The Betrothed, Page 3

  I thrust my hands into my lap, thinking it was pointless to argue with my parents. When had I ever won? The closest I ever came was when Delia Grace was beside me.

  That was it!

  I sighed, looking up at my parents, their faces still determined.

  “I understand your concerns, but perhaps our wishes aren’t the only ones to be considered here,” I offered.

  “I owe nothing to that scandal of a girl,” Mother spat.

  “No. I mean the king.”

  At that they silenced themselves. Finally, my father ventured to speak.

  “Explain.”

  “I only mean that His Majesty has become quite enamored of me, and part of what makes my days so easy is Delia Grace’s companionship. Furthermore, Jameson is much more compassionate than his father and might understand taking her under my wing. With your permission, I’d like to pose the question to him.”

  I’d chosen my words carefully, measured my tone. There was no way they could call me sulky or whiny, and there was no way they could pretend to have a higher authority than a king.

  “Very well,” Father said. “Why not ask him tonight? But she is not invited to sit with us. Not this time.”

  I nodded. “I’ll write her now so she understands. Do excuse me.” I kept my serene air about me as I fetched some parchment from my desk, and they left, looking puzzled.

  When the door closed, I giggled to myself.

  Delia Grace,

  I’m very sorry, but my parents have made a stand about the dinner tonight. Don’t fret! I have a plan to keep you by my side always. Come and find me later tonight, and I will explain everything. Have courage, dear friend!

  Hollis

  There were still judgmental glances being cast at me as I made my way to dinner, and I realized I didn’t much care for it. How had Delia Grace survived this kind of scrutiny? And from such a young age?

  As it was, my parents didn’t care about the glares, but instead walked in as if they were showing off a purebred mare they’d just inherited, and that only garnered more attention.

  Mother turned around to look at me, assessing even as we approached the head table. I’d kept my golden gown on, and she’d let me borrow one of her headpieces, so I had a string of jewels across my golden hair.

  “It’s not really showing up,” she said, looking at the headpiece. “I don’t know how your hair came out so blond, but it just ruins the look of jewels across your head.”

  “Nothing I can do to help it,” I replied. As if I didn’t know already. My hair was a shade or two lighter than that of most of the crowd, and more than one person had noted it across my lifetime.

  “I blame your father.”

  “I wouldn’t,” he snapped.

  I swallowed, seeing the tension of the moment was truly getting to them. It was a well-observed rule of the family that all bickering was reserved for the privacy of our apartments. Suddenly remembering this, they bit back their bitterness as we approached the head table.

  “Your Majesty,” Father greeted him, a false wide smile on his face. But Jameson hardly noticed they were there. His eyes rested solely on me.

  I curtsied low, unable to look away. “Your Majesty.”

  “Lady Hollis. Lord and Lady Brite. You look in good spirits. Please, come and sit.” He held his hand out, gesturing for us to come behind the table. My breath sped up as I settled beside the king, ready to weep with joy when he kissed my hand. Turning around, I saw the Great Room as I’d never seen it before.

  Elevated on the dais, it was easy to see everyone’s faces, to watch as rank dictated who took which seat. Surprisingly, where all the attention as I walked in left me uneasy, taking in those same stares when I was beside Jameson gave me a thrill. From his side, I could see the same thought lingering in every gaze: I wish it were me.

  After a few quiet moments of staring into my eyes, Jameson took a deep breath and turned to my father.

  “Lord Brite, I hear your estates are some of the prettiest in all of Coroa.”

  My father’s chest lifted. “I would say so. We have a magnificent garden and good, comfortable lands. There is even a tree with a wooden swing that I used as a child. Hollis climbed up the ropes once herself,” he said, then made a face like he wished he hadn’t. “But it’s hard to make time to travel back when Keresken is so beautiful. Especially for the holidays. Crowning Day in the country just doesn’t compare.”

  “I imagine not. All the same, I’d like to see it sometime.”

  “Your Majesty is always welcome.” My mother reached over and touched Father’s arm. A visit from a royal meant lots of preparation and money spent, but it was quite a win for any family to earn a visit to their estates.

  Jameson turned back to me. “So you climbed up the ropes of your swing, did you?”

  I smiled, thinking back to the moment fondly. “I saw a nest and very much wished to be a bird myself. Wouldn’t it be lovely to fly? So I decided I would go live there, with the mother bird, and see if she took me into her family.”

  “And?”

  “I was scolded for ripping my dress instead.”

  The king roared with laughter, drawing the attention of most of the room. I could feel the heat of a thousand eyes on me, but all I could think about were his. Delicate crinkles lined the corners of his eyes as they lit with joy; it was beautiful.

  I could make Jameson laugh, and very few people possessed such a talent. It amazed me that such a silly little story entertained him so.

  I’d actually climbed up the ropes of the swing many times, never getting too far, partly because I feared the height and partly because I feared my parents’ reproach. But I remembered that day in particular, the mother bird with her little ones, flying off to get food for them. She seemed so worried for her babies, so ready to meet their needs. I had to ask myself later how desperate I must have been to want a bird for a mother.

