The early afternoon was peaceful. Grace sat on the bench in the gardens with Jenny while Nora walked with Melody around. The young girl had become very fond of the dog. So Grace made sure that she got to spend time with Melody. Neither Dorian nor Daxton would be attending lunch today, this, Mr. Wilson had informed moments ago. The idea of eating alone again lessened Grace's appetite.
"Shall I ask the servant to set the table for lunch, my queen?" Jenny asked her.
Since she wasn't much hungry, Grace almost thought of skipping lunch today. But just then, Mr. Wilson appeared in the garden again.
"You have visitors, my queen," he informed bowing down.
Grace stood up, confusion marred her face. "Visitors?" Her family couldn't come here and she knew no one who would need to visit her. "Are you sure they are here to visit me?" Grace asked.
"Yes, my queen. I made them sit in the parlour."
Grace strode to the parlour downstairs, wondering who the guests were. Her face lit up seeing Angela and Gerogia, the ministers's wives who were as close to Grace as a friend could be here.
"My queen!" They both stood up with wide smiles seeing Grace. Giving an impeccable curtsy, they straightened.
"Angela! Georgia! I am so glad you are here. Do sit," Grace said taking her seat on the chair beside. Looking up at Jenny, She ordered, "Ask the cook to set table for three."
Jenny smiled and rushed to the dining room.
"What a surprise," Grace smiled at the two beautiful women.
"We apologise to come without informing, my queen," Angela said with wrinkled brows. "But ever since I heard that you were attacked, I wanted to make sure you were alright. Reading your note made me and Georgia extremely uneasy. I felt so bad that you had to face it while coming to my home."
Grace smiled at the lovely woman whose blond hair glittered in the sunlight coming from the window. "That's so kind of you, Angela. But it wasn't you fault. I could have been attacked anywhere."
The consolation relieved Angela's tense shoulders a bit. "Were you hurt badly?"
Grace shook her head and pointed to her wound on the head. "Merely a stratch. That's it."
"Thank God, nothing much happened. We were dying to inquire about you."
"And," Georgia began to say, "We couldn't enjoy the tea party without you. So we planned to give you a visit."
Grace giggled at the lively red-haired woman. "I am so glad you came. I was alone today and I craved for someone's company. Who better than my friends!"
The lunch became a lively occasion filled with gossips and laughter amongst the three women. They devoured almost everything on their plates while talking, from simple boilet cutlets and vegetables to large roasts of meat. Angela and Georgia gave Grace the latest gossips of the kingdom. Whose wives were having an affair, whose children eloped away, who had lost a fortune paying debts. Grace listened to everything with curiosity. Georgia was almost a newspaper for them and Angela was a bit kinder one. But all three of them made an excellent group. They were almost near in their ages and Grace felt comfortable with them.
"Everyone is in awe on how the king stepped up for you, my queen," Angela wriggled her brows.
Her expression made Grace blush a bit.
"Oh, please," Georgia waved a hand that held a bunch of grapes. "I knew the moment I saw the king looking at you at the ball that he would do anything for you." She turned to Angela. "Weren't those the eyes of a besotted man?"
"Oh, yes," Angela gave a dreamy sigh. "You don't know, my queen, how hundreds of women are envious of you."
A flutter of womanly pride rose in Grace's chest. She had never experienced being the center of attention, atleast of good attention, and she discovered she liked it very much.
"You can't keep that blush away, can you?" Angela giggled and Grace joined her, blushing harder.
A sigh left Georgia's lips. "Ah, those first few months of marriage are magical. We
are always on a dreamland."
Grace wiped her mouth with a napkin. "How many years since you got married, Georgia?"
"Three years, my queen," she replied. "Eric and I were on the honeymoon for six months. We couldn't keep our hands off of each other."
Grace and Angela covered her mouth and giggled.
Georgia slapped a light arm over Angela's shoulder. "What are you laughing about?" She turned to Grace and said, "You must have been here when there was a ball at Mrs. Jacob's house, my queen. Mr. Patrick snatched away Angela to a private room and the sounds they made....oh my God."
"Georgia!" Angela gasped with red face. "There were no sounds. We were quiet!"
