Convenient Bride For The King

CHAPTER TWO

PUBLIC FLAYING OR NOT, Moriana’s charity commitments continued throughout the day and into the evening. She’d put together a charity antique art auction for the children’s hospital months ago and the event was due to start at six p.m. in one of the palace function rooms that had been set up for the occasion. The auctioneers had been in residence all day, setting up the display items. Palace staff were on duty to take care of the catering, security was in place and there was no more work to be done beyond turning up, giving a speech and subtly persuading some of the region’s wealthiest inhabitants to part with some of their excess money. Moriana was good at hosting such events. Her mother had taught her well.

Not that Moriana had ever managed to live up to those exacting standards when her mother was alive. It had taken years of dogged, determined practice to even reach her current level of competence.

The principality of Arun wasn’t the wealthiest principality in the region. That honour went to Byzenmaach, ruled by Casimir, her former intended. It also wasn’t the prettiest. Theo’s Liesendaach was far prettier, embellished by centuries of rulers who’d built civic buildings and public spaces beyond compare. No, Arun’s claim to fame lay in its healthcare and education systems, and this was due in no small measure to her ceaseless work in those areas, and her mother’s and grandmother’s attention before that. Rigidly repressed the women of the royal house of Arun might be but they knew how to champion the needs of their people.

Tonight would be an ordeal. The press had not been kind to her today and she’d tried to put that behind her and carry on as usual. The main problem being that no one else was carrying on as usual. Even Aury, her unflappable lady-in-waiting, had been casting anxious glances in Moriana’s direction all day.

Moriana’s favourite treat, lemon tart with a burnt sugar top, had been waiting for her at morning tea, courtesy of the palace kitchens. A vase full of fat pink peonies had been sitting on her sideboard by lunchtime. She’d caught one of her publicity aides mid-rant on the phone—he’d been threatening to revoke someone’s palace press pass if they ran a certain headline, and he’d flushed when he’d seen her but he’d kept right on making threats until he’d got his way.

There’d been a certain lack of newspapers in the palace this morning, which meant that Moriana had had to go online to read them.

She should have stayed away.

There was this game she and her lady-in-waiting often made out of the news of the day. While Aury styled Moriana’s hair for whatever function was on that evening, they’d shoot headlines back and forth. On a normal day it encouraged analysis and discussion.

On a normal day the headlines wouldn’t be proclaiming Moriana the most undesirable princess on the planet.

‘Too Cold to Wed,’ Moriana said as Aury reached for the pins that would secure Moriana’s braid into an elegant roll at the base of her head.

‘No,’ said Aury, pointing a stern hairbrush in the direction of Moriana’s reflection. ‘I’m not doing this today and neither are you. I stopped reading them so I wouldn’t choke on my breakfast, and you should have stopped reading them too.’

‘Jilted Ice Princess Contemplates Nunnery,’ Moriana continued.

‘I’m not coming with you to the nunnery. They don’t care what hair looks like there, the heathens,’ said Aury, pushing a hairpin into place. ‘Okay, no, I will give you a headline. Byzenmaach Mourns as the Curse Strikes Again.’

‘Curse?’ Moriana had missed that one. ‘What curse?’

‘Apparently you refused to marry King Casimir in an attempt to avoid the same fate as his mother. Namely, being physically, mentally and verbally abused by your husband for years before taking a lover, giving birth to your lover’s child, seeing both killed by your husband and then committing suicide.’

‘Ouch.’ Moriana caught her lady-in-waiting’s gaze in the mirror. ‘What paper was that?’

‘A regional one from Byzenmaach’s northern border. The Mountain Chronicle.’

‘Vultures.’ Never mind that she’d accidentally overheard her parents discussing a remarkably similar scenario involving Casimir’s parents. She’d never repeated the conversation to anyone but Augustus and she never would. ‘Casimir doesn’t deserve that one.’

‘Byzenmaach Monarch Faces Backlash over Secret Lover and Child,’ said Aury next.

‘That one I like. Serves him right. Do we have the run sheet for the auction tonight?’

‘It’s right here. And the guest list.’

Moriana scanned through the paperwork Aury handed her. ‘Augustus is attending now and bringing a guest? He didn’t say anything about it to me this morning.’

