After dinner, the King and Queen excused themselves for bed while Julien, Arthur, and Maria went over to a parlor room to play cards and drink wine. Most of the tension that had been present during dinner seemed to dissipate, and the three of them enjoyed a fun night of games and laughs.
They had only played a few rounds of cards before Arthur placed his down on the table and said, "Alright, I think it's time we call it a night."
"But it's still early!" Maria protested.
Julien laughed and took another sip of his wine. He and Arthur exchanged a look of understanding before Arthur looked at Maria and said, "Well if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some alone time with my fiancée before I leave tomorrow."
"Oh, right," Maria said as she felt her face redden.
