I looked up with excitement when Filib entered the room. I had promoted him from stable hand to my own private messenger when I had taken over this temporary job of ruling the kingdom. He had proven himself to be trustworthy before I took this position. I needed more honest people in my life right now.
“Any news?”
“They are about thirty minutes out, Sir.”
“Sir is not the proper address. You may refer to Prince Reagan as Your Highness or Your Grace but never Sir.”
Arlana Kelly was Gilvary’s stewardess. With my father dead and my mother taken to her bed, she had taken it upon herself to oversee my every move. I did not want her here, but I needed her. She knew the dealings of this castle inside and out while I had known nothing until my father’s death. I needed her, but I would not allow her to have complete control.
“Arlana, for the last time, I asked Filib to call me Sir.”
“You must maintain proper control, Your Highness. You will lose his respect if you allow him to address you so.”
I stood and began stacking the pages in front of me. “I appreciate your advice, but you should consider that it is ultimately my choice whether or not to accept your counsel.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” My reprimand had humbled her, but I knew it was only momentarily.
Filib had stood by silently watching the tug-of-war between me and the stewardess. He must have been satisfied that I had won considering he never offered to amend his address to me. He fell in line behind me as I hurried toward the door.
“Where are you going, Your Highness?” It seemed Arlana’s moment of humbleness was over. Filib stumbled for a step or two, but I never lost stride. My patience with that woman was at an end for now. It was none of her concern where I was going.
As we stepped out of the back door of the castle to head toward the stables, I took a deep breath of the crisp October air. It seemed I had to fight for every free minute lately and had learned to cherish each one of them.
None of my plans had ever included me being ruler of a kingdom. My parents were supposed to have ruled for a good long time to come. Then the job was supposed to have fallen to my older brother, Dunbar, who would have then passed the position down to his children.
Now Father and Dunbar were gone, Mother was sick, and there was no one else to do the job but me. Garrett would be next in line for the throne after me, and he already had his hands full running his own kingdom.
Then there were our two younger brothers. Terence was of age, but he had the mind of a child and was blissfully ignorant of most of everything that had happened.
On the other hand, Rian had experienced things that no nine-year-old should ever have any knowledge of. He had witnessed Father’s death at the hands of our mother. I cannot imagine what that must have been like. Of course, he made it hard for anyone to feel too sorry for him. On his best days he had been a brat before Father’s death, and he was even more of a handful now.
There were extra men milling about when I entered the stables. They were no doubt waiting there in anticipation of the expected crowd that would be arriving shortly. All of them jumped to find something to do once they saw me. It was what my father would have expected of them. I had been working toward relaxing some of the fear out of my people, but so far, it had been to no avail. Even Filib jumped to a task once we entered the barn.
I did not even try to interact with them on this day. I had more important things on my mind. Gwen would be here any minute. When I left Aisling, it had been in a rush to get back to Gilvary. There had not been much time for a proper goodbye between us, but I had thought of her every day since.
As I paced the dirt floor of the stable, every sound from outside had me peeking out in anticipation of her arrival. It was a relief to finally see a large group making their way around to the back of the castle. I was not surprised to see warriors from Aisling mixed in with my own. There had been no way of knowing who among my people were still loyal to the plans my father had set into motion.
I ignored the rest of the crowd and focused my eyes on the white horse and its rider in the very center of the group. Gwen sat tall and regal in the saddle. Her face was hidden beneath the big floppy hat she wore to shield herself from the sun, and the rest of her was covered by a gray cape. But I knew what I would see when I got close enough—silky blond hair, cornflower blue eyes, and a pouty bottom lip that I had been aching to kiss. But I would not—not today anyway.
I had to practically elbow my way to her. I was determined to be the one to help her from her horse. She pulled her cape back to reveal one of those outfits with a split skirt that she was fond of. It was the same color of blue as her eyes. Strangely enough, the part of her outfit that was the most thrilling to me was the leather armor around her torso and arms to go along with the sword at her side and the quiver on her back. The women of Gilvary just did not dress this way, but I loved it.
I lifted her from the horse and brought her straight into a hug. She smelled like roses. I should not be able to recognize that scent. The truth was I had cut many of those flowers from the castle gardens and had them sent to countless girls in the past. I was trying to show that I had put those flirty ways behind me and this extended hug would not help. I was only interested in one woman now, but I knew I would have to take it slow. To hide from my father, I had posed as Gwen’s cousin during my stay in Aisling, and sadly, I believed she really thought of me as such.
“Welcome to Gilvary. I am so glad you are here.”
“And I am glad to be here.” Judging by the huge grin on her face, I could believe it. She placed her hand on my cheek, and I could not help but to hold it there with my own.
“I see you have shaved your beard. I like it.”
“So, you think I am good-looking, do you?”
She laughed as she pulled away. “No doubt you have all of the women here falling at your feet, but you have to remember those from Aisling might have more discerning taste. Just because I like clean shaven men in general, that is not to say that your face is anything special.”
