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After lunch, I went to Prince Chevalier’s office, hoping to find all the princes in his faction in one place so I could get them to sign the cards for the foreign princes. Theresa tagged along, of course, as keen on avoiding Marge as I was.
“Could you check Prince Leon’s office to see if anybody’s there?” I asked, raising my fist to knock on Prince Chevalier’s door.
“If Prince Jin was wandering around earlier, I doubt it, but I’ll check,” she said, continuing down the hall to the next door.
That was disheartening. I didn’t want to waste too much time hunting princes down. The clock was ticking, and I really wanted to put as much effort as I could into these gift baskets. I took a deep breath, pasted a smile on my face, and knocked on the door. Prince Clavis answered it.
“What brings you here, Ivetta?” he asked, his own smile in place and his golden eyes searching as he let me in. As I hoped, the entire faction was there, and they all seemed to be in a good mood if their smiles were anything to go by. That lifted my spirits immediately.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m glad to find you all together. I’d like it if you could all sign these cards for the foreign princes.” I crossed the room to hand Prince Chevalier the three envelopes I was carrying. “And I thought I should run my ideas for the gift baskets past you, Prince Chevalier, just in case I missed anything.”
“Gift baskets?” Prince Nokto asked, chuckling as he followed me to the desk. “We don’t want them to be so comfortable that they stay, Ivetta.”
“Did you make these cards?” Prince Clavis asked, taking one and looking it over.
“With Sariel’s help, your highness,” I said, pleased by Prince Clavis’ apparent approval of my efforts.
“What were your ideas?” Prince Chevalier asked coolly as he signed the cards.
“For Prince Silvio, I was thinking of a selection of local wares, like pastries, candies, and jewelry, all in shades of blue for Benitoite,” I started. “Does he like to read, your highness?”
“I couldn’t say.” Prince Chevalier set his quill down, sat back in his chair, and looked up at me as I continued.
“I was thinking of including a book for each prince, too, and some sort of floral arrangement.”
Which reminded me, I needed to stop by the gardens, too. Just talking through it was giving me more ideas and making me more excited.
“Jade is agricultural, so a sampling of local produce for Prince Keith. Prince Gilbert will be tricky, but maybe a writing set - the pen is mightier than the sword, and all that,” I continued, envisioning everything. “The books could be…something about the sea for Prince Silvio, horse breeding for Prince Keith, and…swordsmanship for Prince Gilbert. That should appeal to him, but still be safe enough. And I know red roses are typical for Rhodolite, but white roses would work better as a background for the floral arrangements so I can personalize them better for each prince.”
“You’re even cuter when you’re like this,” Luke said, patting me on top of the head and pulling me back to reality, where four princes were staring at me.
“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” I said sheepishly, blushing. “Does that all sound okay?”
“Yes,” Prince Chevalier said simply. “Although I may suggest adding poison to Gilbert’s.”
“Prince Chevalier!” I exclaimed.
Prince Clavis shrugged. “Too bad you can’t do that. What about a carefully worded note designed to lead him into a death trap?”
I frowned at them. “I think you’re missing the point of a goodwill gala.”
“You have the goodwill part covered for us,” Prince Nokto interjected. “I suddenly wish I were a foreign prince.”
“It all sounds great,” Prince Luke concurred.
I let out a sigh of relief as I picked up the cards. “Good. I’ve been thinking about this all morning. So…is it alright if I go into the city to do some shopping?”
The knock at the door relieved me of the pressure of three pairs of eyes, but Prince Chevalier’s icy gaze was still on me, and I didn’t dare look away. If he was going to let me do this, I needed to be focused and confident. Which meant not rambling off about gift baskets and not biting my lip, I realized, forcing myself to release my bottom lip from my teeth.
“Heard Ivetta wanted us,” Prince Leon said behind me.
So much for focus.
I turned around in surprise as Prince Leon entered the room, followed by the rest of his faction. Prince Chevalier’s office suddenly seemed small, with seven princes jostling each other for space. I stepped back for Prince Leon’s faction to get to the cards on the desk, bumped into Prince Nokto, moved quickly away from him, nearly got trampled by Prince Luke, and, eventually, ended up behind the desk with Prince Chevalier, trying not to think about the last time I was behind this desk, sitting on his lap. If Prince Clavis bumped me just right, that’s where I’d be all over again.
