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I was smiling most of the way to Lendia. It was at the border that I saw Simon, and I immediately brightened a little more. He had Lendian guards with him, of course, but I recognized some of them.
“Your Highnesses,” Simon said, bowing to them. “It would be an honor to escort you to Lendia’s castle.”
“Is that the one I got to see?” Mari piped up.
Simon’s mouth twitched. “It is, Your Highness.”
“Mari,” I murmured. “We don’t discuss that anymore.”
She caught on and closed her mouth, realizing it was rude to bring up that she’d seen the castle when she’d been kidnapped. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“It’s all right,” I assured her. “Just not again.”
She nodded and kept quiet as Simon gave the order for the other soldiers to circle us. I heard Charlene begin a snippy comment about Lendia and the war, and then she shrieked. I turned to see her on the ground in a heap, her horse coming back on all fours. Remy gave an innocent look as he slid off his horse, catching the reigns to Charlene’s horse until Charlene managed to climb back on. I forced myself not to look at Martin’s reaction and faced front again as we started off.
I didn’t get to talk to Simon until we arrived at Lendia’s castle as we took no more breaks, wanting to get there by sundown. We arrived an hour before sunset, passing through the town in front. Many people came out to see us, and I smiled and waved at the many I knew, including Bianca.
When we arrived at the castle, we were shown almost immediately to Demetri’s throne room. The king and queen both shed their traveling outerwear and I helped Mari take off hers, not giving Charlene an excuse to come close to me.
“Welcome,” Demetri said, as we entered. “At last, we can meet on good terms.”
I was distracted from Demetri’s speech by Brett, the new shaman child. He was grinning and trying to wave without attracting attention. I smiled and inclined my head to him before looking back at Demetri, who was still busy welcoming us. King Alan and Queen Florinda responded in kind, and then once the formal welcome was over, Demetri grinned. “Joseph, my uncle, it is good to see you.” He stood and went to embrace Joe while chatter filled the room, looking his young age for a moment. Then he turned to me. “Joan, it is a pleasure to see you as well.”
I went into a deep curtsey. “You as well, Your Highness.”
He was smiling as he looked at Cathy. “And you must be Catherine. I’ve heard much about you.”
Cathy flushed slightly, but went into a proper curtsey.
“I’ve heard rumors about your talent with a knife. I’ve heard it rivals your sister’s.”
“I’m better,” she said immediately.
I grinned. “Some days she is.” I hugged him. “I’m glad to see you, Demetri.”
He grinned back, looking years younger. “I assume my ruling is to your satisfaction since you haven’t come over to kick my butt?”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate during a peace conference,” I said with practiced blandness.
Demetri chuckled. “There’s always after the peace conference.”
“Since it looks good, maybe I’ll just visit. Unless you’re planning to bribe me into marrying you again.”
“No, I’ve given up on you. I came to terms one night that I wasn’t your type.”
“And what type is that?”
“Royalty.” He grinned. “Although it would be interesting to have you as a wife.”
“Dream on, Demetri.”
He chuckled. “I have to go welcome others. I’ll see you tomorrow, Joan, at the ball.”
“Not before then?”
“Moving an entire castle takes quite a bit of work, plus I have to show Joe and your king and queen the progress I’ve made. I expect to claim a dance tomorrow.”
“It would be my honor, Your Highness.”
He smiled and moved across the room. I ushered the girls out and managed to avoid Martin at the same time. Since Charlene was busy trying to attach herself to him, it wasn’t that hard.
“I don’t feel good,” Mari said once we were clear of the crowds. Her face was paler than usual and she was sweating. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I hurried her up to the room a servant had directed me to, and we got to her room in time for her to rush to the bathroom and throw up. Cathy grimaced and went to claim her bed.
“How long have you been feeling sick?” I asked Mari, rubbing her back.
“I don’t know. Just about when the Lendians met us. It was only a stomachache.”
I took her into the other room and had her lie down, pressing a damp cloth to her forehead. “Let me know if you start feeling worse, all right? You just get some sleep and then you’ll feel better.”
She was shivering slightly and burrowed under the covers. “What if I don’t? What about the ball tomorrow?”
“You will,” I promised. “I’ll have Joe check you out, but I’m sure this won’t last more than a day. You’ll be all right by the ball.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes and quickly drifted into slumber.
Cathy played quietly and I ordered dinner brought up to us, but only for two, knowing Mari would probably sleep right through dinner and not be up to anything other than crackers and juice if she did wake up.