I grabbed my chest dramatically. “You wound me. If it is not my looks that made you fall in love with me, what was it?”
“Uh hmm” Whatever Gwen had been about to say died along with her laughter at the interruption.
I knew it was Arlana before I even turned to look at her. “I see our new helper has arrived. I will be happy to show her to her quarters and go over her duties now, Your Highness.”
I brought Gwen’s hand down between us but held onto it. “That will not be necessary. I am happy to show her around myself. Surely you have more important things to do, Arlana.” I knew there was more she wanted to say, but she turned and walked back into the castle with her head held high.
Gwen had a look of curiosity, but she did not say anything, and I did not try to explain. I had other things on my mind. It was my secret ambition that Gwen would make Gilvary her permanent home. I had set things up hopefully to her liking, and I wanted to be the one to reveal them to her. I anticipated studying her every reaction.
I kept her hand in mine as we made our way to the back of the castle. Servants were already ahead of us, carrying in everything she had brought with her. From the looks of things, she planned to stay for a while at least. I could not be happier at that thought.
As we came down the hallway, those carrying her things turned into her suite. Gwen made to follow, but I tugged her back to my side. “Shall we check out the infirmary first? That will give them time to clear out.” She just nodded, but her smile said more than that.
Some lost their employment here when I took over the job as ruler. That may not have boosted morale, but it was necessary. I could not be sure where everyone’s loyalties lie, but I would not have those around me whom I felt were untrustworthy.
One of the first to go had been our healer. Father had used someone here to poison Dunbar, and years ago, he had also sent a healer to murder Brianna’s father. I had no proof it was this man, but he seemed shady to me, so I had sent him packing.
He had been neglecting the infirmary for years, and it was in an appalling state when he left. I had been told that Clare Ellis had knowledge of herbs and was interested in learning the art of healing. After the infirmary had been scrubbed from top to bottom, I put her in charge of restocking it and getting everything in order. I had made it perfectly clear that it would be entirely Gwen’s decision of whether or not to take her on as an apprentice. If her enthusiasm had any bearing on Gwen, I had no doubt she would soon be on her way to that sought-after position.
I opened the door right next to Gwen’s suite and ushered her inside. She did not say a word, but her eyes were lit with excitement. I watched as she made her way through the room touching the beds, running her hand across the countertop, and picking up bottles from the shelf for a closer look.
“What do you think? Does it meet your standards?”
“To be honest, it is better than I expected. I had visited the infirmary here at Gilvary once before, and it had not looked like this.”
“Well, thanks to my extended stay in your own infirmary I had a clue of what you might want here, but if there is anything at all that you need or desire, just let me know, and I will be more than happy to get it for you.
“If you are ready, I will take you to your chambers next door, and then I want to take you in to see Mother. I know you must be exhausted from your trip. Do not worry, I am not trying to put you to work today. I just want to introduce you for now.”
She placed her hand on my arm. “Reagan, I am fine, really. I am ashamed to say just how impatient I am to get to work. You do not know what this job means to me.”
I was eager to hear what she was about to tell me, but Clare had chosen that moment to join us. “Your Grace.” She curtsied in front of me, but her expectant gaze immediately turned toward Gwen. She never had much to say but every time I saw the girl, she had a beaming smile on her face.
“Clare, this is Miss Gwendolyn Alexander, our new healer. Gwen, this is Clare, the one I wrote you about. She is interested in becoming a healer.”
“It is nice to meet you, Clare.” Gwen reached out for a handshake, something else women did not do here in Gilvary.
Clare looked at Gwen’s hand in confusion then grabbed the tips of her fingers as she gave a little curtsy. “I am excited to meet you as well, Miss Gwendolyn.”
I rubbed my hand across my jaw to try and hide my smile. I could tell Gwen was not deceived as she looked right at me with a knowing smile of her own.
“Just call me Gwen. Reagan tells me you know a good bit about herbs.”
The whole scene was disrupted when Arlana entered. She came close and whispered, but surely everyone in the quiet room heard her.
“Prince Reagan, I came to inform you that your brother is being contained in your office. He is giving the warrior holding him a fit. Also, the advisor from Dermot is waiting to see you.”
In addition to taking over my father’s job here in the kingdom, I had also inherited the chore of taking care of my youngest brother, a job I seemed even less qualified for than ruling. It was tempting to allow the warrior to deal with him, but the advisor could not be put off. I would need to clear Rian out of my office before I could take care of business.
“Ladies, it seems I will have to leave you now. Clare, if you would, please make yourself available to show Gwen around and answer any questions she may have. Gwen, you know where your suite is, and I can introduce you to Mother later. Arlana, I need you to come with me.” I did not really need Arlana’s assistance, but I did not like the calculated look she was giving Gwen.
I was keenly disappointed that my time here had been cut short, but I had anticipated it happening. Such was my life now. I turned and left the room with my watchdog at my heels, the self-important look back on her face.