Not that she’d given him a chance to say anything much. Still.

‘Word came through from his office this afternoon. Also, Lord and Lady Curtis send their apologies. Their granddaughter had a baby this afternoon.’

‘Have we sent our congratulations?’

‘We have.’

‘Tell the auctioneer to put my reserve on the baby bear spoon set. They can have it as a gift.’ Arun might not be the wealthiest or the prettiest kingdom in the region but its people did not go unattended.

‘I put the silver gown out for tonight, along with your grandmother’s diamonds. I also took the liberty of laying out the blood-red gown you love but never wear and the pearl choker and earrings from the royal collection. The silver gown is a perfectly appropriate choice, don’t get me wrong, but I for one am hoping the Ice Princess might feel like making a statement tonight.’

‘And you think a red gown and a to-hell-with-you-all attitude will do this?’

‘It beats looking whipped.’

‘The red gown it is,’ Moriana murmured. The Ice Princess was overdue for a thaw. ‘Now all I need is a wholly inappropriate date to go with it.’ She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Actually, no. I’m not so merciless as to drag anyone else into this mess. I’ll go alone.’

‘You’ll not be alone for long,’ Aury predicted. ‘Opportunists will flock to you.’

‘It’s already started.’

‘Anyone you like?’

‘No.’ Moriana ignored the sudden image of a harshly hewn face and glittering grey eyes. ‘Well, Theo. Who I’ve never actually tried to like. It never seemed worth the effort.’

Aury stopped fussing with Moriana’s hair in favour of looking stunned. ‘Theodosius of Liesendaach is courting you now?’

‘I wouldn’t call it courting.’ Moriana thought back to the form letter and scowled. ‘Trust me, neither would anyone else.’

‘Yes, but really?’

‘Aury, your tongue is hanging out.’

‘Uh huh. Have you seen that man naked?’

‘Oh, yes. God bless the paparazzi. Everyone has seen that man naked.’

‘And what a treat it was.’

Okay, so he was well endowed. And reputedly very skilled in the bedroom. Women did not complain of him. Old lovers stayed disconcertingly friendly with him.

‘You’d take me to Liesendaach with you, right?’ asked Aury as she started in on Moriana’s hair again, securing the roll with pearl-tipped pins and leaving front sections of hair loose to be styled into soft curls. ‘I can start packing any time. Say the word. I am there for you. Of course, I am also here for you.’ Aury sighed heavily.

‘You should have pursued a career in drama,’ Moriana said. ‘Arun’s not so bad. A little austere at times. A little grey around the edges. And at the centre. But there’s beauty here too, if you know where to look.’

‘I know where to look.’ Aury sighed afresh. ‘And clearly so does Theodosius of Liesendaach. Be careful with that one.’

‘I can handle Theo.’

Aury looked uncommonly troubled, her dark eyes wary and her lips tilted towards a frown. ‘He strikes me as a man who gets what he wants. What if he decides he wants you?’

‘He doesn’t. Theo’s been reliably antagonistic towards me since childhood. And when he’s not prodding me with a pointy stick he’s totally indifferent to my presence. He’s just...going through the motions. Being a casual opportunist. If I turn him down he’ll go away.’

Aury sighed again and Moriana could feel a lecture coming on. Aury had several years on Moriana, not enough to make her a mother figure, but more than enough to fulfil the role of older, wiser sister. It was a role she took seriously.

‘My lady, as one woman to another... Okay, as one slightly more experienced woman to another...please don’t be taken in by Theodosius of Liesendaach’s apparent indifference to events and people that surround him. That man is like a hawk in a granary. He’s watching, he’s listening and he knows what he wants from any given situation. More to the point, he knows what everyone else wants from any given situation.’

‘He doesn’t know what I want.’

‘Want to bet?’ Aury sounded uncommonly serious. ‘Yes, he’s charming, he’s playful, he’s extremely good at acting as if he couldn’t care less. But what else do we know of him? Think about it. We know that for the first fifteen years of his life he never expected to be King. We know that for ten years after the death of his parents and brother he watched and waited his turn while his uncle bled Liesendaach dry as Regent. The young Crown Prince is indifferent to our plight, the people said. He’s bad blood, too busy pleasing himself to care about the rape of our country, they said. We can’t look to him to save us. He will not bring an end to this. That’s what his uncle thought. It’s what everyone thought. It’s what he wanted them to think.’

