“A scavenger hunt,” I announced after a few minutes. “We can invite the merchants, tradesmen, and temples throughout Haiwella to participate. Everyone can see different parts of the city while still taking part in the hunt.”
My mother tapped a slender finger against her lips. “A novel idea, but if everyone is touring the city in small groups, you won’t be able to get to know more than a handful.”
“Nothing we do will allow me to get to know everyone, Mama. But, since it is supposed to be a competition, I’ll make supper with me that evening the prize. The first dozen men to finish will be invited. And the first dozen women can dine with Noel.” I felt no remorse in offering my brother up as a prize. I knew my mother would protest if I allowed women to be included in the supper with me, so it was only fair that they could win a commensurate prize.
“That sounds reasonable. We’ll have to get to work organizing the scavenger hunt quickly.”
“I’ll give Willow and Hayden the task.” I said, naming my secretaries. They’d enjoy the novelty. “I have a few ideas about how it could work.”
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.” Mama leaned down and sniffed a rose. “Only a few other things to decide, then.”
“Let’s get it over with.”
My mother gave me a chiding look. “You are the one who has put this off for so long, Charmina.”
“My dress,” I said. I had promised Mama I would choose a fabric for my dress when I returned from Skorsa.
“Indeed. I understand you don’t care about how we decorate for the ball, but I cannot make such decisions for you if I do not at least know what you will be wearing. It would be a travesty if you clashed with the decorations.”
For whatever reason, while my mother was willing to decide the decorations for the ball, she was adamant that I at least choose the colors for my gown, though the final design would be in the hands of my modiste. Mistress Dawes knew what shades complementedmy coloring and could be trusted to provide an exquisite gown without my input. I cared about as much about the color I wore as how the room was decorated. But Mama’s words made me rethink that for the first time.
She didn’t want me to clash. She could coordinate with the seamstress, but there was one thing that I would wear the night of the ball no matter what. My thumb pressed against the underside of my rose ring, which I hadn’t removed. My dress and other jewelry had to suit the pink-gold or my maid would throw a fit. No, that was an excuse. I wanted the rose ring to match my outfit for the ball.
“Midnight blue, with a blush underskirt,” I said in a burst of decisiveness. “And I want roses decorating the ballroom. Pink, not red. Maybe a few white. Gold accents rather than silver.”
My mother blinked, but she wasn’t about to object to finally getting an answer. “Perfect. I’ll have Mistress Dawes bring a few samples tomorrow for your gown. Any other opinions on decorations?”
“No.”
“In that case, the last thing you need to decide is who to invite.”
I tried to make sense of the words. “Isn’t every eligible commoner invited?”
“I’ve decided that in addition to having inns accommodate men at the crown’s expense, we will house twenty invitees at the palace. I will send special invitations to a random selection of men throughout the kingdom to fill ten of those rooms. You may write personal invitations to ten other men you have met over the years. They must be eligible, though, Charmina. No using your invitations for that elderly scholar or the young peddler who married last year.”
I ran through a quick list in my head. “I only need six rooms, then. You can fill the other four with random invitees.”
“Excellent. Be sure to send out your invitations by the end of the week.”
Twenty-Eight
Mina
???
I didn’t manageto see my brother alone on my first day back at the palace. After my conversation with Mama, I spent too long writing letters to a few men I considered friends after my years traveling around the kingdom. Once I finished the five letters intended for men who were technically eligible, but whom I had no interest in marrying, I had to arrange a meeting with Willow and Hayden to plan the scavenger hunt.
My sixth letter, the only one that truly mattered, loomed large in my mind the rest of the day. The next morning, I stared at the blank paper in front of me and wondered if the words I had spent hours failing to find would flow any easier after a conversation with Noel. I could speak more freely with him in private than with my parents in the room.
I had discussed my experiences in Skorsa with the entire family last night, but I had selected which details to share carefully. I wanted to tell Noel more, yet I dreaded the conversation, knowing that he would spot any secrets I tried to hide. I couldn’t even delay the inevitable. Noel and I had a long-standing tradition: the day after I returned from any of my travels, we always shared the noon meal together, just us.
A glance at the clock on the mantle of my sitting room informed me it was time to go. I tidied my writing desk and slid the five sealed letters stacked in the corner into my pocket. I didn’t know when I’d finish my final letter. Another meeting with Willow and Hayden and the visit from the modiste to go over fabric samples would eat up my afternoon. Better to send the invitations I had as soon as possible rather than waiting until I finished Alan’s.
I made my way out of my suite, careful not to get caught on the doorframe on my way out. Readjusting to wearing panniers always took a few days. Today I wore a gown that I considered part of my working wardrobe. It met all the requirements for court, but was slightly understated, with only a bit of beading around the neckline as ornamentation. More formal than the dress I had worn yesterday, it was still a long way off from my full court attire. I’d have to change before supper tonight.
I arrived at the royal nursery at the stroke of noon. Noel and I had taken over the unused room a few years earlier, bringing in a full-size table and chairs. Eating the noon meal together when I returned home was a ritual, but most other days when we were both in the palace, we did so out of habit, if nothing else. Today, as part of our ritual, the food was already on the table when I arrived; the servants gone. For the next hour, I could tell Noel all the things I had experienced in the last month and he could catch me up on the latest court gossip and machinations without anyone to overhear.
Noel looked up from the table when I came through the door. To my surprise, he rose as if this were a formal event or our father was looking over his shoulder, reminding him of proper manners. He met me halfway between the door and the table and took my hands in his, at which point I realized he had stood for just that reason.
