The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1)(22)

“Which is natural. But you are already doing the best thing any of us could: you’re encouraging your king to favor peace.” She shook her head. “No one could do more.”

I nodded, looking down at my hands. Her words were generous, but that didn’t stop me from worrying that I would be the weak link in the chain, causing chaos to break out at any moment.

“King Jameson seems quite taken by you,” Scarlet offered. “How did you manage to catch his eye?”

I saw Delia Grace place a hand on her hip, her smirk saying everything.

“It was mostly chance,” I replied. “The king had been flirting with a few girls at court, though it was clear to most everyone that they weren’t serious. His father had been in the grave about a year and a half at that point. His mother passed maybe three months after King Marcellus.”

“Yes,” Lady Eastoffe said. “My husband and I came to both funerals.”

I noted that curiously. They must have been a very high-ranking family to accompany King Quinten on so many international trips.

“Delia Grace and I, we were dancing together one night in the Great Room. We were holding one another by the wrists, spinning and spinning like tops, when we lost our grip and fell backward. Delia Grace fell into the arms of some other ladies, and I fell into Jameson’s.”

I had to laugh for a moment. It was a bit ridiculous that this was how I’d won Jameson’s heart.

Lady Eastoffe sighed, and Scarlet rested her head on her chin, taken in by the tale.

“I was so overcome with the hilarity of the moment, I was laughing, blissfully unaware of who was holding me. By the time I stood up to thank him, he was laughing, too. Everyone said it was the first time they’d heard him laugh since his parents died, and I’ve been living to make him smile ever since. I think everyone thought he’d move on eventually—”

“Not everyone,” Delia Grace reminded me.

“Almost everyone,” Nora chimed in with a wink.

I smirked at that before turning to Delia Grace. “Well, you’ve always had more confidence in me than I ever have. But it really was all chance. Had it been another quarter turn, we’d have both landed on our bottoms. Another half turn, and I’d have been on the floor, and Delia Grace would be hosting you today while I faithfully served her.”

Nora nodded, then spoke again. “Well, if she’d have us.”

She had a fair point, and it made me laugh yet again. Even Delia Grace had an amused little grin on her face. “I suppose I’d be lucky to have you both,” she teased.

“It’s good you have a close group of friends,” Lady Eastoffe said. “It’s wise to know exactly who you can trust. Why, even Queen Valentina only keeps one lady.”

“Really? I might have to ask her about that. I’d prefer to keep my household small. I mean, when the time comes.”

Lady Eastoffe grimaced. “You might have to wait awhile to speak to her at all.”

“Why?”

“Protocol. Only the head of house speaks first. As you are not married, your parents should introduce you, but the king may bypass them and do it himself. Either is fine. But typically the higher-ranked person speaks first, and if that doesn’t happen . . .” There was a long pause. Was I not going to speak to this woman at all? “If you have any doubts, treat Quinten and Valentina like they’re superior in every situation. Even if they’re not, they’ll appreciate the flattery and be more likely to respond kindly.”

“Right. What about meals? I’ve been sitting on the king’s right, but I’m assuming that will go to King Quinten now. Should I try to—”

Without knocking, my parents barged in, my father holding several books and scrolls in his hands.

“You can go,” my mother said briskly to Lady Eastoffe.

“Mother, Father. Lady Eastoffe is my guest. Please show her—”

“The king gave me a job,” my father interrupted. “Are you suggesting I ignore it?”

Lady Eastoffe smiled and rose from her seat. “Call on me anytime, Lady Hollis. If we think of anything else concerning the queen, we’ll send word. A pleasure, Lord Brite. Lady Brite.”

My father shoved my flowers aside, rolling out a map. “Sit. We have a lot to discuss. Great Perine is on the edge of civil war, and I don’t even know where to begin with Mooreland.”

I sighed, looking at the mud-colored maps. It wouldn’t have mattered who was teaching me; about twenty minutes in, and my mind was already full to the brim. Between protocol and current affairs, there wasn’t space for anything else. And what was worse was that I was nowhere close to knowing everything I needed to for tomorrow.





Eleven




AFTER MY PARENTS LEFT, NORA and Delia Grace spent the rest of the day testing me on what I’d learned thus far. For every answer I got right, I got to take a bite of pie, so, naturally, I was starving by dinnertime.

As we walked to the Great Room, Nora whispered over my shoulder. “Try not to look so glum. This is a great honor.”

“I can’t help it. I’m never going to be able to get all this right, not this fast.”

Delia Grace leaned in. “She’s right. Smile. None of this matters as much as you keeping Jameson happy.”