She was still asleep when Charlene came to knock on the door the next morning. I slipped to the door and opened it just enough to see Charlene. “Yes?” I asked quietly, trying not to disturb Mari.
Charlene gave me a look meant to kill. “Let me in. It’s time for Princess Mari to get up.”
“She’s sick. She’s staying in bed.”
Charlene’s face changed to indignation. “She’s sick and you didn’t inform me? Let me in.”
I barred her way. “She’s sleeping it off.”
“I need to check on her!”
“I’ve had considerable more experience handling this than you, so I’m telling you that I’ve got it under control,” I said firmly.
Her eyes narrowed and her nose flared. “Let me in. I’m her governess.”
“She doesn’t need to put up with being sick and you. Go away.” I closed the door in her face and locked it.
“That was great,” came Mari’s whisper. She grinned tiredly at me.
“How are you?” I asked, feeling her forehead. Her temperature was normal, it had spiked during the night, and she seemed better.
“I still don’t feel real good.”
“Are you up to trying a little food?”
She looked up at me through tired eyes. “Can I just go back to sleep?”
“Sure, honey. Just go back to sleep.” I stroked her hair while she closed her eyes and burrowed back under the covers.
A knock came at the door a few minutes later, heralding Joe’s arrival. “You sent for me?”
“Mari’s ill. I just want you to check and make sure it’s not anything dangerous.” I let him in and closed the door.
“I can heal her.”
“Let her immune system fight it. I’m sure she’ll be fine by the ball tonight.”
He rested his hands on Mari’s head. “I passed by Charlene. She looked steamed.”
“Good.”
He chuckled, then went quiet a moment. “She’s already gone through the worst of it,” he said, absently smoothing her hair before turning to me. “A few hours, she’ll be okay. Still tired, so she’ll need plenty of bed rest tonight. Go easy on the food. Soups, water, juice, crackers.”
I nodded. I’d already expected this. This was nothing new to me.
“I’ll make sure King Alan and Queen Florinda know their daughter is being taken care of,” Joe added as he headed to the door.
“Tell Demetri that I’ll still be there for a dance.”
Joe grinned and left.
By lunch, Mari was up and better. She ate the food I provided for her, and played endless games of checkers and chess with Cathy. Sunset found us dressed in our formal attire and outside the ballroom. Cathy and Mari matched in color, both wearing bright pink. I wore a halter styled, chocolate brown dress that was slim and more form-fitting than some of the others. It glittered and sparkled as I moved.
The first dance was claimed by Demetri. The next dances were claimed by Simon, and then by various others as song after song played.
After the end of one song, Martin appeared in front of me again. “My lady?” he asked, holding out his hand. I took his hand and swallowed hard as I moved my eyes to the center of his chest. I’d said I had no hold on him, and that he could do whatever he pleased. It just hurt that, apparently, that’s what he was doing.
“Joan, can we talk?” he asked quietly. “Just for a few minutes. Alone.”
I didn’t know why I nodded, but I did. We stepped off the dance floor, him pulling me to the door leading outside, the same place he’d found me the last time we’d been to Lendia on the day of the coronation.
He took a deep breath. “Joan, are you still angry with me? Because I thought I was getting somewhere, I thought maybe you were forgiving me, but every time I turn around, you’re avoiding me or upset with me. Why? I’ve abandoned Charlene publicly, I’ve apologized over and over again, so why are you so upset?”
My voice was low. “Because I hear things, Martin, and I don’t know whether or not to believe them. Once, I would never have listened, never thought twice about who you were, but now I can’t figure out who you are or why...” I stopped before my voice cracked or broke.
“Why you meant so little to me,” he finished sadly. “Because Charlene was there when I wanted you. I don’t care what you’ve heard, Joan, there’s nothing between me and Charlene, not anymore. I haven’t spent one day not thinking of you and wondering if you were still angry at me, hoping that maybe you’d take me back. You’re like...like a broken clock.”
I blinked. “A what?”
He explained. “A clock runs, and you rarely think about it, until the day the clock stops running, and then you constantly check the time, only to remember that the clock’s not working. I had you, and I forgot about how wonderful you were until I didn’t have you anymore, and then I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I still love you, Joan.”
“Martin!” a voice called. I closed my eyes as I recognized Charlene’s voice almost instantly. Martin growled something and pulled me into a deeper shadow, where my dark dress would blend in. Charlene appeared on the balcony overhead, looking around in exasperation and annoyance before disappearing.
“I suppose you’d better go see your mistress,” I whispered.
