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Post by Richard III on Apr 21, 2009 14:20:29 GMT -5
When Richard awoke--after a very restful sleep, it must be said, despite everything--it was quietly. So that Beatrice continued, observed but unknowing, as Richard appreciated the soft morning light playing across her features. She was not classically beautiful--not Lady Anne--but there was something about the cut of her figure and features that had always appealed to him somehow. Until she spoke.
"Nature has left you no need for adornment," he said softly.
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 21, 2009 14:36:54 GMT -5
*Beatrice turned defensively, surprised at his words.*
"Your milady has loosened your tongue, my lord."
*She quit what she was doing and made to fuss at pulling up a worn blanket over him.*
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Post by Richard III on Apr 21, 2009 14:41:11 GMT -5
"And what hath loosened your hands, and opened your home?" he asked. "May I not bestow compliments in my state? Do you pity me so, lady?"
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 23, 2009 9:13:43 GMT -5
*Still suspicious, her lips tightened, flexing the muscle beneath her jaw. She held her tongue for a moment, as if considering things.*
"King or no, none should be left to wallow on the street." *She said calmly, not really wanting to examine the possibility for other motives.*
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Post by Richard III on Apr 23, 2009 10:12:35 GMT -5
Richard agreed with her, though there was a barb in her words--the fact that "even kings," not especially kings, deserved her charity.
"How beneficent of you," he said rather grandly. "No doubt I shall be out of your capable hands soon, once my queen discovers where I am and order is restored."
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 23, 2009 10:38:25 GMT -5
*Right. The lady that he'd taken. But for what purpose. Beatrice rubbed the roof of her mouth with the flat of her tongue.*
"I do hope that no ill has fallen on her." *She continued honestly.* "It must have been something terrible, for her to leave you unescorted." *It did seem odd that they should separate for no reason.*
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Post by Richard III on Apr 23, 2009 11:17:12 GMT -5
Richard frowned.
"Why should she accompany me to the battlefield?" he asked. "I left her at Versailles, where she belongs; but I have had no word of her since then, through no fault of my own. Is there news, my lady?"
For all that he'd married Marie for ambition, he was not un-fond of her.
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 28, 2009 8:42:26 GMT -5
*Had he not heard? But then again, what did she know. Beatrice offered what little she knew.*
"My lord...it is my understanding that the royalty had been dethroned. I fear I have not more detailed accounts, for I was told they had not the use of me in the palace. Though I have heard nothing of the Queen, but that she had disappeared from the grounds." *She tried to soften the words as much as she was capable.*
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Post by Richard III on Apr 28, 2009 10:16:46 GMT -5
Richard's expression darkened. He was not surprised--he did not know how long he'd been in the Twilight Realm, recovering and plotting. But Marie...
"Then perhaps she is safe," he mused thoughtfully. "She would have been found, had she been in trouble. If the masses are bloodthirsty enough..."
He shook it off. "I must discover her whereabouts, and ascertain her health," he said. "Though she cannot see me like this."
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 28, 2009 13:19:16 GMT -5
*Beatrice pursed her lips slightly. It would seem the madness had not subsided. But it was not an appealing thought to have him about indefinitely. She tried to keep he words gentle though, lest his mind crack further.*
"But surely, my lord, if she is your beloved, she will care not your state and be comforted to be reunited."
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Post by Richard III on Apr 28, 2009 13:21:22 GMT -5
Richard snorted.
"She is wed to me for the same reasons I am wed to her," he said, "the same reason any monarch marries another. But she is a comely lass," he mused, "under all the powder." He fell silent. "Nay, she will turn away, if I cannot present the king she sought."
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 29, 2009 11:14:11 GMT -5
*Beatrice's brow lowered. She remembered now why she had never aspired to the 'great things' that her uncle would have had of her. Love was fickle and fleeting, yes, but to be bound as a matter of state? She would not be shackled so. She turned away to fetch the basin and pitcher.*
"Then perhaps a blessing is made in being a bachelor." *She concluded.* "I am sorry for your ills, my lord."
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Post by Richard III on Apr 29, 2009 11:28:57 GMT -5
Richard's thoughts returned from Marie to the present.
"Are you, madame?" he asked. "I did often sense you did not approve of me. And yet..."
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Lady Beatrice
- Ingenious Pilot -
A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
Posts: 246
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Post by Lady Beatrice on Apr 29, 2009 11:46:49 GMT -5
*Beatrice's hands tightened on the ceramic as she found herself not yet willing to turn back to him. She didn't approve of him. Or any man that would marry for position. Or any man that would shackle a woman in matrimony. Or...any man. Her lips pursed before she finally managed to find her tongue.*
"And yet?" *She turned to face him, her chin lifted slightly.*
"You think that it is my pleasure to see you in torment? You must think little of me to find me capable of such wickedness."
*And yet, her motions did not necessary coincide with her pointed demeanor as she approached him and set the water near the bed and moved to fetch a towel.*
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Post by Richard III on Apr 29, 2009 11:57:09 GMT -5
"Nay, madame," Richard said softly, as if despite himself. "Methinks I have never thought ill of you." He thought too well, indeed, and he could not imagine why. She had never shown him the barest bit of respect, and he had punished people severely for less fault. "But I have never been one who understood the capacity of a soul to do kindness for its own sake."
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