Aury reached for another pin. ‘Do you remember the day Theodosius of Liesendaach turned twenty-five and took the throne? I do. Because from that day forward he systematically destroyed his uncle and squashed every last parasite. He targeted their every weakness, he knew exactly where to strike, and he has fought relentlessly to bring his country back to prosperity. That’s not indifference. That’s patience, planning, ruthless execution and fortitude. He was never indifferent to his country’s plight. I don’t trust that man’s indifference one little bit.’

‘Point taken.’

‘I hope so.’ Aury finished with Moriana’s hair and pulled the make-up trolley closer. She rifled through the lipstick drawer and held up a blood-red semi-gloss for inspection. ‘What else are we thinking?’

‘I’m thinking smoky eyes and lipstick one shade lighter. It’s a charity auction, not a nightclub.’

‘Boring,’ said Aury.

‘Baby steps.’ Moriana had already chosen a dress she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

Aury found a lighter shade of lipstick and held it up for inspection. ‘What about this one?’

‘Yes.’ Aury rarely steered her wrong. ‘And Aury?’

‘Yes, milady?’

‘I’ll be careful.’

* * *

Augustus was a deceitful, manipulative son of Satan, Moriana decided when he stepped into the auction room later that evening with his guest in tow. It wasn’t a woman. Oh, no. Her brother hadn’t done anything so lacklustre as bringing a suitable date with him to the event. Instead, he’d brought a neighbouring monarch along for the ride. Theo, to be more precise. He of the hawkish grace, immaculate dinner suit and form letter marriage proposal.

Theo and Augustus had been thick as thieves as children. They’d grown apart in their teens when Theo had flung himself headlong into reckless debauchery after the death of his family. Augustus had only followed him so far before their father, the then monarch of Arun, had reined him in. Theo had experienced no such constraints. Lately though...now that Theo bore the full brunt of the Liesendaach Crown... Moriana didn’t quite know what kind of relationship Theo and her brother had. They’d been working together on a regional water plan. They trusted each other’s judgement in such matters. They still didn’t socialise together.

Much.

That they were socialising now, the same day she’d refused Theo’s offer, spoke volumes for Augustus’s support of the man.

So much for blood being thicker than brotherhood.

She turned away fast when she caught her brother’s gaze because this betrayal, on top of Casimir’s rejection, on top of Theo’s demeaning form letter, almost brought her to her knees. So much for men and all their fine promises. You couldn’t trust any of them.

The chief press advisor for the palace appeared at her side, his eyes sharp but his smile in place. ‘Your Highness, you look pale. May I get you anything?’

‘How about a brand-new day?’ she suggested quietly. ‘This one’s rotten, from the core out.’

‘Tomorrow will be a better day,’ he said.

‘Promises.’ Her voice was light but her heart was heavy.

‘I promise we’re doing our best to shine the brightest light we can on everything you do for us, milady. The entire team is on it. No one dismisses our princess lightly. No one has earned that right.’

‘Thank you, Giles.’ She blinked back rapid tears and looked away. ‘I appreciate your support.’

And then two more people joined them. One was Theo and the other one was Augustus. Years of burying her feelings held her in good stead as she plastered a smile on her face and set about greeting them.

‘Your Majesties,’ she said, curtseying to them, and something of her hurt must have shown on her face as she rose because Augustus frowned and started to say something. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to hear it. ‘What a surprise.’

‘A pleasant one, I hope,’ said Theo as he took her gloved hand and lifted it to his lips.

‘Oh, we all live in hope,’ she offered. ‘I live in hope that one day the people I hold dear will have my back, but that day’s not here yet.’

‘Yes, it is; you just can’t see it,’ Theo countered. ‘I’m here, welcome or not, with the ulterior motive of being seen with you in public.’

‘Indeed, I can see the headlines now. Ice Princess Falls for Playboy King. Liesendaach Gives It a Week.’

