"Dinner?" Knolls reaffirmed.

"Dinner." stated The Servant Lady.

They had been conversing while she cleaned his room, and in her desperation for him to leave, she had invited him for dinner. 

Supper would have been more like it, but she didn't want The Chamberlain  to see her as any lower than himself.

"If you will leave." she was hasty to have him understand.

He nodded his head and departed.

It was the evening after his dinner engagement had been made that King Allarick informed The Chamberlain that he would be the one fetching Nathaniel from Dirland Forest.

"I would not trust anyone else with this task." The King confided.

With The King expounding upon the importance of Knolls being the one going, The Chamberlain couldn't find it in him to refuse The Majesty.

On the carriage ride to the edge of Dirland Forest, Knolls sighed in regret for not keeping his engagement with the servant lady.

He hadn't even had time to cancel the dinner with her, and he felt incredibly awful for having not done that.

When Knolls didn't make an appearance at her carefully prepared dinner, The Servant Lady was quite put out. She angrily went in search of the undependable Chamberlain.

She found one of the menservants and asked after Knolls. The servant kindly informed her that The Chamberlain was out on The King's business.

At this news The Lady Servant went into a fitful rage, returning to her small cottage where the dinner she had spent the better part of the day preparing lay.

She didn't even want to think about the wasted food, stomping past it and to her bedchamber.

Back in the carriage, Nathaniel and Knolls were riding back to The Castle in comfortable silence.

"I hope you are grateful for me coming." Knolls said rather candidly.

Nathaniel raised his eyebrows in curiosity, "Is that grumpiness I hear?" asking for the reason.

"I had to miss an appointment I had previously made to carry out your father's wishes." replied Knolls cryptically, not wanting to expound upon the subject.

But after persistent questioning from Nathaniel, Knolls relented.

He told of The Servant Lady who had yet to disclose her name, and of the dinner she had invited him to.

His only regret, was that he hadn't tried in any way to tell the woman that he would be absent.

Towards the end of The Chamberlain's narrative, Nathaniel couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I must say, it seems you are besotted with the lady." patting Knolls on the back comfortingly.

Knolls was rather embarrassed at Nathaniel's jesting, but bore it with trained patience.

It was not usual that a boy of Nathaniel's age would tease a man old enough to be his father as a companion fresh to the courting world, but it warmed Knolls' heart that the young man could still find joy even after the trials he had undergone.

-------------------------------------------

This time at the castle, Nathaniel was to stay in his own rooms. The King did not want any more dungeon mishaps, and with Nathaniel's rooms being in a tower, the walls were too thin to have passageways through them.

Nathaniel sighed as The Castle grew nearer, it's imposing walls promising his boredom, waiting to confine him.

The King was taking no chances, therefore sending five guards to see The Prince to his room.

"You did very well Knolls." The King praised The Chamberlain.

Knolls nodded glumly, accepting his praise.

"What has you down old friend?" asked The King, noticing Knolls lack of enthusiasm.

"Nothing Your Majesty, I'm perfectly chipper." The Chamberlain tried to assure, not wanting to have The King feel blame for his sour mood.

"We both know that is a lie." Allarick accused, giving Knolls a pointed look.

The Chamberlain sighed, giving into his friend by then telling of his missed dinner with The Servant Lady.

After listening to Knolls' troubles, The King couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed his friend finally had women problems. Allarick's only comment was, "Took you long enough." clapping his hand on The Chamberlain's back in a comforting manner.

Knolls shook his head, a smile upon his face, "You and your son are too much like one another." marveling at the similarities.

"What of my son?" Allarick asked.

"His reaction to my predicament was almost identical to your own." he expounded upon his comment.

The King shook his head unconvinced, "The boy is too much like his mother, I doubt it."

Knolls shrugged, "Believe what you will."

The King sighed, "Speaking of Nathaniel, what am I to do with that boy?" weariness making an appearance in his demeanor.

Knolls gave The King a contemplative look, "I would suggest, possibly, talk to him?"

"I tried!" burst The King, "It all ended in anger!"

Knolls nodded, deep in thought, looking for a solution, "I do not know what to tell you, old friend. Something will work out, it is not as if Nathaniel will not see reason eventually."

Allarick nodded his head in agreement, "Let us hope, putting up with his impudence for too long will put me in an early grave. The question is, how long will it last?" desperation making it's way through at the end of his speech.

Knolls shook his head in agreement with the question, not knowing what to tell The King. He had never been in this position with his son, nor did he have a son. His experience in being a father was rather lacking.

"Well, no use worrying about something we cannot change. Dinner will be about to start, best be on our way." The King said, deciding to change the gloomy mood of their conversation.

Knolls nodded glumly, remembering his missed meal with The Servant Lady earlier that day.

"You are requested at The King's dinner table." a servant announced once entering Nathaniel's room.

Nathaniel looked up from where he had been glaring at the wall, "Send The King my apologies, but I am feeling quite under the weather."

"T-The King s-said that i-if you were to re-refuse I was the call the guards t-to bring you forcefully." the poor servant stammered out.

Nathaniel nodded once and sighed. He had been expecting something like this, it would have been to easy to just refuse like he had done last time.

"Then tell The King I will be down shortly." he said, starting to prepare for the extravagant dinner party that was surely taking place.

When he came down, escorted by two guards, the dinner had already started, but the seat next to his father's had remained empty for him.

He sighed again, steeling himself for the conversation and stress that was sure to come.

The Servant Lady only had a few hours to cry out her sorrow before she had to get back to work. The King was having some special guests over, making more servants work in the kitchens and serve the food in the great hall.

Carrying a platter of food to The King's table, she couldn't believe what she saw, it was that blasted Chamberlain!

The Lady Servant Nanette was so overcome with anger at the lying Knolls. So it was no wonder that she couldn't help herself when she came an arms length from The Chamberlain that she emptied her platter on his lap.

The great hall all at once became silent, every noble and lady awaiting The Chamberlain's reaction.

They were surprised to find, that The Chamberlain simply stood up gracefully, and calmly asked for a word with the servant.

"Away from prying eyes." he whispered in her ear, pulling away and marching toward his private chambers.

With such a scene having happened right before their eyes, all the nobles set their tongues wagging. Except the very few older gentlemen that had enough sense to stay out of it.

Speculations on what The Chamberlain could be doing to the poor servant circled it's way through the great hall.

Some said he was giving her a sound reprove, or even dismissing her.

Some of the older gossiping ladies even supposed there was something The Lady Servant had against The Chamberlain. If maybe, he didn't treat the servants well.

Nathaniel sat quietly, as well as The King, neither one divulging the true story, and laughing inwardly all the more for it.