I’ll Do Anything

Thomas hurried down the corridor away from Holly’s chambers ignoring her call’s for him to come back talk about things, and ignoring the stares of the maids who he passed as he went, his face like thunder.  

Everyone in the castle knew what was happening, everyone stared at him with pity in there eye’s how was he supposed to rule the kingdom when all those around him pitied him, poor Thomas unable to sleep with his wife in his arms.  Blast them, blast them all he growled angrily, he didn’t want pity or need it, because one night of passion with her was not worth a life time without her.

He paused, outside his study and took a deep breath to compose himself before opening the door, inside Lady Beaumont sat quietly waiting for their meeting, the first thing that struck him was how drawn she looked, Marrisa had always been so full of life, he’d not seen her very often since University  yet each time he saw her she seemed somehow diminished, everyone knew there where problems in the Beaumont house, and although he knew his sister had been involved when she’d run away but the details escaped him.

“Marrisa” He smiled “how are you?”

“Well enough” Marrisa replied, standing to receive him. Thomas wandered over taking her hand he kissed it lightly. “Thank you for receiving me” she smiled nervously “ I realise you must be quite busy”.

“I am” he admitted, “but never too busy to see an old friend”

“A friend?” she replied “I thought I’d been a lover”

Thomas nodded “Perhaps that too. So what can i do for you??”

“I need help” Marrisa replied bluntly, “I’m terribly sorry for bothering you with it, but i didn’t want to cause your sister further trouble.”

“What kind of help?” he asked.

 “I need somewhere to stay” she replied bluntly

Thomas sighed “You know i can’t get involved with matters of marriage that’s for the church.”

“It’s not a matter of marriage, the church have agreed to give me a divorce after the coronation, however Valdemar is likely to be furious and I can’t rely on him providing for me”

Thomas shook his head “I’m not sure”

“Please Thomas” She begged “I’m not asking to be a burden, just a house or a room somewhere and a way of supporting myself”

“Valdemar’s an old friend” Thomas explained, “I really shouldn’t get involved”

“Is he?” Marrisa asked “is he really a friend? When was the last time you saw him?? You don’t understand the man he has become”

“I’ve heard rumours” Thomas admitted “But surely things can’t be that bad, is there no way to repair your marriage”

“No” Marrisa urged “the boy you knew is gone…. Look!!” she demanded pulling at the strings of her dress allowing the top bodice fall from her body revealing year’s worth of scar’s across her back “Would the boy you knew do this??” she demanded.

Thomas stopped and stared paying no attention to the fact that by now she was half undressed; his eye’s drawn to the spiderweb of scar’s in colours of white, red and more recent purple. “I didn’t realise it was this bad” he replied running his fingers across her back.

“You owe me” she dared, “he’s ever been the same since you stole Holly from him… these beating are for you, for her… I suffer before you stole the only woman he truly loved”

“I could talk to him” Thomas mumbled.

“It’s too late for talk” Marrisa reasoned, “I need a place to stay, somewhere to take my cousin somewhere she’ll be safe” she begged.

“Your cousin?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, my lady in waiting, she came with me from the mainland”

“What does she have to do with this??”

“she’s like a toy to him, the things he doesn’t dare do to me, he does to her… he’ll beat me, rape me… but at the end of the day he can’t risk that he might kill a babe I could be carrying, or risk injuring me so badly that i might not make the next social gathering… so what he can’t do to me he does to her, when he really wants to hurt me…he hurts her to spite me … I have lost track of the occasions he’s near killed her, though at this point in her life I dare say she’d rather die” she replied harshly.

Thomas paused, struggling to believe the change in the man he’d once called friend “I’m not sure I can help” he said sadly “I haven’t even taken the throne i can’t risk getting into conflict with one of my lords already”

Marrisa burst into tears falling to her knee’s she wept, “Please” she begged.

Thomas kneeled beside her “I’m sorry” he said gently lifting her back to her feet, he guided her to her small sofa as she wept, sitting her down beside him he pulled her close “I’m sorry i wish i could help… I’ll see what i can do but you have to understand i can’t get directly involved.”

Marrisa looked up “Please Thomas, please help me… is swear ill earn my keep, I’ll do anything”

“Marrisa it’s not about that” Thomas tried to explain.

“I’ll do anything” she repeated, making her point pulling herself up to straddle him, “anything” she whispered as she leant forward to kiss him..  

~ by katherine on October 16, 2008.