his lips into a thin line. 'Caught is the right word to use.'

"Daniel told me, but he did not go into details," Sofia continued.

"Daniel has a big mouth." Henry's voice was dripping with anger.

"You did not answer my question," his mother pressed.

"It is true that I was–"

"Oh my goodness." Sofia almost jumped with delight. Florence Kalwen was one of the ladies she wanted her son to meet, a potential bride.

"What are you happy about?" Henry frowned.

"I am so happy that you fancy someone." She smiled.

"It is not what you think." He pushed to his feet and ran his hand through his hair angrily. "I was tricked."

"Tricked?"

"Yes!" he screamed. "I do not 'fancy' Lady Kalwen, I have barely spoken to her a handful of times."

"But you were…kissing."

"She kissed me, and she did it at the perfect moment for her brother to find us." Henry unconsciously rubbed his right cheek, where Richard's fist had landed earlier.

They were both silent for a long time. Henry had stopped pacing and placed both palms on the table. He was lost in thoughts of reprimand and regret.

Sofia pushed to her feet, getting her son's attention. "I will have to assess the situation first, we can discuss it in the morning." She gave a gentle squeeze to his arm.

He wanted to argue with her that there was nothing to discuss, but he knew what kind of woman his mother was. He feared that her righteousness might not be to his advantage, but that was a battle he was willing to fight in the morning.

"Good night, dear," she said before leaving him in his chaotic room.

He rang for a servant to clean the mess he had made before he soaked in a much needed bath.

"Like hell I would take responsibility for something I did not do," he whispered to himself.

He decided that he would do whatever it took to make Florence admit what she had done. That she had orchestrated the whole situation to trap him.

'I already have Gisela, and she is all I need.'

***

THE NEXT MORNING, Henry woke up to knocking on his door. "Come in," he called, before his mother walked right in.

"A bit early, is it not?" he said while walking to the chair and grabbing his robe, he pulled it around his naked torso.

Sofia sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her fingers on her lap. At the sight, Henry gulped. He knew that look, his mother's serious look.

"I have talked to Lord Kalwen," she started. "A lot of people have seen Daniel carrying Lady Kalwen to the castle last night. Of course, they noticed that she was soaking wet, and that you were as well."

"Because she was drowning and I saved her." Henry's arm cut through air, angrily.

"That is not all." Sofia's eyes soften. "Lord Fischer and his wife wanted to enjoy the full moon last night. They took one of the rowboats for a night outing, and…they saw you and Lady Kalwen kissing."

"Then, they must have seen that she was the one to pull me into her arms."

"Henry," his mother warned.

"What? It is the truth."

"Rumors have already spread," she adds.

"I do not care," Henry roared. "I did not do anything wrong, Mother."

Sofia sighed. "Son, a kiss is something shared between two people. Two."

Henry opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. He knew fully well that he had kissed Florence back. He had pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, and it had made his blood run hot. He cursed under his breath.

"We will meet with the Kalwens to discuss the situation and come to a decision, together." Sofia stood and strode to where he was standing. She took his hand in hers and smiled at him. "Everything will be fine."

Her words did not comfort him. In fact, they made him more anxious.

"Mother, I know you have been pushing me to marry for years, but this is not the way it should be done."

Her eyes sparkled, and Henry knew that he was in trouble.

"I think Lady Kalwen is the perfect candidate for a bride, dear."

Henry snatched his hand from hers. "Does that include tricking your own son into marriage?" His voice was raw. "Did you plan this with her?"

"What? Of course not." Henry was too angry to notice the hurt in his mother's eyes. "Son," she called after a moment. "I just want you to think about everything very carefully, this might be–"

"Mother, I will not marry her." His words made Sofia frown. "I will not be a puppet and let her pull the strings. She knew exactly what she was doing and I will not be her scapegoat."

The marquise watched Henry as his nostrils flared, telling her that her stubborn son would not listen to anything else she had to say.

She had done her best to hide her feelings from him. Secretly, she was happy about the situation.

Ever since she saw Henry and Florence dance at the winter ball a few years back, she wished to have them meet again and get to know each other.

Unfortunately, the Kalwens lived far away, and Florence did not attend many events. Sofia knew that her son was in a bad situation, and she felt a bit guilty about it, but she chose to see it all as an answer to her prayers. This was the first time her son was entangled with a woman, and not any woman, Lady Florence Kalwen.

"I will see you in two hours for our meeting with the Kalwens." Sofia walked away with a small smile pulling on her lips.