14. Nora
14
Nora
P astries, brownies, cookies, tarts. I could open-mouth kiss whoever orchestrated this table. My small plate currently hosted a mountain of piled on sweet treats, and I had my eye on more.
“Don’t you dare put one more thing on that plate. You’re embarrassing us!” Kenzie scolded me in a whisper. I stopped my hoard and took a seat at the table we’d chosen. Not because I worried about her embarrassment, but because anything else added to the mound would have probably just toppled off.
“I’m taking leftovers home,” I said, extending a lemon tart like one would cheers with a glass toward Melody who’d curated a perfectly acceptable platter. Two triangles of a crustless sandwich, a few fresh cherry tomatoes, and one tiny chocolate mousse.
She snickered and shook her head while delicately nibbling on the pointed end of her crustless cucumber and cream cheese. Kenzie had a few more desserts than Melody, but a pitiful amount compared to mine. My plate rivaled the most coveted artwork in galleries, the beauty of a sunset, the first sip from a cold glass of water on a hot summer's day.
Kenzie tossed me a disgusted glare, her face wrinkling in a grimace while I shoved a second pastry into my mouth. My cheeks were so bloated I had a hard time working around the delectable desserts to actually chew them.
Seated at the table next to us were Jenta and her mother, and two of her friends and their escorts. They nibbled demurely on their triangle sandwiches, casting glances at the prince still greeting more guests. Jenta’s judgmental glare caught mine, and her eyes dipped to my plate. Her lip curled in a snarl of disgust, and I only beamed back.
Not one ounce of shame could be found on my being. As a chaperone, I was overlooked. Whenever I scanned our surroundings, I rarely met another set of eyes. My attire certainly didn’t warrant any attention, and with that camouflage, I could live my best gluttonous life.
The texture of cream wrapping around my tongue brought back memories I’d long since forgotten. My father had traveled across the ocean, bringing back trinkets and goodies. He’d planned to return to the country that specialized in pastries a couple months before his death, after he’d been so excited about his new business deal. He’d booked the trip right away for all of us to go.
The memory made the sweetness turn bitter, and I had to force down the mushy lump. “I need a drink.” The chair scraped against the floor from the force of my leave.
“Nora! Please!” Kenzie continued her ridicule of my behavior, but my back already faced her.
I made for the table with the punch bowls and poured myself a cup. Sipping down the sweet fruity red juice, I couldn’t help from seeking out the end of the aisle, only to find that everyone had cleared. Probably the prince’s time to mingle before the next delivery of carriages brought more candidates to bolster his ego. I sneered.
Nora, keep your face in check.
Setting my shoulders back, I slid the mask of indifference back on, making a poignant effort to remain unfazed. Pivoting on my heels, I spun, only to knock right into a broad chest. My drink crashed in a wave onto the perfectly tailored light linen suit of—Prince Nicholas.
My mouth formed an “o” shape, and I brought my hands up in submission. “I am so sorry, sir, prince sir, Nicholas.” I shook my head, trying to rattle some clarity loose in my brain through the panic. One wave of his hand and I could be apprehended by guards, my sister’s reputation destroyed by my clumsiness.
Before he responded, clanking metal stole my attention. Four or five guards moved swiftly to meet us without instruction. The prince raised his hand, and I tensed, closing my eyes, waiting for the jostling grip of restraint. The sounds of metal silenced, leaving the room waiting with bated breath.
I winked one eye open in time to see Prince Nicholas address the growing concern. “Please, everyone, minor spill, nothing to fret over. Return to your posts and to your seats, please,” he said with regal grace and insistence that nobody dared disagree with.
My sisters were both standing, outrage on Kenzie’s face and concern on Melody’s. They heard the prince and lowered themselves onto their chairs. The prince’s gaze met mine. He spoke in a hushed manner, attempting to give our conversation some privacy, though no one in the room had resumed speaking.
“I also thought the cream was a bit boring. I wouldn’t have thought of red, though. What do you think?” He placed his hands on his hips, twisting his torso from side to side to model the splash of color I’d unceremoniously given him.
