Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 183 Cheap shots

Beth was escorted out of the cell a while later and left Doris alone once again with her thoughts. If Martin

believed she was happy here, he would be more willing to prove to her that this place was perfect for

them. He would let her roam free. She hoped.

And then the rest she could deal with as she went. If she was allowed out of her room, she could slip out

and find a weapon to defend herself.

If only it was that easy.

Doris dozed off for a few hours when her exhaustion caught up with her. She woke at the first sign of

knocking and it knocked any sort of sleep away from her. She quickly pushed the sheets away from her

and got up just as Prince Martin opened the door.

“Sorry, am I disturbing you?” He took a step back towards the door. He wore a light green suit with

slicked back hair. He smelled clean, as if he’d just come from a lavender bath.

“No, no. It’s fine.” Dorris cleared her throat. “Come in.”

Prince Martin looked at her strangely before he stepped in and closed the door behind him. “How are you

doing today? I hope you enjoyed your morning.”

“Oh yes I did very much, I was just admiring the lovely painting on the wall. Did you have someone come

in to hand paint all of this?” Doris traced the flowers with her fingertips.

“I did.” Prince Martin said. He brightened a little and stepped closer to admire the art with her. “I wanted it

to be like the garden back at the palace. I always saw you out there after your shifts.”

“Is there a garden here? It’s been a long time since I got to enjoy one.” Doris said almost sadly. She

sighed and raked her fingers through her hair that she was certain looked like a mess. She hadn’t

thought once about her appearance since she arrived.

“Of course there is. Do you think I would have forgotten your garden?” Prince Martin glanced at the door

and then back at Doris. “Would you like to see it?”

Doris tried not to look overly excited. She smiled warmly and nodded. “That would be lovely! You should

have told me, I didn’t realize you had one here!”

Doris slipped on shoes by the door before she joined him. He wrapped a cloak around her shoulders

gently and she had to force herself not to step away from him when he lingered close. Instead, she held

his arm as he opened the door. She didn’t miss the smile on his face when she touched him.

One of his guards stepped up instantly when he saw them. “Is this a good idea, your majesty? I thought

she was to remain inside her room.”

“She wanted to see other areas of her house. I don’t think it’s fair to deprive her of that, we will be back

soon.” Prince Martin said as he passed. The guards fell into step behind them.

“How many rooms are here? It looks quite big on the outside from my window.” Doris said lightly.

“It’s a mini castle. The royal court abandoned it years ago but I had it fixed up recently to be livable. It still

needs work, but it’s almost there.” Prince Martin said with a smile. He led her down a hall that looked

endless before they turned down the main staircase. She tried to memorize all of it like a map in her

mind. “It has about eight bedrooms and several offices. All of them are yours to decorate as you wish.”

“Wow.” Doris said. “Is this one of the only castles that were abandoned by the royal court?”

“There are more, but not many.” Prince Martin said. Doris swallowed the heavy feeling in her chest. That

was good. If there weren’t many others, William had a chance to find where she was and she could find

her way back to him. Hopefully he knew where they were.

“Through here is the kitchen.” He led her through a large, bright kitchen that had several cooks at the

stoves. It smelled heavenly, but the thought of eating made her sick. Her appetite felt strange, as if she

was hungry but she didn’t want to eat a single thing. “And back through here is the quickest way to get to

the garden.”

Prince Martin led her through the back entrance and immediately they stepped out to an enclosed

pathway that led to the garden. Doris looked around for an exit, but the only one she saw was back the

way they came. Unless there was one along the back walls.

Her shoes crunched on the rocks as she entered the greenhouse. It was stunning. She couldn’t deny

how much the sight took her breath away. Flowers bloomed even in the winter and it made her wonder if

he had some sort of magic to have something like that happen. It looked almost identical to the one she

used to walk through back at the palace.

She tried not to think about how uneasy he made her feel when he admitted to watching her. He watched

her, he listened to her private conversations. Doris had no idea he had become so obsessed with her…

for how long was he like that? Since they first met?

Prince Martin led her through the rows until they reached a stone bench that looked awfully familiar to

the one back at the palace.

“What do you think?” He asked with a smile on his face. Doris causally removed her arm away from his

own as she looked around.

“It’s beautiful. I… I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”

“Of course I did. What’s the point of wealth if you can’t spend it on those you care for?” Prince Martin

inched closer to her. She could feel him watching her even when she turned her face away to admire the