Luke laughed again. Callie reiterated her point. The queen herself was worried that she was losing her son to a commoner. It was obvious, even for the princess, that the future king and New Rome’s deadliest lady killer had found his match in an untitled woman hailing from an unremarkable province. That no matter how much he denied his sister’s accusation, it did not change the fact that the Luke everybody knew wouldn’t sit beside the commoner’s hospital bed while she was ill nor choose to lay down beside her so he could hold her close when nightmare plagued her. No, the heir to the throne would have stayed in his suite examining proposals and data, he would have ordered a staff to prepare a separate room for the princess elect so that he could enjoy his privacy. 

“You are stubborn.” He could hear her sigh.

“Tell me something I don’t already know. Callie, you are steering away from the topic. As your brother, I am advising you to stay away from Aiden Verrastros or do I have to --”

“Don’t.” A short pause punctuated the princess’ resolve. “Don’t even think of spying on him.”

“There’s no need to resort to such measures.” Because he did order background checks on his sister’s earlier flings. For some cases, he even planned how to break her up with the boy. “I know the man. I have an idea how he spends his spare time and he does have many.” 

“But we’re just friends, Luke.”

He opened his mouth to reply to that statement only to be cut short by Nolan’s sudden intrusion. The royal guard’s face was as cold as stone left outside the estate during winter. He found his royal highness at the table with his mobile device on one hand. “Excuse me, your highness, but there seems to be a situation.”

Luke wanted to roll his eyes. When had there been a lack of situation?

“Lady Anelle and Ms. Black seems to have a slight misunderstanding,” Nolan continued. 

“And you need me to do what exactly?” Everybody expected the crown prince to have an answer to every kind of crisis, even ones which had nothing to do with politics or external affairs. Tobias or any member of Rhiane’s personal guards could have easily handled the situation, but they had to come to him for instructions. Luke sometimes wondered if it was his decisiveness which attracted these people to come to him for guidance or that he had made a host of mindless subjects who acted only upon his wishes. “Tell Anelle I need a word immediately,” the prince added after a short pause.

There was no need to turn and check if Nolan had gone. Unlike his old fling, the older man knew his prince well enough not to linger. Then the siblings got back to their discussion about Callie’s date and Luke’s stubbornness. From Aiden’s diamond necklace gift to the princess to the latter’s gasp of disbelief upon learning that her brother had not even bothered to pick an engagement ring for his fiancee.

“Oh Luke, that is so – I don’t have a word for it.” The tone of her voice was somewhere between feeling sorry and angry at her brother. “You buy expensive presents for Sophia all the time! Why can’t you get my future sister-in-law something pretty?”

He shrugged. “But I gave Rhiane my credit card. She could have bought anything she would want to buy – diamonds, a hovercraft, a villa, a new farmhouse.”

“Oh dear. O dear. I hope you didn’t tell her that.”

“I haven’t.”

“Good.” A loud sigh. When she spoke again, Callie’s words were slow and careful. “You know I care about you a lot and I am only saying this because I love you. Luke, you’re a self-centered ass who has to get your game together. She’s not going to stick around if you keep on caring about the high society’s standards. Rhiane may be a farmer’s daughter, but you know deep inside that stubborn heart of yours that she makes you happy – I know that she does. And that is all that matters. For once, stop being considerate about what your subjects think and do something that does make you happy.”

“The same logic that made you decide Aiden was good enough even with your age difference?”

“Luke!”

[hr]

Anelle tilted her pretty red head ever so slightly. Eyes wide and clear, she stared at the princess elect with the same puzzlement as the first time she came face to face with a kangaroo or an octopus. She could not believe that a commoner had that much gall to talk back to a high-ranking noble, even threaten to remove her from the room should she refuse to do so herself. Rhiane may be the crown prince’s fiancee, but the farmer had not earned the position on her own. Prince Alessandro would never stoop so low as to willingly take a commoner as his queen.

“Your attendants?” The noble lady drawled the syllables lazily. Somebody had to put the impudent commoner in her rightful place. Her perfect winged eyes passed a glance at Rhiane, then at the attendants who stood at her side. “Ladies, we have a schedule to beat. Go on, fix the farmer to make her look like a princess. I’m sure it’s a lot of work, but I trust you’ll do fine.”

It was at that precise moment when one of Rhiane’s female guards welcomed herself inside the tent. “Excuse me, my lady,” she addressed Anelle directly. “His royal highness wishes to have a word with you.”

Ruby red lips stretched into a knowing smile. Anelle cast a sideways glance at Rhiane. “In private?”

“Uh --” The guard’s brows furrowed. “I suppose.”

The lady hmmed, smiling to herself as she turned on her heels and left the presence of the princess elect without another word. The silence was enough. The mystery behind the urgent summon was enough. The hint of a private meeting when the prince probably had not bothered to ask how Rhiane was faring was enough. Regardless of what it was about, leaving the impression that she was wanted while the farmer was left to her duties as the princess elect, was a sweet victory. Little did she know that the prince was only defusing the situation, while taking advantage of the chance to personally tell her about his decision not to let the media into the cemetery.