I could only blink. No words formed and my mind went blank. Standing before me, making a playful joke about my mistake, was the person I loathed most in this world. The person that could have my life ended on a whim if I did something wrong. The person I needed to help my sisters win over, for all our sakes.
The desserts wanted to find a way back out of me. I placed my hand over my stomach, trying to settle the raging storm of emotions swirling in my gut. His eyes softened, and he relaxed his arms.
“Truly, it’s alright. Please, what’s your name?” An olive branch.
Peering around the room, taking a moment to consider my options, I sorely resigned myself to the idea that I had none. To dismiss his question would be treasonous at most, and rude at least. I’d never wanted to exchange words with this man, let alone reveal my name. “Nora,” I said, hating that I gave away a part of myself to him. Hating that he seemed to care at all about a frazzled chaperone and wasn’t distracting himself with fawning debutantes.
“That’s a lovely name, Nora.”
“That response is just automatic, isn’t it?” The words poured out smooth as silk before I had any inclination to stop them. Shit. My eyes snapped open wide to gauge his reaction. Parting my lips slightly, I clawed through my empty mind to select an adequate apology, but found nothing.
His eyebrows raised, but his lips tilted into a smile. “I apologize. I suppose a day of repeating formalities tends to make one a little dull. I did mean it, though.”
I had nothing to say to that. What could I say to that? I sealed my lips and targeted my shoes. This would end here and now. He might be conceited and pampered, but anyone with one functioning brain cell could see I intended to withdraw from further conversation.
“So, you are one of the chaperones. Remind me, which lady are you escorting today?” He angled himself toward the collection of tables where all the ladies had gathered since greeting him. Even if their eyes weren’t staring directly at us, I was acutely aware that they watched. Those seats were filled with jealousy, desperation, and longing. All over the man at my side, who was nothing but charming good looks wrapped in obscene wealth to cloak the selfish, arrogant, apathetic soul that lurked within.
I raised my hand, pointing a finger to the table where my sisters sat, thankful for the opportunity to divert his attention. “Miss Melody and Kenzie Burton.”
“Ah,” he said, gingerly waving in their direction with a kind smile. He, too, noted that we remained the center of attention. “So you and your husband preside over them?” He clasped his hands behind his back as he returned his full attention to me.
“Husband? I’m not married?” One ounce of effort to glance my ringless hand could confirm that. Damn it, Nora. Be cordial for gods sake . “Your Highness,” I added. Nice save .
“Oh, you’re not?” One of his eyebrows arched.
“Am I supposed to be, Your Highness?” I challenged, curiosity peaking over the insinuation.
“No, no. I just mean-it’s just that…You’re young?”
I waited for him to add something more, but the crease on his forehead told me he was still trying to work something out in his mind.
“I am.” The only response I could think to say.
“You are unmarried?”
Gods, did the other ladies today have to deal with this dimwit? “Correct.”
“But you are not attending today?” He cast a glance toward the tables.
A defiant, repulsed laugh erupted before I clamped my mouth shut. “No, Your Highness, I am not vying for your hand.” Don’t roll your eyes, don’t roll your eyes.
“Is it because of the boring clothing?” He ran his hands over the length of his torso, and a boyish smirk pulled on his lips.
A more genuine laugh came out of me before I stilled. “I apologize, again. I hope you won’t hold it against my sisters. They are very respectable young women who I highly doubt would take it upon themselves to spice up your wardrobe as I have.”
He sighed heavily, the mask of playful charm slipping into something more solemn. “Could I be honest with you?”
Shit, what could he possibly want to say that warrants that kind of preface? “Of course.” How could I say no? Literally. A question like that from a man in his position was essentially rhetorical. As much as I would have loved to tell him to fuck off and storm away, I was forced to endure.
“It’s rather refreshing to have an honest to gods conversation with someone who isn’t on my payroll, or here to charm me.”
His quiet confession had me feeling all too constrained. I shouldn’t be in a position to hear him admit something that seemed so human, so…vulnerable.
I couldn’t carry this. Wouldn’t. This man would not make me feel his pathetic emotional burden of being too handsome and too rich. I had to slip off these shackles. “So you’re saying my clumsiness isn’t charming?” Apparently I’d taken a lesson from Melody earlier.
