The Princess's Dangerous Betrothal

Chapter 11

Eiley looked around her private parlor, admiring her own decorations. The room was already lavish by most standards, but she liked to pull out a few stops when she invited the up and coming young influencers of the Saint Galamian court. It helped make her invitations into the valuable social currency she needed them to be.

In addition to the new decor, Eiley had ordered an array of appetizers and requisitioned two servants for the evening. Angie had been her first choice, and she was surprised when Leigha had volunteered to take the other position. As a talented seamstress, Leigha had a lot more freedom to choose her assignments than Angie did, but she had insisted it would be enjoyable. Eiley privately wondered if she was coming for the gossip, but she trusted Leigha in a way she didn’t extend to most of the household staff, so the arrangement was agreeable to her.

The food table was set up, and Annabelle walked in wearing one of Teresa’s alterations.

“You look scandalous!” Eiley said, grinning.

Annabelle flushed, “It’s not too much, is it?”

“Goodness, no!” Eiley laughed. “If anything is too much, it’s the amount of fabric remaining.”

“I’m not taking off more for a court event,” Teresa said.

“This is hardly a court event.”

“It takes place in the castle, it’s close enough, and that dress looks ravishing on Annabelle.”

Annabelle crossed her arms over her stomach. “I don’t need to be ravishing or anything, I can just be normal.”

“Annabelle,” Eiley got close, looked into her friend’s eyes, and smiled. “No.”

The three girls giggled, and guests started to arrive. Eiley signaled to Angie to start the music on her record player, and the wine started flowing. A few people began dancing, but more played cards around the table.

The Princess preened under the attention from her guests. It was all the best and the brightest of the younger generation, and even Ronan let her take command of the room. This was where she could be most in her element.

She laughed gleefully and pulled the cards to her when she won another hand. “Shall we go again?” she asked the group seated at her table.

“Princess Eiley, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were setting us up.” It was one of the noble’s sons who said this.

“But Frederick, didn’t you bring these cards?” she grinned while everyone laughed at her joke.

“I suppose you’ve just got a lucky streak today,” Frederick said with a good natured smile.

“Maybe the cards realized exactly how special I am! Now who’s in for the next round?”

She dealt the cards amidst murmurs of interest, but the room became abruptly quiet. She jerked her head towards the record player, where she found Warren standing uncomfortably next to it. She forced her face to neutrality. “Prince Warren!” she called with a smile she didn’t feel. “I thought you were busy this evening. I’m so glad you could make it.” She moved smoothly across the room towards him, aware of all eyes on her.

“I…I realized I could put off my correspondence until tomorrow,” he stammered under the gaze of the guests. “I hope it’s okay that I stopped by.”

“Don’t be silly!” She uprighted the record player and readjusted its settings. “You simply must come sit with us. Do you play cards in Reslandia?” With the music playing, she hooked her arm through the loop of his elbow and dragged him back to her table.

“Uh, we have some games, but I’ve heard yours are different.”

Eiley laughed too loud, and the tension in the room eased. Guests returned to their conversations, and Eiley dropped Warren’s arm as soon as she could.

Eiley resumed her seat and said, “So where were we?”

Warren stood beside her, fidgeting.

“Here, have my seat,” Frederick said, standing up quickly.

Warren waved a hand, “Oh no. It’s not a problem, please.”

“I insist. I want a drink anyways.” With that, Frederick wandered away.

Eiley looked around frantically for something to distract Warren, and he seemed to be doing the same. Finding nothing, they both resigned themselves to moving forward. He settled onto the sofa beside her and picked up the cards Frederick had abandoned. He gave them a bewildered look, then turned that same look on Eiley.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” she said. She pulled his cards back into the deck and leaned towards him to show him hers. Despite her reluctance to be in his proximity, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to prove her skills. “See,” she whispered. “We’re trying to make sets based on what we have here and what’s coming up in the deck.”

Across the table, Ellison was shuffling the cards preparing to start.

“Here we have a pair,” she got close to whisper. Close enough that she could see the goosebumps on his throat. “That’s a good place to start.” She quickly leaned away from him and retreated to her own side of the couch. She threw a coin into the center and announced, “We’ll start the bidding at a crown.”

