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“You had better have a good reason for being here.”
Chevalier’s frigid voice rumbled through his chest and into my ear, waking me from a deep sleep to a state of foggy drowsiness. The pleasant warmth surrounding me made his tone seem strangely out of place. His arm was still snug around my back, and his heart was still beating a slow, steady rhythm beneath my cheek, so I sighed and snuggled closer, content to remain in blissful ignorance.
“Unfortunately, I do, but first, let me say that-”
Clavis.
So much for blissful ignorance.
I kept my eyes closed as he rattled on about how cute we were, that it was just like Jin said, how surprised he was that I got Chevalier to wake up so early, and, for once, I was more annoyed than embarrassed. Was it so impossible for us to get a little time alone?
“Gilbert will be at the meeting,” Chevalier interrupted.
Clavis paused. I hadn’t been listening too carefully to him, but I hadn’t heard him mention a meeting.
“Yes, and before you say Nokto and I can handle it, he’s requested Ivetta’s presence, too.”
This just kept getting better.
I sighed and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Why?”
“Beats me,” Clavis said lightly. “What about you, Chev? Have you figured it out already?”
I looked at Chevalier, still lying on the picnic blanket beside me. His narrowed crystal blue eyes were on the sky, and although the rest of his face was impassive, his left hand rested on the hilt of his sword. It lay in the grass next to him, sheathed and, for the moment, benign. He tapped a finger on it. I wasn’t sure if the gesture was thoughtful or threatening, but Clavis took it as a threat. The grass rustled as he took a step back, his smile still in place, but his wary golden eyes trained on Chevalier.
“It’s really in poor taste to kill someone at a picnic,” he quipped.
“How long?” Chevalier asked, tapping his sword hilt again.
“An hour. Plenty of time for you to tell Gil-”
“We’ll be there. Leave.”
I looked back at Chevalier, surprised. There was another pause before Clavis burst into laughter.
“And I thought this meeting would be dull,” he said, turning away and climbing the hill back to the treeline. He’d tied his chestnut horse next to Rose, safely out of Blade’s reach. “Sorry to ruin your picnic, Ivetta. Invite me next time.”
I shook my head and returned my attention to Chevalier, whose right hand had found mine on the blanket. “Is this about whatever was going on before?” I asked, interlacing my fingers with his.
“Indirectly. It’s a meeting with a trade delegation from Obsidian.”
I tilted my head to the side, thinking. There had been no time over the past couple of days to set up a business meeting with a foreign country, which meant someone, probably Nokto, had already arranged this before he or anybody else knew of a problem.
“Did Nokto uncover the threat to me when he was preparing for this meeting?” I guessed.
“I heard you left before your horse got breakfast, Ivetta, but don’t worry,” Clavis called. “I’ll make sure she eats!”
“Clavis-” I started, looking up in alarm, but it was too late. He was already riding away on his horse and leading Rose away, too. I exhaled my irritation in a huff, and then Chevalier yanked my hand out from under me, surprising a squeak from me as I fell on his chest.
“Chevalier!”
“This day is about doing what I want, isn’t it?” he asked, a teasing smirk on his lips. His left hand abandoned his sword to snake around my waist before I could squirm away.
“Yes, but-”
He silenced me with a short, sweet kiss. I smiled reluctantly and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Okay, but just keep in mind that I need enough time to change before this meeting,” I said. “And do something with my hair.”
“Leave it down,” he said, brushing half the curtain of black hair behind my ear and out of his way for his next kiss. I closed my eyes, enjoying the series of ever-deepening kisses we shared as the minutes ticked by.
“Chevalier,” I breathed, tilting my face up when his kisses wandered down my chin. “We should go back.”
His fingers dug into my waist as his other hand rubbed across my back. “Not yet.”
“Mm…” I tucked my face into the curve where his neck met his shoulder, wishing we could pretend Clavis never came. “Why do we have to go to this meeting?”
“To make a statement.”
“What kind of statement?”
He sighed, his breath hot against my neck. “I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s go.”
It was bittersweet, packing the picnic basket up and listening to him secure his sword belt around his waist. The sun was only halfway to its midday peak. Going back to the palace meant more opportunity for interruption, even if we escaped the meeting as quickly as possible, and I’d wanted to spend the entire day together. And alone.
