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“It’s a pleasure, Miss Clifton.” The prime minister took her hand and bowed over it, but then his piercing almost-black eyes met hers and he seemed to be searching her soul.
“Nice to meet you,” she murmured. She missed her glasses horribly right now. She could hide behind those things and nobody could look into her eyes and read all her fears and desires. Fears of messing up. Desires for Prince Raymond.
“And my closest friend, Major Chad Prescott. Chad is in charge of our military training center,” Tristan added.
“Hi,” she managed. She knew Chad by name. What would Poirot think of these two? Could the prime minister be shady and wanting to undermine the royal family? Could Major Presley want a promotion? Their names were on the list and being researched. She’d rather rely on that information than her lack of in-person detective skills.
“Pleased to meet you, Macey.” Chad had a suave look and accent. He held onto her hand and gave her a welcoming smile, a mischievous look in his green eyes. “Please forgive the prime minister and myself for imposing on your first evening in Augustine, but you must understand. T bragged incessantly about your beauty, wit, and brains on our Zoom calls today.” He winked at her. “So we had to come meet the woman who could take this charming welp off the market.”
“Welp?” Tristan exclaimed, dodging at Chad and grabbing him in a headlock.
Chad released Macey’s hand to give Tristan an uppercut to the gut.
“Boys,” the king exclaimed. “Can you please wait until after dinner to wrestle like monkeys?”
“Ah, Pops, what would be the fun in that?” Tristan asked. “A good wrestle works up the appetite after sitting on my rear, listening to you two chatter all day.” He grinned at the prime minister.
“We appreciate your ability to keep things light.” The prime minister lifted his eyebrows in a teasing way.
Macey relaxed a little. They all seemed to have a good rapport. Maybe the prime minister was simply searching her gaze to make sure she wasn’t an interloper. She kind of was, but the king and crown prince had asked her to be.
King Nolan offered Macey his arm. “If they’re going to act like hooligans, I’ll escort my future daughter-in-law to dinner.”
Macey stepped up next to the king, catching Ray’s gaze on her. A warm flush prickled her skin. The king directed her down the hall. Kiera bounced at his side and the prime minister walked on Macey’s other side. Macey felt like this was her first test and hoped she wouldn’t mess it all up. She’d gotten extremely comfortable with Ray and Tristan today. Especially Ray. The king and Kiera seemed to like and accept her. She wasn’t sure where the prime minister stood. All of her intelligence showed that the country of Augustine’s monarchs and elected rulers worked well together. The fact that the prime minister felt welcome to show up for a family dinner must mean it was a comfortable relationship.
If only she felt comfortable.
Ray, Tristan, and Chad were a few steps behind them, talking in hushed tones. Macey’s ears burned, and she feared they were talking about her.
A couple of guards walked past, saluting. The king nodded to them and she lifted a hand, not sure what the proper protocol was.
The king led her into a dining room with views of the mountains. It was fancier than the other rooms she’d been in, with murals on the walls trimmed with gold leafing and gold inlaid in the two-story high ceiling trimmed with thick and elaborate wood crown moldings. The table was an oval-shaped monstrosity made of warm reddish-brown wood and had seats for twenty-four.
“This is the smaller dining room,” the king explained. “For large parties, the room next door has seating for a hundred and twenty-two.”
“Smaller?” she very eloquently replied, swallowing down a wise crack about these poor, impoverished royals. She appreciated that none of these men and Kiera were snotty or acted like privileged royals, but her upbringing was so removed from this it was hard not to compare and feel she was coming up far short.
“You’re doing great,” the king whispered to her as he pulled out a chair and helped her into it.
“Thanks.” Macey referred to the reassurance and the gentlemanly gesture. It was impossible not to like the king, Tristan, Kiera, and especially Ray. She caught his gaze on her and offered a smile. He nodded, then focused back on Chad.
They all sat at the end of the table closest to the windows. She wanted to get outside and explore the gardens, the town, the valley, and the mountains, but with windows like this, it felt like she was part of the scenery.
Tristan sat on her right with the prime minister on her left between her and the king, who was at the end of the table. Kiera sat to her father’s left, with Ray across from Macey and Chad next to Ray. The table had covered warming platters with heat underneath them, as well as salad, bread, salad dressings, and a platter of fruit.
“We like to eat family style,” the king explained to Macey. “That way nobody has to serve us, and if you know anything about boys, they can consume a lot of food. It’s usually in everyone’s best interests to have them serve themselves.”
“I like that,” Macey said. She did. She didn’t want to be some royal who people waited on hand and foot.
“Raymond,” the king requested. “Would you offer the prayer?”
“Of course.”
Everyone bowed their heads and Macey folded her arms and listened to Ray express gratitude for their family, friends, Macey’s safe arrival, and the food and then he asked a blessing on the food, their people, and their family. She liked hearing him pray and liked that he didn’t posture but genuinely beseeched his Heavenly Father and thanked him.
As they said amen, her gaze zeroed right in on Ray. He was looking at her too. Their eyes met and held, and the rest of the room melted away. Those blue eyes were the most fascinating of any eyes she’d ever beheld.
“Macey?” Tristan questioned at her elbow. “Would you like some bread?” He held a basket of sliced breads and rolls out to her.
