by Lexi Sinner
The King went to the kitchen. He waited for one of the servants to join him in there.
“Why won’t she eat?”
“Sir, I do not know sir.”
“She will get ill if she doesn’t eat. Find out what food she likes and make it for tomorrow. I will not have her getting ill while here.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The servant quickly returned to Victoria’s side and requested to know the food she would eat. Victoria explained that she liked fresh vegetables and fruits, they were her favorite. She was not found of meats.
Since the King had already excused himself from dinner, Victoria felt that it was safe for her to finally return to her room. It was exhausting dealing with a brute of a man like King Salinger.
He was older, probably by at least ten years. Victoria did think he was very handsome though, he was very tall and intimidating. His large muscular build showed how hard he had worked throughout his life. Ireland had been much tougher on King Salinger than England had been on her husband.
Victoria slowly walked back to her room with a servant walking a few steps in front of her. It was hard to be away from the people she loved. It was hard to constantly be waiting for her husband to rescue her, but no one ever coming.
As Victoria climbed into bed, she shed some tears as she remembered the kind nature of her husband and his sweetness. He would never yell at a woman like King Salinger had done. He would never have taken a woman from another man at all. Her husband was a kind and gentle man. Nothing like King Salinger.
She hoped her husband would come soon to rescue her, or at least make some sort of bargain with King Salinger to ensure she could be returned to her home. She needed to get out of that place and back to the people who loved and cared about her.
***
“Tell him I do not need to eat with a brute such as him,” Victoria said when the servant came to her door.
The servant’s eyes got wide as she tried to reconcile what Victoria was saying. It was not common for a woman to be in their home and it certainly wasn’t normal for that woman to refuse the King’s request to come eat.
As the servant delivered the news to King Salinger, his face turned red with anger.
“Fine! Let the girl starve then!”
He had had enough of this woman and her tantrums. If she didn’t want to eat then she could sit in her room and starve for all he cared. He had a whole country to run and could not be distracted by this woman any longer.
As he continued to eat his dinner the King noticed the food that the servants had placed for Victoria. The fresh strawberries and lettuce looked like it would barely sustain a child, and certainly not a full grown woman. Was that really what she wanted to eat?
This woman was exasperating and he couldn’t think with her in his home. He certainly didn’t want her to go hungry though. He wasn’t some sort of animal, despite what she thought.
He grabbed the plate of food and stormed out of the dining room with it. A servant quickly moved in front of the King and held each door open as he made his way to Victoria’s room.
King Salinger pounded on the door hard.
Victoria came to the door, her hair was down and looked like she had just brushed it. Her face was angelic and all the anger that King Salinger had felt, melted away when she stood there in front of him.
“You must eat.”
“I am not hungry,” she said defiantly.
“That is a lie. You are human, are you not?”
Victoria didn’t know what he was trying to get at. Of course she was human.
“Of course, don’t be a ninny,” she said with a smirk.
The servant standing behind the kind flinched as he heard Victoria talk to the King in a way no person should ever talk to him.
“That is it! You will eat this food and you will listen to my orders! Do you understand?”
Victoria remembered back to the last thing her husband had said to her. He had told her to obey King Salinger and do as she was told. Her husband had told her it was alright to obey this brut if it meant she stayed safe.
“Fine!”
Victoria grabbed the plate of food from the King and started shoving it into her mouth right in front of him. She was starving. It tasted so good to have fresh food. But Victoria couldn’t let the King know she enjoyed the food he had brought to her. She couldn’t let him know how hungry she really was.
King Salinger stood there watching Victoria. She was a woman of such uniqueness he didn’t know how to deal with her.
“Tomorrow you will eat with me in the dining room.” The King said.
He didn’t wait for a response and turned to leave.
“Anything you wish Sir,” Victoria said as she bowed excessively.
What did he think would come of her eating dinner with him? It was a stupid ritual as Victoria had no desire to spend time with him at all. She didn’t need to eat in the same room with him. She was his prisoner. If he wanted to treat her like a prisoner that was perfectly fine with Victoria. She would rather be treated like a prisoner than to pretend like she was his guest.
People who are guests of a home do not have a need to yell at their host, like Victoria had done.
She went back into her room and changed into her night dress. It wasn’t lost on her the kindness that King Salinger was giving her. She knew he could have kept her in much worse conditions than the opulent room she lay in.
