The Heiress Queen (Season Series Prequel)

Chapter 17

The wind rustled in the colourful leaves overhead as Isabelle met Graham in the courtyard just outside the ballroom. Her ladies-in-waiting were tittering like a trio of excited birds, their voices dropping to whispers upon sight of the prince. Alicia seemed the most excited at the prospect of their stroll through the gardens, dimpling prettily and batting her lashes as soon as she laid eyes on the prince, which Isabelle found most irksome. Graham, however, ignored the three other women, offering his arm to Isabelle.

"If you don't mind, ladies, I'd appreciate it if you didn't attempt to eavesdrop today," Graham said bluntly. "It is most unbecoming."

The way his words wiped the syrupy smile from Alicia's face had Isabelle biting her cheek to keep from laughing. The prince didn't give her much time to savour the sour look on her nosy lady-in-waiting's face, instead setting a meandering pace towards the trees dotting the broad swath of lawn, the leaves at the tips of their branches slowly igniting into the fiery colours of autumn. They walked in silence, the birds chirping overhead as their steps crunched on the gravel path.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the others, Isabelle gathered her wits and spoke.

"It seems you've taken a shine to one of my ladies-in-waiting," she said, watching Graham out of the corner of her eye. Rather than fidget, however, the prince grinned.

"Heavens above, have I succeeded in making you jealous?" he asked, stroking her hand too familiarly as it rested nestled in his elbow. Isabelle tried to pull away, but to no avail.

"Absolutely not," she huffed, reminding herself not to allow her temper to flare until she'd learned what she came to ask. "I'm simply curious as to why I was assigned your lover as an attendant. It seems rather counter-productive, especially if you're trying to seduce me away from Leopold."

"My lover? Oh how Alicia would love to hear those words on your lips," Graham chuckled. "And if you were hoping for a grand seduction, I'd be all too happy to oblige."

Isabelle did not like the way her stomach swooped as Graham looked down at her. She swallowed, which earned yet another throaty chuckle from the prince.

"Always so prim and proper," he mused. "But I must say, I'm disappointed in you, asking me questions to which you should already know the answers. I'd have assumed you'd be much more skilled at courtly games than that."

"I hardly see how besmirching a lady-in-waiting could be considered a courtly game," Isabelle replied, knowing it was the wrong thing to say but desperate to turn the tide of the conversation away from any talk of seduction. It had been a stupid choice of words on her part, especially as she was now all too acutely aware of the warmth of Graham's arm as it curved around her hand and the solid feel of his torso against her wrist.

"Tsk tsk, your mind is sharper than that, surely?" Graham chided, apparently choosing to ignore the blush that was creeping into her cheeks. "Think, Isabelle. Unless you haven't bothered to investigate the women we've assigned to hound your every step."

She shot the prince a glare, but he was no longer looking at her, instead tipping his head back to bask in the warm, early autumn sun. The sheer pleasure of being outdoors on such a spectacularly sunny day, with the scent of orchard blossoms filling the air and distracting whiffs of the prince's cologne billowing her way on the breeze, was almost enough to distract Isabelle from why she'd accepted Graham's invitation in the first place. She wished she could've enjoyed her time outside the confines of the palace walls in peace, but she hadn't come to enjoy the weather. She'd come for information and, for some reason, the prince was making her work harder for it than usual.

"I'd thought that Alicia was your mother's spy, considering the rumours about her," Isabelle started, forcing her mind away from the unsettling proximity of the man at her side so she could focus her thoughts. "But the queen had not been pleased when you left the inaugural ball with her, which doesn't make any sense. A spy wouldn't act counter to her master."