He was being a little too modest, as a lesser man would have surely been killed by the horrors from the Pandora’s Box. She smiled at him serenely. “I know that cannot be true. Not every soldier keeps his head in battle; most are just trying to stay alive. And very few can stand up to such powerful magic.”
“You have an interest in the field of war? That is uncommon in a princess,” said Leo, walking around the room with his long, loping stride.
“Do you think it strange?” she asked, struggling to keep up with her much shorter legs.
“No. Not at all. I find it charming.”
“I don’t mean it to be charming. I am simply interested, that is all,” she said, a little unsteadied by the edge in his voice. “I mean—I am just being myself. I am not trying to pretend to be what I am not.” She halted their walk and looked him in the eye.
He raised his eyebrow. “I see.”
They resumed their stroll in painful, awkward silence. Marie wondered at her outburst. She had only meant that she was not flirting with him, that she was sincerely interested in the art of magical warfare. Her realm and reign were protected by a great and powerful magic, so it seemed only reasonable to try and understand its workings. She glanced at his handsome profile, remembering the arrogant young boy who had paid her no attention in years past. If he remembered their childhood antagonism, he made no sign of it. He was playing the part of besotted lover; his eyes were pure adoration. Across the room she saw Gill, his back to the wall, his eyes blank, his posture straight: a true soldier of the Queen’s Guard. Then he caught her eye and winked. She hid a smile behind her fan that, unfortunately for her, Leo did not fail to notice.
“Is that your guard?” he asked.
“Gill? Yes,” she responded innocently. “He’s a great friend of mine; he saved my life once.”
“Then I owe him my gratitude,” he said warmly. “For keeping my princess safe.”
“How is your brother?” she asked. Her feet ached from walking the length of the ballroom in her new satin slippers, but she knew she must keep up her end of the conversation for courtesy’s sake.
“He is well, thank you,” he said. “Father sent him to the Americas, and he is on his way back now. I shall tell him you asked about him.”
“Please do,” she said. “I look forward to seeing him again. Does he still box for fun?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Wolf should really be kept on a short leash. There are rumors that he fights for money. He could get himself in a lot of mischief,” Leo said with a forced smile, his jaw clenched tightly. His cheekbones looked so sharp they could hurt someone.
Marie remained silent, unwilling to bash her old friend. “Your English has improved.”
“Mon français, c’est encore mieux,” he said. My French is even better. “Et vous, mademoiselle, which language do you prefer?”
“Mama prefers that I speak French in private, but English at court. There is a saying we have in the empire: practical matters en anglais, and dreams en français.”
“A very wise saying,” Leo smiled. His demeanor relaxed. “I will love you, my English rose, and you will fill my French dreams.”
Marie burst out laughing, and Leo looked troubled. “Did I say something incorrect?” he asked.
“No it’s just—you don’t have to be so—” Marie could not stop laughing. She noticed a few courtiers looking alarmed at the sight of the princess caught in a fit of hysterical laughter. Marie knew she looked terrible when she laughed; her face went bright red, her nose especially, and more than once she had overheard her mother tell her ladies that she wished Marie would not laugh quite so loudly and so vigorously. It wasn’t ladylike. It wasn’t queenly. Marie took a deep, shuddering breath to control herself. “I am sorry, Leo,” she said. “But let us not make this what it isn’t. You must marry me for my kingdom, and I must marry you for my mother. That is the way of our life, and I am sorry to have embarrassed you.”
Leo’s smile faded a little, and for a moment Marie worried that she had truly hurt his feelings. “My apologies that you find my emotions…amusing,” he said. “I hope that one day you will believe in the sincerity of my affections. Excuse me, my lady, I find I am quite worn from the travel after all.”
“Yes, please—don’t stay on my account. See to your apartments. We have chosen the south wing; it has the best view of Big Ben and Parliament. Your servants have already been housed downstairs. I do hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
“I imagine I will. Good day, Princess.” He gave her a curt nod.
She curtsied and watched him leave the room abruptly, followed by his entourage, who hurried to keep up with his long strides.
Aelwyn, who had been standing with the members of the sisterhood, walked up to her. “What happened? What was that about? Why did he leave?”
Marie rolled her eyes. Leo was only playing a role, nothing more. He had never shown much interest in her when they were young, and he was only pretending to now for the sake of the treaty. Her sense of despair deepened at the thought of spending the rest of her life with such a man. Even friendship seemed out of reach. They would slowly grow to hate one another, she could tell—if they didn’t already.
“What did you say to him?” her friend asked, concerned.
“Only the truth,” Marie sighed. “And he didn’t like hearing it.”
/> Aelwyn did not think Marie had made a good decision in ruffling the future king’s feathers by making sport of his soft words. She could guess at their conversation from the looks on their faces. He was only trying to do his duty, and should not have been mocked for it. Marie should take care. The young Prussian did not look as if he would take kindly to an impudent queen. A wife’s job was to placate her husband and learn to hold her tongue. It was the beginning of the twentieth century, but a girl could still lose her head—literally—for saying the wrong thing. The keys to the empire came through Marie-Victoria’s hand, but according to the points of the treaty, Leopold would be an equal sovereign once they were married. Unlike Marie’s father, Prince Francis, who had been born into the Danish and Greek royal families and whose title had been Prince Consort, Leo would be king, and kings had been getting rid of their pesky wives for ages.
Queen Eleanor dismissed her court, ostensibly to give King Frederick a tour of the grounds, but also in order to distract them from Leo’s hasty exit. The court began to file out of the room according to rank, and the mages standing in the back of the room were dismissed last. The brotherhood of Merlin, solemn-faced men in dark suits, exited ahead of the lady magicians in white habits from the sisterhood of Morgaine.