“He asked you what?” Jane asked, her eyes so wide I feared they would pop out of their socket.

“He asked me to come with him to the capital,” I repeated what I just told her.

Jane had been well aware of my entanglement with the prince. She had walked into the office when he had me bent on my desk while he rode into me from behind.

When I finally got to speak to her, she told me she suspected someone was up between us, but thought she was just over imagining things. She added there was an undeniable attraction between us that anyone with eyes could see. I told her it was nothing serious and her eyes told me she didn’t buy it at first, then I told her we didn’t put a tag or exclusivity on what we were doing. We were two people attracted to each other, giving in to their desires and wanting more for as long as they could.

She told me she understood and advised me to play it safe. “He’s a prince, he can have anyone he wants,” she advised me not to get my heart involved.

I have tried to keep that promise ever since then, but have failed miserably.

“And what did you tell him?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing on me and making me feel like a bad person.

Flashback

“What am I going to do in the capital?” I asked, stepping away and keeping a distance between us so anyone coming from the reception who saw us wouldn’t read meaning into our discussion.

“The king and queen will have a banquet celebrating two years of their union,” he explained.

That sounded like a grand celebration and it felt weird that he asked me to come along. That’s not a place someone like me should be, and he should know better.

“I want you with me,” he concluded.

My brow furrowed. “As what?”

He pulled me against himself, and his hand came up to stroke my face, not caring if we get discovered there and then. “As lady Zaine, my lady.”

Everything was moving so fast. Ever since I agreed to give us a chance at being ‘more’, Edward had taken the go-ahead and raced with it. Now he wanted to take me to the capital and introduce me as his lady to the king and queen, the two most powerful forces in the kingdom.

I could not help shivering at the very thought and a tiny part of me felt afraid.

Coming out with prince Edward as his lady would bring a lot of scrutiny my way, which I had told him I didn’t want. People will want to know who I am, what I do and what family I belong to. A lot will snoop around and there will be discoveries into things I would prefer hidden. Stepping out with him meant choosing him over so many things, yet it felt like the right choice.

Prince Edward knew so much about me, he may not know everything, but he knew enough to not make such an insane suggestion, yet he just did.

“I am not a lady. You know that well.” I pulled away from him and crossed my hands over my chest. “And why would you want to drag me along when there will be backlash and repercussions?”

“You don’t know that,” he argued, leaving me a little lost.

“Know what?”

“That they will be repercussions to coming with me. You don’t know that.” he clarified.

For someone who probably had this request in mind for a while, he didn’t think it through.

“You’re the prince and if I’m your lady, people will want to know more about me.”

“You’re afraid of what people will say?”

Any sane person would, “Aren’t you?”

“Okay, for a moment, forget about what people will say and answer me this. Do you want to come with me?”

I bit my lips gingerly, and my eyes swayed from his. “Yes.”

He smiled and stepped closer, wrapping his arms around my waist, but not pulling me closer. “Then what people say doesn’t matter because they don’t control you or me”

Flashback ends.

“I know what you’re going to say.” I cut in before she could speak.

“Which is?”

“He’s a prince. He can have anyone he wants.”

She relaxed and shrugged. “Because that’s the truth.”

“You weren’t there, Jane. He genuinely wanted me to come with him. He wants me to meet his brother, the king and the queen.”

“He also flirted with a couple of maidens at Rue and Oliver’s reception.” She pointed out. “Don’t think I didn’t see that.”

Fine, she saw him, but that was the only time I ever saw him give attention to another maiden but me. “He did it to get back at me for ignoring him.”

She sighed, “My point is, he has a lot of options and you don’t have the luxury of putting your heart on the line for someone who won’t do the same or whose duty would force him to leave. I know you’re a grown lady and you can make sound decisions. Make them with your brains and not your heart.”

I wanted her to be on my side, and I was not getting that from her today. It didn’t make me happy. “You think I’m not making the best decision?”

Jane didn’t sway her response or ease her tone. “I think you’re falling for him, and that has clouded your judgment. You can’t reason through a lot of things.”

“He feels right,” I admitted, my eyes fluttering, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

“He might genuinely care about you too, but the circumstances around him would make his decision harder. I hope he is right.”

She had a point. I have also hinted at this point to him in the past, but Prince Edward never took it seriously. He believes he can decide with no influence or push back from family and, for both our sakes, I hope he’s right.

Jane was the one person I could count on when I needed sound advice. So far, she was so keen on the idea of Edward not being the best for me, even though I want him to be.

…….

“You’re thinking,” He noticed my drifted attention. He probably had observed me for quite a while before speaking.

The dressmaker came in to take my measurement as planned for the three days I’d be at the Capital with Prince Edward. Since Rue had moved in with Oliver after their marriage, I didn’t always have to meet Edward at the estate anymore. He could come over to my house, and he did.

Today while he was with me, the dressmaker arrived. She brought along a dozen materials with different colours and design she thought would be perfect. Then she asked me to choose the three I thought were the best. I did, and then she took my measurements. Next, she showed me a few sketches to pick from, all modestly made, covering up the arms and chest area. I didn’t complain; I was going to the palace, not the whore house and needed to look like a lady, but a part of me wondered if the prince was ashamed of me and how I was.

Perhaps this was Jane’s words getting into my head and planting themselves there, but a part of me wanted to know if this was a way to hide who I was or if this was him helping.

I turned to him and forced a smile onto my face. “It’s nothing.”

“Tell me,” he insisted.

I shrugged, “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not, and we both know it.” he came to sit beside me on the long chair in the centre of my living room where I sat after the dressmaker took my measurement.

“I will take my leave now,” the dressmaker spoke up and his attention moved over to her. “The dresses should be ready in three days, my prince.” She bowed.

“Thank you, lady Catherine.” he nodded at her and she departed, leaving us alone.

“You can tell me now. The outsider is gone.” He pointed out, taking hold of my hand.

“Are you ashamed of being with me?” I blurted out.

He frowned, not liking the question I just asked very much, but he didn’t let go of my hand. “You think I’m ashamed of being with you?”

“I asked the question,” I said, not wanting him to turn this around.

He scoffed, releasing my hand and rising to his feet. He took a few steps from me, so now all I could see was his back. “I am taking you along on a very important family celebration. You think I’d do that if I was ashamed of being with you?”

I rose to my feet, “I don’t know what to think, I’m afraid and I think amongst the two of us, I’m the one thinking, you seem reckless either way.”

This made him laugh, and he turned to me. “I am not ashamed of being with you. Never have and never will be. I want you with me because I do not want to be in the capital thinking about the crazy woman in Lurds that drives me insane. Whose lips I want to k**s, whose hands I want on me and whose body I want to worship. That’s after I’m done torturing, of course.”

He tilted my face up to meet him. “We leave in a few days and I have not been sure of anything else in my life.”

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