‘Perhaps.’ Theo didn’t discount it. ‘Or I can give your publicity officer here a quote about how much respect I have for you as a person and as a representative of the royal family of Arun. I can mention that it’s no hardship whatsoever to continue to offer you my friendship, admiration and support. I can add that I’m not at all dismayed that you’re now free of your ridiculous childhood betrothal to the new King of Byzenmaach. And we can see how that goes down.’

The press advisor melted away with a nod in Theo’s direction. Theo and her brother stayed put.

‘Damage control, Moriana. Look it up,’ Theo said curtly.

‘Well, I guess you’d know all about that.’

‘I do.’ But he didn’t defend his wild past or the chaos he occasionally still stirred. He never did. Theodosius of Liesendaach didn’t answer to anyone.

A small—very tiny—part of her respected that.

‘So,’ she said. ‘Welcome to my annual Children’s Hospital Charity Auction. Have you seen the catalogue?’

‘I have not.’

‘I’ll have one sent over.’ She nodded towards some nearby display cases. ‘By all means, look around. You might see something you like.’

‘You won’t accompany me?’

‘No, I’m working.’ He’d dressed immaculately, as usual. No one wore a suit quite the way Theo did. He was broad-shouldered and slim-hipped. Tall enough to look down on almost everyone in the room. His cropped blond hair was nothing remarkable and his face was clean-shaven. It wasn’t a pretty face. A little too stern and altogether too craggy. Lips that knifed towards cruel when he was in a bad mood. His eyes were his best feature by far. She might as well give the devil his due. They were icy blue-grey and often coolly amused. They were amused now.

‘I have other duties to attend and people to greet,’ she continued bluntly. ‘How fortunate Augustus is here to take care of you. What a good friend.’

‘Indeed he is.’ Theo’s gaze had yet to leave hers. ‘I like it when you wear red. The colour suits you and so do the pearls. My compliments to your wardrobe mistress.’

‘I’ll be sure to let her know. I mean, it’s not as if I could ever be in charge of my own clothing choices, right? Who knows what I’d come up with?’ There was something different about Theo tonight. Something fierce and implacable and hungry. She bared her teeth right back at him. ‘Any other underhand compliments you’d like to shower me with before I take my leave?’

Augustus winced. ‘Moria—’

‘No!’ She cut him off. ‘You don’t get to diminish me either. All your fine talk this morning of supporting my decisions, of letting me be. I believed you. Yet here we are.’

‘Your brother’s not at fault,’ Theo said smoothly. ‘Moriana, we need to talk.’

‘About your proposal? My reply is in the mail, seeing as that’s your preferred method of communication. Seeing as you’re here, I dare say I can give you the highlights. I refuse. It’s not you, it’s me. Or maybe it is you and all those other women I’d have to live up to, I don’t know. Either way, my answer’s no. I am done listening to the two-faced, self-serving babble of kings. Now, if you’ll both excuse me.’

‘Go. Greet your guests. We can talk after you’re done here. I’ll wait,’ said Theo the Magnanimous. ‘I’m good at waiting.’

Moriana laughed. She couldn’t help it. ‘Theo, you may have waited for your crown but you’ve never waited on a woman in your life.’

She was close enough to see his jaw clench. Close enough to see hot temper flare in those eyes that ran more towards grey tonight than blue. ‘Oh, Princess. Always so wrong.’

It wasn’t easy to turn away from the challenge in his gaze but she did it, more mindful than ever of Aury’s warning. This wasn’t the boy she remembered from childhood or the teenager who’d poked and prodded at her until she’d snapped back. This was the man who’d watched and waited for ten long years before rising and taking his country back. This was the hawk in the granary.

And maybe, just maybe, she was the mouse.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, after personally greeting all the guests in attendance and seeing that they were well lubricated, Moriana looked for Theo again. Not that she had to look hard. She always knew where Theo was in a room, just as she always tracked where her security detail was, and where her brother was. It was an awareness that would have made a seasoned soldier proud and she’d been trained for it since birth.

Know your exits. Know where your support is. Know where your loved ones are at any given moment. Theo wasn’t a loved one but he’d always been included in that equation for he’d been a treasured child of royalty too. The last of his line and therefore important.

Casimir, her former intended, had also been the last of his line and she’d always tracked his whereabouts too, whenever they’d been at functions together. She’d misplaced Casimir on occasion—no one was perfect. She’d misplaced him on several occasions.

