Medieval England - Year 1450: Eleanor was a poor shopkeeper's daughter whose only hope for a better life for herself and her family was to marry well. When she caught the eye of Thomas Fletcher, a royal courtier of noble blood, her family thought he...
Henry took a deep breath in and let it out, nodding.
"After you left, I had a talk with Jacqueline's parents and they told me that if I don't propose to her before they leave to go back to France at the end of the week, then they'll be arranging her marriage to the crown prince of Spain."
Eleanor's eyebrows raised. "So you're going to propose to Jacqueline? But I thought you said you didn't like her?" she asked, scrunching her brows and feeling confused. "Not for marriage, at least."
"I don't. I'll only propose to her as a last resort. But if your plan to help me find someone more suitable for me at the ball doesn't work out, I won't be left with much of a choice. As much as I hate to admit it, my Mother's right. I need a Queen."
Eleanor nodded. "Well, I'll do my best Henry," she told him with a forced smile, feeling anxious. She wasn't really sure if she'd be able to find a good woman at the ball for Henry to marry, but he had helped her find Arthur so she felt like she had to try her hardest. Even if the thought of Henry with another woman made her feel like crying.
Henry took her by surprise when he reached out and slid his hand into hers. "Come with me. I want to show you something," he said softly.
Feeling the touch of his skin on hers made a tingle go up her arm, and she felt butterflies in her stomach.
Her cheeks flushed as she shyly said, "Okay," following after him.
The castle had miles and miles of beautiful sprawling gardens with stone statues, lakes, fountains, blooming flower patches and perfectly manicured hedges, that luckily were tall enough to hide them from view so no one would see him holding a commoner's hand.
He led her through the garden, looking back and forth to make sure there were no guards in view before pressing forward. She wondered why he was being so secretive.
They walked for quite a while before they finally came up to a large weeping willow tree next to a lake whose branches hung down all the way to the ground, creating a canopy so thick it completely hid anything beneath it. He let go of her hand and separated the branches, going underneath the canopy and she followed behind him, looking up in awe at the beautiful view from underneath the tree.
Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
On the back side of the willow tree was a thick hedge that was fifteen feet tall with a small child-size door at the bottom of it that was completely hidden by the willow branches. It blended in perfectly and if you weren't looking for it, you'd never see it.
Henry knelt down, pushing open the door before looking up at her.
"This is what I wanted to show you," he said with a smile, before disappearing through the door. She didn't have to kneel down near as much as he did to fit through the doorway. On the other side she stood up and looked around them in awe. They were inside a beautiful garden that was surrounded on all sides by a fifteen foot tall hedge.
