The Earl And The Lady

Seven

Seven

‘ what do you mean that my wife is under lock and key? ’ Andrew exploded. He rode hard and fast when he heard that the king has summoned him, so focused to reach his friend that he did not stop at his home to see his wife whom he had not seen for the past week. On reaching the castle, he heard that an attack has been made on the King's life when he was not around and as quickly as he could he rushed to the king presence only to hear from the king mouth that princess Whitney has been found and before he could set around to congratulate his monarch, his friend. His king told him that the person responsible for everything was his wife and that she is under lock and key.

‘ yes, I mean exactly that. ’ Anthony replied looking extremely tired.

‘ you can't be serious. What did my wife do to you that you decided to punish her for... Wait, this is a joke, isn't it? Just like the one you pulled over me when we were fifteen, it is not funny to include my wife in it... I really hope that you didn't put her under lock and key. ’ Andrew said as he could not find another reason for what Anthony was saying.

‘ my sister was discovered crawling out of a grimly mine at the outskirts of the town, owned formerly by your wife father and searching the place we found out the plan that was put in motion when Whitney was kidnapped and it planed right until my failed assassination. The plan was to kill me and put you on the throne where Isobel would be queen and you were to remain alive until your son is two years old or she has a spare son then she kills you so that she control the kingdom through her son. ’ Anthony started warily but as he explained his eyes went darker with rage.

‘ right now princess Whitney is passed out and is being attended by both her maids and the royal physicians. They discovered that she has lead poisoning. Five more days and she would be dead. ’ Anthony shouted in anger.

‘ it can't be my Izzy, ’ Andrew yelled back at Anthony. ‘ if all these things you said is true then she has been framed. ’ he said I'm a much quieter tone.

Anthony chuckled humourless, ‘ I thought so too until I saw the mines after seeing the condition my sister was in. ’

‘ I will visit the mines after looking in on Whitney and then I will question Agnes. ’ Andrew said dejectedly. ‘ but I request that she should be removed from the prison if that is where you put her in. ’

‘ she is locked up in a room inside the castle, and no need to question Agnes, she does not know anything. ’ Anthony replied as Andrew nodded at him and left the room in haste to see Whitney.

* * * *

Arriving back to the castle, Andrew was like a walking dead, he was so numbed that he did not realised that he had collapse and has been rushed to a bed chamber inside the palace, his Izzy, did that ?

Why on earth would she do that ?

What gain would she derived ?

Why?

Why?

Why?

‘ Andrew are you okay ? ' Anthony said as soon as he rushed into the room Andrew was placed. He was in council meeting with his top officials when news was sent to him that Andrew has collapse on the castle stairs and that he didn't act like himself at all before that.

In reply to his question, he turned his back to his king as he stared wide eye at the table beside the bed that they put him without him seeing anything.

At that moment, king Anthony vowed that he will make Isobel pay for the harm that she has cost his family.

****

‘ please I just want to talk to Andrew. ’

Lady Isobel shouted tearily, it has been a day since she heard the taunts of the maids that brought her food that she is now pregnant but has lost Andrew and everybody that stood besides her, that her second part of the plans (that she was not aware that she had made) is going well but the first part is not.

‘ you called. ’ Andrew said that she quickly turned to the front of the Jail that they moved her to last eve.

‘ Andrew ’ she cried as soon as she saw him. ‘ are you okay ? What is going on? Why am I here ? Why are people saying that I am the one who kidnapped princess Whitney ? ’

Andrew regarded her with a cold look. Could it be possible that she is innoce... No he would not go through this heart ache again, he should know that something like this would happen after all, rotten apple don't fall far from it's tree.

‘ I am perfectly fine, not that it is any of your concern. As for what is going on, I believe that today is your judgement day. Well you did kidnapped princess Whitney and as for the question of why you are here, the right answer is that I believe that it is your place. ’ she gasped.

‘ please don't do this to us. ’ Isobel said teary as she reach in between the holes to touch Andrew but he jerk his body from her touch.

‘ don't touch me, you pathetic excuse for a human. ’ Andrew spat out. ‘ there is no us as there will never be an us ever again. I curse the day you were born Isobel. I curse the day I ever changed my heart to give you a chance. ’

Andrew stood there listening to her sobbing before it got too much for him. ‘ pull yourself together and make your self presentable for the nobles punishment. ’ he barked at her and enjoyed the small flinch she made at the sound of his loud voice.

***

Lady Isobel stood still to receive the punishment that she is to pay for the actions she did not commit. She made eye contact with princess Whitney only for her to flinch and hide her face in the shoulder of her own husband. A person who is now her deserted husband. She didn't utter a single word for her defense, her only joy at the moment was that Agnes was spared although she was not present. She was hoping it was death as she is now tired to live in this place of scheming and sorrow and agony anymore, she wished to meet her father in the after life and apologized for turning him in and then she could keep her child with her forever.

‘ ...the council has decided that the punishment is banishment for five years plus two years of hard labour, her titles striped from her and she is to leave without any comfort starting now. ’

For the first time since she presented herself, she spoke; ‘ why not death ? ’ she asked confused, feeling let down at the slight punishment.

‘ because even if it was to join your grand scheme, you did save my life so your life is saved too, besides, I know you will hate being alive more than any form of death I can give you now. ’ Anthony said as the guards came and dragged her out. As she left she glanced at her husband who had broken her heart beyond repair. She gave him a ghost of a smile as she left. She managed to still trick him even without wanting to, as he will never know of his child, he made his first born a bastard unknowingly and she had a feeling that, that knowledge will hurt him the most, much more than anything she decides to do in future.

Oh! make no mistake, she plans on dealing with him specially in future, she has a unique form of torture preserved for him. She might not know what yet but she knows that it will hurt him, if not haunt him, or it might be both. He shared her bed and he still thinks that she will harm him? How much dumber can he get than that? That was not how she acts and he knows it, so for that he will suffer. She might forgive him in future but not before making him beg for mercy.

Bloodthirsty ?

A little bit. Everybody turns a little blood thirsty after being accused of committing a crime that you still don't know the details of and betrayed by the person you called friend and abandoned by the person you called lover and it doesn't help the fact that you are carrying his unborn at the time of his abandonment, so excuse her for wanting to see him suffer.