  “Do you know what I want, Hollis? I want to hire someone to walk behind us and ink down every single word you say. Every compliment, every story. You are endlessly entertaining, and I don’t want to forget a second of it. I’m already looking forward to what tales I’ll hear at dinner tomorrow.”

  My smile came back to me. Tomorrow. It seemed Jameson intended to keep me at his side for a while. “Then you must tell me all of your stories, too. I want to know everything,” I said, resting my chin on my palm, waiting.

  Jameson’s lips lifted into a devilish smirk. “Don’t worry, Hollis. You will know everything soon enough.”

  Four

  “WHY DIDN’T YOU COME TO dinner? You could have attended still,” I said, wrapping my arms around Delia Grace. The palace halls were empty, and that made our voices echo even more than they usually did.

  “I thought it would be easier to just not be there rather than go with my mother and explain why I wasn’t sitting beside you for the first time in ten years.”

  I made a face. “My parents . . . sometimes I think they’re too stuck-up to even be seen with me.”

  She giggled a little. “Have they ordered that I stay away, then?”

  I crossed my arms. “If they did, it wouldn’t matter. Seeing as Jameson said you should be with me always.”

  Her face lit up. “Really?”

  I nodded. “After you left, my parents made their case for setting you aside—as if I could ever find a better friend! But I calmly reminded them that you help get me through my days now, and if that pleases the king, then it ought to be good enough for them. So, of course, my mother brought the issue up at dinner, citing your reputation, as if you had anything to do with it.”

  Delia Grace rolled her eyes. “Of course she did.”

  “But listen, listen! Jameson asked, ‘Is she truly such a good friend?’ And I said, ‘Second only to you, Your Majesty.’ And then I batted my lashes at him.”

  “That man loves to be flattered.” She crossed her arms, waiting for more.

  “I know. So he asked, ‘Do you really
consider me your friend, dear Hollis?’ And—I still can’t believe I dared to do this in front of so many people—I lifted his hand in mine and kissed it.”

  “No!” she whispered excitedly.

  “Yes! And I said, ‘There is no one in this world who shows me such respect and care as you . . . but Delia Grace is close.’ He stared at me for a second, and, oh, Delia Grace, I think he would have kissed me had we been alone. Then he said, ‘If it makes Lady Hollis happy, then Delia Grace must stay on.’ And that was the end of it.”

  “Oh, Hollis!” She threw her arms around me.

  “So there. I’d like to see my parents try to wriggle their way around that.”

  “I’m sure they’ll try.” She shook her head. “It sounds like he’s willing to give you anything you want.”

  I looked down. “I wish I could just be sure of what he wanted.” I sighed. “But even if I was, I don’t know how to win people over, and I’d have to do just that to make the lords happy with his choice.”

  Her eyebrows knit together in thought. “Go get some sleep. I’ll be in your room in the morning. We will figure this out.”

  She’d have a plan. When had Delia Grace ever not had a plan? I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

  The next morning, I awoke feeling anything but refreshed. My mind had been racing through the night, and all I wanted to do was talk through each of my thoughts and pull at the threads until I found the answers tied up at the end of one.

  I still couldn’t believe that Jameson might truly want to make me his queen. But the more I considered whether it was a real possibility, the more exciting the thought became. If I could just do something to make the people comfortable with me as a choice, I, too, could be adored. People could kiss the places I’d visited, like Queen Honovi, or have festivals for me, like Queen Albrade. Save for Queen Thenelope, who’d been royal in her own right, every other queen had been a Coroan girl, like me. They’d all come from good families, all been embraced, all left a mark on history. . . . Maybe that could be me, too.

  Delia Grace walked in carrying a handful of books while I was still hugging my knees to my chest in bed.

  “Do you think becoming queen means you get to sleep in all the time now?” she joked. I could hear the hint of a bite to her words but decided not to address it.

  “I didn’t sleep well.”

  “Well, I hope you’re ready to work regardless. We have a lot to cover.” She went to the vanity and nodded at it, her way of instructing me to come and sit.

  “Like what?” I walked over, letting her pull my hair off my face.

  “When it comes to dancing and entertaining, I believe you can top any lady at court. But your understanding of international relations is weak, and if you want to convince the lords of the council that you are a serious choice, you need to be able to speak to them about politics of the court.”

  I gulped. “Agreed. So, what do we do? I feel like if I have to sit through a lesson with a stuffy old tutor, I might just die.”

  Delia Grace placed her pins quickly, pulling the top section of my hair into a simple bun while leaving the rest of it down. “I can help you. I have some books, and anything I don’t have, the king would certainly provide.”

  I nodded. If Jameson really intended to take me as a bride, he’d want me as educated as possible.

  “And languages,” Delia Grace added. “You need to learn at least one more.”

  “I’m rotten with languages! How am I . . .” I sighed. “You’re probably right. If we ever visit Catal, I don’t want to be completely lost.”

  “How solid is your geography?” she asked.

  “Solid enough. Let me get dressed.” I hopped up to go to my armoire.

  “Might I suggest Coroan red?”

  I wiggled a finger at her. “Good thinking.”

