“If you’re bored, you and I can play together while we wait to see your granpa.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“You don’t have to,” Jonathan started to say, but she waved him away. It was the least she could do for him, helping her.
“But I want to,” she said, repeating his words back to her.
He smiled and gestured for her to continue. Elisa led her in a game of hide-and-seek, where they took turns hiding amongst the bushes. And for a few short moments, Aristea felt like a girl again as she crouched down behind bushes, lying in wait to spring out and catch Elisa, who giggled. She was so preoccupied with their game that she didn’t notice the two figures who had approached until Elisa squealed with delight and rushed toward Duke Krantz.
He was a severe-looking man with bushy gray brows and a thick white beard. Duchess Krantz spotted Aristea crouching in the dirt and arched a brow. She stood quickly, but the damage had been done. She looked terribly improper.
“Your Highness?” Duke Krantz asked.
Elisa practically threw herself into her grandfather’s arms. And his expression changed from austere to soft and gentle as he rested her against his hip.
“Granpa, Princess Aristea, and I were playing specters and spirits,” Elisa said.
“I can see that,” the duke said. “Your highness, what a strange meeting this is.”
“I don’t think it’s that strange. I may not have any of my own, but I delight in children, Duke Krantz.”
Duke Krantz arched his brow, and the duchess covered a laugh with a cough.
“The princess kindly paid me a visit recently, and I thought we might have her around for a dinner party,” the duchess said, looking at Aristea with a sly smile.
“Oh, could we all have dinner? I want to show her my favorite hiding spots at your home, Granpa,” Elisa begged.
“I suppose I have no choice,” Duke Krantz said. But he didn’t seem displeased at the notion. If anything, there was a wary curiosity on his face.
Aristea bowed to him in thanks for the invitation, and after a few more minutes of inconsequential small talk, they parted ways. Elisa went with her grandparents, who’d promised her sweets, and Aristea and Jonathan were alone once more. When she turned to look, he was smiling.
“You seem rather proud of yourself that your plot worked,” Aristea said and brushed the dirt from her skirt. She couldn’t believe she’d knelt on the ground. But it had felt good too. She’d seen mothers playing with their children and always felt a sense of envy. It was as fun as she’d imagined it would be.
“I told you he couldn’t tell her no.”
Aristea laughed. “She’s a clever accomplice and looks just like you.”
“You’re the first to say so. Her grandparents are convinced she’s the spitting image of her mother.” His gaze turned wistful at the mention of his late wife.
“She was their only daughter, wasn’t she?” Aristea said. She’d looked up the royal lineage archives after their last meeting. “I suppose having her daughter helps them with their grief. And for you, too.”
He nodded. “She deserved a husband who would have grieved the way you’re grieving for Heinrich. She knew I could never love her, and then she died trying to give me a son...”
It was an ugly fact, and a truth she secretly delighted in. And it compelled her to say, “I’m not sure I ever loved Heinrich. It was more that I felt obligated to. Even now, this veil and these blacks are more for his allies than me.”
“He didn’t deserve you,” Jonathan said with more anger and conviction than she expected of him.
The words hung between them. And she wanted to reach out and take hold of them. Grasp them so tight they couldn’t slip through her fingers. Or simply ask, when you said you could never love your wife, was it because you loved me? Was it greed that made her hope that he’d held onto the flickering flame of love for her? Or was she simply deluding herself into seeing something there that wasn’t?
“Maybe if the fates were kinder—” Aristea started to say, but she couldn’t finish the thought.
“We could have been together.” He reached out to grasp her hand.
A jolt seemed to go down her and pool in her stomach. She felt hot all over. And it felt as if her heart might beat out of her chest. She’d thought the way he’d made her feel when they were young would have faded, but now it felt more primal and raw. It melted some of the ice around her heart that had formed during her marriage to Heinrich, and that terrified her. She pulled her hand out of his.
“I have other meetings to attend to. Thank you again for your help.”
And before he could say another word, she made her retreat, regretting each step she took.
