Gwen seemed to have disappeared from the castle after that untimely kiss. Three days had passed, and I had not caught so much as a glimpse of her. I had waited in the garden the next afternoon, hoping she would show up for our planned archery practice, but she never did. I toyed with the thought of summoning her to me. It was my right as ruler, but that was not the image I had been trying to portray to her. How could I show her that I wanted a lasting relationship, especially after that blundering kiss?
That kiss. Despite my regret that I had taken things too far, I could not help but replay it over and over in my head. I still felt the same passion and fire that had ignited between us at the first touch of our lips every time I thought about it. Honestly it had been hard to concentrate on anything else since then.
Yes, I had kissed many girls in my time, but there was no comparison to how kissing Gwen had made me feel. I know she felt something as well. She had been the one dominating the last part of our embrace with her lips touching mine in quick procession before she abruptly pulled away.
Still, my actions had been inappropriate and that was unacceptable. I had probably frightened her, which was why I had not chased after as she hurried away from me in the garden. I needed to apologize. I determined to take care of it today after my work was done.
“I looked into our records as you suggested and found the name of the architect we have used in the past. His name is at the top of the list. The rest are other noteworthy locals in the same line of work.”
Filib had proven himself invaluable as a representative for the people of Gilvary. He had taken away a good bit of my burden, and I wished more than once that I had named him as my advisor from the beginning of my reign. I was already on the lookout for two more qualified to serve in that capacity, one to intervene between Gilvary and the other kingdoms, and one to rule over our military.
“Thank you, Filib. Set up a meeting with each of them. Show them your own plans and ask them to submit a proposal. Give them a time limit to get their bids in. I want to move forward with this in a timely manner. We will go over the submissions with Arlana once we have those in hand.” Filib looked down at his lap at the mention of my stewardess. She did not approve of our plans for the school and had let her feelings be clearly known.
I was unsure of how Father would have handled this project. I felt he would have approved of any plan that would advance Gilvary. Would he have consulted with someone else, or would he have just made all the decisions on his own? I think he would have valued his own opinion over anyone else’s. I had involved Arlana for the same reason I had leaned on her so much after first taking this job. I did not have her experience, and I hoped I had sense enough to accept help when I needed it.
“Is there anything else we need to go over?”
It was almost supper time and I was expected to eat the evening meal in the dining hall in front of my people. This had never bothered me in the past, but now it was my least favorite time of day. My brothers and I sat on display at the head table overlooking everyone else. There was no camaraderie. No laughter like there had been before when my whole family had been present.
“Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“In that case, I will see you then.”
Filib bowed slightly and left.
My attention was immediately drawn to the three letters stacked on the corner of my desk. All three were addressed to Gwen—one from Brianna, one from her father, and one from someone by the name of Austin Connor. Admittedly, I was curious about that last one but would not dare ask her about it.
One of the surprising aspects of this job was finding out that all of the castle’s mail had been directed through my father in the past. I had given the job of sorting the mail to Filib. Now that he was my advisor, the task had passed on to his replacement. At Filib’s suggestion, I had given the job of messenger over to his younger brother, Dale. I had pulled Gwen’s mail from the stack this morning before sending Dale on to deliver the rest. I planned to hunt her down after supper and deliver them myself.
I had other reasons for wanting to see Gwen. I had finally received a letter from Conroy Dunham, a potential replacement for our missing vicar. He was expected to arrive in Gilvary in the next day or two, and I wanted Gwen to be there with me to meet him. She had been blessed to sit under the guidance of Aisling’s Parson Nevans for most of her life, and I valued her opinion.
Plus, I wanted, no, I needed to apologize. As much as I had relished the memory of that kiss over the last three days, I had no right. She was avoiding me, and I would not allow this to go on. I placed the stack of letters back on my desk. I would retrieve them after the meal and would then set out to find her.
Gwen was not the only person missing from the dining hall during supper. Rian was also absent. Unlike Sunday dinner, I had never had to force him to sit with his family during the formal evening meal. It had been as much a part of our lives as breathing. Unless one of us was ill, we were expected to be sitting at that head table every afternoon at precisely six o’clock.
