Secretly the princess elect had hoped that Luke, thoroughly frustrated by the nobility he had just harshly insulted, would have seized upon the unspoken opportunity to depart the lunch. When she had been touring the town she had spotted more than one local restaurant. None of the businesses had struck her as prepared for the delicate tastes of royalty, but then again she had seen her fiance wolf down pizza without complaint, so it was possible he might have enjoyed a non-gourmet experience. At the very least the atmosphere would have been better. Rhiane had no illusions that she was liked by her current companions. The women loathed her for being so attractive, the men were salivating over her as if she were a prostitute silently offering her wares with the revealing dress, and even Luke was undoubtedly still irritated with her over their argument.

Taking her seat she patiently waited for a plate to be brought to her. No one had known in advance she would be absent and thus the food for her dish had not yet been re-allocated. The aristocrats had not had a chance to request second servings or her untouched entree; they had been slowed and interrupted by the heir to the throne's reprimand. In the warmth of the building she folded Tobias's coat over the back of her chair. One of the men quietly shifted uncomfortably in his chair at the sight of her without the covering. Rhiane wondered if this had been a clever ploy of Luce; everyone in the palace must have known she would have been poorly received, but with a plunging neckline to accentuate her chest and a short hem that highlighted her long legs she would have pandered to weaknesses of the male elite.

"You have a lovely village," she said once it was clear no one else would instigate conversation. Turning her attention back to Luke she smiled, and although it looked genuine to their audience, it was not as bright as her paramour knew it would be if she was more earnestly delighted. "I sent my other bodyguards back to the villa shortly became I came here," she informed him, "as I wanted them to ensure my package made it back to the castle as soon as possible. I know you prefer me to keep them with me at all times, but I thought Tobias could escort me the short distance to the hall alone."

Her words made it sound like she was appeasing a concerned superior, which was reasonable given their highly publicized assassination attack, but she trusted that Luke would understand her motivation for this disclosure. Rhiane had not forgotten that he had questioned Tobias's intentions with her. To stave off the jealous beast- though it was fun to provoke him- she was attempting to make it clear she had not spent the entirety of the late morning walking arm in arm with his cousin. Not only that, by not outright declaring the nature of her package she made it sound much more important than a present for Callista after they had worried her by making Nolan take her calls for hours.

A waiter hurried over and put a platter down in front of the sultry brunette. She picked up her silverware and began to carefully cut her meal into small bites as would befit her elevated station. While she might not be able to win over their favor she was not going to give them any more ammunition to use against her. As she sliced into her meat she raised her eyes and met the baron's with an effortlessly charming smile upon her lips. "Lord Ferullo, thank you for arranging this luncheon," she said warmly as if she had not just caught them disparaging her moments before. By being polite she was taking the proverbial higher road and making them all that much worse. "I apologize for my tardiness. As you know yesterday we ran into a few... complications. If it would not be an imposition would you please indulge me as to what you consider to be the greatest pride of your holdings?" Rhiane was appealing to his ego; most lords and ladies were eager to boast about their possessions.