Chapter 75
The queen woke later than usual that morning.
By the time Cassandra was summoned to her chambers, breakfast had long since been cleared away.
So, when the queen asked for something to eat, Cassandra decided to join her.
The meal was a modest affair. The queen had been permitted little more than warm porridge, soft fruit, and a few other foods that were easy to digest and would not burden her recovering stomach.
Cassandra settled for something more substantial, though she kept her own meal simple enough that the queen would not feel as though she were being denied a proper breakfast while everyone else feasted around her.
They were halfway through their meal when a knock sounded at the door.
There was a clear view of the door from where they sat. Cassandra twisted on her seat to glance in the direction of the sound.
"Enter." She called, loud enough to be heard.
Barely a moment later, the door swung open, admitting a guard with the servant close behind. The two men immediately bowed deeply in unison.
"Your Majesty, please forgive the interruption," the servant said with due deference.
Still in high spirits after her pleasant time with Cassandra, Delphine merely waved away his apology.
"There is nothing to forgive. What news have you brought me?" she asked, giving him permission to continue.
The servant straightened and inclined his head. "Your Majesty, there is a guest at the palace. His Grace, the Duke of Norham, has arrived to call upon Lady Cassandra."
Cassandra went rigid at the announcement, all traces of her earlier ease vanishing in an instant. Across the table, the queen’s eyebrows rose in surprise before directing the full force of her attention to Cassandra, who was just as taken aback by the news.
"Are you expecting the Duke of Norham?" Delphine inquired gleefully and she wasn’t even trying to be subtle.
From Delphine’s reaction alone, Cassandra knew this was going to be a repeat of the morning after Draven had dropped her at the palace.
The Queen had that look, the very same one she had worn often years ago. When Cassandra was much younger, Delphine had taken it upon herself to find her a husband. She tried countless times to pair Cassandra with men she deemed handsome, accomplished, well-bred, and suitably compatible.
Her efforts were good natured but Cassandra, however, had never been interested. Her ambitions had been firmly fixed on advancing her studies and position in the royal council as an advisor, strengthening her place by the Queen’s side.
That had been before John.
Once Cassandra had fallen in love, Delphine had abandoned her matchmaking efforts, satisfied that Cassandra had finally found someone for herself.
But now that John was no longer an obstacle, it seemed the Queen had resumed her old schemes. And who better, in Delphine’s mind, to pair Cassandra with than the Duke?
If only the Queen knew that Cassandra had already planned several steps ahead.
"I don’t suppose so." Cassandra said honestly. Draven gave no indication that he intended to call upon her.
The queen continued looking at her and a gleam entered her eyes.
Cassandra didn’t like it one bit and she intended to tell her so later, once they were alone.
"We encountered each other recently at Lady Chandler’s ball and we spoke." Cassandra said, aware that hoarding information would get her nowhere while the queen was like this. "Time with him was quite nice. He mentioned that he intended to call upon me soon. I simply did not expect him to choose today of all days."
A smile spread slowly across Delphine’s face, far too pleased for Cassandra’s comfort.
"Well," she said, setting her spoon aside, her meal all but forgotten now that she had been handed this juicy morsel. "What are you waiting for?"
Cassandra stared at her, slack jawed.
"But your Majesty—"
"You have a caller, my darling." The queen waved one hand, shooing her toward the door with considerably more vigor than her physicians would have approved of. "Go and receive him."
Delphine could be quite the menace when the mood took her, and Cassandra had found herself on the receiving end of her mischief more than once.
Cassandra gave her a droll look, this woman she loved about anything else.
"I have not finished eating." She argued, refusing to indulge Delphine’s fanciful notions of a sweeping, fairytale romance. "The cooks have taken their time to prepare this meal and I wish to honor their efforts by enjoying the food."
If she and Draven were going to wed, it would be for practical reasons. Nothing as frivolous as romance.
But Delphine merely batted away the poor excuse like the way one would a particularly annoying insect.
"You can finish later. It would be rude to keep a duke waiting." She said, like a sly minx.
Cassandra gave up. She rose from her chair, smoothing her skirts. "I won’t take long."
"I certainly hope you do." Delphine’s eyes twinkled merrily. "How else are you to come by the details with which to regale me?"
Cassandra narrowed her eyes at the queen, but when the older woman only smiled more broadly, she knew there was no point arguing.
As Cassandra drew closer to the sitting room where Draven had been shown in to await her arrival, she heard voices drifting through the open corridor. With each step, they grew clearer, and by the time she reached the door, she could distinctly make out Adrian’s voice among them.
She glanced into the room to find him staring intently at Draven, in a way that was no doubt meant to intimidate.
He was standing several feet away from the duke with his arms folded across his chest, like he was assessing a threat.
Draven, for his part, appeared entirely unimpressed by the other man’s antics. Not everyone could withstand the prince’s severe stare, but Draven met it without flinching, his hands resting loosely at his sides.
She paused in the doorway, observing their absurd little display of masculine bravado.
Cassandra suppressed a sigh. She didn’t have the time for such things.
Adrian was fiercely protective of her, even more so after the scandal and the nasty business with her family. He was more like a brother to her than Edmund ever was and apparently the sight of a duke arriving to call upon her had awakened every brotherly instinct Adrian possessed.
Cassandra knew when Draven finally noticed her. His attention shifted away completely, Adrian momentarily forgotten.
The faint tension that had been present in his shoulders disappeared, and his eyes softened by the smallest degree now that he had her in his sights.
In the very next moment, he was walking across the room, her name on his lips.
"Lady Cassandra." He took her hand before she could offer up a formal greeting, raised it, and pressed a light kiss on her knuckles.
Then, to her surprise, he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.
Cassandra felt Adrian’s narrow-eyed stare burning the side of her face.
She chose not to look at him. Along with being very protective, Adrian also loved to gossip with his mother.
Before the day’s end, Delphine will hear about everything that happened here.
"You look lovely this morning," Draven said warmly.
It sent an unwelcome flutter through her belly despite knowing that his words were merely part of their plan.
"You are very kind." Cassandra accepted the compliment with the most pleasant smile she could muster.
"I am merely being honest."
"And how has your morning been?" She asked, still pointedly ignoring Adrian.
"Improved considerably now that I have gotten to see you." His smile was truly a sight to behold.
He was good at this, she thought dumbly.
When he had first suggested that they pretend to want each other, she had doubted he would be able to play the part of a bewitched suitor convincingly. She had expected him to be awkward at best, perhaps too restrained to make their charade believable. Yet he was doing an astonishingly good job of it.
This was a side of Draven she had only recently become acquainted with. Debonair and silver-tongued, he possessed an effortless charm that could make a person forget their own good sense if he chose to wield it.
Cassandra had to concede that it was probably a very good thing he almost never allowed this side of himself to show. She suspected that if he did, there would be very few people capable of resisting him.
"I am glad to hear it," was the only response that came forth.
They exchanged the sort of pleasantries expected between acquaintances, though Cassandra remained acutely aware of Adrian’s continued presence.
Eventually, she looked at him. The question in her expression was hard to ignore.
What are you still doing here?
Adrian had the audacity to pretend not to understand.
Cassandra cleared her throat. "Your highness, would you give us a little privacy?"
Adrian opened his mouth, ready to argue but he quickly clamped his lips shut when she shot him an evil stare.