"I'm glad to know we don't have different standards of behavior for our staff," Rhiane remarked dryly. While on some level she did appreciate the possessive jealousy that Luke exhibited, as it was the most compelling evidence she had he might be developing feelings for her, his hypocrisy was frustrating. He expected her to act with professional detachment even when another woman showed intimate interest in her betrothed, yet he could not or would not do the same, and was even more extreme in his selfishness. Idly she pondered what the crown prince might do if there was another adversary he might contend with. Their visit to her home town might bring quite the revelation. She had been approached by many suitors prior to entering the contest and while she did not expect them to extend proposals of engagement, she doubted that the perceptive royal would fail to notice the way some of them looked upon her.

"I've never been with a woman," she remarked airily. The princess elect had no actual interest in her own sex. All indulgences of her more vulgar desires had proved that the male form was intoxicating to her, but there was nothing about her own body or another female that was enticing. Luke need not know that. Tobias was obviously a sore subject. Instead of revisiting the paranoia he had about his cousin she instead wondered if the heir to the throne was opposed to her having any dalliance whatsoever. He had implied any male guard that looked at her with ill intentions was en enemy in his eyes. Perhaps this was only because he perceived heterosexual men as the only threat. "You did say I should give Anelle a chance. I could flirt with her as she does with you," she suggested.

The brunette was well aware that the noblewoman was as disgusted as the rest of her peers by the farmer's presence. What she was less convinced of, however, was whether or not the Image Manager would set aside her prejudices to manipulate Luke. Anelle might be willing to retaliate against the man who spurned her by trying to steal his 'prize' if the opportunity arose. She may also be determined enough to try to make him feel the same indignant anger she felt when a peasant was chosen over someone of higher stature. More importantly, Rhiane was keen to know if the very notion would make her lover vibrate with envious fury. No one had seriously risked replacing the handsome and arrogant royal in his fiancee's eyes- not yet anyway.

"I really hope you're prepared for my father and Gerard. I doubt that Sebastian will say anything offensive, but the two of them..." she sighed. Time with Luke had proved to her that he was not incredibly sheltered. Despite his reassurances, and his stubborn insistence that a visit was necessary, they were an unusually formidable force. They would not be moved to obeyed social norms and etiquette. Words would not be polite, accusations would be lobbed like grenades, and false platitudes would be mocked openly. Both were ill-tempered, but while her father had a soft heart, her brother was a shrewd and critical judge of character that seldom accepted any into his good graces. When her mother had died there was a mutual understanding that to allow Gerard to negotiate contracts would result in the utter destruction of all their business arrangements.

"I appreciate the offer," she added sincerely, dropping her voice when the door opened, "but I don't want to shave off any stops on the tour. It's important that we prove ourselves to be people who adhere to all our responsibilities and obligations, isn't it? If you have work to handle then I can attend the events that are less crucial so you can attend necessary meetings," Rhiane offered generously. "Besides, I've never traveled before. This is my first trip outside of my town and the palace," she reminded him, "and might be the only one I'll have besides the honeymoon. Whether or not your mother endorses me taking more hinges on my performance in the coming weeks." The only way she could imagine herself wanting to reduce their grand tour is if their lives were in constant, imminent danger. Queen Camilla might demand they return to the castle if the recent infatuation between the couple resulted in an unplanned and unexpected pregnancy, as that might compel them to accelerate the wedding date accordingly.

"Is it really that important to you?" she asked with a slight frown at the device. The older model she had on the farm was used sparingly. There weren't many people she had a need to speak with that weren't nearby and, when she did want to hold a conversation, she preferred to hold it over a pint of beer or while watching the sun dip over the horizon. More than once she had lost hers on the field, or in the kitchen while cooking, or even in a pile of clothes that needed to be washed. She was less reliant on it than the average person by her own admission. If it wasn't time to reconcile their profit and expenditures, or send a missive to a merchant, then she found a reason to set it down somewhere and leave it behind.