Chapter Twenty – Alicia #2
Something flashed in his gaze for a moment. “No, I was coming to find the marquess. The marquess, count, countess, and viscountess are waiting for you in the council room. They’d like to discuss your thoughts on Lady Alicia’s policy.”
“Ah, very well,” Marquess Talwick said, turning to me. “I shall take my leave, my lady. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me.”
“It was enjoyable, Marquess, thank you.” I watched as he bade us goodbye and disappeared back inside the castle, then said, “They’re not terribly subtle, are they?”
Sir Hayes coughed into his hand.
“Whatever do you mean?” Kalon asked, taking the empty space beside me and holding out his arm.
Right. There were other nobles wandering about the castle.
I slipped my hand through the crook of his elbow and allowed him to guide me down another path. “Sending the marquess to find me so he could speak to me in more depth about the policy.”
“Ah, you noticed that.”
“I would be ashamed of myself if I didn’t.”
“How so?”
“Have you ever attended a tea party? Or witnessed how ladies speak to one another at balls?” I asked. “There’s almost always a scheme of some sort brewing. It’s little more than a game of one upmanship.”
“A game those nobles appear to have lost against a worthy opponent, then,” Kalon replied, amusement tinging his tone.
“Indeed. If they wanted to trick me, they should have sent the viscountess. Given that we’re of similar age, I might have believed that she approached me out of a desire for friendship.”
“Well, if you would believe that…” Kalon paused and turned to Sir Hayes, who promptly handed him a letter. “Viscountess Evsea requested this letter be delivered to you.”
I took it from him. “Why?”
“I suppose you’ll find out when you read it.” He motioned for Sir Hayes and Bella to take a step back as we entered a small circle area of the gardens.
A large fountain shaped like a phoenix—Stein’s symbol—was the centrepiece, and Kalon guided me to sit down on a bench next to it. He took a seat next to me.
“Would you like me to open it for you?”
“Oh, yes, please. I don’t have anything with me.” I handed him back the letter.
He adjusted his jacket and pulled out a dagger from a hidden sheath at his waist.
“Whyever do you need a dagger on your person during a council meeting?” I asked, blinking at the small weapon.
He met my gaze. “You’d be surprised at what I’ve had to do with a weapon during a council meeting.”
“Surprise me, then.”
“Are you sure?” He sliced open the top of the letter before returning the dagger to its hiding place. “Here.”
“Thank you. And yes, I’m sure. You’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“After I became the Grand Duke, some of the previous duke’s subordinates were still in place.
We needed to weed them out, so we deliberately restricted the nobles’ access to me.
At the start, the only way those who hadn’t helped us in the war could meet me was during a council meeting.
One of the lower nobles acted rashly and tried to kill me, so I borrowed Sir Hayes’ sword, and the man met a swift demise. ”
I paused. “So, you beheaded him on the spot. In the council room.”
“Yes.” He eyed me. “Does that bother you?”
“That you killed someone who tried to kill you? No.” I tilted my head to the side. “Although I do feel sorry for whoever had to clean up your mess. You really should consider the servants. It’s a nightmare to get blood out of rugs and upholstery, you know.”
“I’ll take my beheadings outside next time, then.”
“A wise choice.” I turned to him, and a small smile was teasing the corners of his lips.
Ugh.
If he could just never smile again, that would be great.
He was far too handsome when he did such a stupid thing.
I cleared my throat and turned my attention to the letter from the viscountess. It was written on thick, smooth paper that practically screamed expensive, and her handwriting was like something right out of a fairytale.
Dear Lady Alicia,
It is my honour to welcome you to Stein as our future Grand Duchess. I have heard many good things about Your Ladyship, and I was most pleased to be invited to Stein Castle as a key member for your monster attack refugee aid plan.
Having heard your presentation from yourself, I would like to assure you that you will have my utmost support and cooperation for the matter.
The monster attack the Evsea estate suffered three years ago hastened my father’s death, and as his successor, I believe I must do everything in my power to prevent such tragedies happening again so that his soul may rest in peace.
With that said, it would be to my great pleasure if you would allow me to host a ball at my estate in Your Ladyship’s honour so that we may officially welcome you to Stein.
I will eagerly await your response.
Yours,
Viscountess Elena Alice Evsea
“Well?” Kalon asked as I looked up.
“It appears that she wrote it after my presentation of the aid policy,” I replied, showing him the letter. “She expressed her support for it and offered to host a ball in my honour to welcome me to Stein.”
He pinched the edge of the paper to tilt it in his direction and scanned the letter. “It was an option on the table after you’d settled in, but I do think it would be to your benefit if the Evsea family were involved in hosting.”
