Fighting for a Crown

Chapter Thirty Seven

Luncheon was...awkward. It was a mixture of Albinia trying to make happy conversation about my childhood, then hitting a reference to my father and meekly resetting, Anna and Georgiana - Evie's sisters - sparing glances at me and giggling, Evie catching me up on all the parts of their house and gardens she ought to show me, and long silences in which the Captain stared me down. We ate soup and then cheese pastries. The soup was good.

Once her parents had departed, I helped Evie up from her chair.

"Shall I show you around now?" She asked, smiling a little at me.

"Can we come?" One of the twins piped up from behind us - I think it was Anna.

Evie turned to them slowly, an irritated expression on her face. "Piss off." She enunciated, I struggled to hide my laugh, and ended up sounding no better than either of the twins.

Georgiana scowled. "But Evie he's the Prince!"

I tired to disengage myself from the argument, instead looking over the large fireplace, with dying Holly abandoned over it, the sideboard with sweets which were setting for Christmas, greenery on all three doorways, the long table with our clatter of plates and cutlery. Then the three girls dressed in black in front of me, only one of who's skirt reached the floor. All had that luscious brown hair and deep brown eyes, only Anna and Georgiana had a softness to their eyes which severly detracted from their beauty.

"Ganechka." Evie snapped, bringing my attention back to her. "Do you want them to come with us?"

No. She told me. Don't you dare bring them too.

My throat felt dry under the three imperative gazes I was hit with. "I... I think I can make do with just one tour guide." I smiled apologetically. "Perhaps another time." Offering a nod to the twins, I turned back to Evie, who rolled her eyes at me.

"They're my sisters," She scowled, even though they were right there, "they're not Debutantes, you don't have to pretend to like them."

I chuckled and let her lead me off down a corridor. Her pace slowed considerably once her whinging sisters were out of view and her arm snaked into mine.

We walked down dimly lit, dizzying corridors for ages until Evie stepped ahead of me to open a glass door into a large conservatory.

The world outside was grey, but the room was not, it was lit by orange trees, potted and lining the glass walls. There were soft looking low chairs, none of them had backs, they were all a muted green and almost camouflaged with the trees.

"This room has windows." Evie turned back to me, offering a rueful smile. I understood what she meant immediately - she was going to treat me far better than I treated her, she was too good for me. "Have you ever had fresh oranges?" She spoke softly, holding out her hands as she sat on one of the low, wide chairs, I took them and sat down. "The first day of spring is when the orange flower blossoms, then when the fruit is ripe, Nick and I would spend the day in here and just drink the oranges, straight off the plant. My governess didn't let me out of the nursery for a whole week the first time, but Nick talked Papa around for me, so every other year he and I would make a day of it. We'd skin them too, and send the peels to the kitchen to be candied. It was in here where we orchestrated our small scale battles." She laughed gently, her voice tinkled. Our joined hands got lost in the folds of her dress. "We used to push the chairs out the way, start on two opposite sides of the room. We'd hide behind the trees - they were the jungles in Baracosia - and plan strategy, then fight. We'd almost always use wooden sticks, but one day he had this genius idea to sneak some of Papa's swords out of the armoury. Sharp ones." Her eyes glinted, mischief shining through gentle tears.

Evie leaped up and pulled me up too, dragging me over to one of the marbled sides. She slipped between the leaves and pulled them back to show a wide dent, directly carved into the wall. I chuckled at it, and she seemed to smile at my amusement.

"Oh and also," She smiled to herself again, pulling the neckline of her dress down until it was almost indecent - I barely realised I was holding my breath until I felt lightheaded. Cautiously, I glanced down again and noticed a bright white scar spanning her chest. She grinned, then pulled the dress back up again, I let out that breath only just in time. "He wasn't allowed out of his room for a week, he was then under house arrest for two months after that - I've held it against him ever since."

She paused, her eyes dropping to the floor - I expected she was replaying some memory of him.

"And -" She added quietly, almost frantically, I took her into my arms to let her know she didn't need to say anything. "And the last conversation I had with him was in this room." Cautiously, she looked up at me, swallowed, and then took a deep breath. "He was home on leave, the Starkeys were visiting. Anne-Marie had just taken ill, Mama and Lady Starkey said that I'd have to join the season in her place." She grinned at me, and I stroked her hair, intrigued by this tale. "I stormed off, like properly lost it, Nick followed me in here and told me literally to scream until I couldn't anymore. Then he gave me one piece of advice to go off." She grinned again, clearly wanting me to ask her what that was - I complied.

"Oh yes?"

"Avoid the Prince at all costs, and come home a virgin." Evie recited it reverently.

"Ah," I smiled, holding my hand beneath her head, "So a promise half kept then?"

Her face contorted into a smug challenge. "How can you be so sure?" She asked innocently. My stomach plummeted. Had she slept with someone else? Was it because I was unkind to her or - I was cut off by amused cackling. "Oh your face." She wheezed, moving to sit even closer to me. "Bless your heart, I'd never cheat on you Gavrila. Even if you do accuse me of treason and lock me in rooms."

I let out a sigh, making sure she noted my relief. "Speaking of," I was reminded of a question, "How on earth did you escape?"