"Too bad, huh?" Isabel said. "Being king is not al it's cracked up to be."

He shrugged. "I suppose I could do it, but 'tis not fair to the rest of the people of Camelot. What does that make me, Isabel, if I change laws to suit my own needs?"

"That would be cal ed a dictator."

"A what?"

"An evil ruler who changes laws for his own gain."

"I do not ever care to become one of those."

"Arthur, if you were, there is no way I could possibly love you. It is the man you are that I love. We'l figure this out. We wil ."

If you want, Isabel, to be with your desire, find a way to make him more than your lover.

And how, Lady, do you make this true? Should I break the necklace and ask for this, too?

No, Isabel, the necklace is not for that. The tears inside will not bring what you want.

You are making no sense, Viv, and I've decided I've earned the right to call you that. So don't give me any grief. Just tell me what the hell I'm dealing with here.

Follow your heart, as I have followed mine. All things will reconcile in time.

That made plenty of sense. She banged her head to get herself back into reality. Or at least this reality.

"Tel me this, Arthur. What brought this on?" Isabel asked him He sat down on her bed. "As I witnessed the vows betwixt James and Mary, I was envious, wishing that it was you and me in their place. Do not mistake me, I am very, very happy for those two. But I could not help but feel that it should have been us."

She sat down beside him and took his hand, intertwining their fingers. "I felt that way as wel ."

"It grows worse," he said, his thumb caressing her palm as he seemed to always do. And which she loved. "When I cal ed Gwen up as my queen and wife, I nearly spoke your name."

"Oh, Arthur!"

"It was so wrong, Isabel. Al upside down. It should have been you standing aside me. 'Twas you who scrubbed and directed the kitchen staff and -"

"Hold on, sport. Gwen worked her tail off, too, to pul this off in record time. Please don't discredit her part."

"No, I do not. I know that Gwen worked very hard as wel . It is just that you received so little recognition for al you did. I was forced to cal Gwen up to stand with me. And as much as I admire Gwen's contribution, I only know that the woman I wanted at my side, nay, the woman I wished was standing afore me exchanging those vows, was Isabel. I know it is very nasty I would feel this way, and I am ashamed. But 'tis how I feel right now, and the funny part of this is, you are the only one I feel safe admitting this to. When it is your heart that I hope to win. Stupid way of going about that, is it not?"

"Perfect way of going about that."

He glanced at her sideways. "Am I batty or are you?"

Her free hand slid up his arm. "Probably both of us." She settled farther back on the bed. "Look, I believe that what attracted us to one another was our ho-"

Whoa, she backed up on that one. Her entire life here was a lie. "Was that we could be honest about our feelings."

He was stil staring down, but he grinned. "It did not hurt overmuch that I thought you the most beautiful woman I had e'er laid eyes upon."

"You definitely need to get your vision checked, Arthur."

He chuckled. "My eyesight is just fine, Countess. It might have improved since you arrived."

"Flatterer."

He shook his head, stil laughing softly. "Oh, Isabel, you have no idea the amount of my men that James and I have had to ward off from you."

"James and you?"

"James has my back. He knows my feelings and he anticipates what I care for. He would no more al ow anyone at Camelot to try to court you than he'd al ow someone to look at his Mary."

"But-"

"He believes we belong together, Isabel. Is he wrong?"

"No."

They sat together in silence for several minutes. Final y Arthur rose. "I realize how exhausted you are. I wil not bother you any more tonight, beautiful lady."

"Wait!"

"Yes, love?"

"I stil need help out of this freaking gown. And ... and, it's true I'm too exhausted to even consider making love. But that doesn't mean I don't want you to hold me. Please stay."

His grin was exhausted as wel , but he pul ed her up and turned her around. "I wil take the Two Words I Wanted to Hear from Isabel's Lips for a thousand, Alex."

"What is, 'Please stay.'"

"Correct!"

She was naked and in bed fast. It took Arthur a while longer as he was wearing what she decided was a medieval tuxedo. Al decked out for the ceremony this evening. Good lord he'd looked so freaking handsome.

