The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

Something's come up

That evening, the girls had dined on the most sumptuous and lavish baked goods that they'd ever tasted. Petit fours, pastries, eclairs, vanilla buttercream, everything was sweeter than chocolate. And Isabella was certainly trying to be the same. It didn't wash with Jen. She still felt the sting on her arm of Isabella's true intentions. But Hana was seemingly being taken in by Isabella's saccharinity.

Jen had been snapping pictures of the remaining desserts with the intention of sending them over to Maxwell. He'd have loved this little feast. She really hoped he'd be out enjoying himself by now with the guys for Bertrand's bachelor party, so thought she might send them over later so as not to distract him. Still, she'd made the mistake of logging onto Pictagram and discovering that he'd been spamming his feed with photographs of her. And with every overconfident caption, such as IS YOUR WIFE THIS HOT? THOUGHT NOT! Jen was just reading I MISS YOU I MISS YOU I MISS YOU inbetween the lines.

She sighed, but just before she put her phone away, she saw something that made her laugh out loud. Bertrand in some ranchworthy attire. He looked like he'd just stepped out of Dallas.

"What's funny?" Olivia asked Jen. "We're having a serious conversation over here. Well, some of us are."

"Sorry," Jen sighed, putting her phone away. "I was miles away." Many, many miles.

"Before the twins came along, it was just myself and Bradshaw for so long.." Isabella was saying to Hana. "Conceiving was... difficult for me..."

Jen's eyes widened, and locked with Isabella's. "I'm so sorry," she said. "That must have been hard to deal with. Not to mention hard to open up about."

"Indeed," Isabella sighed. "The pressures of ruling leave little room for candidness. I'm afraid I've overexposed myself."

Jen actually felt some sympathy for Isabella. "If it makes you feel any better, there are things I haven't really shared with others."

Isabella looked interested. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Honestly? Sometimes I get tired of all the politics. All the tiptoeing, the pleasantries, the double-speak.. I just want something honest and normal sometimes, you know?"

"I know the feeling," Isabella said. "Just cast off all responsibility and run away from it all. Does that sound about right?"

"Exactly," smiled Jen.

Isabella laughed. "It is so comforting to hear you say that. Your candour is refreshing! Now, come. You must tell me more!"

Olivia frowned. "Oh, let the poor girl catch her breath. I've been dying to hear more about Auvernal, actually. I know you've been hoarding all the interesting stories."

"And I've heard legends of Auvernal's vineyards producing the most exquisite wine," Hana added, making eye contact with Jen.

"One of our greatest points of pride, my dear," Isabella agreed. "I promise you'll never find anything comparable outside of your borders."

"Perhaps," Hana mused. "I must admit that I've fallen in love with a cava from Camino de Santiago.."

Isabella raised her eyebrows. "You do know your wine, don't you? Well, perhaps Auvernal can make you forget about Spain. Would you like to try my favourite vintage?"

"I would," Hana beamed. "In fact, in Cordonia, we often play drinking games to get more acquainted with new guests.."

Olivia cocked an eyebrow at Jen. The plan was clear. They were going to try and get Isabella to loosen up a little bit, see if they could fish for something they could use on Auvernal. "It's all the rage in the courtly circles.. at least among those who can handle their drink."