Rhiane had barely kept herself from rolling her eyes from Luke's chastisement framed by an analogy. It was his calling her 'sexy' that sent another mixed message that made her mind whirl to a stop mid-objection. As confusing as the courts might be she had thought that he would be honest with her if she was with him; it was mutually beneficial if they could communicate clearly since their reputations affected one another directly. In practice she had found him horribly confusing. Either Luke himself wasn't quite certain how to handle the arranged marriage he was being thrust into or he was more mischievous than she had anticipated.

"You shouldn't worry. Even if I do end up aggravating my injury, or if I am purposefully toppled over again as I told you happened the first time, Tobias is going with us on the tour. The inconvenience to you should be minimal," she reassured before she found herself saying, "and I stand by my choice. If I was going to attend I wanted to ensure that I at least made a certain impression." Whether or not the fellow attendees of influence interpreted her the way she wished to be perceived remained to be seen. The princess elect was hopeful that they would see her heels as a subtle reinforcement of the strength she had shown in the contest. It was not just physical strength that had carried her to victory. Mental fortitude was just as, if not more, critical to her past, present, and future, and would be more relevant if she wanted to achieve any goals before Queen Camilla had her executed. No one- not even Luke himself- would let her spearhead any initiatives if they thought her weak and meek.

When the wine glass was delivered to their table Rhiane delicately placed it in front of her. Back on the farm she drank enough alcohol that her tolerance was higher than her brother and almost as remarkable as her father's. For the past few years they had been discreetly creating their own liquor with a distill set up on the edge of a field closest to the forest. Her hesitation in partaking was that she wasn't very familiar with wine. What it was supposed to taste like, how much she should politely imbibe without embarrassing them, how closely she should time her sips. There were many things she needed an education on to really navigate professional affairs much to her chagrin. Ordering a tall mug of dark beer would be more comfortable but scandalous for the royal couple.

Luke's question jerked her attention away from the beverage. "It's for the best I don't answer that," she said slowly. Rhiane had resolved not to lie to him so she didn't falsely assert she couldn't answer; however, she knew if they discussed how she personally assigned fault he might stumble into the realization Evolab wasn't the only entity she blamed. No matter how strained and challenging they might find their current relationship, he had not taken her prior deceptions well, and she certainly misled in every interview that even alluded to the tragedy of eight years ago. The princess elect blamed the crown for their part in her loss. If she didn't love her family more than she cared about her own livelihood she would have never submitted herself to relation to the cold indifference of the monarchy. That was what had put such a strain on her small surviving family unit.

"But what I will tell you is that when my mother fell ill we took her to the doctor. She was everything to us and so we panicked. The diagnosis was frightening but she wasn't past the "point of no return"- it was just that treatment was costly. We took her home and tried to...," Rhiane paused and cleared her throat. Thus far she had kept her composure but it was evident that the topic conjured painful memories. Her voice became increasingly detached as she compartmentalized and spoke as if it was someone else's story. If Luke idly wondered if the woman had allowed her time and space to grieve he would know now she had not. "We tried to scrape together enough money to pay for the medications. Then Edwin was sick and knew from his symptoms that he had what Mom did... but it was too late for both of them. When you're as poor as we were liquidating funds is a challenge in the best of situations. It had spread far enough in our vicinity that no one could buy our equipment because they needed to help save themselves, or someone else they knew, or they just could not afford it with spiking prices with so many people not working."

She sighed. "On official records it says we didn't take mother or brother to a physician until they were incurable. According to those reports there's no one to blame and, if there was, it would be the negligent people who inexplicably let their loved ones waste away without seeking medical attention." That was to say with the careful editing that was done both during and after the epidemic Evolab and the throne were innocent and she, her surviving brother, and her father were guilty of 'letting' death claim the lives of Violet Black and Edwin Black. It was insult to injury.

"I can say that right now I don't personally blame Mr. Wescott. Any sins of his predecessor aren't his," she added, "it's what he chooses to do with the truth, and how he steers the company forward hereafter, that I will judge him by." Rhiane danced around drawing a parallel to her fiance. Even in the privacy of the island she did not feel safe enough with the crown prince to say she thought his mother was deeply flawed, but it was a close as she could come to stating that transgressions of Queen Camilla were not Luke's in her mind. There was still an opportunity for him to set himself apart and choose a path of his own making rather than the one she laid out. "Right now I can't say he's my favorite person, though. That he thought I was a naive idiot speaks to a gap in his expertise."