Page 18 of Ties of Dust

“No, Your Highness,” said Flora forlornly.

“But it’s no worse, either,” Cassius went on. “I’ve given some thought to how to handle things, but first I want an answer to my question. Why in the Peninsula would Their Majesties assign you to be Princess Miriam’s bodyguard?”

Flora sighed. “If you must know, Mim convinced them.”

“Mim?” He raised an eyebrow.

Flora just shrugged. “We attended school together in Torrens, and we were friends long before I was her guard. At the academy, the students treat each other much the same regardless of status. Magic craft was my area of special focus, and when she returned home at the end of our two years, she convinced me to accompany her, then convinced her parents that I was a good candidate for the role of personal protector.”

“Huh.” Cassius thought all this over. “I didn’t know the princess had attended school in Torrens.”

“It’s not uncommon for royal children to spend some years of their education in another kingdom on the Peninsula to strengthen ties.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Cassius couldn’t keep the amusement from his voice. “As you may recall, I was myself a royal child.”

“My apologies, Your Highness,” said Flora quickly, looking chastened.

“It’s all right,” he laughed.

He considered her, his mind going over her explanation of how she’d gotten her role.

“I’m surprised Princess Miriam had so much influence on her parents’ decision about guards.”

“Oh, well, as to that…” Flora’s eyes betrayed the grin she was trying to keep from her mouth, and Cassius’s interest was immediately piqued. “She had a little assistance. You’re right about her influence, but Crown Prince Xavier has a louder voice.” She really did grin at that. “In more ways than one.”

“How did she enlist his help?” Cassius asked, fascinated.

“That part wasn’t hard,” Flora informed him. “He’s always sympathetic to the desire for more freedom. The difficult part was figuring out how he could best make his argument seem his own, so that their parents didn’t realize it had come from Mim.”

“And that argument was…”

Flora’s eyes sparkled with mischief, giving a light to their dark brown that changed her features considerably. “That while rotating guards were fine, having a young and strong man as the princess’s personal protector was simply begging for him to fall in love with her, or her with him. That would be their nightmare, frankly.”

Cassius laughed aloud, surprised and impressed by the creative way the princess and her brother had gotten what they wanted.

“It’s a perfectly plausible scenario,” Flora shrugged. “She’s beautiful, and she has a kind manner that warms people to her.” She gave him a smile that was almost timid. “I don’t think you’ll have cause to regret your marriage alliance, Your Highness.”

The assurance should have been welcome, but insteadit made Cassius uncomfortable for some reason, so he changed the topic.

“Thank you for the insight. To return to our own situation, I propose that we don’t advertise the existence of the tether.”

Flora tilted her head to one side. “Is that feasible?”

“It might be, if we’re smart about it,” he said. He cast an eye over her. “But first we need to think of some more basic matters. Like getting the rest of your clothes.”

“That would be welcome,” Flora said, brightening. She cleared her throat. “I also need to…”

“Freshen up?” Cassius’s voice was rueful. “So do I. I suppose we’ll have to do so within twenty feet of one another, with what privacy we can.”

Flora winced. “This is going to be very awkward.”

“It is,” Cassius agreed, although strangely he felt increasingly less ill-at-ease. “But I’m sure we can manage. Can you afford to wait until we’ve spoken to Lord Armand?”

A shutter went down over her eyes at this mention of the architect of their predicament.

“Of course, Your Highness, I will suit your convenience.”

Cassius held back a sigh. As if any of this was even vaguely convenient for him. He strode to the door, opening it only enough to put his head out into the corridor. The guards on either side of the doorway sprang to attention, their eyes on him.

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