Page 57 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

Chapter Eighteen

ESMERALDA

When we returned to Chaukham Palace that afternoon, while the reigning monarchs left for another walkabout in the city, Kai quietly disappeared.

For the first forty minutes or so, I didn’t look for him. But I became restless. I was worried about him. He didn’t have to tell me anything, I just needed to know he was okay, so I went searching for him.

Michael, Kai’s equerry, found me in the corridors blindly searching for Kai’s office. He kindly informed me that Kai wasn’t even there.

“He went to the gardens? In the cold?” I asked in surprise.

Michael grinned boyishly. “Shocking, I know, but true. He was taking a walk with Prince Arsh.”

So, I headed outside, but I only found Prince Arsh. He was talking to a dark-skinned, teddy-bear-like man with a big belly by a large white marble fountain that sat in a broken circle of trimmed, evergreen hedges.

“Esmeralda,” Prince Arsh said when he saw me coming between two hedges towards them. “Where’s your coat?”

“Why is that the first thing everyone says to me?” I said then turned to the man. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Hello, Your Highness.” He bowed over his big belly. “I’m Bruno, the head gardener.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Bruno. You and your team have done a lovely job with the gardens.”

“Why thank you, Your Highness.” He beamed. “But we can’t take all the credit. Prince Arsh, Her Majesty, Queen Leila, and Prince Kai have all had their inputs too.”

“Oh, really?” I glanced hopefully at Prince Arsh, flicking at my nails restlessly. “Talking of Kai, Michael told me he was with you.”

Prince Arsh nodded. “He was. He’s in the glasshouse now. Would you like me to take you over?”

“Please.”

He jerked his head to the left. “Come on then. I’ll be right back, Bruno.”

With a nod to the head gardener, I followed Prince Arsh to the western side of the gardens. He took me through a few hedge archways until a long glasshouse appeared at the end of a short path.

“Fay said you were there when Meg approached him,” Prince Arsh eventually said.

“I was.” I looked up at him. “Was Kai okay—when you were with him?”

“He was…quiet.” He sighed and rubbed his jaw slowly. “Has he told you anything about his relationship with Meg?”

“No. But I don’t want to know if he doesn’t want to tell me. I just want to see that he’s okay.”

Prince Arsh offered me a smile as we came to a stop in front of the tall, misted door. “I don’t know where he is inside, but I haven’t seen him come out so he’s still in there.” He ruffled my hair like I was a little child. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”

“Can I ask you something?” I heard myself blurt before he could turn away.

“Of course,” he said, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

“Why did you never marry?”

It wasn’t a question I should have been asking. It was none of my damn business. But for some reason, I needed to know. Thankfully, Prince Arsh didn’t appear offended. In fact, he looked amused.

“Well, part of my reason was to spite my asshole of a father who tried every method under the sun to get me married to a girl of his choosing.” His smirk lifted higher. It was obvious who Fay inherited his bad boy flare from—definitely wasn’t his parents. “But. I also never found anyone who looked at me the way you look at my dear nephew.”

He left me with a wink, and I smiled at the empty spot he’d stood in for a few moments. Then taking a deep breath, I faced the misted door of the glasshouse.

Inside, it almost felt like I’d been transported back home to Jahandar. The climate was warm, the scent of soil and humidity filling the air. A variety of tropical plants and trees were spread between twisting gravel paths, and it was all tied together by the distant sound of trickling water.

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