Convenient Bride For The King

‘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.’