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A worrying twist of guilt and confusion racked Petrus. He wasn’t certain what to do. He was loath to offend or slight Lady Jenny, or anyone else, but it had been so terribly long since he’d seen Charlotte and since he’d been close enough to touch her.
“Thank you for the kind introduction, Prince Petrus,” Charlotte said, somehow maintaining a greater degree of decorum than he felt capable of in the moment. She turned to the rest of the family—which numbered over a dozen by that point—smiled, and bobbed a short curtsy. “It is such an honor and a pleasure to meet you all, particularly as I am but a stranger in your midst. Your kindness and your hospitality touch me.”
The entire family seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they moved about the table to take their seats. Petrus could have kissed Charlotte right then and there. She might have been born to an odd sort of people, but she had learned deportment somewhere, and it was serving her well.
“Shall we all enjoy this delightful meal our kitchens have concocted?” the queen asked. It was a thinly disguised order for everyone to sit and eat.
“Yes, Mother, I think that is an excellent idea,” Oskar said, moving around the edge of the table. “Petrus?” Oskar issued another sort of order with his eyes, jerking his head to the chair beside where Lady Jenny stood, waiting for someone to help her to her seat.
Distress pulsed through Petrus. He smiled to Oskar and Lady Jenny, then shifted quickly to face Charlotte.
“I am so very happy to see you, Charlotte,” he whispered. As subtly as he could, he reached toward her, brushing the back of her gloved hand with his fingertips. “We must find a time as soon as possible to speak. In private,” he added, leaning even closer to her.
“Yes, indeed,” Charlotte whispered back to him, glancing up and meeting his gaze with a mischievous look of her own. “I quite understand your family duties.”
Petrus let out a breath of relief. He was more grateful than he could say that Charlotte wasn’t the jealous type, and that she seemed to truly understand the obligations he had.
Again, he was tempted to kiss her, but that was impossible. The best he could manage was a small wink that he hoped was concealed before he stepped away.
By the time he made it to the other side of the table, Oskar had already pulled out a chair for Lady Jenny and helped her to sit. He had leaned over Lady Jenny’s shoulder so that he could help slide her chair in, and as he straightened, he glared at Petrus. Petrus could hear his indignation over the way Lady Jenny had been slighted in favor of an Englishwoman Oskar didn’t know.
Petrus did his best to smile placatingly at Oskar as they took the seats on either side of Lady Jenny, then engaged in light conversation as the servants swooped in to serve the meal.
It was a pleasant meal, all things considered. Their English guests were the focus of conversation as the Aegirian folks asked about everything from their journey to their situations in England. There was much to talk about as well, since it was apparent from the start that the Rathborne-Paxton brides were all unique in their own ways. Petrus’s cousin, Princess Luna, knew Nanette D’Argent and had seen her in a play on her last trip to London. Once that was revealed, the conversation steered toward theatrical topics, which led to discussion of the Christmas ball that would take place in the palace on Christmas Eve.
“Everyone—from Father to the boys who sweep the streets—is invited to participate in some way,” Luna told their guests, her face alight with excitement, since the ball was only a week away.
“Not everyone fits in the palace ballroom, of course,” Petrus’s sister, Brigitta, picked up the explanation, “but we allow anyone who would like to participate to come into the palace grounds.”
“We decorate the palace from head to toe for the occasion,” Luna continued. “It is our family tradition. I do hope you will help us with the decorations.”
“The royal family decorates their own house?” Priya asked with a blink of surprise.
“It is unusual, I know,” Princess Luna said, “but it is symbolic of the obligation Aegirian rulers have to their subjects.”
“That sounds like a lovely tradition,” Ellen, Joseph’s new bride, said in her slightly too loud American accent. “I’d be willing to help.”
“As would I,” Alice added with a smile, halfway through cutting the meat on her son’s plate.
“We should make some sort of game of it,” Luna said, glancing down to her brother, Lars, and sister, Freya. “We have a few family games already.”
“I hope you will participate as well, Miss Sloane,” Brigitta said, sending a knowing glance between Petrus and Charlotte.
“I would be delighted,” Charlotte said, smiling across the table to Brigitta.
Petrus didn’t know much about women, but he could see that something in Charlotte liked the look of Brigitta right away, and vice versa, and that the two of them were set to become the best of friends.
Which was deeply worrying, in a way.
“I do hope you will allow Lady Jenny to participate as well,” Oskar said, a bit of a hard edge to his voice.
Shame immediately spilled through Petrus. Even though she was seated right beside him, Lady Jenny had remained so quiet and so small throughout the entire conversation that he’d hardly noticed her. It was terrible manners on his part.
“Yes, of course,” he said, struggling to make up for ignoring her…while trying not to put Charlotte off as well. “Would you like to participate in whatever decorating my sisters and our guests concoct, Lady Jenny?”
Lady Jenny looked as though she had been handed a difficult decision. She peeked at Petrus, then darted a glance across the table to Charlotte, then down to Brigitta and Oskar and some of the others.
Finally, she took in a short breath and said, “Yes, please. That would be delightful.”
