His mother sighed. “Just today, maybe? The rest of the time you can eat with the guards. And dear, will you please try to spend more time with Liliana and your brothers?”
Caspian nodded. He also missed spending time with his brothers. What he wouldn’t give to go back to the days when they were young and carefree and played and roamed the entire Northlands.
But they were grown up now, and things had to change. Kellan was training to become their father’s heir, he was a member of the Royal Guard, and Gideon…well, no one actually knew anything about what Gideon did. He seemed perfectly content to flit around and disappear whenever the mood struck him—though his supposed role was managing the books for the estate.
“I will spend more time with them,” he promised. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, and she used the opportunity to pull him in for a hug.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “That’s all I wanted.”
He let her hold him for a moment longer than he liked before disengaging and getting to his feet to leave the study. “I’ll be back for lunch. Actually—”
His parents looked at him expectantly.
“Do you know Lord and Lady Manning?”
His mother sighed. “Such a sad story.”
Oh, really?
His father cleared his throat. “Lord Manning was a good man. His first wife died not long after their daughter was born.”
“She was a lovely thing, but not very strong,” Lady Rendon said.
“And only a few months after Lord Manning remarried, both Lord Manning and his daughter passed away.”
“Was it said why?” Caspian asked.
Lord Rendon shook his head. “No. It was a pity, though. Blanche was the sweetest little thing. You played with her once when Manning and I were in court.”
“She was right around your age,” his mother said softly. “I felt so horrible knowing she would grow up without a mother, though of course her father loved her very much. I wouldn’t be surprised if heartbreak took him off if she went first.”
Caspian nodded. “Thank you.”
“Why do you ask?” his mother asked.
“Oh, a friend mentioned them, and I wondered if you knew them. I thought the name seemed familiar, but you know I don’t know all the nobility like Kellan does.”
“They lived just down the street from us in Riyel,” his mother said, “but I was busy with you three and didn’t get to know them well. I haven’t thought about them since we moved here. Such a pity young Blanche passed, though. She would have been a good match for you if she hadn’t.”
Caspian fought the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to leave again. Always thinking about marriage. “Thank you both. I love you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about potential girls you could court?” his mother asked hopefully.
“Definitely not,” Caspian said, escaping out the door.
“We love you, too,” his mother called after him as he disappeared down the hallway.
He sighed as he made it to the front door. She was right. He needed to spend more time with his family. It wasn’t like he was trying to avoid them. If anything, he wished he could spend more time with them.
He didn’t appreciate being brought into his father’s study and scolded, though.
Not to mention the way she’d talked about him getting married soon.
Why wasn’t she harping on Kellan and Gideon? They were older than him. They should be focused on getting married, not him. And yet, she was talking to him like the entire fate of the family lineage rested on him.
That wasn’t really fair. But he didn’t want to think about marriage yet.
He was busy enough with the festival and training the guard.
