Page 35 of Legacy of Glass
“Princesses have ladies-in-waiting, don’t they?” she asked. “Or something similar.”
“My mother doesn’t call them that, but she has noble women of the court who act as her companions and assist her with social events and the like, so I suppose that’s the same thing,” he said.
Olivia nodded. “I want to select one for myself for as long as I’m living here and invite her to join me at the palace.” She saw his raised brow and quickly added, “I’m not trying to bring anyone unsuitable to court. I just want to invite a member of my family to stay with me, and I want to be sure she’ll be treated well. Surely that’s acceptable.”
“Certainly,” he said, relieved her request was such an easy one to grant. He didn’t even need to check with his parents. “I can see no possible objection to that.”
She nodded. “I also have a…pet.” His eyes narrowed at her hesitation, but she kept her chin raised defiantly. “I will only agree to live at the palace if I can bring her with me and care for her here.”
“You want to bring your cat with you?” Julius asked, biting back a smile.
“Mildred is not a cat,” Olivia said. “But the same principle applies.”
Julius shrugged. “The palace has plenty of rat catchers and a number of dogs who run tame inside. I don’t see how one more animal would cause any trouble.”
Olivia smiled. “In that case, we have an agreement.” She walked to the door but stopped partway with a grimace. “I think I’d better add a third request. I’m going to need someone to show me around for a while. The palace is enormous, and I already have no idea where I am right now.”
Julius laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of maids and footmen at your service. In fact, I predict you won’t be able to turn around without tripping over one. Everyone in Sovar is curious about you right now.”
Her smile disappeared, and he kicked himself for once again saying the wrong thing to her.
“You can always order them to leave if you’re uncomfortable,” he said, trying to mend matters.
“Unfortunately, I suspect that’s going to be all the time,” she muttered, almost too quietly for him to hear.
* * *
Olivia spent the rest of that day and all of the next closeted with his mother and a series of experts chosen by the queen. Their role was to educate the new princess on various aspects of court behavior and court life.
Julius might have felt sorry for her if he wasn’t similarly cloistered. Apparently his father’s way of taking the temperature of his court and city was to have a private meeting with every noble of significance and a number of the more influential merchants. And he insisted his son join him.
The only saving grace was that for once his allocated role didn’t require rigid restraint. He was playing the lovesick groom, so his father welcomed small signs of his impatience—it gave the king an opportunity to insert a humorous remark about where his son would rather be. No one failed to chuckle in response to the suggestion that the prince would rather be with a certain beautiful young lady than stuck in a meeting.
He pretended to take the humor with good grace, despite his irritation at the entire situation, and at least he enjoyed the opportunity to look as bored as he felt. He expected the evening would bring an opportunity to check on Olivia, but they didn’t even eat together at the end of their first official day as a betrothed couple. His father was hosting a select number of powerful guests, and his mother had sent word that Olivia wasn’t yet ready to join such an illustrious group.
His father had neatly sidestepped the issue by making it a male-only affair. The adjustment allowed the queen to escape but didn’t grant the same freedom to Julius. And by the time he was finally released, Olivia had already retired to her bedchamber, the external door to her suite firmly latched.
By the end of the second long day, Julius’s patience was wearing too thin even for his father’s false teasing to cover. It was only with enormous restraint that he maintained the necessary polite behavior. The day would come when he was king and such meetings would be unavoidable, but his mind was still in too much turmoil from his botched betrothal to bear the constraint easily. He longed to be among his own peers, discovering their reaction to the news—however painful those reactions might be—rather than spending every hour of the day shut up with his father’s peers.
The last guest to be ushered in made him straighten with interest, however. Walter was the successful man of business Olivia called uncle, and Julius examined him closely. He was unassuming in appearance, with no noticeable presence. But as the conversation progressed, Julius caught the keen light of intelligence in his eyes, and though he allowed the king to dominate the conversation, he responded with sense and insight.
“I can’t say I’m a social man myself, Your Majesty,” he said with a chuckle. “I leave that side of things to my wife.”
“You are a man of business,” the king said with a smile of his own. “And from what I hear a very good one. We cannot all be skilled in every area.”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty.” Walter looked pleased at the king’s words, but after a moment’s hesitation he straightened his back. “I was honored to be asked here today, just as my family is honored by your selection of our Olivia as the prince’s betrothed.” He bowed slightly toward Julius. “She is an excellent girl and has our full support and confidence.” For the first time he held the king’s eye, his back straight, and the subtle message was clear.
Julius raised his brows, pleasantly surprised. Apparently Olivia’s family were willing to fight for her if it was needed. He had feared they held her in low esteem given her place in their household, but the situation must have been more nuanced than he realized.
Still, he wished the man had shown similar resolution when it came to his wife’s treatment of Olivia when she first arrived with them. If they had treated her fully as family then, none of them might be in their current predicament.
He waited impatiently as his father concluded the meeting and finally—finally—released Julius, saying he would not be needed the next day. Julius hurried straight to his mother’s favorite sitting room.
Stepping inside, he bowed politely to the queen, even while his eyes flicked around the room. Disappointment surged when he saw she was alone.
“Where’s Olivia?” he blurted out.
His mother regarded him with a slight raise to her brows and a mysterious smile that wavered between amusement and curiosity. He winced internally. What was she reading in his face and bearing? Did she understand his reactions? Because he didn’t understand them himself.
