The tensions melted away on her command. Just who was this pack leader, anyway?
I faced her. “I would have your name first, if it pleases you.”
“It pleases me immensely,” she said. “I am Marchioness Angharad, wife to Marquis Trefor Tharon, Master of Commerce and Trade.”
Lady Angharad couldn’t be more than twenty-five, but there was a worldly confidence in her bearing. Her wide smile and dancing eyes were unlike any I had seen up to now.
“The only blonde in the room is Lady Maeve, wife of Lord Davis Halston. They reside here as representatives from Sunhill.”
I nodded along, not quite sure where Sunhill fell on a map.
“The vulgar one is Lady Diamond—yes, really, that is her name—and she’s married to Huntmaster Hugh Simon. Diamond Simon, poor thing.”
Lady Diamond raised a middle finger to Angharad.
The marchioness went over the remainder of the ladies in the room in such quick succession that recollecting each of them felt increasingly hopeless. There were cousins to the queen, wives to various advisors and ministers and officers and specialists, and among them there was an absence of working women, save for Winnie Balden and a few handmaidens.
Angharad stood and moved closer to my side. The attention was off of me for now, the rest of the ladies shifting to other topics. As Angharad tilted forward to keep my eyes on hers, it somehow felt as if we were the only two in the room.
“Tell me, Lady Alana—do you know how to please a man?”
“I b-beg your pardon?” My ears were hot.
“While it’s doubtless that your virtue is intact, I’m sure you haven’t much experience from living out in the woods. Do you have at least a base of knowledge on the subject?”
I searched Angharad for any hint that might betray her friendly disposition. Finding none, I uncoiled, careful to conceal parts of the truth. “I’ve hardly even spoken to a man before, but I have read books…tales of romance, and such.”
Angharad rolled with laughter. If I had a shell, I would tuck my head into its darkness. “Oh, that will not suffice. You’ll be expecting roses and honeyed declarations.”
I had to regain some dignity. “Would the prince not prefer the innocence of a virgin?”
Scoffing, Angharad shook her head. “I’m not suggesting you go and deflower yourself, my lady. I only imply that one ought to know the motion of things. You’ve got to see at least one cock before your wedding night, or else you’ll stare at it with the same doe eyes you’re giving me right now.”
I’d reached my limit before I knew I had one. I stood abruptly, and Winnie came straight to my side. “My lady, are you unwell?”
“Perhaps she needs some air,” offered Angharad. From looking at her, one would have no idea she’d said anything perverse. She offered a hand. “Would you like a walk, Lady Alana?”
“I…” I turned desperately to my lady-in-waiting. Winnie lifted her chin in silent signal to go along with it; perhaps it was better to try and make friends, even if they were unexpectedly crass.
“Our fair lady was just expressing excitement at the prospect of making friends,” Winnie discretely nudged.
I wilted in defeat. “Yes. I appreciate your company; please forgive me. I am unaccustomed to such ribald exchanges.”
“And I am a firm believer in jumping right into the water, rather than dipping my toes,” Angharad bantered, leading me from the safety of the room. Winnie followed behind at a distance, keeping within earshot. “Before I arrived, the ladies of court were a reserved bunch. Don’t mistake that for politeness, however; they were at each other’s throats in a long-lasting war of defamation. I find that putting everything out on the table keeps us from weaponizing secrets. Your Grace!”
I flinched at the shout. We crossed paths with the Duke of Greene, whose habitual nervousness was an ever-present characteristic; as he spotted us, he offered a polite acknowledgement.
Angharad patted me on the hand. “My lady, this is our Royal Scientific Advisor, Duke Minnick of Greene.”
I curtsied. Of course I had encountered the man before, but not once had we stopped for conversation. We couldn’t.
“Lady Alana Chastain,” Duke Minnick replied with a smile. My eyes widened at the recognition of my surname as he turned to Angharad for explanation. “As fate would have it, the Chastains were once a well-established pair of apothecaries in Finn’s Hollow.”
“You don’t say?” replied Angharad. I furrowed my brow, wondering how he’d come by such information.
“Our prince made the clarification in the Lord’s Chamber. ‘Of the Woods’ is only a cheeky subtitle.”
So the prince had decided to remedy his mistake, after all? I couldn’t deny the reflex to smile.
