A Royal Kiss and Tell

When they were discovered, Tadd was dragged off the horse and roundly beaten in front of Leo, even as Leo cried for the stable master to stop. And then Tadd simply disappeared. Leo had been left with a searing sense of responsibility and unfairness about the whole thing.

That was the first time he’d been aware of the enormous privilege he enjoyed and how little he’d done to deserve it.

He had learned in the years that followed to turn a blind eye to those feelings and accept his life as it was and be grateful for it. That was easy to do when surrounded by the children of aristocrats who similarly had their lives handed to them. It was easy when he had the luxury to spend his days with his friends, or abroad. He’d grown lazy in that way wealth had of making a man disinclined to lift many fingers. Nothing was expected of him other than to finish his studies and not impregnate a chamber girl. That he could do.

He had learned to dull the tedium and the unfairness of it all with alcohol. What he wanted was to go back to England and the dissolute but happy manner in which he lived.

LEO WAS ANNOUNCED with enough fanfare to make his head throb, then escorted by two footmen on either flank to the dais where his parents sat on their thrones. As he walked, people on either side of his path bowed and curtsied. Such ritual, such unnecessary pomp.

Two chairs had been added to the dais beside the king for Bas and Eliza.

Leo greeted his father stiffly. “You look well enough,” his father said, his gaze apprizing.

“Where have you been, darling?” his mother asked. “You’re late.”

“Out,” he said, and bent to press his lips to her cheek. Queen Daria looked regal in her diamond-and-sapphire crown. On her gold gown, she wore nearly as many medals as he did. She was a beautiful woman, and when Leo was a boy, he’d worshipped her, held in thrall by her beauty. He’d longed for her attention and her smile, but both had been sparingly applied to him.

She smiled at him now and cupped his face when he leaned over her to kiss her cheek. “It has been the happiest of days to have my children here with me. I can’t wait for the day that you will make me as happy as Sebastian has today.”

Leo suppressed his groan.

“You’ll not wait long, my love,” his father assured her.

His mother leaned forward and whispered, “Have you met Lady Eulalie? She’s quite attractive.”

Leo shook his head. If he spoke, he wouldn’t be able to hide his anger.

“She is illunis,” his mother said, using the Alucian word for beautiful. “I think you will find her appealing.”

“Hopefully,” he said with a shrug.

“You will! We took into account your likes and dislikes, my darling.”

That was absurd. He’d never told his mother or father what he found attractive, and if they had truly taken into account his dislikes, they would know he disliked this exceedingly.

“Ah, here is Sir Ravaneaux,” his mother said. He turned to see her private secretary approaching the dais. “Sir Ravaneaux will see to it that the introduction to Lady Eulalie is made.”

Would he not be allowed as much as a glass of wine before the task of strengthening the ties between Alucia and Wesloria began? “Should I not congratulate the happy couple first?”

His mother’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But you’ve congratulated them, darling! We all have. Sir Ravaneaux, if you would,” she said, and waved Leo away like she did when he was a boy and he’d become bothersome. A flick of her wrist and a firm Off with you now, Leo.

Ravaneaux led Leo across the crowded ballroom with the two footmen trailing behind. It was a spectacle, people stepping out of the way to allow him to pass. Leo was keenly aware of the number of eyes on him, the low hum of whispers around him. As they neared the opposite side of the ballroom, an attractive woman came forward in the company of a man who looked to be about his father’s age. He was fit, with strong features, his clothing that of an aristocrat. The woman was as small as he was large. She was dressed in silk and jewels, and when she curtsied, she sank low in the way young ladies were taught at finishing schools. She wore the Weslorian dark green pinned to her breast. The gentleman likewise wore the band of green around his arm.

Ravaneaux said to him, “Your Royal Highness, may I introduce Lady Eulalie Gaspar of Wesloria,” he said. “And her father, the Duke of Brondeny.”

Leo bowed. “Your Grace,” he said to the duke. “My lady.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries, and the duke offered felicitations on the occasion of Sebastian’s marriage, then deftly stepped away under the pretense of speaking to Sir Ravaneaux, leaving Leo and Lady Eulalie alone...except for the attendance of dozens upon dozens of onlookers.