Chapter 21

"Great!" the king exclaimed loudly then, and Celia winced briefly. "It seems the misunderstanding was cleared up. In that case, I, as the King, can give my consent to this marriage with good conscience. I admit that I had hoped my own son might marry Lady Fleuret. But as I love my nephew like a son, I am truly pleased with this arrangement."

He had probably destroyed her father's last hope with those words. It really didn't go very well for him.

"Count Fleuret, you are excused. My secretary will send you the details of the engagement party. Of course, the expenses will be borne by the royal family."

"You are too generous, Your Majesty," her father thanked him and then was led out of the room, leaving only Alek, Lora, and Celia.

"Well then, even though the celebration hasn't happened yet, I want you to know that you are already part of our family. Just as Alek is like a son, you will be like a daughter to me. So feel free to call me Uncle," the king explained to Celia with a wink. It was all a bit much for her at the moment, but that was probably why she didn't think twice and just surrendered to her fate. "Thank you, Uncle."

Both Alek and the king himself seemed very surprised that she accepted his offer without first trying to refuse it. Which would have been the correct way in this case.

Before she could even apologize for this mistake, the king began to laugh out loud. "Oh, I knew my judgement was right. You did not disappoint me Celia. I hope you'll remember to keep calling me Uncle when it's just the two of us. Alek, I gotta say, you never disappoint me either. I really wish your cousin was more like you. I don't know what  to do with him."

"Your praise is too much Uncle. I suppose it was simply a twist of fate that brought Celia and me together."

"Well, what a great fate that was. I shall have the daughter-in-law I wanted after all. Your aunt will also be very pleased with these news."

"How is Aunt?" asked Alek now, concerned, and Celia, who was still holding his hand, felt it tense slightly.

It was no secret that the queen possessed a rather weak constitution. Yet her husband had not taken a single concubine in. If his son were more like him, Celia might have reconsidered the engagement.

The king's gaze turned slightly sad. "She's not doing very well today, I'm afraid. You should pay her a short visit along with Lora. She will be very pleased. Celia, my child, you will probably meet the queen some other time. When she learns that the betrothal can now take place, it will cost her a great deal of strength. If you were to stand before her, she might not be able to contain her joy. We shall therefore have to put it off until some day when she is a little better."

"Of course, I don't want her condition to worsen," she assured the king and they were led out again.

"I'm just going to check on my aunt for a bit, why don't you go out in the garden for the time being and enjoy the flowers while you wait? I'm sure it won't take long," Alek asked her and she nodded dutifully. She wanted to see the garden anyway, so it didn't matter much. The only thing that confused her was that Lora would be going with her fiancé.

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Alek was reluctant to leave Celia alone in the castle, but he had no choice. He still watched her being led to the garden and then resigned himself to his fate. "How do you know the king and queen?"

Lora looked at him blankly. "I don't see why that information would be relevant to you."

I forgot how obnoxious this woman is. So he just started moving and tried to ignore her, she wouldn't tell him anything anyway.

"I take it that things are going very well between you and your fiancée?" he heard her ask suddenly and a smile appeared on her face which he didn't really like. "Things are going splendidly, thank you for asking."

"I see." Short silence, then Lora spoke up again. "You know, what I saw earlier didn't look very harmonious."

"And I suppose you're an expert on relationships?" he asked mockingly. She was just a little maid and thought she could teach him something else?

"I believe I have more experience than you think. Besides, I know my mistress very well."

"Former mistress," he reminded her, not without some pleasure in his voice.

Lora nodded, but her expression betrayed the reluctance in her gesture. "Of course, that's right. Yet I have known her for many years. And how long has it been for you? A month?"

It annoyed him himself, but even now he was still a bit puzzled. Celia seemed to be really quite angry with him. Maybe Lora could help him fix it. "Well, even a month is often enough to get close to a person," he dodged again.

But Lora would not be shaken off so easily. She was like a dog, once she got her teeth into something, she wouldn't let go. "If you spend every single second together certainly. But you're a very busy man, I'm sure you could only ever spare a few hours for Lady Celia."

...maybe I should listen.

"A woman needs a lot of attention, especially in the beginning. If not, then ..."

"Then?" Alek stopped and looked nervously at the maid.

"Then it may come to her distancing herself from him."

Alek considers for a moment and continued on his way. "Well... let's say the woman actually distances herself from her man because he doesn't give her enough time. Surely she calms down after a while right?"

The maid shook her head. "It's not that simple. Not without an apology."

"And what would be appropriate in such a case?" In the meantime they had arrived in front of his aunt's chamber and stopped.

Raising a finger, Lora looked at him seriously. "Only jewelry will help. The most beautiful and expensive that can be found."