The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-158

Mr. Barnes stared at the King, in shock waiting to hear what the King had to say. It wasn't every day a normal man or a woman got an invitation to come and have tea with the King. The King had other affairs to attend to and giving time to people meant a lot. Mr. Barnes had a cup of tea in his hand, when he heard the King ask,

"Mr. Barnes, since how long have we known each other?" the King was stirring his teacup, round and round looking down at it.

"It must be more than two decades, Sire," answered Mr. Barnes. Though the man himself was much older than the King, it was because of the power the King held, that made Mr. Barnes appear to be slightly timid. One had to be extra careful when speaking to the King. A relative or family members words could be dismissed, but it wasn't the same when it came to outsiders. Sometimes even the relatives were not shown mercy because the amount of betrayal that ran in the cracks of the bond never closed.

Once Calhoun was done stirring his tea in the cup, he tapped the side of the cup with the spoon before placing it down on the saucer, "Two decades is long, isn't it? I have known your family, Mrs Barnes and your lovely daughter Catherine. She had grown up," he paused before saying, "Your girl, I mean."

By the mention of his daughter, Mr. Barnes wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy or worried about it. Happy, because the King was considering his daughter for something and with the years of experience he had in the court that even included serving the previous King, he knew this was heading in the direction of a possible prospect for his daughter. There were hundreds and thousands of girls awaiting out there in the land of Devon, but the King had thought about his daughter.

Not every proposal was a happy one; daughters were usually used to create peace, an alliance and Mr. Barnes didn't know what the King had on his mind. Patiently, he waited.

"It is time you get her married. She has turned to a fine and beautiful woman, there must be a lot who are trying to get her hand in marriage," Calhoun raised his teacup to his lips, taking a slow slip and letting the older man reply.

"There have been some, my King, but Catherine has not shown keen interest in any of them," Mr. Barnes shoulders slightly drooped at the mention of this, "We have been trying to get the best suitor."

"Did you ask her if she likes someone?" Calhoun asked him casually. His gaze moved from the cup to look at Mr. Barnes.

"No!" Mr. Barnes looked opposed to the very idea of his daughter, bringing a man by herself.

"Word is that young Catherine has taken a liking towards a man. A very good man, who is handsome, talented, has fingers that can create threads of different fashion. He is a good man, and you must have heard about him at least. His name goes by something cliff...Ah, yes! James Heathcliff," said Calhoun with a subtle smile on his lips.

The older vampire frowned as if remembering who the man was, "Forgive me, my King. But when you said he works on threads, did you mean to say he is a tailorman?"

"A high one at that," Calhoun's eyes brightened, "I have heard excellent things about him. He is a kind and polite gentleman."

Mr. Barnes' replied, "I never thought about marrying my daughter to a mere tailorman. Forgive me again, but I will need to think about it."

"Why?" came the pushy question from Calhoun, "If you are worried about his status, I can get it fixed. He is already working for my ministers and me by making clothes for us. And some others. That shouldn't be a problem, and not to forget, Catherine is very infatuated with him. I met them when Ms. Jennings hosted a party in her mansion. They appeared to be happy together, might I add, very right with each other."

The man raised his teacup, taking a sip and then another as his eyes moved to the front.

Calhoun stared at the man. He wanted to get Catherine and James married as soon as it was possible. This way, there would be little to nothing, when it would come to Madeline giving reasons to him, on why she didn't want to stay in here or get married to him.

The King then continued, "As I have known Catherine for a long time now, and though I am the King, I feel obliged to be part of it. Like a brother, I would like to be part of the occasion. I have already picked a wonderful place where she might love to get married," he smiled at the end.

Mr. Barnes felt unnerved in the presence of Calhoun. He had heard many things about the King, things that were from close information, and he was somewhere upset that Catherine had not been able to entice the King. Like many fathers and mothers of high social status, they preferred their daughters marrying for status and money than for love. Love could be found once they married to wealthy families, such was the thinking, and it didn't matter if their sons or daughters liked it or not.

The old vampire had tried to make his daughter sway and bed the King, hoping it would bring good fortune to the family. It wasn't anything new, and it had been running through generations. Even if a King was already married, he sometimes had a mistress or two who were either meant to be kept for his pleasure or to bear children to produce an heir to the throne.

He had hoped his daughter would come to be of use, but the King clearly had shown no interest in her. He let out a sigh of disappointment in his mind and then said,

"I would like to talk to Catherine about it before I answer anything to you, my King," answered Mr. Barnes, bowing his head so that the King would agree to it.

