"If you ask him to, he will."
"I don't know what to ask him for," she admits."I don't know how either of you come up with flavours."
"You think of what will taste good."
"You make it sound so simple."She lets out a sigh."I guess I'll just have to settle for eating the food you make."
I'm stopped from answering by the woman with the masks reappearing and coming over to me with the tray.She holds it out to me, and I look over them, trying to decide which one is going to irritate me the least.A pink eye mask trimmed in white lace catches my attention and seems like the simplest."This one, please.But can you make sure the lace won't touch my skin?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
I feel awful making such a specific request, but I also know that no one likes it when I burn clothes and accessories.So if I'm going to make it through the entire ball without feeding something to the fire, then this is what I'm going to have to do.
Chapter17
Even before I've stepped foot in the mountain solar again, I'm exhausted.It's at least partially my fault for spending the evening baking with Nate and not going to bed until after midnight, but it's also the idea of spending time with another prospective suitor whom I know I'm not interested in.
But there's no avoiding it, Mama has made that clear.
I make my way inside and stop when I come to our guests, already having been briefed on who they are.I dip into a shallow curtsy as neither of them outranks me, but it's still polite."Your Highnesses."
Prince Francesco bows in response, a little deeper than is strictly necessary, given that we're both the children of ruling royals."Your Highness," he responds."It is a pleasure to meet you."
"It is," I respond."I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you too."I wince even without a reproachful look from Mama to remind me what I've done wrong.
I'm well aware of that.
"This is my younger sister, Princess Giulia," he says, gesturing to the woman about my age to his left.I'm already aware of who she is, but I know better than to mention that.
"Your Highness," I say with another curtsy.
She responds the same way.
"Should we take a seat?"I ask the Prince.
He nods and allows me to lead him over to the same mountain solar table that was set up when I met Lady Elizabeth.Even though I'm not looking to marry this Prince Francesco either, I hope this interaction goes better.
Mama, Princess Giulia, and Veronica take their seats at the other table, giving us absolutely no privacy while pretending that they are.If I were actually trying to court Prince Francesco, then it would be frustrating.
I take a seat, making sure to drape my skirts in a way that won't annoy me, though that's going to be hard because Mama has insisted on my wearing the latest fashion from Sovranetti for this meeting.I'm not sure why she thinks that's a good idea when I'm not from the kingdom.Besides, there are more ruffles than I know what to do with.
"Would you like some tea?"I ask the Prince."It's from Shengda, we have a trade deal with them."
He nods."I would like some tea.Sovranetti is visited by a lot of Shengdanese merchants, but we don't have a deal with them.Perhaps if a friendship were established between our kingdoms, Falhaven might be able to facilitate one."
"I don't know much about it," I admit."Other than the tea, and some of the other ingredients that we get from Shengda."
His eyes light up."I believe that is the most important part."
I laugh despite my dislike of the situation I'm in."Not if I'm to listen to my mother."
"Nor if I am to listen to mine."
I pick up the teapot and pour some of the amber liquid into his teacup before doing the same into my own."There's milk and sugar, if you wish for either of those."
"Thank you, Your Highness."He smiles at me."Am I to believe we also have something to eat?"he asks, looking over to where the Bakewell pudding is sitting in the centre of the table.
I nod."Would you like some?"