“Here,” Prince Chevalier said, his single quiet word barely audible over the loud voices of his brothers talking over and to each other.
I turned to face him, hoping I wasn’t blushing from his proximity. He was holding out a coin purse. I took it tentatively.
“Two hours,” he said.
I nodded. “Theresa’s coming, too, if that’s okay.”
“Fine.”
Now, I just had to get to the door. The cards could stay here, since I’d be coming back anyway to return Prince Chevalier’s money. I tapped Prince Clavis’ shoulder. He nearly knocked me into Prince Chevalier’s lap when he spun around, but his hands caught my shoulders to steady me, and I could have sworn his golden eyes flicked past me when he smirked.
“Excuse me, I need to get past you,” I told him.
“Who wants Ivetta?” he called, spinning with me while turning me around and pushing me forward. “Pass her along.”
“I can walk, thanks,” I said, evading Prince Luke’s hand on my shoulder. “Could you all clear a path to the door, please?”
“Hey, we just got here,” Prince Jin teased, but he at least stepped out of my way.
“I still have work to do. Excuse me, thank you.”
Theresa was waiting in the hallway with sparkling green eyes and a teasing smirk when I finally reached her. I took her arm and started walking.
“We have two hours,” I said, before she could start teasing.
“Only two hours? How are we supposed to get any shopping done in two hours?” she complained.
“We’re not shopping for ourselves. I think we can find everything except the books at the market, so we’ll start there, and then we need to go to the bookstore, and when we get back, we need to go to the gardens for the flowers. After I return Prince Chevalier’s money and get the cards.”
Theresa sighed. “You’re kind of single-minded about work.”
“Well, I’m assigned to the foreign princes the entire week. I’d like to make a good first impression.”
Especially since I was about to blow any chance of a good impression with Marge. We stopped by the kitchens to tell her where we were going, and, as I’d suspected, she wasn’t happy about me leaving the palace. I don’t think she even noticed Theresa was with me.
“There is far too much work left for me to allow you to have a day trip,” she said firmly. “Prince Chevalier may allow you to shirk your duties and attend festivals, but I expect you to work.”
She was so lucky he wasn’t here right now. Except that meant she had to deal with me, and I was getting fed up with her.
“My apologies. I’d hoped you could spare me for a couple of hours to pick up a few things in town to make the foreign princes’ stay more enjoyable, but I didn’t realize that would be such an inconvenience to you. I’m sure Prince Chevalier will understand why I didn’t carry out his directive once I explain it to him,” I said politely, keeping my face and voice calm and neutral.
Theresa snorted and turned away, grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard. Marge didn’t notice her barely restrained laughter. Her hazel eyes widened, and her eyebrows shot so high into her forehead that they were at risk of merging with her hairline to join her tight gray bun. “I suppose I can spare you for a couple of hours if Prince Chevalier believes this is necessary to ensure the happiness of our special guests,” she stammered.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you. I’ll be back in two hours,” I said, spinning on my heel and leading a trembling Theresa into the hallway. We were halfway to the door when she erupted into peals of laughter.
“That was good,” she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. I took one look at her and started laughing, too, and we stumbled down the hallway, leaning on each other for support as we headed toward the outer courtyard. I didn’t even think about the carriage until Theresa tugged me toward the first one she saw.
“Not that one,” I said between bursts of giggles, pulling her away and leading her toward another carriage. “This one.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked, wiping her eyes.
“This is the coachman Prince Chevalier wants me to use,” I explained, waving up at the coachman before I hopped into the carriage.
“He has a specific coachman he’s picked out for you?” she asked, mystified.
“He’s very particular,” I said, shrugging. “There’s one cook he prefers over the others for his breakfast, too. It’s easier not to question it.”
And it was easier to explain the coachman that way instead of going into the real reason for this precaution. I leaned forward to pull the window open so I could talk to the coachman.
“Hey, sorry to ask this, but could you take me home when this is all done? I know it’ll be early in the morning…”
“Of course I can,” he replied cheerfully.
“Thanks!”
I closed the window and sat back against the seat. Theresa shook her head.
“You’re spoiled.”
“I’m spoiled? You work for Prince Leon, and you’re calling me spoiled?”
She shrugged and smiled. “We’re both spoiled.”