“How long will this take?” I asked, patting Blade’s neck as Chevalier untied him.
“An hour,” Chevalier replied. “Longer if we stay to socialize afterwards. Turn around.”
“Why?” I turned my back on Blade to face Chevalier, and he grabbed me by the waist, startling me into nearly dropping the picnic basket as he lifted me into the saddle. “You could have just told me!” I exclaimed, grasping frantically at the hard leather. “Or given me a boost!”
He chuckled and mounted beside me. “I assume you want to ride side-saddle.”
“Well, yes, because I don’t want everybody seeing my legs when we get back,” I sulked, straightening my skirt. “Why can’t I wear pants?”
He kissed me on the cheek and urged Blade into a smooth, fast walk. “You don’t have any.”
I scowled at him petulantly. “Thanks for pointing that out. What statement are we making?”
“Gilbert and I agree where your life is concerned, and we’ll address any further attempts as summarily as we did this time,” he said, smirking at my feigned irritation.
“So, a warning. But he didn’t invite you,” I reminded him.
“Do you really think he expected I would allow you to attend without me?”
“Mm, probably not.” I sighed and leaned sideways against his chest. “You know, I thought leaving before dawn and not telling anyone where we were going was enough to keep your brothers from interrupting us.”
“That was naïve of you.”
“You’re really helping right now.”
“If you truly want no interruptions, we’ll have to stay inside a locked room or go away together.”
“Except Clavis and Sariel can pick locks, and after all that’s happened, I’m not running away from our engagement ceremony.”
He kissed the top of my head. “This won’t take long.”
We left Blade in the hands of the stable boy from earlier, who wouldn’t look at Chevalier and wouldn’t stop sneaking glances at me, and we headed up the hill to the palace. The hurrying servants and dawdling nobility we passed when we got inside gave us plenty of interesting looks, too. I hadn’t thought about all the guests who were arriving today. At least they weren’t as brazen as Chevalier’s brothers, but there really would be no privacy in the palace unless we stayed in our rooms.
“What if we go to the city?” I suggested, looking up at Chevalier as we approached the turnoff toward my room. “Just for the afternoon?”
“We can do that the day after tomorrow. I’d rather stay here today.”
“Two whole days off?” I asked, a smile spreading across my face. “How did you manage that?”
He smirked and took my hand, tugging me around the corner and into a kiss. Thankfully, the hallway was empty, but my cheeks still flared with heat.
“I am the king,” he said, settling his hands on my waist.
“Does that mean you’re dictating what I wear to this meeting, or do I get to choose?” I teased, tracing the gold tiger crest on the clasp of his cloak.
“Anything except the red dress,” he replied.
“Anything?”
“Within reason.”
I pulled free from him and almost skipped into my room. Maybe the day wasn’t going as I planned, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy it. Of course, I had to change so we could get this meeting over and done with, and I’d need Theresa’s help with that. Judging by the lump under the covers in the dark, shaded room, that wouldn’t be a problem.
“Theresa, wake up!” I said, throwing the drapes open.
“What are you doing back already?” she grumbled.
“Change of plans. Chevalier and I are sitting in on a business meeting, and I need to look the part.”
She sat up with a groan. “And you’re happy about that?”
“Hurry up. The quicker we get this done, the quicker Chevalier and I can get back to our date.”
“If you really wanna hurry this up, how about-”
“Not the red dress,” I interrupted her.
She continued muttering complaints under her breath as she opened my bureau drawers, the groans of wood against wood hiding some of her more choice words. I was already behind the dressing screen, twisting my arms around to undo the buttons and laces at my back. It was too bad I had to don a corset again, but if the alternative was ending my day with Chevalier right here and now, then I’d choose the corset gladly.
Well, not gladly. That was a bit of a stretch.
I needed it to get into the pastel pink dress Theresa chose, though. The color and style were almost too girly for my taste, but I was in too much of a hurry to tell her to get something else - until I heard her offhand comment when I was halfway out the door about it being the tightest dress I owned.
That would explain why I needed the corset.
“S-sorry,” I stammered, unable to meet Chevalier’s eyes as I spun on my heel to dart back into my room. “I’ll, um-”
“It’s fine,” he said, grabbing my arm before I made my escape.
“But - if it’s-”
“Ivetta. I haven’t complained about it before,” he said, although there was an edge to his voice that told me the choice didn’t thrill him. “We need to go.”
