14 Chapter 14

The Princess Alexandra sat on her uncomfortably padded chair and watched as the thirty or so assorted princes, knights, earls, dukes and barons paraded past her shaded stage. They were as colorful as peacocks, and most of them, she thought, just about as intelligent. Each had their own distinctive colors, not all of them chosen to be complimentary. The unfortunate Prince Albert was panoplied in lime green and lilac. No wonder he was so apologetic all the time. Prince Jordon, on the other hand, was attired in black and gold and looked very handsome. He obviously knew it too. Each young man saluted as they passed her, and each favored her with a look of stunning avariciousness; except for Herbert. In his eyes Alexandra saw pity. She puzzled over that through the opening matches.

The judges had created a hideously complicated system to weed out the contestants. Each would be tested in combat riding and on foot, alone and in groups. The opening matches were little more than demonstrations of riding skill. Jordon rode like he was part of his horse, doing with ease and grace what made others sweat with concentration. Herbert rode gamely, but was little more than competent. Alexandra herself could ride better than most of those on the field.

After the cold luncheon was served on the field the princess went to be fitted for her new gown. She found that the seamstress had been very busy. One gown was all but complete, while she had some others, variations on the theme ready for approval before they were finished. Alexandra was very pleased with the results, and even more pleased with the deference the seamstress gave her.

"I hope you will allow me to do your wedding dress, your Highness. You have exquisite taste." It was the end of the fitting and the seamstress was putting away the pieces of each dress carefully.

"When it is time." Alexandra laughed, "You may be sure that I will ask you to supervise every stitch." Yet while she laughed she caught an odd expression on her seamstress's face. The old woman was afraid she had said something untoward. Yet it was not unusual for her to want to sew a princess's wedding dress. As she watched the women clear out of her room and her maids set out her dress for the afternoon, Alexandra puzzled at the events of the day. Her seamstress worrying about a chance comment about weddings, George telling her a story about an Uncle Jack whom she had never heard of, a battalion of noble young men making eyes at her, Herbert looking worried and full of pity. Her parents were up to something, and Alexandra knew that she wasn't going to like it. If it was pleasant they would have told her.

The afternoon was much like the morning. The matches were more jostling for position than serious competition. Yet already Alexandra could sort out the handful of young men who would be contenders for the prize. Prince Jordon was leading the field, doing everything with a casual grace which made it look easy. Herbert surprised her with his determination to stay with the leaders, though she was afraid that he would hurt himself. There were a few others who by dint of great effort were almost keeping up with Prince Jordon. Some others, like Prince Albert, had already all but dropped out.

At the evening meal, there was less boasting and more speculating about the competition. Alexandra had talked to the hall steward and arranged for Herbert to be sat beside her. Prince Jordon sat on the other side. All evening as she tried to start a conversation with Herbert, Jordon would jump in with one of his opinions and stop it dead.

The princess was shaking with rage by the end of the dinner. Prince Jordon was acting possessive, though she had given no indication of any interest in him. Yes, he was very handsome. He was tall, blond and blue-eyed. He moved with natural grace. Yet there was something about him that made Alexandra uncomfortable. Perhaps it was simply that he was one of the younger Charmant brothers, and assumed, as all that family did, that his place in creation was assured. Part of that assumption seemed to be that Alexandra would fall swooning at his feet.

Given the circumstances, it was natural for there to be competition between the princes, but the interaction between Jordon and Herbert went beyond that. Alexandra noticed that several the young men seemed to be avoiding her. Thinking they might just be shy she went over to talk to them but they melted away. Alexandra began to feel the return of her anger from dinner. She was being manipulated by her parents, she was sure of it. With Jordon and Herbert circling each other like two dogs with a bone, even Herbert's comforting presence was denied her. Every poor boy who gathered courage to ask her to dance was scared away by glares from Prince Jordon and Prince Herbert. Arguments between others had broken out and in one case they came to blows. Alexandra resolved the dispute by banishing both young men from the tournament. Their anger seemed out of proportion to their loss, one opened his mouth to speak, but something changed his mind. Turning to leave the two, Alexandra bumped into Prince Jordon, who was glaring over her shoulder in an extraordinary fashion.

"Leave me alone, Prince Jordon. I find your hovering over me offensive." The prince stepped back and transferred his glare to her.

"My presence is something that you will get used to shortly enough." He softened his look. "Many a princess would be glad of a chance to get used to my presence. May you in time." He turned and stalked out of the hall. Alexandra looked to Herbert.

"What is going on? Something is up. Please, tell me." Herbert stood looking at her. For the first time since he arrived, Alexandra saw that Herbert was almost on the point of tears.