Page 44 of Princesses & Pastries
"See, you're not doing too badly at the art of diplomacy," Veronica tells me.
"Other people have done all of the work."
"Just take credit for the work you did do," she responds. "Now, as much as I love you, I see that the Earl of Bofort's daughter is on her own right now. She's just come back to court after breaking off a betrothal, and I should go comfort her."
I stare at my sister. "What?"
"Never mind," she murmurs, patting me on the shoulder and heading off to speak with Lady Bofort.
I finish my dessert and hope that no one is going to ask me any other questions, because there's a lot of noise in the room, and Veronica has already given me more to think about than I already had. At least this is going to mean I'm one step closer to being able to spend time with Nate, even if I am going to have to sit through a play first.
Chapter 19
The evening is beautiful, with a huge moon and still air that's going to make it perfect for the firework display. And most importantly for me, there aren't any other people around to bother me. Though I am expecting one other person to make an appearance, but Nate could never be a bother.
Ember stretches on the marble balustrade that keeps us from falling off the balcony. When her wings are like this, she looks a lot bigger than she does otherwise, but still cute.
She lets out a little screech, which I assume means she wants something to eat.
"Are you going to grow bigger if I feed you too much?" I ask, putting a small bowl of scraps down in front of her. Maybe it's not the best idea to feed her where she can knock the bowl off the edge of the balcony, but it's too late for that now, as she rears back her head and lets out a stream of flames, engulfing the meat almost immediately.
I grimace when she starts gulping it down. I really should try to teach her how to eat more quietly, but I'm not really sure how that works with dragons, or how trainable she's going to be.
Footsteps sound behind me, and I turn around to see Nate appear in the doorway.
My heart skips a beat at the sight of him, especially as he seems to have changed out of his chef's clothes and into something smarter. It suits him.
"Hey," he says.
"Hi," I respond. "Thank you for coming."
"I was never going to say no to spending time with you," he says. "Though I am intrigued about what you've invited me here for."
"It's one of our last evenings together," I say. "I thought you might want to watch the fireworks with me."
His eyes light up, but maybe it's just the reflection of the gas lighting pouring out of the windows.
"Do you want some spiced wine?" I ask. "It's still warm."
He nods. "That would be nice."
I head over to where the jug has been left for the two of us as per my instructions and pour him a mug, getting one for myself too. I hand one to him, trying not to stare at him too much even though I'm kind of entranced by how good he looks. The light bounces off the planes of his face, making the lines sharper. I don't think anyone doubts that he's a handsome man, I just feel like I haven't truly seen it before.
"How did the banquet go?" he asks.
"Well," I say. "Everyone seemed to enjoy the food."
"Did you?"
"Of course. And I knew exactly what to eat, which made it even better for me."
"I'm glad you had fun."
"I wouldn't go as far as fun," I respond. "The play was decent, and everyone was mostly quiet through it. I might suggest more of them in the future."
He chuckles. "The advantage of being the one in charge, right?"
"Something like that." I lean against the balustrade and take a sip of my wine. "But this is my favourite part of the evening."