The market had everything I wanted, as I hoped, although I had to keep Theresa moving or we would have spent the entire two hours there. We piled the goods on one carriage seat and sat side-by-side on the other for the short ride to the bookstore, the place I was worried about taking too much of my time. Theresa was much less enthusiastic about it. I found a book of poems about the sea for Prince Silvio, a compilation of horse breeds for Prince Keith, and a history of swordsmanship for Prince Gilbert. Theresa followed me around the store with a bored expression, occasionally reminding me about the time. I was just heading to the counter to pay when a foreign book about war tactics caught my eye. It must have been new, because Prince Chevalier didn’t have it. I grabbed it and added it to the stack.
“Who’s that for?” Theresa asked.
“Prince Chevalier,” I replied.
“You’re buying him a present?” she asked skeptically.
“It’s his money,” I reminded her. “He’d buy it, eventually. I’m just saving him a trip. Or saving me a trip. He had me shopping for books for him at the festival.”
“Mm hm.”
I rolled my eyes at her and paid, not bothering to argue with her knowing smirk. My excuse didn’t hold water with me, either. It was a present.
“So, what now?” she asked when we arrived at the palace, arms loaded down with books and bags. “Where are we with your list of things to do?”
“Prince Chevalier’s office to return his money and get the cards, then the gardens for flowers, and then the foreign princes’ rooms to put all these together.”
“By the time we’re done with all that, we’ll barely have any time to eat and get changed before the guests arrive.”
“I told you we shouldn’t have taken a full hour for lunch,” I reminded her.
“Well, I’m not carrying this stuff all over the palace. Which way to the foreign princes’ rooms?”
I gave her directions, and she left to drop off her load. She might have the right idea, I thought, shifting the books in my arms as I continued toward Prince Chevalier’s office. They weren’t that heavy, and neither were the bags, but they were cumbersome. She said she’d meet me in the gardens. Maybe she would take my cargo back to the foreign princes’ rooms while I picked out flowers.
I shifted the books again to get a hand free so I could knock on Prince Chevalier’s office door. His voice bade me enter. I let myself in, relieved to see that the crowd from earlier was gone. Prince Chevalier was the only one present.
“You’re early,” he commented, his icy blue eyes surveying the books and bags in my arms as he set his quill down.
“We found everything pretty quickly, your highness,” I said, crossing the room to his desk and handing him his coin purse. “I saw this in the bookstore and thought you’d want it,” I added, removing the top book from the stack balanced on my hip and setting it on his desk. “I hope you don’t have to use it soon.”
“That remains to be seen,” he replied, the corner of his lip turning up just slightly into a smirk as he studied the book. “I wasn’t aware this was available in Rhodolite yet.”
“We went to the bookstore Belle used to work at, your highness,” I explained. “She told me they carry a lot of foreign books. There might be more you don’t have, but I didn’t have time to look. And I still have a lot to do, so I’d better get going.” I turned back to the door and then spun back to face him again. “Oh, the coachman is giving me a ride home tonight. Or tomorrow morning, I guess.”
The chair creaked as Prince Chevalier stood up and came around the desk toward me. I glanced at the desk, empty except for a single document, and back to him. He’d been waiting for me, hadn’t he?
“Your plan won’t work,” he said, stopping in front of me.
“Why not, your highness?” I asked, my heart fluttering uncomfortably.
He reached out and tilted my chin up with the book. “Because I won’t stand by and watch when you get into trouble,” he replied softly, his pale blue eyes burning.
I swallowed hard and stepped back. “You have to, Prince Chevalier,” I said firmly. “Excuse me.”
He didn’t follow me out, for which I was grateful. I needed to focus on the foreign princes only. Not him. Not those eyes that said more than his words. Not the painful twisting in my chest, or the gnawing in my stomach that said he was right. I would run into trouble, and this wouldn’t work unless he ignored that when it happened. If he wouldn’t do that…
I sighed and shook my head. If he wouldn’t do that, then I needed to stay out of his sight and reach. He couldn’t help me if he wasn’t around when the trouble struck.
“Ready for flower shopping?”
I looked up at Theresa, waiting for me at the door to the gardens with a bright smile. An answering smile came to my lips, too. Theresa, gift baskets, and floral arrangements. I’d better enjoy myself while I could. Once the foreign princes arrived, anything could happen.
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