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“Who?” he asked, confused.
“Thewatchers,” Justine added ominously, and she and her sister laughed. “They keep me there under their watchful eyes with little to occupy me. Not even a dog.”
“Ikeep you company, Jussie,” Princess Amelia said.
“Yes, but you’re gone quite a lot, darling. I really should have insisted they allow me to bring Bear.”
“Itoldyou,” Princess Amelia said. “But you were right. The journey would have been hard for him.”
“Bear?” William asked.
“One of my dogs,” Justine said. She sighed. “It really doesn’t matter now.” She cocked her head to one side and looked William up and down. “Do you enjoy art?”
“Me? Aye, very much.”
“How much?” Princess Amelia asked him, eyeing him dubiously.
“I donna know how to answer that precisely. But I’ve procured paintings for my family’s estate.”
The sisters glanced at each other. Princess Amelia rolled her eyes.
These two were impossible to please. “I once spent a full day at the Grande Galerie in the Louvre, trying to take it all in.” It had been a cold, wet day, and he’d been awed by the talent he’d seen in the paintings. How did one manage to capture the way the sun lit a woman’s face?
“Oh,” Justine said dreamily. “I’ve long wanted to visit Paris and the museums there. Was it magnificent?”
“Quite. Perhaps when you are queen,” he said. “A state visit. Curators will be delighted to show you about. It would be well worth your while if you are an admirer of the masters.”
“I can’t imagine anything more boring,” Princess Amelia said wearily.
“Do you paint, my lord?” Justine asked.
“Badly. I’m rather hopeless.”
“Well, there’s something you share with Justine,” Princess Amelia offered. “She paints very badly.”
“I beg your pardon?” Justine asked with a laugh of surprise.
“It’s awful, Jussie! You can’t see a blessed thing!”
Justine laughed, but a bit of color rose in her cheeks. She gave a slight shrug of her perfect shoulders. “It’s true. My eyesight is very poor up close.” She patted her reticule. “I’ve a pair of eyeglasses in the event of an emergency, but I am under strict instructions not to wear them and ruin any and all prospects for a match.” She and her sister giggled.
William didn’t know about the eyeglasses or what she meant about not being allowed to wear them. What he knew was that she was very pretty when she laughed. She looked...adorable.
“If painting is not your talent, my lord, then what is?” Justine asked.
Histalent? He liked to think his talents were best displayed in bedrooms and in gaming hells, but even in that, he wasn’t entirely certain. “None that are obvious.” Perhaps his best talent at this stage of his life was keeping his father from ruin.
But the princess clucked her tongue. “You must be good atsomething.”
“I am good at many things,” he said with a pointed look. “What doyouenjoy?”
“Fencing! When I was a girl, I wanted very much to be a warrior queen like my ancestor, Queen Elena.”
He didn’t think she could be a warrior queen with an épée. Pardon—foil.
“All right, then, I’ve answered, now you must.”
“All right. I have a talent for training sheepdogs.”
