Page 24 of A Cake of Cherries and Charm

“And what’s the other reason?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing important.”

He quirked a thick brow. “I doubt it’s that unimportant if it means spending hours out in the sun working alongside the servants.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Well, if you put it that way.” Then she sighed. “Now that my sister is a princess-to-be, she… she–”

Suddenly, Rosie felt on the verge of tears, and her voice caught in her throat.

The prince watched her, his brows furrowing slightly, and the concern on his face made her want to smile and cry harder at the same time.

“You’re lonely,” he said softly. It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Rosie forced a shaky laugh. “It’s rather silly, isn’t it? Considering that I sleep down the hall from my mother and sister, and I have servants to satisfy my every whim. There’s food in my belly three times a day, and I have a warm fire whenever I want. Which means I really have nothing to complain–”

“My brother and I were inseparable as boys,” Jonathan said quietly, interrupting her foolish prattling.

Relieved, Rosie immediately stopped talking and listened.

“But as we got older,” he continued, now frowning again, “duty slowly separated us until we hardly saw one another for any time longer than supper.” His frown deepened. “It’s why my brother’s disappearance on the eve of his fifteenth birthday shook me so. The memory of the report that he was gone still shakes me, if I’m being honest. I realized in that moment just how far I had let our companionship fall.” He paused again, then in a deeper, softer voice added, “It’s something I’ll regret until the day I die.”

Rosie stared at him. His candor was… unexpected. For some reason, the high prince had chosen to share with her one of his deepest regrets. It was a pain only a dear brother or sister could understand, and one she could relate to all too easily. And yet, that pain made her feel better, knowing that someone else understood.

She was about to open her mouth to say so when a flash of red caught her eye, and she let out a little cry of joy. The prince immediately brought the horses to a halt and looked around, but Rosie only laughed.

“Cherries! I was going to ask whether we grew these here!” She leaned over and plucked one from the nearest tree. “Might I pick some for the cake?”

Jonathan laughed. “As it’s for a prince’s wedding, you can have half the garden if you wish. Please pick as many cherries as your heart desires.” He paused, his eyes dancing. “I’m not supposing that you would like a servant to do it for you, though?”

She beamed at him and shook her head. “Not a one. This is my gift to the happy couple.”

“I would help you dismount to pick some now,” he said, squinting up at the sky, “but unfortunately, I have a meeting with my father coming up. If you don’t mind waiting, though,” his words were suddenly slow and cautious as his eyes met hers, “I might help you. That is, if the cherries can wait.”

Rosie felt suddenly that the day hadn’t been so terrible after all. “They can,” she said with a grin.

Chapter

Twelve

The next day, before anyone could arrive to demand Snow’s presence, Rosie dragged her sister out to the walking gardens behind the castle to show her the sketch of the cake she had made the night before. Her time with the prince had done wonders for her morale, and in her good spirits, she’d stayed awake late, brimming with inspiration to sketch the most beautiful cake she could imagine.

“Oh, Rosie!” Snow’s eyes danced as she looked down at the sketch. “It’s lovely!”

Rosie couldn’t help beaming as well. She was rather proud of the plan. It was simple enough, but after rummaging through the castle kitchens to her heart’s content the night before, she had found all the pans necessary to make the cake she knew her twin would desire. Three tiers high, it would be covered in white sugar frosting, and each tier would be crowned by a circle of cherries. She had added the cherries to her cake recipe as well, and when Frederick had wandered in, hoping for a midnight treat, she had shared her plan with him and won his hearty approval.

“If you approve, I’ll start making all the final preparations. And if that ridiculous troll will just stay out of the–” Rosie began to say, but before she could finish, she heard someone say her name. Both girls paused and turned toward the somewhat familiar voice coming from the other side of a hedge.

“In the stables?” a distinguished male voice was saying. Rosie was fairly sure it belonged to an old and nosy earl. “But what were they doing there?”

“According to one of the stablehands, she was trying to lure him into a compromising situation,” said a smooth feminine voice. Rosie didn’t recognize that one. “I’m not sure how she got him there, but she was pleading with him not to leave.”

“But the prince!” the man exclaimed. “Even a girl as green as Lady Rose must have known better.”

“Of course she knew better!” the woman scoffed. “Not content to let her sister have all the pomp and glory, she decided to try her hand at winning an even bigger prize!”

Rosie felt as though all the blood had drained from her face, but Snow was so furious.

“That’s it!” she hissed, fairly leaping up from the bench and looking wildly around them. Her beautiful porcelain skin was flushed, and her blue eyes had turned steely gray. “I’m going to teach these wretched courtiers once and for all–”