Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Having enjoyed the maze event so much, Elowen was disappointed to learn that she’d missed the declaration of the results.
Doubly so when she heard that, unsurprisingly, Theo had won it easily.
Her disappointment wasn’t softened by sitting next to him at dinner, thanks to his inexplicable return to the polite but aloof manner she found so disheartening.
The following day had no court events scheduled for the morning, and Elowen’s mother had her under strict instructions to at last take Theo to the floating gardens.
This time, she was careful not to invite Sophia or anyone else who might turn the event into a group affair, which Bertrand would do all he could to dominate.
She half regretted it, however, when she found herself riding out with a quiet, solemn Theo after breakfast.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked, wincing as the meaningless chatter left her lips.
“Yes, thank you.” Theo didn’t seem to be paying much attention, his eyes on the water tower they were riding past. “What’s the function of that tower?” he asked suddenly.
Elowen followed his eyes up the narrow structure topped with a wider stone chamber.
“It’s a water tower,” she said. “Water is drawn up gradually from wells underneath by use of magic, and stored up high. Then, if there’s ever a need for a sudden release of a lot of Dust, we can drop the water in a torrent, back down the tower, with skilled craftsmen on hand to manipulate the ensuing magic. ”
“Clever,” Theo commented. “Useful for the defense of the city in the event of an attack, I imagine.”
“Precisely,” Elowen said. “We used to only have two. The one you’re looking at was built recently, when there were constant whispers that the other kingdoms on the Peninsula were preparing to go to war against us.”
Theo fell silent, perhaps hearing the edge of accusation hidden under her mild tone. Elowen forced herself to speak more cheerfully, mindful of the presence of the guards behind them. But it felt artificial, and she was sure she wasn’t the only one relieved when they reached the floating gardens.
It was a lovely, peaceful spot, and her spirits lifted as she caught the scent of jasmine and lilac. In spite of the fine weather, the normally popular gardens were deserted, likely thanks to the commoners’ events taking place at the tournament field.
They pulled their horses up, looking out over the marsh-turned-water-garden and admiring the artful way the plants grew along, into, and sometimes out of, the water.
The section where they’d stopped was ringed with flat stones, a willow drooping its branches into the water not far away.
Large lily pads floated lazily on the surface of the water, dragonflies skimming past them.
Ochre shifted her weight, and in response, a frog jumped off a lily pad and disappeared into the greenish depths with a soft plop.
“It’s beautiful,” Theo said, his deep voice sending a foolish little shiver over Elowen’s skin. What would it take for him to speak of her with that resonant approval? “I see why you like it here.”
“Yes,” she said, trying to swallow her illogical nerves.
Her eyes moved to the far bank, where an area of firm turf rose from a marshy section of pond. Jasmine bushes grew in profusion around the base of a tulip poplar tree. She could smell the sweet, familiar scent from where they stood.
“My father used to bring me here when I was a child,” she told Theo.
“When he’d been especially busy, or away from the capital on state affairs, he would always say he owed me a trip to the gardens to make up for it.
” She smiled softly for a moment, until she realized Theo was watching her, and self-consciously smoothed her features.
“He’s an indulgent father, I think,” Theo said quietly.
Elowen felt her brows crease. “He’s firm when he needs to be.”
“I didn’t mean it as a criticism,” Theo assured her. “If I sounded somber, it was only because I was thinking how difficult it must be for him to send his only daughter to another kingdom.”
Elowen said nothing, but Theo didn’t seem perturbed by her silence. He lifted an arm to point at a patch of swamp that was roped off.
“It looks like someone’s been digging there. I suspect they used some of the material to create the swamp I saw in the hay maze. Perhaps they were able to enhance it using magic.”
“Are your parents…indulgent?” Elowen asked abruptly.
The day before, she would have been interested to hear about what he’d found inside the maze, but she was more irked than she should be by the cool manner he’d regained since then. She wanted to draw him out. Childish maybe, but…she wanted to get a reaction.
Theo seemed surprised by her question, but he considered it seriously before answering.
“No, I wouldn’t describe them that way. They’re honorable and fair, however, and I certainly wouldn’t call them unkind.”
“But they’re not warm,” Elowen finished for him.
