Chapter 2: Transition
Inside the room, Matilda wondered how she could get herself out of this situation, but she came up blank. Finally, she just decided to try to convince Alexander of the truth in her words and persuade him to help her find her way back to the twenty-first century.
Alexander arrived back at the chamber after sending for the healer. He looked at Matilda and spoke.
"When the healer arrives, comply with him and allow him to examine you, or I will have my threat carried out," Alexander said.
They both sat in silence for a long time until there came a knock on the door.
"You may come in," Alexander called out.
The man who stepped into the room was very old. His hair had gone totally gray and his posture was stooped. He was carrying a black bag in his left hand. When he spoke, the strength of his voice belied his old age.
"Good day, my Lord," he said while bowing.
"Richard, take a look at her and let me know of your findings. She has been saying some rather unmeaningful things since she awoke. Some talk about how she isn't of this time and needs to go back to the twenty-first century. How absurd!"
The healer, Richard, walked toward the bed. He looked at Matilda and took in her flushed face.
"Good day, my Lady," he said.
Matilda did not reply to the healer's greeting. She simply stared at him until he realized that she didn't reply because she could not identify him. Richard placed his bag on the table beside the bed and opened it.
"My Lady, if you would please lie down, I need to examine you."
Matilda did as he asked. He took out some strange instruments from his bag and proceeded to use them on her. He also took her temperature, and when he was done with his examinations, he put her instruments inside his bag.
"My Lord, I have examined Lady Beatrice and found nothing wrong with her except that I fear her temperature is quite high. My Lady should get a lot of rest, and her temperature should be down by the morrow. If you please, I will take my leave now, my Lord."
"You can be on your way, Richard. Make sure to stop by the keep in the morning to further check on Beatrice."
Richard left the room, and Alexander also went outside immediately. He called for a kitchen maid to bring food for Beatrice. He went inside, and after a while, the maid brought the food in.
"Place the food on the table and leave," Alexander ordered.
The maid complied with the order and closed the door silently behind her. Alexander went to the table and took a bite of the food and a sip of the water.
"This is to convince you that the food and water are safe for you. "You can eat it now," he said.
He took the tray to the bedside and placed it on Matilda's lap. She looked at the food skeptically, but very soon, she summoned up courage.
Since Matilda was thirsty, the first thing she did was take a sip of water from the wooden cup. She took another sip and set it down. She carefully took the first bite of the porridge. She was in awe. It tasted really good and it was not like any other porridge she had ever tasted. This one also had fresh fruits like apples and grapes in it. Before long, she was done with the food. She walked over to the table and placed the tray on it. She turned to Alexander and spoke.
"I would like to have my bath."
Alexander went outside, hailed a passing maid, and asked her to bring two buckets of steaming water to his chambers.
Not very long after, someone knocked on the door.
"Who is there?" Alexander asked.
"I have come with the water, my Lord," came the reply from outside.
"Bring it in then."
The door swung open and the face of a young maid appeared, followed by two buckets of steaming water in her hands. She seemed unsure of where to go with them because she had never been in the Marquess's chamber before.
"Go to the washroom and pour it in the tub," Alexander told her, indicating the direction of the washroom.
The maid followed his directions and went to the door of the washroom. She put the buckets of water down and pushed the door open then she picked the buckets up and poured their contents into the tub. She left the washroom and bowed to Alexander in the living area.
"I am done, my Lord," she said.
"You can leave now," Alexander ordered.
When the maid had closed the door behind her, Alexander pulled the door to Beatrice's chest open and took out a night dress. He went to the washroom and placed it on the table there. There was also an assortment of scented bath salts and oils and scented soaps. There was also a stack of colorful washcloths on the table. He poured a quality amount of a rare type of scented oil into the water and placed a bar of soap on the washstand. He checked that the water in the ewer was full and the basin was clean.
The whole room smelt heavenly and was covered in a veil of fog from the steaming water. He was done here. Alexander exited the washroom and walked to Beatrice's side, took her arm, and pulled her up gently.
"It is time for your wash, Milady."
Alexander led her to a bathroom further inside and pointed to a stand on which a bar of soap was laid.
"There is the washstand, the ewer, and the basin."
He poured a little amount of water from the ewer into the basin and directed her on how to use it.
"You will take one of those washcloths from that stack over there and dip it into the basin. You will then rub the soap on it and use it to wash your body. When you are done with that, immerse yourself in the water in that tub for a while. When you finish with your wash, there is a night dress on the table. Take it and put it on. If you cannot manage by yourself, I can offer to assist you. "
Matilda was not about to let Alexander see her nakedness.
"You can go on. I will be fine on my own, "she said.
Alexander left the room and closed the door.
Matilda found the whole procedure rather strange, but she soon discarded her clothes and took her bath. If you could call it that, she reasoned. She put on her nightwear and stepped out of the bathroom.
When she got to the bedroom, the covers had been pulled back, and Alexander motioned for her to lie down on them. She was already exhausted, so she did exactly that. He pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her on the forehead.
"Have a good night's rest, milady," he whispered.
Not long after, Matilda was already fast asleep.
Alexander walked to the window seat and gazed at Beatrice as she slept on the bed. She clenched the red and white colored coverlet in one of her fists as she slept. Alexander remembered the promise he had made to himself earlier on, and he vowed to keep it at all costs.
From this day onward, he would treat Beatrice like she deserved to be treated. He reasoned that it wasn't her fault that she had lost her memory. It was just fate playing tricks on them. He would talk to her gently and answer her questions promptly. He would treat her with care, devote his attention to her, and try to remind her, with love, what her life had been like before.
Alexander vowed to never raise his voice at her again, no matter what she said. Everything would be as it was the first few months after they got married, except that she wouldn't be able to recall what those times had been like. He would only have to remind her.
While he was having all these thoughts and many more, he silently paddled around the chamber and took it in like never before.
The chamber is comprised of five areas. The living area, the sleeping area, the washroom, the study, and the library. The chamber was tastefully furnished. The walls were inlaid with precious gems like rubies, sapphires, opals, and corals.
The living area held plush red-colored sofas and a table of marble in the middle. The bed in the sleeping area had been carved by one of the first woodworkers in the kingdom, the master of them all. All the other pieces of furniture in the chamber had been carved by the same hand too. On the armoire stood a jar of the oil that Beatrice loved so much. The mirror attached to it was as clear as day. Some of her items lay on the armoire.
In the study were a desk and a chair carved of jade and inlaid with ivory. In the library were the great books of the ancients. There were also scrolls of papyrus and vellum there too. The washroom was fitted with a washstand, a basin, an ewer of water, and a sunken stone tub. On a table lay an assortment of scented soaps and oils and a stack of colorful wash towels. A stone toilet was also fitted to one side. This was the most beautiful room in the whole of Ludlow.
Back in the sleeping area, Alexander pushed open the chest that held Beatrice's possessions. Her dresses, trinkets, headpieces, drawers, chemises, petticoats, and corsets were all there. Her shoes were piled further down beside the left wall. He paired each dress with a headpiece, corset, drawer, chemise, petticoat, and trinkets according to how she liked to wear them. He also laid out the footwear she liked to wear with each set of clothes.
He walked back to the window, took his seat on one of the chairs, and stared at the darkness outside. It was in this position that he fell asleep.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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