Chapter 13

The Third Day of the month of Palefrost

The Royal Palace

Xyla watched a beautiful young woman step out of the suite of rooms.

Her skin was darker than the pale skin Xyla was used to seeing in the noble ladies and she had silky brown tresses spilling down her back.

Large eyes surveyed the scenes around her, her hands holding tufts of the thick fabric of her skirts.

The expensive gown she had tried to get into looked misshapen on her frame with one sleeve tightly stretching over her hand and the other slipping off her shoulder.

Xyla wondered if she should greet the lady right then or wait a few moments longer.

The brown-haired beauty took another step before falling face-first to the floor.

Xyla rushed over to help her.

The Third Day of the month of Palefrost

The Royal Palace

Augustus sighed as he waited for the conversations to end.

Elliot and two others who held treasury argued back and forth about the new proposed policy that was to manage internal trades.

Usually, Augustus would partake wherever necessary but that day, his mind was on other things.

Gregory had reported discreetly that Blythe had been brought to the palace and settled into the suite. Xyla, he had reported, waited on her for the two to meet.

Augutus sighed again at the new route the men had taken in the argument.

It seemed he would have to wait longer.

Roping Xyla into the plan had been a stroke of genius, he thought to himself.

She was Elliot's closest friend and was a rather sweet and smart girl.

The Riverloves were known scholars with Sir Riverlove being one of the most educated men in the kingdom. His daughter had taken a love for literature and history and was known to have mastered four languages.

She frequently helped in difficult translations and used her spare time to help other noblemen or women to learn.

Her resume had impressed Augustus since she did not have the appearance or air of someone who was well-read.

She had always been, he recounted, rather shy and painfully quiet.

It had always surprised him to see the two quietest people he knew be the loudest to each other in their spot in the garden.

Their friendship had always seemed a warm and loving relationship to him.

Xyla did not seem too fond of the idea of the contractual marriage and Augustus knew that she would most likely only help wherever absolutely necessary.

Maybe Xyla would lie for the sake of the marriage but he expected her to go no further in assisting him.

A corner of his mouth lifted when he remembered her quick tongue the previous night when she'd quietly considered Aldith a gutter rat.

Augustus sincerely hoped Xyla and Blythe would make friends.

The Third Day of the month of Palefrost

The Royal Palace

Cecil was restless in his room ahead.

Only six days until his marriage to Aldith but he could not keep her out of his mind for an instant.

He missed her sorely; her hot caresses and long kisses playing relentlessly in his mind.

She had said she would not be able to see him until the fifth which was two days away.

Cecil felt his mind fall apart.

Was this love?

Cecil wondered how she would feel about him visiting her at her mansion.

Would she be surprised and won over by his show of romance?

He paced the floor of his room again before he groaned.

Arranging to leave always meant he would see one or two of his brothers and Aldith had forbidden it.

She had said that they would confuse him into falling under them again.

Cecil rushed to the window of his room to look out into the large expanse of the courtyard.

Very few people walked along the grass.

It was right after breakfast and Cecil felt his mind would go insane if he didn't pick up something to do.

Ernien walked down to the kitchen where the maids stood around to gossip.

Returning the plates to the women, he turned around to take his leave when he heard news that froze him to the floor; news that he could hardly believe.

Augustus hurried up the stairs in annoyance.

It was almost the afternoon and he could not believe the old men and his old-man-like brother had taken so long to decide on statements that suited all of them.

He had heard some of the maids scurrying out whispering rumours and it irritated him.

Elliot had not even met the maiden yet. He wondered how they had decided that she had been brought in to be married to one of the princes.