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The Heroux estate, the King’s grounds, was nearest to the garden we departed. Lord Vitruvian was probably in there updating the King on the events of the evening as we strolled by. We continued down the path to Luke’s house. A cobblestone path led up to a beautiful garden, its greenery continuing onto the ivy-clad brick walls of the manor.
“Wait, HouseBellamy?” I exclaimed. “You’reLucas Bellamy?”
House Bellamy’s seat in Port City was home to the Silver Court. That meant that High Lord Bellamy, one of the four high lords in Valencia, was Luke’s father. Luke chuckled at my evident shock.
“In the flesh,” he said, spreading his arms out as if showing himself off, dislodging my hand from his forearm in the process.
“And it’s just you in there?” I asked.
A little embarrassed by my prior outburst, I toned down my shock into simple disbelief.
“Just me,” he reassured me. “Most of the time, anyway. There are the house attendants too. And my parents sometimes. And whoever else my parents allow to stay there,” Luke replied, sounding a little more exasperated as his list went on.
I wondered why Luke served at the High Court on behalf of House Vitruvian instead of his own House. Both House Vitruvian and House Bellamy were on the High Council, after all.
But not quite sure how to address this glaring fact, I asked instead, “Do your parents come to Court often then?”
“Not so much,” Luke answered, tugging me away from his manor and farther down the path toward our final destination, Lord Vitruvian’s house.
“My brother and father prefer to focus their efforts on the port back home. And my mother… Well, she’s too busy lamenting the fact that her baby boy—that’s me, just to be clear—won’t settle down with any of the many ill-fated matches she takes it upon herself to make.”
He tried to appear amused by this last comment, but it came off less lighthearted than his other banter.
Remembering his cursing from earlier, I said, “If you need to get going with your plans for the evening, I’m sure I could find my way to House Vitruvian.”
“You’re not ditching me that easily,” he teased, entwining my hand with his arm again.
Probably for the best. I didn’t want to turn my ankle on my first day at Court. I didn’t think of myself as clumsy, but stilettos and the rounded cobblestones on some of these paths didn’t go well together.
We found ourselves at the stoop of the Vitruvian manor. We stood under its magnificent arched entryway framed by sturdy marble pillars. The sun had set, and despite my earlier hunger, dinner time had passed unnoticed.
“Soooo… what was that whole exploding statue thing all about?” I asked, leaning my back against one of the columns.
I didn’t bring it up before, afraid that I would be prying into something that I had no business in. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I felt that if I was going to ask anyone, I could ask Luke.
Luke pressed his hand to the marble to the side of my head, towering over me. I tilted my head up, looking into his golden tanned face.
“Oh,that? That was your welcome to the High Court present. You know, I thought about doing something a little more traditional, like a bouquet of flowers. But then I thought what every womanreallywants is to be greeted with pure chaos, with maybe even a touch of fear,” he joked.
When Lord Vitruvian approached, I was still laughing.
“You two already finish up dinner?” he asked.
“No, we, uh, we actually haven’t made it in for dinner yet,” Luke replied, taking a small step away from me.
The high lord’s right eyebrow arched slightly, a monumental showing of emotion for him based on the aloofness I’d seen so far. It had been hours since he had left Luke and me in the courtyard.
“Well, in that case, would you like to come in, Luke?” the high lord asked.
“No. Thanks though, Jay,” Luke replied. “Can’t. I have to go meet Rhett.”
Lord Vitruvian nodded, almost as if he’d been expecting Luke’s answer.
“‘Night, Alarie,” Luke said, squeezing my arm and flashing me one of what I was already coming to think of as his signature smiles.
“‘Night, Luke,” I said, feeling slightly nervous about not having Luke at dinner as a buffer with the high lord.
Lord Vitruvian pushed open the ornately carved oak front door, stepped through, and held it open for me. I entered the home, facing a tall staircase that narrowed to the entrance to the second floor. Unable to resist the urge, my gaze continued to sweep up, seeing more stairs and more wings of the manor. Hallways interspersed with doors led to more stairs that led to more hallways and doors. I’d get lost if I wasn’t careful.
