The Forbidden Fruit

Lately we had been seeing each other more often.
George brought me little gifts from his trips to other towns. I never really got to understand what job he did, but it was fantastic. He spoke of the outside and the places I wished to go to. He even promised to take me there.
For this particular afternoon, George rode the both of us on a horse to visit the meadow that was part of Darius' land. We got off the horse and began to walk. He had packed us some lunch.
There was something different about him, however. He looked rather nervous and each time our eyes met, he would quickly look away.
"Is everything fine," I continued asking him, but his answer was always a simple "yes".
The wind was blowing softly, the sun shining brightly in the sky. It was a great day to have a little picnic indeed.
He picked up a flower for me and placed it in my hair. I blushed a little. Was this true love? Was this how it felt to be near the one you truly cherish?
"You look ever so beautiful Elise," he said, fiddling with his fingers. I remembered hearing those same words from Darius as he undressed me. They had meant nothing. Somehow, though, hearing them from George was different. A warm fuzzy feeling would go through me like a shiver. When I heard those words from him, it meant something to me. After he noticed we were staring into each others eyes for a long period of time, he cleared his throat and pulled out a little blanket, "the view here is magnificient is it not?"
I agreed as I helped him lay it on the grass that was ever so green. We both sat down and he pulled out some sandwiches and two bottles of drink.
"I know this is nothing special-"
"George, I love it."
He grinned awkwardly as we began to eat. He certainly looked uneasy. I pretended to not notice and continued eating. If it was something he wanted to share, then he would do so at his own time.
"Do you want a piece of my sandwich?" I asked. He nodded and I leaned over to feed him. Being Darius' mistress, he had taught me many things I would not have dreamt of doing. He taught me things that a woman in this century was not to be seen doing in public, but this was not public and George was responding well. I guess every man had their wants, which they did not speak of.
"You are quite a brave young lady feeding me like that in such an open space," he smiled as he wiped off some crumbs from his face. I had managed to break the ice. He seemed at ease now.
"Elise," he smiled as he held both my hands, "there is a reason to me bringing you here. When I was speaking to Alejandro, he made me aware of your...secret."
My eyes widened. Did George now know of the fact that I was in fact Darius' mistress? If that was the case, where was our relationship headed?
"I do not know how much your debt is and I do not care," he said as my heart became at ease, "I am willing to pay it all for you, even if it takes me the rest of my life, because Elise.....I lo-lo-lov."
He shut his eyes and blurted out, "I love you Elise! And I would be truly honored if you were to give me your hand in marriage."
I felt my heart beat fast as a smile crossed my face. George, the man I had wanted for a long time wanted to marry me. Many of the girls my age were now married with families. All hope of being married was gone after the day I had lost my innocence to Darius. I thought that no one would ever love me because there was nothing beautiful about me. I had thought wrong. This man before me, had managed to see my beauty. He had proven that beauty was in the eye of the beholder.
He anxiously awaited my reply. When he saw that I had not spoken for too long, he continued talking to me.
"I know I am not a nobleman and I will not be able to give you everything you wish for Elise," he said, "but I promise to love you for as long as I live and to keep you happy and safe."
I could not hold back the tears of joy. In my mind I was thinking, mother I wish you were here to see this.
"George.." I mouthed, for the happiness was holding back my voice.
We were both startled by something rustling in the trees only to find Darius walking our way, with a pen and book in his hands.
"This is rather interesting," Darius chuckled, "when I came here to get some peace of mind, I did not think I would be disrupted by you two. Now get back to work. George, if you intend to marry her out of pity...never mind. Get back to work."
How had we not noticed him this whole time? I wondered what It was not like there were many trees to hide him.
"It's not out of pity," George retorted, "I really do love Elise, sir."
He turned to me, "you don't have to answer me as of yet Elise. I am willing to w-"
"...but I think she does," he smirked, "get it over with. You don't want it to gnaw at you all night now do you?"
I watched as George turned red, but his eyes were not on me.
"Elise?"
"I...I love you too George," I confessed, "I love you too and yes you may have my hand in marriage."
Darius' presence took away all my uncertainty. I had known for a long time that I wanted to be his beloved. It was not often my dreams actually came true. Hearing word of Grace's marriage had made me feel rather lonely and left out, now I could go and tell Grace of this wonderful news.
George was smiling now, as silent tears rolled down my cheeks. I was truly happy. He wiped them away as I turned to face Darius who looked far from amused. I watched as he stared at me for a while before the fakest smile I had ever seen appeared on his face. He gave Darius a friendly part on the shoulder, "well, congratulations. We should celebrate your....betrothal."
"That won't be necessary," George said modestly.
That been said, Darius walked away back into the trees.

---

He walked me to my chambers, left me right at the door. For the very first time, he hugged me and kissed my forehead paternally.
"I wish I could kiss you lips," he said as he got flustered, "but we should preserve ourselves for marriage should we not."
I nodded my head as I got into my room. I shut the door behind me and lay my back on it as I slid onto the floor. A smile crossed my face as my hand touched the part he had pressed his lips against. I let out a little shriek of joy and then laughed before harsh reality hit me like a hurricane.
There was not a chance in hell that he could possibly marry me. I had slept with another man, a soiled maiden, a defiled flower. Hearing the beautiful words of love sipping from his lips had caused me to act irrationally. I had said yes without thinking of the consequences. I could come up with an excuse of why I was no longer a virgin, but that would mean the relationship had dishonesty as it's foundation. Sooner or later the truth would come out wouldn't it?
Something that had been bothering me as I had galloped back on the horse with George was Darius' reaction to the everything. I would have thought he would have reacted a little differently from what he had done. Why was he saddened by the news? Was it because he had grown to like me as more than a mistress? But that was just absurd. There was nothing appealing about me that could possibly make him love me.