The silence lingered inside the room as Isabella did her best to focus on cleaning up the injury instead of the eyes threatening to pierce holes into her skull. It was a hard task but she managed it. When she was done wiping the injury, she was relieved to know that it wasn't a deep wound. She gingerly stepped away from him. "I will go get the ointment from the butler."
Sitting up on the stool, Leofric said, "Do not bother yourself with that, it is just a mere scratch."
"A mere scratch that can be infected any minute." She replied, her voice tight
"Nothing I haven't seen before."
"Because you have seen it before doesn't mean you have to see it again," She fixed him a hard gaze.
"Fine, do your thing." He offered her an indifferent shrug.
"That's exactly what I thought." She turned on her heel and left the room.
Now alone inside the room, Leofric's lips threatened to reach his ears. For what reason? He wasn't sure, but it most likely had something to do with the lady that left the room. Though subtle, he couldn't ignore the little improvement in their relationship. He wasn't sure she knew about these changes, and heavens forbid the day she finds out. She might raise hell in the wake of her realization.
He couldn't help but wonder if the changes had something to do with the agreement they had in place for the marriage. What would be her reaction if she found out that I had no intention of keeping my own part of the agreement? He wasn't given the opportunity to dive deeper into his thoughts as the door flung open. His smile quickly vanished as Isabella made her way to him with a small pouch in hand.
"I got it," She held the pouch out for him to see before settling beside him to apply it, "There you go, you are ready to fly." She chimed.
Leofric raised an amused brow at her, "Ready to fly?"
Isabella's lips formed a thin line, "Forget I ever said that." To her surprise, he threw his head back and laughed like it was the best joke he had ever heard. It wasn't even supposed to be funny. She left his side and sat on the bed. "It's not funny." She pointed out.
"Oh, the fact you think is not funny makes it hilarious." He replied, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Did you see your face when you said that?"
"Stop," She warned but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "It was a slip of the tongue."
"Sure, sure." He stood from the stool and felt something in his pocket. It was a letter he had hi-jacked from the butler earlier. It was for Isabella.
A knock at the door distracted him as the servants entered the room with buckets of water for Leofric. As soon as they left, he crossed over to Isabella and handed the letter over to her. "From your father." He said slowly, knowing that she was still angry at her father.
Isabella couldn't hold back the scoff that sent her eyes rolling back as she tossed to the bed, "I don't need more dramas in my life right now."
Leofric's eyes narrowed infinitesimally as he said. "What do you mean by drama? I don't see any drama in a father trying to check up on his daughter after marriage."
"Of course, you don't when you are the real reason for it." She replied, her voice tight.
Leofric shook his head as he said, "If you ask me, I think you are the one being dramatic here."
She flashed him a disdainful look, "Well, good thing no one asked for your opinion." She glared at him, daring him with her eyes.
Leofric rubbed his face. How did they go from laughing over a silly thing to fighting over a letter? With Isabella, you can never tell. "You have a family that cares for you, yet you take it for granted."
"I am not taking anything for granted. The moment he agreed to this marriage was enough to show he didn't care about me. He just wanted to massage his ego by showing the world he is a man of his word without considering the feelings of those involved."
"Your father never used in any way. He did the right thing. If you want to blame anyone, it should be me."
"Who said I am not blaming for this miserable situation I am in." She snapped at him, anger evident in her eyes.
"I thought you have gotten over this childish behaviour of yours. Maybe it hasn't dawned on you that you are now a married woman not some little brat with no understanding of how the world works. This 'miserable situation' " He stretched out, "of yours is how the world works. You are a woman. You are bound to get married. It would have happened sooner or later."
"I had it all under control before you barreled into my life and turned it upside down." She spat back, already on her feet.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have pretended to be a nice and submissive Lady when I met you. You should have shown me the real you and then saved the stress."
She let out a humourless chuckle, "Forgive me for trying to please my father. Look where it has landed me."
"It's safe to say I should be the angry one, not you. Since I married you, I have never had a moment of peace. By the blood of Christ, woman! It's like walking on eggshells every day trying to please your stuck-up behind!"
"I never asked you to please my 'stuck-up behind' " She flashed him a tight smile, "And you have no right to be angry because whatever is happening to you, you brought it upon yourself. I never asked you to marry me, did I? Out of the goodness of my heart, I even tried to talk you out of it. I know, quite generous of me! You have no reason to complain."
"The goodness of your heart?" he echoed, chuckling. With his wife, anything was possible. One moment she was driving him crazy, the next she was cracking him up. "I don't regret marrying you," he said, his voice now steady. "In fact, I'm glad I did."
Isabella couldn't decide what infuriated her more, the fact that his statement made her blood boil or the fact that his words actually touched her heart. "Well, I regret every bit of the marriage. Damn you to hell, Leofric." She barked at him and turned away, quickly exiting the room and banging the door behind her.
'If anything, I am glad I did what I did.' His words echoed in her mind.
Damn, the infuriating man to hell a hundred times. Double blast him.
She hated how sincere he sounded when he said those words. He was supposed to say hurtful things and not sweet things. Scratch that! Nothing about the man was sweet. He must be a dreamer if he thought saying things like that would make her change her mind about the marriage. He was a demon in human form sent straight from hell to torment her life.
Oh, she will fight with her last strength to send him back. It wasn't hard to spot Judith with two other girls about her age. As soon as they saw her, the ladies quickly bowed and scurried off, except Judith. Bless her soul.
Judith sent a quick prayer to heaven as she saw her mistress's murderous look. What has the big oaf done this time? She asked herself as she met Isabella halfway. "My Lady, are you alright?" She asked.
"Judith, do I look alright?" Isabella asked, her tone sharp. "I am sorry, just that the infuriating man won't let me be."
"But you two were okay some minutes—" Judith's eyes widened as Isabella quickly shushed her with a finger placed over her lips.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Judith! We have never been okay. We can never be okay."
"Okay…." Judith drawled. "If I may ask, what is the bone of contention this time around?"
"Father wrote a letter to me, which I do not deem fit to reply, but my 'dearest husband'..." she hissed, her voice dripping sarcasm into the last two words. "Is trying to force me to reply to the letter."
"Oh, my lady…" Judith hesitated, unsure how to broach the possibility that Leofric might not have intended any harm. She shifted her gaze from side to side, searching for the right words. "Why don't you want to reply to your father's letter....?"
Inside the room, Leofric sat on the edge of the bed, a picture of despair. His head was cradled in his hands, elbows digging into his thighs. He had been there for hours, since returning from the dining hall, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. Isabella was there but they ignored each other like strangers.
After the meal, they both went their separate ways, him to their chamber and she to only heaven knew where. Oh, he knew where. He had asked Robert to find which part of the manor she was in. When the tower clock rang, so did the timer inside him. He stood and walked out of the room.