The group at the table grumbled and laughed. A few people dropped, but most bid in.

Warren watched intently with a stern concentration on his face.

With a flourish, Ellison drew the first card.

Warren looked at it then looked at Eiley to gauge her reaction, but she hadn’t moved. “What does this mean?” He asked.

Eiley got close again while the people around them made bids. She surprised herself by noticing a warm and sweet smell in the air by his skin. She forced herself to ignore it to say, “Well this is wonderful news for anyone who has a set of swords.”

“And for us?” At this, he glanced at the pair of hearts in her hand.

“Nothing yet.” In spite of herself, she took another breath of his scent before turning away. “We raise the bid, 3 crowns.”

“But Eiley–”

“Shhh. Warren, you can’t give away our strategy!” She moved to push him with her shoulder, but stopped just short of touching him. “Besides, the next card is a four of hearts, we’ll be fine.” She laughed, somehow sure that her prediction was correct.

“If you know the cards already, what’s the point in the bid?” Warren asked, leaning back from her.

“She doesn’t,” James groaned. “Eiley just has a preternatural ability to guess the cards today.”

“Don’t be cross about it James,” she teased. “It’s not becoming of a future Count.”

When Ellison put down the final card, it was indeed a four of hearts.

“I win!” Eiley said, giggling. She fixed Warren with a beaming smile.

Someone at the table groaned. “Not again!”

“Okay, Eiley, Tell me what card is coming next.” Ellison held up the deck expectantly.

“Ace of Flame.”

He dropped the deck in exasperation when he saw she was right. She just laughed.

“Let me try!” Lady Kya said, picking up the cards. She carefully shuffled them over and over then split the deck to draw from the middle. “What card is this?”

Eiley closed her eyes. “Ten of Skies.”

“Another,” Kya said, dropping the card.

“Eight of Swords.”

“HOW!”

A crowd gathered around them, watching Eiley guess and repeatedly win. Someone sat on Warren’s other side, pushing him towards her on the narrow sofa.

“I can’t explain it!” She cried with a laugh. “I’m just good at this I guess.” She grinned. “Do another.” She hoped another card would distract her. She smiled wide to hide it, but her entire focus was suddenly on the points of contact between her leg and Warren’s. “Four of Skies.”

“I quit.” Kya dropped the cards laughing.

“You know, it’s easy to memorize a deck of cards.” Warren’s deep voice sounded beside her, and she was shocked by the way it shook their seat.

She turned to look at him and shifted in an attempt to break their contact, but it only served to push them closer together. “Then how do you explain the shuffled cards? I haven’t even touched them in ages.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure there are ways.”

Warmth radiated from his thigh where it was now pressed fully flush with hers.

She swallowed. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“I’m just proposing a test.”

“Go on.” She grinned up at him with a spark in her eyes.

He shifted, and she was sure he was teasing her with the pressure on her thigh. His foot brushed her ankle in a brief soothing motion, and she forgot for a moment that anyone else was with them.

He straightened and produced a small dark object from his coat pocket. “Do you have dice here?” He directed the question to the group, but his eyes never left Eiley’s.

“Yes,” she answered.

“In Reslandia, we have several games with polyhedral dice. This one in particular is numbered one to twenty. Here, pass it around.” He dropped it into her hand, careful not to touch her.

Eiley quickly turned it in her hand, studying the small painted numbers on each side. She gave it to Kya next to her. “So what test do you propose?”

She stared into his eyes, and he stared right back until James slipped the dice back into his hand, shaking him out of his trance. “Right. Assuming a dice is properly balanced, the odds of getting any given number are one in 20, every time. You have no way of knowing what number I may roll, nor do I.”

“So what do I do?” She asked, trying to ignore the force of his leg on hers.

“Guess.” Without moving his gaze, he threw the dice up in the air.

She watched his eyes for a twinkle of a trick but found none. With each of the cards, she’d seen in her mind what was next, but this time there was just a blank. “Seventeen.”

The dice clattered to the table, rolling a second before it settled. She never looked at it, never looked away.

There was a beat of silence, and then the group broke into cheer. In their jostling congratulations, Warren and Eiley were pulled apart. She smiled and laughed and never looked back at him, but she brushed her hand against her leg to relieve the cold of his absence.