  I tried to consider other small, strategic things we could do to curry favor, but, as Delia Grace had so astutely pointed out, I was much more gifted at entertaining than planning. As she cinched up the last string of my kirtle, a knock came at the door.

  She tied off the knot and went to answer it as I looked at myself in the mirror, making sure everything was straight before my company came in.

  Lord Seema was standing there, his expression looking as if he’d recently been eating a lemon.

  I sank into a curtsy, hoping my shock didn’t show on my face. “My lord. To what do I owe this honor?”

  He wrung his fingers back and forth over the paper in his hands. “My Lady Hollis. It has not escaped my notice that you have gained the king’s special attention in recent weeks.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” I hedged. “His Majesty has been very kind to me, but that’s all I can really say.”

  He glanced around the room, looking like he wished he had another gentleman to share the moment with. Finding no one worthy, he sighed and went on. “I can’t tell if you are playing ignorant or if you truly can’t tell. Either way, you do have his attention, and I was hoping you might do me a favor.”

  My eyes darted to Delia Grace, who raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Go on!” I clasped my hands in front of me, hoping to look modest and attentive. If I needed to learn about the politics of court, I supposed this was as firsthand a lesson as I was going to get.

  “I can’t make any promises, sir, but please, tell me why you’ve come.”

  Lord Seema unfolded his papers and handed them over to me. “As you know, Upchurch County is at the farthest edge of Coroa. To get there or to Royston or Bern, you have to take some of the oldest roads in the country, the ones made as our ancestors slowly worked their way toward the forests and fields at the end of our territory.”

  “Yes,” I said, and, for what it was worth, I did remember that little bit of Coroan history.

  “As such, these roads are in the greatest need of repair. I have fine carriages, and even they struggle. You can imagine the strain this puts on the poorest of my community who might need to travel to the capital for any reason.”

  “I can.” He made a good point. Back home at Varinger Hall, we, too, owned and kept lands, and we had many families who lived on them and paid rent to us in money and goods. I’d seen their old horses and weathered carts. It would have been a challenge to come even from our closer county to the castle with those things. I couldn’t picture trying to do it from the farthest reaches of the country. “What is your aim here, sir?”

  “I’d like a royal survey of all the roads in Coroa. I’ve tried to mention this to His Majesty twice this year, and he’s brushed it off. I was wondering if you could . . . encourage him to make it a priority.”

  I took a deep breath. How in the world would I go about that?

  I looked down at the papers I had no hope of understanding before handing them back to Lord Seema. “If I can get the king to focus on this, I would ask a favor of my own in return.”

  “I assumed nothing less,” he replied, crossing his arms.

  “If this project moves forward,” I began slowly, “I expect you to speak kindly of me to anyone you pass who mentions my name. And if you discuss this interaction with the other lords, would you please tell them I received you graciously?”

  He smiled. “My lady, you make it sound as if I would have to lie. You have my word.”

  “Then I will do all I can to help you with this worthy project.”

  Satisfied, he gave me a deep bow and left the room. As the door shut, Delia Grace burst into a fit of laughter. “Hollis, do you realize what this means?”

  “That I need to learn how to make the king care about old roads?” I offered.

  “No! A lord of the privy council just came asking for your help. Do you see how much power you have already?”

  I paused for a moment, letting that thought sink in.

  “Hollis,” she said with a grin, “we are on our way up!”

  This time, when I walked into the Great Room for dinner and Jameson waved me to approach the head table, Delia
Grace came with me. My parents were already to the king’s left, chatting up a storm, so I went up thinking I had some time to figure out how to casually work road repair into the conversation.

  “How in the world am I going to do this?” I asked Delia Grace quietly.

  “No one said it had to happen today. Think on it more.”

  I didn’t know how to explain why this felt bigger than earning Lord Seema’s allegiance. I wanted Jameson to see me as someone serious. I wanted him to know I could be his partner, that I had a mind capable of handling important decisions. If he could . . . then a proposal surely wouldn’t be far off.

  As Delia Grace and I listened to my parents go on and on about how Mother’s favorite tiara had gone missing last Crowning Day, and she was hoping the culprit would show up with it this year so she could finally get it back, I thought back on how easy our conversation had been the night before. How would I have said something then? A crumb of an idea hit me, and I waited until my mother finally let the king have a break from her incessant talking.

  “I had a thought,” I began sweetly. “Remember that old swing back at Varinger Hall?”

  Jameson smirked. “What of it?”

  “I think I would like to go back to it, and have the strongest hands in all Coroa push me on it. Maybe then I would finally feel like I got to be a bird,” I teased.

  “That sounds positively charming.”

  “There are many places in Coroa I’d like to see with you,” I continued.

  He nodded seriously. “As you should! More and more, I’m thinking you need to be well versed in all of Coroa’s history.”

  I added that little tick mark to the list of things the king had said that made me think he wanted me as queen.

  “I hear the mountains in the north are so beautiful, they’ll bring you to tears.”

  Jameson agreed. “The way the mist settles on them . . . it’s as if they’re from another world entirely.”

  I smiled dreamily. “I would very much like to see that. Maybe it would be a good time to go on a tour of the country, let your people see you. Show off your great possessions.”