“She is not my mistress,” he said hotly. “She has never been and never will be my mistress.”
“That’s not what she says. She says you two have been spending quite a bit of time together, and very recently.”
“When?” he demanded.
“Wyinn.”
A look of surprise flashed across his face. “The only time we spent together in Wyinn was when one of the guards caught his girlfriend with a Wyinnian. I had Charlene take the girl, since they were distant cousins and I spent the entire time stopping the two men from fighting. It wasn’t the least bit enjoyable and it was purely business, I swear by the crown.”
I felt a stab of hope. “She seemed pretty convinced that you were about to choose her and give up on me.”
He carefully took my hands, holding them loosely. “I will work fixing that misconception later. Right now, I just want to make sure I’ve convinced you. I don’t want her. Charlene was...a mistake.”
I gave a quiet laugh. “I’d love to see her reaction to that.”
He intertwined fingers. “Whatever I have to do to prove to you that I’ve learned from my mistakes, I’ll do it. Whatever promise you want me to make, whoever you want me to make it to, all you have to do is ask. I’ve really missed you, Joan.”
I stopped fighting and stepped closer, untwining both hands in order to place them on his chest. “I missed you too, Martin.” Then I pressed my lips to his.
He instantly kissed me back, hands cupping my face and pulling me closer. He rested his forehead against mine after he pulled away. “You don’t know the promises I made to get you back. I think I promised Randall I’d live in a hermitage if you wanted.”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “I don’t want to live in a hermitage. I like living in castles better. There aren’t many castles in New Mexico.”
I didn’t miss the slight gesture of relief on his part.
There was a sudden burst of applause from inside, marking a short break for the dancers and players.
“Should we go inside? You’re supposed to be there for another half hour.” When I groaned, he smiled. “How about I dance with you the entire time? The time will go faster that way.”
I gripped tighter with the hand that was intertwined with his. “Probably. But only if we get to walk around first. I’ve had to stay inside with the girls all day and I didn’t get to see Demetri’s garden.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the while lily. “I did earlier, and chose this for you. I know it isn’t the same color as your dress, but I thought it would look better than a brown flower.”
I let him slide it on my wrist, then I kissed him again, making sure he knew I appreciated it.
The moment I stepped back inside, I felt eyes instantly land on us, and our hands. Liam and Remy smiled and clapped from their corner, Randall nodded to Martin, Joe winked at me, and I saw Chelsea work her way through the crowd to go to Queen Florinda. She murmured in Florinda’s ear, and they both turned their gazes to us. Florinda gave a gentle smile, and Chelsea beamed with satisfaction. I saw Alan look at us and smile slowly as he noticed his wife’s attention. Even the people from the other countries were paying attention and I heard murmurs starting. “It appears that we are the source of current gossip,” I said lightly, leaning against Martin to speak in his ear.
He glanced at me. “I don’t mind.”
“Neither do I.” I noticed Demetri watching as well and Simon standing beside him. Simon shot me an apologetic look, but gestured to Martin. “I think Simon wants to talk to you.”
Martin sighed and squeezed my hand. “I’ll be right back.”
The minute Martin was gone, Charlene stalked towards me, an ugly look on her face. “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.
I stared coolly at her. “Please remember we’re in public, Charlene, and that I’m carrying a knife.” She looked as if she were itching to start a catfight. I’d knock her out before she could scratch me twice.
“You won’t take him from me. You’re too much of a tomboy. You’re just a trophy for their highnesses because you’re a once-in-a-lifetime freak!”
I kept my gaze level. “I stopped caring about opinions like yours a long time ago, Charlene. You’re panicking because you lost.”
Charlene glared furiously, then smoothed her face into a smile, turning to face Martin. Despite everything I’d said, some of what she said echoed in my head. It was much of what I’d said about myself. Charlene was a beauty with her rich, brown hair and wide, blue eyes. So as Martin walked forward towards us both, I knew he’d make his choice now. Part of me was afraid he would choose Charlene. He’d already left me once for her.
“Martin,” Charlene purred, resting her hands on his chest. “I don’t suppose we could have a dance?”
I didn’t move, my eyes showing nothing as Martin gazed at me. It would be rude to refuse her.
“No, I don’t suppose we could,” Martin said. “It would be offensive if I didn’t dance with my girlfriend tonight.” Then he removed Charlene’s hands and walked towards me, bowing and extending his hand. “My lady.”
A slow smile spread across my face as I placed my hand in his, and I suddenly felt beautiful.