“Queen Regent,” Alexander called, coming up behind them. Catherine turned. His eyes, a deep cerulean, caught Norah’s, and he gave a small bow of his head. Then he broke and turned to Catherine and said, “I’d like to introduce the princess to the captain and the rest of her guard. She needs to be familiar with them.”
Catherine looked at Norah warily and pursed her lips. Then she sighed. “Very well. You’ll see her directly to her chamber after.”
He nodded.
“I mean it,” Catherine pressed. “Don’t linger about.”
“Of course,” he assured her.
He turned back to Norah.
And Norah smiled.
Chapter seven
“This way, Your Highness,” Alexander said. He extended his arm down the mainway.
She cringed inside. “Please don’t call me that.” She could bear it in public, but not here when it was just between them.
“Princess Norah.”
She grimaced. “Not that either.”
“I have to.”
She was afraid he’d say that. “Always?”
“Not always,” he assured her. Then the corners of his mouth turned up. “When you’re queen, I’ll call you Your Elegance.”
She shot him a heavy-browed eye of disbelief. “That can’t seriously be a title.”
He chuckled. “It is. And you thought it was ridiculous before too.”
She stopped, desperate for the thoughts she’d had when she’d been herself. He’d known her. “Tell me more of what I thought before.”
Alexander quieted. His eyes held a wisp of sadness, as if those old thoughts haunted him. Then the corners of his lips turned up, and the sadness disappeared. She wondered if she’d seen it at all. “You thought the king’s title was better.”
“Which was?”
“Regal High.”
“That is better.” Why didn’t the queen get a powerful title?
“Would you rather be called Regal High when you’re queen?”
“I’d rather not be called any of it.”
He chuckled again, and she bit her lip. She should be more careful with her words. Catherine would be beside herself if she heard her say that.
“I know,” he said.
How much did he know about her? He opened his hand and motioned them to continue, and they started again down the hall.
“My grandmother doesn’t trust the council,” she said as they walked. Why didn’t she? They were her council, there to counsel.
“Your grandmother trusts no one.”
Norah raised a brow. “She trusts you.”
He shrugged with a smile. “Sometimes.”
They turned down another hall, where several small groups congregated, and Norah slowed. The voices fell, and all eyes were on her. Her chest tightened, and her stomach puddled.
“Do I know these people?” she whispered. The threat of panic crept up her spine and tickled the back of her mind. Would they expect something of her, for her to do something, to say something?
“You know most of them. But no one will speak unless you speak to them first. So, we’ll just walk through.”
The men bowed, and the women curtsied as Norah and Alexander passed. Everyone was smiling. Not acknowledging them seemed pretentious, and Norah found herself nodding with genuine courtesy.
Alexander gave her a small smile as they left the hall. “People are going to love you.”
She’d done absolutely nothing. “Why?” They turned down another hall, one that opened to the outside along a columned sidewalk.
“Because you see them.”
How could she not? The acknowledgment felt strange, but Alexander didn’t give her time to mull it over before he muttered something unintelligible and suddenly grabbed her arm.
“What…” she started, but couldn’t finish her sentence. Wide-eyed, she let him hastily pull her back inside, down a hall, and into a small arched alcove of a doorway. He tested the door within its frame, but it was locked.
“I’m very sorry about this,” he said in a hushed voice, “and it’s highly inappropriate, I know.” He waved the guards to keep walking, then he glanced out from their hiding place.
“What… what are you doing?” she asked.
“We just need to wait a moment,” he whispered. He leaned over and cast another glance down the hall.
The alcove was small. Very small. He held her gently by her upper arms as they stood tucked in the tight space. She jerked her hand to his chest, as if that would put a barrier between them, but it only seemed to link them, to draw them closer.
“W-Why?” she stammered breathlessly.
“I know I said no one would speak to you unless you spoke to them first,” he whispered, “but there are… a few in court who might not abide. And I’d like to avoid one of them right now.”
“I thought I saw her!” a high-pitched voice called out.
Norah locked eyes with Alexander, and he tilted his head with a raised brow, as if his point had been proven. She didn’t argue. To avoid people who knew her, people who might discover her, she was fine with hiding. She’d rather avoid everyone.
They stood, so close, waiting. He’d been carefully peering out from the side, but as he glanced down at her, he stopped. Her hand still sat against his chest, and she stared at it. She should pull it off. Off. But she didn’t. Underneath, his heart thrummed against her palm. It’s rapid beating matched her own. So close they were. He stood still as a statue, but his warmth seeped into her, through her. It wrapped around her. It was the familiar warmth of a familiar body, the familiar beat of a familiar heart.
“I think it’s clear now,” he whispered.
He dropped his hands from her arms, and she pulled back her own hand, but still they made no move to leave. So many questions sat on her lips—questions she wasn’t brave enough to ask. Finally, he stepped out from the alcove and back into the hall, breaking her from the invisible hold.
Norah smoothed her dress as she stepped out beside him, but her heart still raced. She glanced at him, and he looked as if nothing had happened. Had she imagined this connection between them? Or dreamed it, perhaps. Her cheeks flushed. Maybe there’d been nothing at all.
“This way, Princess,” he said, motioning back down the hall and putting some distance between them, both physically and with his tone. Her cheeks grew hotter. She’d certainly imagined it.
They resumed their walk, back the way they’d come to the exterior doors and down the sidewalk. Alexander cast a wary eye as they went, watching for other inconvenient visitors. “I’m taking you to meet Caspian,” he said, “the captain of the guard.”
Excellent—something different to focus her mind on.
He paused for a moment and motioned behind her, where she once again found two men from her guard.
“This is Titus and Liaman—two of several men you’ll see regularly.” She hadn’t realized they’d picked back up behind them. Had they seen her and Alexander duck into the alcove? Of course they had. Not awkward at all. “You have the best swordsmen in Mercia by your side,” he told her.
She swallowed uncomfortably but followed Alexander’s lead in pretending it didn’t happen. “Then I feel very safe,” she said with a nod to the soldiers. “Pleased to meet you.”