He hadn’t said it, but he didn’t need to.
The information wasn’t exactly a surprise.
“And do you take after them?” she asked boldly.
“Rumor is that your brother doesn’t, especially.
And when I met your sister, she seemed warm enough, if a little shy. ”
“Miriam isn’t shy,” Theo said. “Just careful in unknown company.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Elowen pointed out.
He let out a breath that was a little too long. “How can I? How can I hope to assess my own manner objectively? I believe I’m considered both responsible and unemotional, as my father is.”
“Like Patrick, too,” Elowen said, determined to draw him into something more than this cool formality. “Appropriate for a future king, I suppose, but I thought a younger prince would be allowed to have more fun.”
Theo smiled, but the expression startled Elowen. There was a bitter twist to it that she’d never before seen on his face.
“As a princess is?” he challenged, and Elowen deflated.
He was right. She knew better than to think that either Theo’s time or his responsibilities were up to him. But surely his manner was his own affair.
“You know the answer to that, I suppose, having a sister yourself. You were quick to defend Princess Miriam from being called shy. I think you have warmth for her if for no one else.”
“I hope I have warmth for all my family,” Theo said shortly, apparently not enjoying the conversation.
He relaxed slightly as he continued, however.
“Miriam and I have always been friends as well as brother and sister. I do care about her, a great deal. She wished she could come with me, to meet you properly and experience the tournament. She’ll pester me for every detail when I return to Sindon.
Many of her questions I doubt I’ll be able to answer. ”
He cast a sidelong look over Elowen’s form, and she straightened the folds of her dress self-consciously.
“Is something amiss?”
“Not at all,” Theo said. “I’m just trying to commit one gown to memory so I can try to satisfy her. Thick, golden brocade with a matching scarf.”
Elowen laughed. “That’s a poor description of my favorite riding gown,” she informed him. “And I suspect Princess Miriam will be more interested in what I wear to a gala than an everyday garment like this.”
He smiled faintly. “I’m sure you’re right. I won’t pretend to understand these things.”
Elowen eyed him thoughtfully. “Your sister had a political marriage tentatively arranged before ours was ever discussed, didn’t she? She had an eleventh-hour escape from hers. Do you wish for the same?”
“Of course not.” Theo sounded startled, and the look on his face as his eyes flew to Elowen’s almost looked like penitence.
Elowen lowered her gaze quickly, unable to meet his eyes. The softness she’d seen there made her feel suddenly unmoored, unsure of her footing. She waited, half ashamed of her secret hope that he would say something flattering, or even vaguely positive about her and their proposed marriage.
It was a hope destined to be disappointed. Perhaps she’d imagined the change in Theo’s manner, because as the silence stretched on, she felt his suspicion grow. When he finally broke the silence, his tone was stiff.
“I hate to repeat the same question, but Elowen…do I need to be concerned about the commitment of your kingdom to our alliance?”
“I have no answer for you but the same one,” she said coolly. “We’re fully committed, as ever. Why must you even ask?”
“Because you wouldn’t meet my eye after asking if I wished to be released from our engagement,” he said disbelievingly. “What else was I to conclude but that you wished for release?”
Elowen had no answer for him. She could hardly tell him the mortifying truth, which was that her purpose had been to elicit compliments from him.
She’d never felt more childish. She at least appreciated Theo’s forbearance in not listing his other reason for doubt, namely the fact that he still hadn’t received a straight answer about a wedding date.
“That’s not the case,” she said at last, her voice small.
Not eager to discuss it further, she urged her horse into a walk, and Theo kept pace with his own mount. They meandered through the floating gardens in a silence that couldn’t be called companionable.
“Congratulations on your victory in the maze run,” Elowen said at last. “You won it convincingly, I understand.” The polite, impersonal way Theo inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment irked her, and she couldn’t resist adding, “Perhaps it almost makes you wish the tournament was real, for the satisfaction.”
“Hardly,” said Theo coolly. “I would have been very reluctant to enter into a marriage of alliance that required me to perform like a dancing animal in order to secure it.”
“How unfortunate for you that my kingdom’s traditions are so damaging to your pride,” Elowen shot back with a snap. “But I thought any reluctance you or I felt had no relevance to this betrothal.”