Page 73 of The Shadows Between Us
Really, everyone should be quite glad when I am the one ruling all the kingdoms.
When Kallias excuses himself sometime later, his back hasn’t even disappeared around the exit of the great hall before Hestia and Rhoda take the empty seats near me.
“I heard the king dined in your rooms this morning,” Hestia says with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“He did. But that was all. Breakfast.”
“No new gossip for me, then?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Oh, very well. We shall have to turn to less exciting gossip to occupy our afternoon.”
“How about we talk of all the dancing you did at last night’s ball?” Rhoda asks. “WithLord Paulos.”
With everything else that’s been going on, I neglected to ask my friends about the event I missed. It seems things went very well for Hestia.
“It was only a couple of dances,” Hestia says. “It was nothing. Truly.”
“If that’s the case, then why is he watching you right now?”
“What?” Hestia swivels her head around in time to catch the man who must be Lord Paulos quickly look away.
He’s a bit older than she is, with a little gray at his temples, but still quite handsome.
I grin.
“See?” Rhoda continues. “And I happened to overhear him tell his friends how you smelled like a berry patch in spring. Men don’t say things like that unless they’re smitten.”
“They don’t?” Hestia looks down at the wood grain of the table and grins shyly.
“And he obviously very much enjoyed the conversation you shared. What did you talk about?”
“Well, I started by discussing the latest fashions in the palace, but somehow the conversation morphed into talk of gaming.”
“Gaming?” Rhoda repeats.
“My father loves to play cards, and he taught me. Lord Paulos and I were rehearsing some of our favorite moves seen played in the game of hach. We both are obsessed with the strategy of the game. I know it wasn’t very ladylike of me to discuss such things, but it was so terribly fun.”
Sometimes Hestia can be quite silly, but I know she is an only child, with an absent mother and a father who wasn’t quite sure how to raise a daughter. She may be trying to imitate me in the extreme, but part of me wonders if she is so afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing that she thinks imitating others is the only way to be safe. Then it’s not her who is the one being rejected.
“Hestia,” I say. “Do you know how I was able to catch the king’s attention?”
She shakes her head.
“By being myself. By discussing what I wished to discuss and behaving how I wished to behave and wearing what I wished to wear. It is not conforming to a standard that drew His Majesty’s attention. If you wish to make a happy match, I think you should do the same. Don’t be afraid of who you are. Say what you wish. Be who you wish. Don’t try to be someone else. You don’t want to catch a man who wantsme. You want to catch a man who wantsyou.”
Hestia blinks a few times before looking down at the clothes she’s wearing, the ones that resemble my close-fitted dress from last week. She takes a full minute to think while staring at the smooth fabric about her waist. Suddenly, she rises, walks over to Lord Paulos, and takes the empty seat right next to him.
Rhoda takes up her empty seat, so we can converse more easily. “I’ve been trying to tell her the same thing for years. I think it just needed to come from the future queen.”
“Do you expect we’ll hear news of an engagement soon?”
“I expect we will.”
We both lean back in our seats, letting our eyes trail down to Lord Paulos, who is now laughing at whatever Hestia has just said.
“What of you?” I ask. “Any progress on your search for passion?”