Victoria caressed the silk sheets of the large bed she had. It was hard to figure out why King Salinger had stolen her away, only to give her such fine things. Victoria had never grown up with fine things and she did appreciate them very much.
When she had met her husband, Victoria was just a produce cart sales girl and he was just a sweet man who always bought a piece of fruit from her. She didn’t know he was in line to be King and she certainly didn’t care about his money or station in life. Victoria had fallen in love with him as a person, long before she knew who he was.
So this lavish lifestyle was still very novel for Victoria. She appreciated it very much that King Salinger was treating her kindly. But Victoria wasn’t about to show that appreciation toward the King.
He had stolen her from her family!
Even if he was being nice to her now, he was still and evil brute for taking her away from the home that she knew and loved.
As Victoria lay in bed she heard some men talking in front of her room. She jumped up and went to the door to try and listen.
“So who is this woman anyways?” One of the men said.
“I heard that King Salinger found her at a circus and stole her away.”
Victoria made a horrible face. A circus? Really? These men thought she was some sort of street performer.
“I heard she worked at a brothel in London and the King became smitten with her.”
“Oh that would make sense.”
Victoria felt a rush of red flush her face. A brothel? That was even worse than a circus.
“It would make sense with the way she is acting. Certainly she is not a refined woman.”
“Certainly not.”
Victoria wanted to rip the door open and tell them she was married to the King of England and King Salinger had ripped her away an taken her as his prisoner. But it was too late, the men made their way down the hall.
Victoria didn’t know that the King hadn’t told his servants she was a prisoner. He hadn’t told them anything at all. To everyone around her, Victoria was a guest of the King. A guest who had been treating him very poorly. His servants probably couldn’t understand why she was being so rude and disrespectful to the King.
She thought about the situation and tried to remember how she felt when someone was nice to her for no reason. It was a good feeling and she thought she should try to be nice to others more often.
***
King Salinger was tired of Victoria confining herself to her room. He sent her a new dress and a request to join him in the garden for a spring lunch.
Vi
ctoria wanted to defy him, she wanted to be rude and disrespect him; but the idea of spending the day outdoors was slightly appealing to her. She put on the beautiful light blue gown that the seamstress had made for her.
The fabric felt so delicate against her skin. Its softness set her body into a place of utter bliss. She had never had such an expensive dress on her body. It was hard to imagine she would ever have such a thing on again.
Victoria decided for one day she would just enjoy herself. She would enjoy wearing the beautiful dress and sitting in the garden. She would enjoy the food that was served and imagine her husband could be there to share it all with her. Victory was tired of being grumpy all the time. Just for this one day she would enjoy herself.
As she made her way out to the Garden, Victoria was greeted by a young servant girl that was equal to her age. In any other place, the two girls would probably have been great friends. The young girl was eager to be friends with Victoria and to be friends with her she decided to start giving her compliments and getting her everything she could possibly need.
The servant girl was also dressed nicely, not as nicely as Victoria; but still very nice. She was sent to assist Victoria and get her anything she wanted.
“Would you like a drink of punch?” The young woman asked Victoria.
“Oh yes, I’d love that. Thank you.”
“Your hair is beautiful; the men will swoon when they see you.”
Victoria just smiled and let the young woman go get her some punch. She wasn’t use to having someone give her compliments. Even if it was their job.
Victoria looked around to see where King Salinger was, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. Just as well, she would have much more fun in the garden if he just did not come.
When her punch arrived, Victoria couldn’t help but guzzle it down very quickly. It coated her palate with deliciousness. The flavor of sweet and tangy made Victoria want for more, but she didn’t feel it would be the proper thing to do.
Victory watched from her small tent as many local people her age were playing a round of croquet. She laughed as one of the boys tried to hit the ball and missed. He had swung so hard that the momentum made him fall to the ground when he did not make contact with the ball.
Both Victory and her servant sat and laughed and laughed. They were having a glorious time and Victory couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Her face hurt she had been smiling for so long. It was a wonderful feeling.
It had been several weeks since she had been kidnapped and brought to King Salinger’s home, it had seemed like she never would smile again.
“Ms. Wentworth, I would be delighted if you would accompany me on a walk.”
It was King Salinger and Victoria hardly recognized him. He looked younger and happier than she had ever seen him. She looked over at her servant who stood staring wide eyed at the King. Victoria decided it would not hurt to go on a walk with him.
