"We are many things but Lady is not one of them," Flicker snapped at the advisor, almost as if she had taken his comment as an insult.
"Do you wish for us to leave, Your Grace?" Flower asked, sitting up, not bothering to cover her nudity. She even glanced at Maximus as if she hoped to catch him looking just to embarrass him further. The advisor had cleverly turned his back on the bed, his hands clasped behind his back, holding whatever pages he had for Theo to look over.
With a deep breath to stop himself from saying no, Theo nodded. "Be off with you both."
The two girls made no complaints though they appeared more than a little dejected as they clambered from the bed and hurried into the wisps of material that could barely be considered dresses.
They curtseyed silently, the looks in both their eyes suggesting that he hadn't seen the last of them.
The moment they left the room, their bare feet slapping on the marble floor of his chambers, Theo turned to glare at Maximus.
"What have I told you?" he demanded.
The old man bowed his head, at least having the decency to look ashamed.
"I know, Your Majesty, and normally I would not disturb you but today is the day."
Theo's stomach tightened and his throat clenched.
"What day?" Theo responded, unable to admit that he knew very well what the advisor was talking about. "Monday? Yes, I know it's Monday."
Maximus kept his head bowed and his voice was measured as he replied, "Yes it is Monday, Your Majesty, but it is also the day that Lady Delilah is due to arrive at court. I am afraid you must be ready to greet her and her people when they arrive."
"The last I had heard they had only just set sail from the mainland. She can't possibly be here already," Theo protested. He remembered reading the letter from the mainland himself. It had been sent by Pegasus messenger ahead of the ship that would carry Delilah and her people to the Summer Isle.
Theo tried his hardest not to think of her people and who might be among them. He had spent the better part of his time on the Summer Isle burying himself in courtesans and other willing participants just to keep himself from thinking of her.
"Your Majesty, that letter arrived almost a week ago," Maximus insisted before he held out the paper he had been holding. "This arrived this morning. They have docked on the Isle and will be taking the King's Road shortly. We must get ready."
Theo knew very well that he would never be ready to make this appearance but he also knew from Maximus's face and the way the man fidgeted from foot to foot that the matter wasn't up for discussion.
Besides, deep down he knew his advisor was right.
I can't possibly be this anxious because of her, Theo told himself. He had to have been nervous of meeting Delilah again after so long. After all, they had been betrothed since they were children yet she was arriving today to begin the preparations for their wedding. Besides, she might not even be with her.
Theo cursed under his breath as he realized that no matter how hard he tried to tell himself not to, he always seemed to be thinking of her.
I can't even say her name, he realized. Even in his own head he could only think of her as her. If he gave even a thought to the name that went along with the face of the woman he had been unable to stop thinking about, he knew he would forever be doomed.
She may not even be Delilah's companion anymore, he tried to convince himself, ready himself even for the moment when he found that she was not standing at the Lady's side.
Let it be so, he hoped.
"My Lord, did you hear me?" Maximus's shrill voice brought him back to the present and he realized he had been lost in a fog of that fateful night, the night that had left him an entirely changed man.
"What, Maximus?" Theo snapped a little more harshly than necessary.
"Everybody awaits you in the throne room, My Lord." Maximus's head bowed lower as though he was fearful of Theo's temper and the king groaned inwardly. He had never been an overly temper fueled individual back on the mainland. A part of him thought to apologize but he quickly remembered the advice his father had once given him: Never apologize. A king can never be wrong and apologizing will make it appear as though you are. You can never show any weakness.
Was that why he had been having such a hard time facing up to what had happened that night down by the lake? Because he couldn't admit his weakness?
"Who is King here, Maximus?" Theo said in a well-guarded and low voice. He glared at the advisor from beneath his thick, dark lashes.
"You are, Your Majesty."
"Then my subjects shall wait for me as long as I wish!" Theo snapped and gestured for the man to be dismissed. "See yourself out. I wish to dress and I believe you have seen quite enough of my royalness this morning."
"Yes, Your Grace." Maximus bowed low before making his way to the door. As he reached for the door handle, Theo called him back. "Yes, Your Grace?"