He laughed, and it stirred something within me, something akin to accomplishment and pride. Assuredly for accomplishing my task of averting further sentimental engagement, and nothing more. Strictly because I had succeeded in restoring opportunity for my sisters.
“Nothing is more charming than authenticity, Miss Nora. I appreciate the unrehearsed exchange. And, since I have you and your unbridled observation, tell me, what should I be looking out for in all of these fine women?” He studied the room, offering polite smiles and nods to those who met his stare.
Grateful to have the conversation redirected, I still wasn’t about to do any emotional labor for him. He could use his own damn brain. “Someone suitable for a queen, I guess.”
“And what do you think makes a suitable queen? I have my thoughts on the matter, my advisors another. I’m interested in hearing yours.” He closed in half a step, his broad frame uncomfortably close.
If I believed in the gods, I’d say they placed this perfect opportunity in my lap. Authentic I might be, but not a fool. “I’d say…” I stroked my chin in a pondering, intellectual manner.
He noted the action and crossed his arms with controlled suave, scrunching the features of his all too handsome face, mocking my exaggeration, preparing to take in whatever ancient wisdom I would bestow. The astute attention made my heart flutter for a beat.
“Strength,” I said after a moment of quiet contemplation.
“Strength?”The faintest glimpse of a humorous smile spread slowly across his annoyingly perfect face.
“Yes, Your Highness, strength. Not the kind that comes from defeating enemies on a battlefield.” I nodded toward some guardsmen stationed around the room. “I mean the kind of strength that comes from not living like this.” Taking in the sight of the overflowing wealth it would cost to claim and create this type of space, I reflected on those muddy and starved children in the streets of the market. “A woman who has seen the struggles of the people, most likely even faced them herself, but still finds the will to make life better with what little she’s been given.”
In trying to push the attention toward my sisters, I slipped into a contemplative state and found myself lost as to the point I needed to make. I cleared my throat and shook my head, fighting the pricking sensation that assaulted the bottom of my eyes. “Your future queen should know what it is to mingle among the lowest of her people. That queen will be the one to move mountains to help the less fortunate. The one not afraid to look horrible conditions in the eye and not shy away because it’s unpleasant .” Before my words further sharpened into a spear that I wanted to wound the prince with, I clamped my lips together, forcing them into a pert smile before meeting his stare once again.
What I expected his response to be, I hadn’t been entirely sure, but what he met me with certainly wasn’t it. The playful, teasing demeanor he’d challenged me with had fallen away, leaving behind something almost mournful. A face that beautiful hadn’t seemed capable of the emotion moments ago, and like the pluck of a harps chord, it reverberated through me.
Unsure how to juggle the circulating thoughts in my head, but knowing full well I’d perfectly dampened the mood and opportunity to elevate my sisters in his eyes, I dipped into a curtsy so quickly that a blink could have hidden it. “Apologies, Your Grace. I only mean to say the women from my village may hold more promise than appearances may suggest. Excuse me.” My shoulders didn’t budge an inch, one foot after another stiffly carrying me back to the table.
“What happened?” Kenzie hissed from the side of her mouth, keeping an oh-so-demure posture in case the prince’s attention had lingered on my retreat back to the table.
“I ruined his coat and told him to pick a poor woman to be queen.” Raising a finger in the air at a passing worker, she changed course.
“Yes, Miss?”
“Do you have something I could use to pack up these desserts?”
New conversation filled the room as the next round of women from our village entered.
“Yes, Miss. Right away.” The woman nodded and took off.
“Are we leaving?” Melody leaned over the table to ask, keeping her question low.
“I think it’s best we do,” I answered honestly. Remaining near the prince proved more difficult to navigate than I’d anticipated, and I knew I’d only doom my sisters further if another interaction came along.
“That’s good. Bringing us to his attention, only for us to leave is a tactic of hard-to-get. It will only pique his curiosity. Good decision, Nora,” Melody praised before straightening herself upright again and placed the folded napkin from her lap onto the table.
Surprised that she thought me clever enough to have orchestrated that approach, I felt relieved that they didn’t object to our sudden departure.