She coughed a little, probably at the bluntness of my question. “You get right to it, don’t you? Ah… well…” She sighed. “That was not my choice, at least at first.”
“No?” That was curious. “Did he force himself on you?”
“No,” she said with a hint of hesitation. “Not quite, but when the prince of the realm asks you to dance you don’t refuse. We met at a ball a few months back.”
Her tone turned nostalgic, wistful. “My family’s estate is far to the west. My brother and I lived there, with our mother, while my father — who was quite a bit older than my mother — lived here at the estate near the city so he could be available for any session of the Nobles’ court.”
Sadness tinged her words. “But my father passed last winter and my brother came to take his place. I came to see the city as well. And during my first foray into society, the crown prince came to me and swept me up in a dance and…” she trailed off.
“And?”
Veora spoke slowly, a strange mix of desire and tension in her voice. “And… after that dance, he took me out into a servants’ hall. We were both flushed from the swift pace of the dance and… he kissed me. He wasn’t forceful about it, and I didn’t mind it, but I did wonder about his wife. I’d thought him happily married, but when I asked, he said his wife had not come to his bed in some time and when he’d seen me…”
She leaned close and lowered her voice. “He said that when he saw me, he’d known instantly that he’d never truly loved his wife. Theirs had been a political marriage and he’d been well with that, until he’d seen me. When he did, he said his heart had leaped like a dancer. Only then did he know what true love was.”
“Oh,” I said, just a bit stunned.
“Indeed. I was flattered and he is a very handsome man and… well… our kissing quickly becamemore. After he’d taken me, right there in the servants’ hall, he said this one encounter would never be enough. He said he had to see me again.”
“And you agreed?” I still didn’t quite understand this.
Her tone became neutral with just a hint of an edge to it. “He is the crown prince. How did you feel when he asked you to do this for him? Did you feel like you could deny him?”
“No. I see.”
“Exactly.” Her tone eased and she smiled. “And… to be fair, I was beginning to feel something for him too. He is handsome and gallant and—” her breath became a whisper, “—quite an amazing lover.”
She sighed again. “I was a bit afraid of what would happen if I said no, but a part of me didn’twantto say no, so… here we are.”
I grunted. It wasn’t a very womanly thing to do, and Veora laughed a little. Yet her mirth quickly turned somber.
She whispered when she said: “I am a bit… ashamed at what our relationship is doing to his family. His wife is even more distant now. Some part of me still thinks I should end this with Victor, so he can be with his family. But… he doesn’t seem to care. And in all honestly, when I’m with him, neither do I. When he touches me, when he kisses me, I suddenly feel like we’re the only two people in the world.”
She grimaced. “I know it’s not right, but Idolove him, and I know he loves me. My mind says I should go, but my heart doesn’t want to.”
“It seems a difficult position he’s put you in.”
“No, it’s not like that. I mean, yes, at first, it was quite awkward, but now… now there is only our love. And I’ll take that for as long as he’ll give it. I have no illusions that this will end someday. The Queen is already furious with him.”
Veora gazed off at the city wall above us as we neared the gate. “Someday he’ll realize he can’t truly have me, and that will be that. I’ll treasure the time we had together and I’ll… find another man… assuming any man will have a woman as…well knownas I am.”
I nodded.
We walked in silence for a while before she said. “Now your turn. Tell me something about yourself, anything!”
Perhaps her talk of love and relationships had gotten into my head, but the only thing I could think to talk about was Leo. So, as we walked, I told her of the man and how beautiful he was.
“He’s captured your heart, like the prince captured mine,” she said softly. “What will you do about it?”
WhatwouldI do?
She prompted: “If he asks to court you, or perhaps just to… to bed you… would you accept?”
That was easy.
“Courting seems unlikely. A nobleman would never formally court a commoner like me. But if he wanted to dally, I’d be more than happy to oblige him.”
I’d spent far too much time over the last few days wondering what Leo would be like in bed. I’d only ever slept with military men, who were rough and ready. And I liked that… a lot. But I had a feeling Leo wouldn’t be like that. I imagined he’d be soft and sensuous. I had no clue what that was like, but a part of me desperately wanted to know.
