“Ah, right.”
I swallowed. “Also, our gate is always closed.”
“Likely why you won the war,” he said.
“Oh, I didn’t- I wasn’t-”
“Steady, Princess.” Sam slowed to a stop; I followed his lead. “Despite what my father would tell you, our nations’ histories do notsolelydefine us.”
“They don’t?” I asked.
“No. They only play a part in a much larger portrait of who we are. If you and I are to rule as one, we should acknowledge howFate has brought us together. Even the worst of it. Yes?”
Asone,I thought.Fate.My heart raced.
“Aye. Y-Yes,” I replied. “I can agree to that. I like that idea, sir.”
Sam nodded. “So. You like the high framing here?” he checked, passing the ball of this finger along the window’s design. “Personally, I find it allows the sun an easier time to shine in and throw itself upon our floors. It’sparticularlynice to lay along the herringbone, right about here, and let the drapery dance over you ever so as the wind blows.”
I could not help but laugh. “You lay on the floor?Like a lazy cat?”
His pearly teeth debuted. “I do,” he confessed. “Like the laziest of lazy cats.”
“I can’t imagine that,” I said.
“Shall I demonstrate it?” he asked. “You can join me if you like.”
He began to crouch, but I hurried to keep him standing.
“No, please! I believe you!” Then I giggled.
The Prince settled again; the corners of his grin disappeared as he relaxed in his attempt to amuse me.
He said, “Then I am a happy man.”
“Where else might we see?” I asked.
“Let me think,” he pondered. “You’ve seen the library, the ballroom, both the halls, Grand and Small. The dining room. The corridors, the kitchen. My father’s study,mystudy. What is it I forget?” he asked. “We’ll, of course, tour the gardens at some point. And the stables. I imagine you’remostinterested in those.”
“In the stables, sir?” I asked.
He touched the design stitched along my sleeve. “The horse is the Eisson sigil, is it not? It’s only natural that you should like them.And,”he added, “I may have enlisted a few friends to tell me things about you before your arrival, so I was hoping that bit of knowledge would earn me some points.”
“You studied me? What sort of things were you told?” I asked.
“That you’re a habitual rider,” he explained. “Are they mistaken? You should lie if they are. I’ll be absolutely devastated at my failure if you don’t ride.”
The concept made me beam. “I can’t believe youresearchedme.” I was flattered.
“Are all cats notcurious?” he asked.
I tried to maintain ground. “I-In that I’m caught,” I stated.
“What of the bedchamber next?” he asked.
For whatever reason, I realized I was alone with him. We’d lost my knight. I looked down either side of the long walk, tried not to move too wildly, and tried to mask my concern.
A stray, wily expression came to the Prince’s face, forcing a quick bristle from me at his words.
