Page 28 of North Queen
They reached the castle and entered from a side door, and Norah found herself disoriented at the intersecting halls.
Adrian stopped. “I am glad you’re back, Norah. There’s so much I want to ask you—there are so many things to talk about, but”—he eyed Titus with a puzzled brow—“I guess that can wait for now. I can see you later, though?”
She swallowed and smiled. “Yes, of course.”
This was where he clearly intended to part, but he lingered. His eyes narrowed. “Do you know where you’re going?”
The question shook her. Of course she didn’t know where she was going, but that would be a dead giveaway. “I was… just deciding if I might stop by the kitchen to get something to eat before I went back to my chamber.”
The side of Adrian’s mouth twitched. “Why would you go to the kitchen?”
Because that was where the food was. But… a princess wouldn’t go get her own food. Norah bit the inside of her lip.Damn it.
“Liaman,” Titus growled, “run ahead to the princess’s chamber and have her maid fetch something to eat.”
The younger guard hurried down the hall to her right, and Norah silently praised Titus’s quick wit.
“Just looking for another reason to be out and walking, I suppose,” she tried to explain. “But I guess I should get back. It’s good to see you again, Adrian.”
He gave a small bow of his head with a polite smile, but a line still stretched across his brow.
She turned down the hall that Liaman had chosen and tried not to exit too quickly as she felt Adrian’s eyes still on her. When he was out of sight and earshot, she glanced back at Titus. “Thank you. That wasn’t going well.”
“Not well at all,” he replied.
She frowned. He clearly wasn’t the reassuring type.
Chapter eight
Thesunsetandrose again before Norah felt like a day had even passed. Perhaps it was the overwhelming amount of information Catherine and Rebecca tirelessly pressed upon her—what names to remember, how to act, how not to act, what to say, what not to say, how to move. Perhaps it was because she was dreading the upcoming celebrations. She didn’t feel like there was a reason to celebrate yet. The Mercian princess might have returned, but she wasn’t herself.
Rebecca pulled the lacing of Norah’s gown tight as Norah watched blankly in the mirror. Emerald silks edged in gold rippled around her.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?” her maid asked, finishing the lacing and smoothing the fabric.
Norah glanced at her maid in the reflection and forced a small smile. “Of course.” But she wasn’t all right. She was being stuffed into a dress again to show herself in front of people she didn’t know and pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
Rebecca fastened a matching emerald necklace around Norah’s neck and added stringed jewels to her ears. “There. You’re beautiful.”
Norah found her reflection in the mirror again. Her loose tresses hung freely over her shoulders. Her high cheekbones were kissed with color under the bright blue of her eyes. She felt beautiful, and she couldn’t help a small smile.
“Are you ready?” Rebecca asked her.
She wasn’t ready, but she stepped out of the chamber and into the hall, where her guard was waiting. “Where’s my grandmother?” she asked them.
“The queen regent is in the great hall,” Titus said with a small bow of his head. “I’ll take you to her.”
“Is Alexander there?”
He briefly hesitated but nodded. “He is, Your Highness.”
A heat tinged her cheeks at her question, realizing it was probably obvious that Alexander lingered on her mind, but that was quickly forgotten as her thoughts turned to seeing him again. She followed Titus through the halls, down the stairs, and past the throne room, to where the great hall brimmed with music. She slowed when she saw Catherine walking toward her.
“Oh, my dear,” Catherine said with an approving smile, “you’re beautiful. Come, come. Everyone’s waiting. Now, this should ease you back into things. It’s quite informal. I’ll announce your arrival, and we’ll take our places at the front of the hall. Throughout the evening, I’ll announce any lords and ladies who wish to extend their congratulations so you can receive them. You may accept a dance, if invited. Don’t bother with food; you’ll need to speak. We’ll dine privately later.”
It seemed the opposite of informal, and Norah’s stomach rumbled at the mention of something to eat. She was hungry, and a mouthful of food seemed a perfectly acceptable explanation for not speaking to people, but she turned her attention to the night ahead. Her heart raced as she tried to remember everything her grandmother had run through.
Catherine herded her to the heavy oaken doors, and Norah drew in an uneasy breath as the captain she’d met earlier pulled them open. Paneled tapestries stretched from the ceiling to the walls and draped down to the floor. Hundreds of candles flamed brightly in the tiered chandeliers and corner candelabras. People filled the room, dressed in fine gowns and jewelry. Yes, soveryinformal.