His light colored shirt and casual attire were a pleasant surprise for Victoria. She enjoyed looking at the King. Plus, he was the only person standing between her and getting home; so being nice to him would probably be the best option.
“Yes your highness,” Victoria said as she stood up and took the outstretched hand of the King.
He gently placed her hand in the crook of his arm as they gingerly walked throughout the gardens.
“You look very lovely.”
Victoria felt a flush of red come to her face.
“Thank you sir.”
“You can call me Cornelius if you would like.”
“That is alright. I will call you King Salinger.”
“Are you always this proper?” The King asked Victoria with a sly smile.
“Yes, would you prefer I be less proper?”
The King looked at Victoria with a deep passion. His eyes thrusting toward her bosom and then back up to her lips.
“Yes. I would like that very much.”
Victoria looked away quickly. She had not meant it in the way that King Salinger thought she did. She had simply meant she was so mean to him before and not proper, that she thought he would prefer her to be polite to him.
“I did not mean it in a lascivious manner.”
“That is too bad. Because I did.”
Victoria looked at him for a brief moment and then looked away. She had heard many stories about the King and she wondered if they were true. Woman had talked about how King Salinger once made love to a woman for so long that she passed out. A doctor had to be called to revive the woman, who then wanted to make love to the King again.
“You are looking at me in a way that makes me uncomfortable.” Victoria said as she looked away.
The King grabbed her arm and pulled her into a corner of the garden area that they were walking through. He wanted to make her more uncomfortable. King Salinger wanted to make Victoria as uncomfortable as she possibly could be. But he wanted to do that so she would report back to her family how mean he was. But the truth was that he was not so mean at all in real life.
His lips were only inches away from Victoria as she breathed heavily and looked up at him. King Salinger’s large frame was enticing to Victoria. She hated how much her body was attracted to such a brute of a man. She wanted to run away from him. But his muscular build begged her to stay right there with him.
“I seem to remember that you agreed to do whatever I asked.”
He smiled as he looked down at Victoria. She had made that promise to her husband. Victoria had promised to do anything King Salinger asked so she could keep herself safe. But King Salinger didn’t want to hurt her, he wanted to make love to her. She didn’t suppose that was what her husband had meant.
“I did make that promise in the understanding that I would do what was needed to keep myself safe. Not that I would bow to your commands to make love.”
“It is the same thing.”
“No it is not. I will not just surpass my marriage vows because you ask me to lay with you.”
King Salinger tried to lean in and kiss Victoria, but she turned away. He could feel her desire for him. The sexual tension was magnetic between them. But he wasn’t about make her do anything she didn’t want to.
He decided it would be necessary to think of a different plan. Because he needed to have Victoria in his bed. He needed to feel her soft subtle breasts against his hands. There was nothing that would stop him from getting what he wanted.
The King had tried playing sweet and nice with Victoria. Now he would have to try things his way.
***
Victoria had started to settle into things at King Salinger’s home. He had been away for the last week and she felt more comfortable than she did when he was around. She enjoyed walking around the land and exploring all different aspects of the property. It was a beautiful place and she really did enjoy herself.
She was starting to wonder why her husband King James had not decided to come for her yet. She had been away for months now and it did not seem like he intended to even try to get her back. She felt exasperated by the thought that he would just trade her away like that and not even send word to her that he was going to try and come get her.
As she sat in the garden she watched King Salinger’s group of soldiers return from what appeared to have been a battle. Many of them looked injured and the women from the castle quickly came to take care of them.
King Salinger was in a wicked mood and Victoria hid behind a tree and watched as he yelled at the servants to clean the men up. She had never seen him that angry before, not even on the evening that she was taken from her husband.
As dark fell, Victoria was about to close her eyes and go to sleep when there was a pounding on her door. She opened it gingerly and saw the private security of the King standing there.
“Miss Wentworth, the King has sent for you.”
The young man looked apologetic as he stood still and watched Victoria for her response.
“Why?”
“Miss he has sent for
you to join him in his chambers.”
Victoria went pale as a ghost. He wanted her to come to bed with him. She stood there and let the words of the security man settle in. She couldn’t go to his bed. It was not alright for her.
“No thank you.”
Victoria started to shut the door and the man put his hand in the way. He stood firmly and continued to look at Victoria as he waited for her to gather herself and come with him.
“That is not an option. I am instructed to bring you.”