Well, of course, he hadn’t complained about it before. He probably liked it as much as the red dress.
My face had to be on fire.
He sighed and pulled me into his chest. “You never realized.”
“I-I don’t…think about that…” I said, refusing to look up at him. That was such a pitiful excuse. Why wouldn’t I think about it? When my image as a princess was so important, it only made sense that what I wore was important, too, and it shouldn’t take my maid to point something like this out to me.
“You never have,” he murmured. His lips pressed into my forehead. “It isn’t inappropriate, and arriving late would draw more attention to you than this dress.”
“You’re just saying that,” I said, peeking up at him.
He smirked and kissed me again. “We’ll discuss it later. Come.”
The implication behind those four words didn’t help my blush. But I swallowed my embarrassment down and lifted my chin, taking his offered arm. I just needed to hold my head up high and focus on being a princess who didn’t care what others thought of her. This was a business meeting. It wasn’t about me, anyway.
Now I really felt like everybody was looking at me. At least my cheeks had time to cool before we reached Chevalier’s office.
“-you, too,” Clavis was saying as Chevalier opened the door. “Oh, good, you made it in time,” he said, turning his golden eyes and his sly grin on us. “Although nobody would have blamed you for being a little late.”
Was I being paranoid, or did he just look me over?
“Do you have everything?” Chevalier said coolly, ignoring Clavis to address Nokto, who stood leaning against the front of the massive white desk with his arms crossed over his chest. Luke was present, too, dressed in the formal attire Sariel could never convince him to wear before. The crisp white coat, pants, and gloves made him look older, although the plush bear he still wore clipped to the coat softened the effect.
“Of course, King Highness,” Nokto said, straightening to his full height. His crimson eyes flicked to mine. “Sorry for ruining your date, Ivetta.”
“It’s not really ruined. You look much better,” I said, glad to see his complexion was back to its normal healthy color.
“Yeah, heard I missed a lot,” Luke said. “Ya coulda sent me a message or somethin’.”
Oh, Luke. He looked and acted more like a prince every day, thanks to Arianna’s influence, but there was no mistaking his commoner upbringing when he opened his mouth.
“There was no need,” Chevalier replied. “Let’s go.”
I blushed all over again when he slipped his arm around my waist. That felt possessive, and it made me think Clavis had looked me over. Theresa would get an earful about this later. She knew exactly what she was doing when she picked this dress.
“It’s too bad you weren’t here earlier, Luke,” Clavis said as we all exited into the hallway. “You could’ve broken the news to Chev and Ivetta.”
“Not a chance,” Luke said.
“You drew the short straw, Clavis,” Nokto added.
I glanced up at Chevalier, smiling at the thought of them drawing straws to determine who would risk disturbing us. The corner of his lip turned up just slightly.
“We shouldn’t have drawn straws at all,” Clavis sulked. “I almost got my head chopped off the last time I interrupted them.”
“My near-death experience was more recent,” Nokto retorted.
“I don’t see why anybody had to bother ‘em,” Luke interjected. “Ya shoulda jus’ told Gilbert to jump in the pond.”
“Are you three going to bicker like this at the meeting?” I asked.
“Nah,” Luke said, coming alongside me. “We jus’ gotta get it out now. Are ya nervous?”
“Well, I wasn’t until you reminded me.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Clavis said, popping up on Chevalier’s other side. “All you have to do is sit there and look pretty. Nokto and I will do the talking; Chev will glare daggers at everybody; Gil will make idle threats with every breath; and the trade delegates will sweat like pigs. It promises to be quite amusing. Make sure you pay attention, Luke. You might learn something from your older brothers here.”
“I’ve seen ya do this before,” Luke replied. “Nokto makes the deal, and ya irritate people into agreein’ jus’ to shut ya up.”
Nokto laughed. “Something like that, although I don’t need him to get what I want. Especially not this time.”
“It will be fun watching all the boot-licking,” Clavis agreed.
“Enough.”
Chevalier’s cool command silenced all three of them as we arrived at the round table room. I hadn’t attended a formal business meeting with them before, but I’d seen them working at social engagements and in apparently casual conversation, and I knew their faces were slipping into perfect masks right now. Friendly smiles, dangerous eyes. They weren’t laughing, joking brothers anymore. It was time to work.
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