"Yeah, quiet as a storm," Georgia winked at Grace who couldn't stop her laughter.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Angela blushed. "Mr. Patrick and I also were very fiery in the first year of our marriage. We are also now. But we take care to limit it until our home."
Grace smiled seeing the blush on Angela's pretty face. "Can I ask you something, Angela?"
"Sure, my queen."
Grace didn't know how to say, it might not be proper but she was curious. "How did you come to marry Mr. Patrick? I mean..."
"Because he is almost twice my age?" Angela raised her brows and Grace gave a nod.
Luckily, Angela seemed far from being hurt. Rather she was proud to explain. "Mr. Patrick was a widower when we met at a ball. My family were in dire financial crises at that time. Many young gentlemen offered me the position of their mistress in exchange of a large sum of money. One of them even tried to force me physically, taking advantage of my fragile situation, but just then, Mr. Patrick saved me. He confessed that he liked me and would like to marry me and offer security to me and my family. Nobody offered me marriage before since my father had lost all of his money. I agreed to Mr. Patrick's proposal and as our days passed, Mr. Patrick only treated me with kindness and affection. Before we both could know, we had fallen hard for each other. I couldn't have asked for a better man." There was a shine in Angela's lovely blue eyes and a satisfaction that she was happy.
Grace felt so good for her friend. Not everyone found love in their life. Suddenly, Dorian's face flashed in her mind. He also had always treated her well, with kindness and respect. Not many women were fortunate enough to get those traits from a man.
"Are you lost in the king's thoughts, my queen?" Georgia smiled at Grace's face.
With a laugh, Grace shook her head. "I was just touched with Angela's story."
Angela kept her small hand over Grace's. "You are the star now, my queen. Tell us," she leaned in curiously. "How great is the king in bed?"
A hot blush covered Grace's face. "What?"
"Come on," Georgia urged. "He looks at you in a way that says he must be having you atleast twice every night."
For a moment, Grace was shocked hearing such intimate things. A vision of Dorian touching her also came up in her mind. Immediately, she shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. "He is just like other husbands," Grace lied. Since she hadn't done anything with Dorian, she didn't know what to say.
"Please, my queen. The king is famous for his bedroom skills," Georgia gossiped. "Can't you share an exciting memory?"
Grace didn't know anything about Dorian's skills! What must she say them. She couldn't reveal that they hadn't consummated the marriage yet. It would have a bad impression in their marriage.
Fortunately, Angela helped her. "It's alright if you aren't comfortable to tell, my queen," she said kindly.
"Oh, yes," Georgia agreed. "After few days, when you get comfortable, you will be screaming about you husbands virilty," she said and all three of them laughed heartily.
The dessert was strawberry cream. As soon as the servant served it, the three women dug in it hungrily.
"Actually," Georgia said licking the spoon, "I wasn't surprised when I heard that the king married you, my queen?"
"Oh?" Grace smiled at her friend.
"Yes. Seeing his obsession over the forbidden bridge, it was acceptable that he married beyond it."
"Obsession?" Grace frowned.
Angela gave a nod. "Mr. Patrick says that the king had tried everything to reveal it's mystery. He was so passionate to learn everything about it."
"Oh," Grace breathed in relief. Dorian had already told her how he had searched the cause the forbiddance. People around seemed to believe it as his obsession.
"Didn't you fear crossing the bridge, my queen?" Came Angela's hesitant question.
With a slight smile, Grace accepted, "I was scared to my core. But my mother needed the emerald leaves to get well. And she didn't have much time. In such situation, one had to ignore the fear."
"I know it's very personal," Georgia said. "But did you really loose your voice?"
Grace felt a companionship between these women. She didn't want to hide anything from them. Furthermore, rumours were already widespread around tye kingdom. So Grace nodded.
"Did it pain when you lost your voice?"
Remembering that night, Grace shuddered. "No," she replied softly. "I never even realised when my voice was gone until I tried to speak."
A warm hand covered hers and Grace looked up at Angela's kind face. "We are so proud of you, my queen. And don't worry. That phase has passed. Now you have your voice and us along with the most dashing husband in the world."