Many occasions.

Moving on.

Theo didn’t look up from the display he was browsing as she made her way to his side. He didn’t look up even as he began to speak. ‘You’re good at this,’ he said.

‘Thank you.’ She wanted to believe he could pay her a genuine compliment, not that he ever had before. ‘I’ve been hosting this particular fundraiser for the past seven years and I have it down to a fine art, pardon the pun. Collecting the auction items, curating the guest list, knowing what people want and what they’ll pay to have it. Knowing who else they might want to see socially. People say I have a knack for fundraising, as if I simply fling things together at the last minute and hope for the best, but I don’t. I put a lot of work into making sure these evenings flow like water and do what they’re meant to do.’

‘I don’t doubt it,’ he said, finally turning his gaze on her. ‘Hence the compliment.’ He tilted his head a fraction. ‘You’re an exceptional ambassador for your people and you’d have been an exceptional asset to Casimir as queen consort. It’s Byzenmaach’s loss.’

He wasn’t the first person to say that to her tonight and he probably wouldn’t be the last. ‘I doubt Casimir’s feeling any loss.’ She didn’t like how thready she sounded. As if she’d been stretched too thin for far too long.

‘He hurt you.’ Three simple words that cracked her wide open.

‘Don’t. Theo, please. Leave it alone. It’s done.’

She turned away, suddenly wanting to get away from the sedate auction room and the gossip and the expectations that came with being a Princess of Arun. Perfect composure, always. Unrivalled social graces. A memory trained to remember names and faces. She had a welcome speech to give in fifteen minutes. Who would give it if she walked out?

He stopped her before she’d taken a step. The subtle shift of his body and the force of his silent appraisal blocked her retreat. ‘You’re not coping,’ he said quietly. ‘Tell me what you need.’

She didn’t know why his softly spoken words hurt so much, but they did. ‘Damn you, Theo. Don’t do this to me. Don’t be attentive all of a sudden because you want something from me. Do what you usually do. Fight. Snarl. Be you. Give me something I know how to respond to.’

He stilled, his face a granite mask, and she had the sudden, inexplicable feeling she’d just dealt him a brutal blow. And then his gaze cut away from her face and he took a deep breath and when he looked at her again he wore a fierce and reckless smile she knew all too well. ‘I’ll fight you mentally, physically, whatever you need, until we both bleed,’ he promised, his voice a vicious caress. ‘Just as soon as you stop breaking in front of me. I know your family trained you to hide weakness better than this. It’s what you do. It’s all you do. So do it.’

Yes. This was what she needed from him, and to hell with why. No one said she was the most well-balanced princess in the universe.

Thread by thread she pulled herself together, drawing on the anger she sensed in him to bolster her own. Build a wall—any wall. Anger, righteous indignation, icy disdain, attention to duty, whatever it took to keep the volcano of feelings in check.

‘Have you seen the Vermeer?’ she asked finally, when she had herself mostly back under control. ‘I thought of you when it first came in. It would round out Liesendaach’s Dutch collection.’

He studied her for what felt like hours, before nodding, as if she’d do, and then held out his arm for her to claim. ‘All right, Princess. Persuade me.’

* * *

Moriana carved out the time to show Theo the most interesting pieces in the auction. She made her speech and the auction began. And by the end of the evening a great deal of money had been raised for the new children’s hospital wing and Theo had almost purchased the Vermeer for a truly staggering sum. In the end the painting had gone to a gallery and Moriana dearly hoped they needed a tax write-down soon because they clearly hadn’t done their sums. That or they really wanted to support the children’s hospital.

‘I thought you’d lost your mind,’ she said when only a handful of guests remained and he came to congratulate her on the evening’s success. ‘Not even you could justify that amount of money for a lesser Vermeer.’

‘But for you I tried.’

His smile reminded her of young boys and frog ponds and sultry, still evenings, back when Theo’s parents had still been alive. Augustus had always caught his frogs with quick efficiency and, once examined, had let them go. Theo, on the other hand, had revelled in the chase. He’d been far more interested in which way they jumped and where they might try to hide than in actually catching them. To this day, Moriana didn’t know what that said about either Theo or her brother.