He climbed into the bed and held her, his body heat and delicious male scent pure heaven.

"I could get so used to this," she whispered. "I could become addicted to this."

"Isabel?"

"Yes?"

"I say it now and I wil utter it with my dying breaths, I do thee vow."

Her drooping eyes shot open.

Viviane? Please, please help me. Please tell me you aren't taking Arthur from me.

No answer. Nothing. Nada.

Thanks a lot, she thought.

"I do thee vow," she whispered. But his deep breathing told her he was already sound asleep.

WHEN Isabel woke in the morning, Arthur was gone. It was a lonely, achy feeling to turn over and have the other side of her bed empty. But she shouldn't have been surprised. The man was up before dawn, worked until the breaking of fast, then straight to work out with his soldiers. Stil pissed her off. Yet at the knock at her door, she was reminded she also had a to-do list a mile long today.

"Please enter."

Jenny peeked her head in the door. "'Tis me, mistress."

"Thank goodness. Tea, Jenny?"

Jenny grinned and entered, her tray ful of al kinds of delicious-smel ing goodies, as wel as tea.

"What is this, breakfast in bed?"

"The master said you had such an exhausting evening that you might prefer to just laze a bit, mum."

"Oh, the master is wonderful."

"He truly is, mum," Jenny said.

"I am so sorry you have to pul double duty, Jenny."

"Oh, I do not mind at al . Mary has taken over my duties many times when I was ... il ."

"Il . Right."

Isabel drank the heavenly tea, almost moaned at the pastries and dug into delicious scrambled eggs. "This is so good," she said after a long sip of tea.

"I am so glad, Countess."

"My name is Isabel."

"Oh, I could not!"

Deja vu.

"Would you enjoy a morning bath, Countess?"

"You know, I think I would prefer an afternoon bath today, Mistress Jenny. But thank you for asking."

Jenny giggled. She was tal and thin with real y long brownish black hair. She could be a Paris runway model with a little makeup ... and a better wardrobe.

"If I may say, Countess, Mary has had nothing but wonderful praises upon you."

"Thank you, Jenny! That is so sweet. I adore her."

"She says that you have a way of making toenails look pretty."

"It's a girl secret, but if you want me to paint your toenails, I wil be happy to."

"Truly?"

"Truly. Especial y if you cal me Isabel."

"Oh, I could not!"

Good lord, even one at a time was tiring. She wondered if she could talk Arthur into passing a law that al servants were al owed to cal people by their damn freaking names.

She smiled at runway-model Jenny. "Please go wash your feet. Scrub them and then dry them. Then come back and I wil paint them for you."

Jenny's grayish eyes shined. "Thank you so much, m'lady! I wil . And, oh, I forgot, Queen Guinevere would appreciate a word."

"She is welcome anytime."

And just like that, a knock on the door.

"Come on in, Gwen," Isabel cal ed.

Except it was Mary who sailed in, her eyes glowing.

Isabel nearly jumped out of bed until she realized she was naked. So she just grabbed the top fur and wrapped it around her. "Oh, Mary, you look wonderful! I assume-"

"Isabel?" Gwen said. "May I come in?"

"Perfect timing," Isabel said.

"No! I am going to miss al of the good stuff!" Jenny said.

"Hurry," Isabel said. "We wil engage in idle chitchat until you return. In fact, I'l put clothes on before you return."

Jenny raced from the room.

"Plop down on the floor, ladies, while I don a nightgown."

"I'VE promised Jenny to do her toes," Isabel said. "And she very much wants to be here for girl chat. Do either of you have a problem with that?"

Mary and Gwen both shook their heads.

"Jenny is one of the few who has never, ever turned on me," Mary said. "I trust her almost as I trust you."

"And I trust her with al things," Gwen added.

But Isabel couldn't help it. She kept looking into Mary's sparkling sapphire eyes and she fel on her side, laughing. "That good, Mary?"

"Oh, Isabel, I had no ... It was ... Did you guys know they have these big picklelike things?"

Gwen and Isabel looked at each other, then both fel over-Isabel again-laughing.