“Yes, a little every day at least.”
She didn’t seem inclined to say more, only watched the caravan snaking through the forest ahead. The breeze fluttered the edges of her split ocher dress.
The readers were counting on me. Sherry Whitehorse was counting on me.
“Enough time to date?” I said brightly, feeling entirely false.
Ariana’s eyes crinkled in confusion. “Date? Tend to the queen’s schedule?”
“No,” I said, undeterred, “date. That’s what we call it where I’m from. Two people spending time together.”
I could see she wasn’t picking up on my dreadful explanation.
“Romantically.”
“Oh,” she said, comprehending. “No, I don’t have time for a liaison like that. In the past year and a half, I’ve done all I can to prepare for this war.”
That was a surprise. Meg, Lu, Denise, and others from the Maidens’ Chamber had made it sound like chasing romantic interests was a focal point of their time. It wasLandsome Roadsfor goodness’ sake, the number one best-selling fantasy romance series. What else was there to do in beautiful castles with handsome men around?
Sherry Whitehorse was the architect of this world, and she had created it primarily for people to getromanticwith each other.
“Are you betrothed?” Maybe her love was currently elsewhere in the queendom.
“No.”
“Would you like to be?”
I thought it took a lot to ruffle the feathers of calm, composed Lady-in-Waiting Ariana, but I guess all it took was me.
“And what of you, Lady Dottie?” I caught the demotion from friendly first name basis to cold title. “Are you stringing Lord Draw along or are you simply looking for a husband in the first noble man you meet?”
“No,” I sputtered. I actually could use a friend to talk to about Lord Draw, but I understood the offer was not genuine.
Ariana looked at me directly, her reins collected up in one hand. “I didn’t take you for a gossiper, but if that’s how you play, you should know what people are saying about you.”
I had a straightforward, yet charming reply prepared to try to diffuse the situation—I really didn’t mean offense—but Peanut Butter chose that moment to mouth at a tall patch of grass on the side of the road. His rump angled crosswise across the path, blocking the wagon behind me. I jerked at the reins, but all he did was step deeper into the ditch. At least it freed the road up.
Someone tsked loudly as the wagon rolled behind me. It was Tilly the laundress. She sat at the boot of the wagon, the rear panel down flat, her legs dangling. At her side was the old woman who had interrogated me and my satchel when I first got to Castle Creneda. Seeing them together, I realized they were sisters.
“My lady, surely get your beast under the bit!” Tilly cried. She dropped her voice to speak to her sister, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’ve never ridden astride a horse a day of my life but even I can see that.”
My jaw was tight with concentration. I really didn’t need Tilly’s comments. Peanut Butter swiveled to find more grass and was now blocking a carriage.
“Sorry,” I called out.
Ariana sighed in an impatient way, her horse’s mane perfect, her long black braid perfect, her beautiful riding outfit perfect. “Don’t jerk on both reins like that. Pull gently but firmly on only the left.”
It worked, but by the time I was back on the road, Ariana had spurred her gray horse ahead to ride alongside the Master of Horse who dipped a curious look back at me. He was wearing his light brown hair in a half bun. He turned back to say something to Ariana, likely about me, and she shrugged a shoulder.
I fumed in my saddle, mostly about Tilly’s loud commentary, but also at losing my chance to sway Ariana. If I didn’t push her forward, she’d remain a surface-level side character. She deserved more.
It’s true I had been pushy with her, but I had thought everyone here was open to the topic of romantic interests. Most of the conversations at court were about just that.
Clearly though, I had made a mistake.
I didn’t know what Ariana’s dating history was like. Maybe she’d been burned in the past. Or maybe she didn’t know how to initiate things with the person she liked. Despite it happening less gracefully than I’d imagined, she was now riding next to the Master of Horse, right? Maybe things would end up taking the path I saw for her regardless of how awkward I was at setting it in motion.
I brainstormed haphazardly through the morning. It was hard to strategize without quill and paper, and Peanut Butter seemed to favor zigzagging along the road dependent on which side had the longest grass. No one else seemed inclined to ride alongside me.