I scanned the room constantly during the hour, but neither of them ever showed. I did not bother asking Terence if he knew where his brother was. It would only cause him undue stress. He was unusually solemn throughout the meal. Maybe I had been wrong about him being unaffected by the latest happenings in our family. I wish I could offer him more stability, but honestly, I was doing the best I could.
I would not go looking for Rian tonight. I was bound to see him before I retired for the evening. The only thing I could do for the moment was send out another prayer on his behalf. God only knew what it would take to bring that boy around. Besides, my mind was more occupied by Gwen than anything else, if the truth were told.
Rian was sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my office door when I went back to retrieve Gwen’s letters. His clothes were torn and covered in dirt, and there were bruises on his face. His swollen lip had been bleeding at some point during this day. I did not say anything. I just unlocked the door and motioned him inside.
He plopped down into the chair across from my desk. “I have been in a fight.”
“Really? With whom?” There was no excitement reflected in my tone. I was sure whoever he was about to name had been provoked.
“Kyle Darby. He did this to me, and he deserves to be punished.”
“First, tell me why he did this to you.” I doubted there was anything Rian could tell me that would make me want to punish this child, but I thought it might help if I was more willing to listen. This was a new concept. This was the first time Rian had come to me with anything. Usually I had to hear it from someone else.
“I ordered him to do something, and he refused to do it.”
“What was it that you ordered him to do?”
He hesitated, staring at the wall behind me until I began to wonder if he would answer. “I told him to clean up after my horse using his bare hands.”
“Rian, you cannot order people to do stuff like that. If it is his responsibility to clean up after the horses and he is not doing his job, that is one thing, but no one should have to clean up after a horse using their bare hands. We have tools to use for that. What did you do when he refused?”
“I punched him. I am a prince. He has to do whatever I tell him. Father would punish him for this, not sit there and ask me questions.”
I leaned back and took a deep breath. “I loved our father, but you have known me long enough to know that we were not that much alike. I cannot account for what he might have done. I am ruler now and I have to rule to the best of my abilities. You need to realize that I will be doing things in my own way, and it may not be the way Father would have done it.”
I pulled out a small piece of parchment from my desk and scribbled a note on it. After folding the paper, I sealed it with wax and handed it to Rian.
“What is this?”
“It is a summons to appear before me in the morning. After we are done here, I want you to deliver it to Kyle’s father and then head to our chambers to get cleaned up.”
“So, you are going to punish him.”
“No. I am going to talk to him. I am going to tell him that if he has any more problems with you, he is to report it to his father who will then report it to me. He cannot beat up a prince, but at the same time, you cannot ask people to do degrading things and then punch them when they refuse. You are a representative of this kingdom. In a way, you are representing me. If you do not want punishment in the future, you need to ask yourself if I would approve your actions before you do them. Do not let this happen again. Do you understand?”
“I do. Can I go now?”
I had expected more of an argument. Without a doubt, he was gloating at the way he would strike fear into young Kyle’s heart when he handed over that summons. “Thank you for coming by and talking to me about it yourself. It shows that you are growing up. You may go now.”
He sat there studying my face for a moment before leaving. I hoped my statement about him growing up would cause him to want to act in a more mature manner in the future.
I picked up Gwen’s letters and was finally free to pursue my original plan. The infirmary door was locked when I went by, so I stepped over and knocked firmly on the door to her suite.
“She isn’t there.” I turned to the sound of the child’s voice behind me. Gemma was standing there twisting her apron around in her hands. I smiled down at the little girl.
“Well then, do you know where I might find her?”
“She is in the kitchen with Glynis, scrubbing the floors.”
I thought she must surely be mistaken, but I decided to play along. I squatted down in front of her. “Miss Gwen is the healer here. Why is she scrubbing the floor?”
Gemma shrugged one shoulder. “Because Arlana said so.”
I rocked back on my heels and glanced down at the letters still in my hand. At the mention of Arlana’s name, I knew the child was not mistaken. I could just see my stewardess taking it upon herself to punish Gwen for whatever reason. I would get to the bottom of this.
“Thank you, Gemma.”
I turned and headed toward the kitchen. The closer I got, the angrier I became. I thought about how worn out Gwen had appeared the last time I had seen her. I wondered just how many punishments she had endured and for what reason.