“Really? Why so?”
“The Evseas are one of the oldest houses in Stein and trade regularly with the empire. They cultivated a grape that only grows in Stein’s conditions that happens to make a fantastic wine.”
“Wait. I knew I recognised that name. My father has a stack of it for special occasions.”
“Indeed. It’s popular but also expensive, but their connections mean they have an extremely wide-ranging influence.
Many nobles follow their lead, and Elena in particular is one of the most popular ladies in the top social circles.
If she hosts a ball for you, it’s the same as her saying she publicly approves of you as the Grand Duchess. ”
“And if someone with that much social power does such a thing, my entry into high society here in Stein will be much smoother, even amongst those who think you should marry a native noble,” I continued, staring at the letter. “Is one aid policy really enough for her to approve of me so much?”
“Perhaps. Like she says here, the attack on their estate three years ago was terrible in more ways than one. The late Viscount Evsea had been unwell for a while, and the stress of the aftermath was too much for him. Elena became the viscountess when she was only twenty-four, and she was almost ready to give birth to her son at the time.”
Oh, no. “That must have been difficult for her.”
“But it is up to you, Alicia.”
“You have no thoughts on it?” I asked, pushing my hair from my face as I looked up at him.
“Of course, I do. It would be nice if your first ball here could be at the castle, but as I said, the social implications of having the Evseas host it would help you greatly.”
“But wouldn’t people talk if my welcome ball isn’t at the castle?”
“I don’t care for things as frivolous as gossip.”
I supposed there were too many rumours for him to give it a second thought.
“Hmm.” I folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. “Do you think she would be offended if I suggested she hosted the ball here instead of her estate?”
Kalon peered down at me with his intense gaze. “You mean we co-host it of sorts?”
“Yes. I think I would rather make my first appearance where I’m most comfortable, but I also feel as though I can’t turn her down,” I explained. “Besides, how many nobles are ever granted the opportunity to host a ball at Stein Castle?”
“Aside from the duke or Grand Duke’s family, nobody.
Ha.” He got to his feet and offered me his hand.
“I see. You would have the home field advantage, Elena’s social influence, and you’d be giving her the rare honour of hosting an event at the castle, gaining her favour even more.
Socially, it’s a declaration of friendship from both sides. ”
I put my hand in his and got to my feet. “You’ve got me.”
Kalon tugged me towards his body, almost making me stumble, and pressed his hand onto my lower back. He lowered his head, and his warm breath tickled against my ear as his mouth drew closer to it. “You are quite the cunning woman, Alicia Vermillion.”
His low tone was unexpectedly seductive, and it set off a wild round of butterflies in my stomach. My fingers tingled where our hands were clasped, and the warmth that spread from his touch on my back was doing silly things to me.
Silly, inappropriate things.
Like making me want to rip off his clothes and see what other weapons he was hiding.
I swallowed, doing my best to maintain my composure against this sudden flirting of his. “Speak for yourself. You figured out exactly what I was thinking, Kalon.”
He chuckled, and it was as though I was being bathed in sunlight for the first time in months. “Careful. You so rarely say my name that when you do it and you’re this close to me, it gives me ideas.”
“Ideas?”
“Mm. Ideas.” He released my hand and cupped my chin, touching the tip of his thumb to my lower lip.
Our eyes met and just like at the ball, I was trapped in his consuming gaze, completely powerless to look away from the purple sea of intensity.
“You should respond to the viscountess,” he said in a low voice. “But tell her that your fiancé is an extremely jealous man, so she may host it here instead.”
“I can’t tell her that,” I replied in an equally soft voice. “People might talk.”
“What? About how the Grand Duke is so obsessed with his future wife that he had to be involved in her welcome ball at all costs?” His lips pulled into the dirtiest of smirks. “I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”
“It’s hardly true.”
He brought his face so close to mine that my heart almost jumped right out of my chest. “Isn’t it?”
I blinked at him.
What?
Kalon dropped his hand and stepped back, putting some much-needed distance between our bodies.
“We’ll return from the hunting competition on the twenty-fifth.
You should have Elena arrange it for one week or so after that.
I’ll work through dinner, so make time for me tomorrow so we can discuss appointing your aide and knight. ”
“I—” I stopped when he kissed my hand and turned. “Yes, of course.”
He threw me the tiniest of smiles over his shoulder before he disappeared past the bushes, but that was all it took.
A blush flooded my neck and face, and I dropped back onto the bench, pressing my cheeks to my hands. My letter floated to my feet, and I merely stayed here, staring after the ghost of him walking away.
What the hell was all that?