The Duke and The duches of Vaugrenard

Chapter 16

I woke up to the sound of birds near by. I look to my side and Gemma had fallen a sleep next to me. I had begged her to stay with me because I didn't want to sleep  by myself.

I reached over and grabbed my shoes. And put them on. I need to wash my face before we leave. I heard the gaurds talk about a small lake being near by. I look over at Gemma and she is sound asleep. I shouldn't wake her up for something this silly, I can do this on my own.

I open the tent and step out into the chilly air. It's pretty cold for spring. I stand up straight and dust some dirt from my skirt. I look to the left and notice the tends spread all around me. I give a full turn and see something shine ahead, that has to be the lake.

After a few short steps of trying to avoid roots, and fallen branches I reach the edge of the lake. I reach down and touched the water. It was cold to the warm touch of my fingers.

It was pretty cold but it had been a while since I washed my hands. I picked up water on my palms and washed my face gently. The cold water made me shiver but it felt good to finally wash my face after such a long journey.

I dabbed my arms with the water and I wanted to feel the cold water on my legs. I looked around to see if anyone was near by.  I was alone I took off my shoes and socks. I grabbed a ribbon from my hair and tied my skirt above my knees and sat down on a rock nearby me. I slowly tipped my foot and slowly my legs. Ahh the cold water felt good in my skin.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This is nice, I could hear the birds chirp. I hadn't felt this relaxed in a while.

I heard the bushes behind me rustle and I expected an animal to come out but it wasn't. Vincent walked towards me and my face blushed. His shirt was opened revealing his chest and a bit of his abdomen.

I turned around and pulled my skirt down.

"You shouldn't be out here by your self" he says as he gets closer. "Where is your hand maiden?" He asked and looked around.

"She's not here." I tell him.

"You shouldn't be out here on your own. The woods is a dangerous place." He says and sits down next to me. "Maybe I should change your handmaiden. She seems to be ignoring her duties"

"It's not Gemmas fault!" I said defending her. "I didn't want to wake her up. So I let her to rest. If you need to blame someone it should be me"

I could handle anything but not Gemma leaving. She is my one and only friend I have in the manor. Even if everyone treats me well.  I can't imagine not having Gemma with me.

"Her duties as a handmaiden is to attend to my every command and I didn't give her any. So there should be no need to punish her over my own decisions" I say to him. I think he doesn't like Gemma much, this is the second time he mentions on firing her.

Instead of saying something back he just stays silent. And looks out infront of us. The lake was quite big I couldn't  see the other end of the lake. I glanced once more to Vincent and I couldn't help but admire his good looks.

He and I may not love one another but I'm glad I have a good looking husband. At the least our children in the future should be beautiful.

"If you have something to say say it" he says and I jump out out of my thoughts and look away.

"I-it's nothing" I tell him and soon a gaurd approaches us.

"My lord, my lady the carriage is ready for departure." He says and looks at me for a second, and turned  away.

I look down and notice why, my skirt was pulled up above my knees so it wouldn't get wet. Before I could reach down to cover my legs Vincent reached over, His hand slowly touched my skin as he lowered the skirt enough to cover me but not enough to touch the water.