"Of course," replied Calhoun, "Once you have spoken to young Catherine, I hope the answer will be a yes to the wedding between her and the person she is in love with. She is a young girl, it would be pitiful to have her love stolen," saying this, Calhoun drank down the rest of the content in the teacup, "More tea?" he asked, his red eyes bright and the man nodded his head.

When the time came to leave, Mr. Barnes bowed his head with polite words before stepping into the carriage he had come in.

Madeline who had taken herself up to the tower of the castle where the wind blew with more speed because of the tower's height, she noticed a carriage leaving. At the same time, another one entered through the gates that were situated far away from the castle.

She wondered who it was, who had come to visit the castle today because Calhoun had appeared to be occupied and he wasn't in the court, leaving the court duties to his man, Theodore. The hair that she had tied into a braid had been slightly pulled out because of the wind. Some strands came to fly in the direction of the wind, and she didn't bother to tuck it back behind her ear.

After drinking the liquor yesterday in Lady Ellen Jennings soiree, Madeline decided not to try something like that again. She had met James yesterday, and he looked just the same as he did before, but he had Lady Catherine with him. Her lips pursed as she stared at the grounds of the castle. Calhoun had sent her away from the powder room, and she didn't know what had happened between them in there. James looked unharmed, but Calhoun had other ways to intimidate a person.

Evening drew near when she heard a voice calling her from behind,

"Lady Madeline," she turned around to see Theodore, who had entered the tall tower of the room, "I didn't know you would be here. The King has summoned to see you."

Madeline didn't know if she was ready to meet Calhoun right now. First came James, then came the kiss from Calhoun, and then came the wolf where she had ended up clinging on to Calhoun. She stared at Theodore. The man looked more normal than Calhoun, but she wondered what normal meant in the land of Devon, in the castle.

Was Theodore hiding who he really was, unlike Calhoun, who didn't bother to hide himself?

"You said you wouldn't tell him," said Madeline to Theodore, her eyebrows furrowed. He had told he wouldn't mention it to the King, but he had told Calhoun about James and her meeting in the castle.

Theodore took a moment at the sudden words that the lady spoke. Both of them had never spoken much to each other before, and it was only a word or two. Quickly thinking about what she might be talking about, Theodore said, "My apologies, milady. I did not say a word about it. The King must have found out about it by himself."

Madeline stared at the brown-haired man. He didn't?

She heard him speak, "I wouldn't break my word. There was no direct harm. Therefore, I didn't feel there was a need to mention about it," and he had answered the same to Calhoun when he was questioned on why Theodore had not informed him.

Madeline had not moved from where she stood, "Okay…" she trailed, starting to walk and make her way out of the tower to be followed by Theodore. While walking down the spiral staircase, she asked him in a curious voice, "Do you know what happened to the King's family?"

"Yes, milady. I do," came the sincere reply from Theodore.

Though Madeline was intoxicated and her body was weak with her senses, it didn't mean she had forgotten the conversation she and Calhoun had in the carriage. She stopped her footsteps and turned to ask him, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Theodore stared at the human whom Calhoun had taken a liking to. Truthfully he saw nothing special in her, and he didn't know what the King had seen that had made him keep her here in the castle. As Theodore worked for the King, he was only going along with his majesty's orders and wishes.

"Apologies, but it would be best if you heard about it through the King and not from me," Theodore bowed his head.

"I did, and he said his parents died because of an attack that took place here. The neighbouring kingdom had attacked them," Theodore pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "He then told it was a joke."

The man offered her a smile, "He has a dark sense of humour. I am sure you will come to like it in time. Please," he then showed his hand towards the front of the stairs, and they started to walk down the stairs. Calhoun was a jealous man, and he wouldn't like it if he were to know that someone else was trying to take the woman's time apart from him.

Madelin, who was holding the front of her dress, continued to place her feet down the stairs one after another.

"He is rough around the edges, but he is a good man, milady," she heard Theodore speak from behind, and Madeline smiled, it wasn't out of happiness.

"Have you not met the King?" she asked him.

As Madeline was walking ahead of Theodore, she didn't notice the smile on the man's lips,

"I have, milady. But the King does things only to protect people he cares and loves. You might find it wrong, and somewhere I do understand, being torn away from the family and to live somewhere you have never lived before, sometimes it can be daunting. And that might be the only dark side of it along with the blood, but if you try to find a good side, you will find many. You will need to look at the brighter side."