"What is it? What has happened? Has one of the servants done something to upset you?" he demanded, moving quickly toward her. Fleur shook her head and raised a hand as if to warn him not to come any closer.
"Sweetheart, what is it?" he demanded, reaching for her but she flinched away from him. "Has somebody hurt you? Tell me who it was and I'll see them punished."
Anger and concern were beginning to form a lethal mixture in his gut and he knew he would not be able to hold his temper for much longer.
He looked her up and down, determined to get to the bottom of things one way or another.
That is when he saw the marks on her forearm, the marks that looked like claw marks from some kind of wild animal.
"What did this to you?" he demanded, grabbing her wrist before she could even attempt to stop him. "Please tell me you haven't been out into the woods alone."
"What? No!" Fleur said, her voice cold and measured. She yanked her hand away from his and glanced over her shoulder. "Can we talk privately?"
"Yes, of course." He nodded and placed his hand on the small of her back to walk beside her. "Come into my room."
She began to walk and then hesitated, pressing her back into his palm. His fingertips tingled. Even through the satin of her evening robe, he could feel the warmth of her flesh beneath his hand.
A growl of desire threatened to escape his lips and he quickly clamped them shut.
"I would feel more comfortable in your study," she announced and turned away from his bedchambers.
For a moment Theo wanted to argue, to remind her that he was King and they would go where he dictated, but then he remembered who he was talking to and he realized that he did not want to be like that, not with her.
"Fine, come." He nodded and urged her back in the direction of his study.
Whatever had happened had clearly shaken her. He could feel her trembling beneath his palm before she quickened her pace to avoid his touch.
What has happened to make her so distant? he wondered, concerned as to how quickly her mood had changed. When he had left her earlier that evening she had been warm and carefree, smiling dreamily. Now her shoulders were so tense that they were almost up to her ears and she had most definitely been crying.
The moment that they were alone in his study, he slammed the door closed and turned to face her.
"Fleur, you must tell me what has happened or I shall be unable to do anything about it." He sighed and stepped toward her only for her to take a step back. "Who did that to you?" He gestured to the marks on her arm, still unsure as to how it couldn't have been a wild animal.
Fleur quickly hid her forearm behind her back and shook her head.
"That is not why I am here."
Was she really not going to tell him how she had come across such wounds? From this distance he couldn't be sure whether they were scratches or bruising but he would be damned if he did not find out.
"Let me look," he insisted. He crossed the room fast and grabbed hold of her arm before she had a chance to react.
He got a good look at the wounds, bruising very close to scratches, before she managed to yank her arm away again.
"I told you, that is not why I am here." She half turned away, a saddened expression on her face, averting her eyes to the floor.
"Then why are you here?"
Theo hadn't believed it possible but she visibly tensed further at his question.
"I came here to tell you that I will…" she tripped over the final word and seemed to choke back a sob before continuing, "I will be leaving on the next boat."
Theo's first thought was, what did I do wrong?
"What do you mean, you're leaving? How can you possibly leave now after all we have been through?" he demanded. This time it was his turn to take a step backward. He was in so much shock that he almost stumbled right into his desk. The heavy wooden piece of furniture became the only thing holding him up.
"I was wrong to give myself to you," Fleur stated, shaking her head. She did not meet his eyes, her gaze remaining on the floor. "It never should have happened and I am sorry for it."
Her voice trembled with emotion and every fiber of Theo's being was screaming at him to go to her and take her into his arms, to comfort her. Instead, he remained where he was, gripping the edge of the desk until his knuckles were bone white.