Page 16 of Six Types of Apology

“And you know there’s a reason for that.” Olivia’s smile dropped. “What have you learned about my brother in the three days it took you to travel from Tyrion to Carntan, Vincent?”

“Not as much as I’d like. I realized that after I got told he left the castle last night,” Vincent admitted. “I mean, we talked every afternoon when he agreed to travel in the carriage with me, but the mornings we were both riding and there were people around so it’s not like we could discuss personal issues. But see, I learned from that. I learned he was prepared to compromise on things, which I felt was a valuable and rare skill to have. He rides beautifully. He has the knack of asking questions designed to make the listener feel important. I admit I probably confessed my whole life history in those few afternoons.”

“Monopolizing the conversation, I imagine.” Olivia shook her head.

“No. All right. Probably most of the time. But we did have some really interesting conversations about World Council policies and politics. Your brother is extremely intelligent and not afraid to voice his opinion, so why didn’t he tell me he thought I was treating him badly?” But even as he said the words, Vincent already knew the answer. It was as clear as the handwriting on the note his husband had left him the night before.

“He shouldn’t have had to tell you, because you should never have behaved badly in the first place,” Jaxon said. “Orion has a lot of other issues to deal with right now. Your dismissal of him didn’t help.”

“The secret project business?” Vincent perked up. “Does this mean you know where he’s gone?”

“Wait, wait,” Olivia said, but she was talking to her husband. “We won’t go disclosing any details yet. I need to know my brother will be safe with this man.”

“Olivia!” Jaxon and Vincent both spoke at the same time. Vincent was shocked.

“I would never hurt your brother,” Vincent added quickly. “Aside from last night, but that was never my intention, and I’m entitled to one mistake, surely to goodness. I got swept up by the events of the evening and just have to learn to do better that’s all. I’m coming to harbor intense feelings for your brother.”

“That could mean anything from wanting to kill him to wanting to suffocate him in a romantic bubble,” Olivia said tartly. “You don’t understand. Orion has been taught his whole life that he has no value. As children, we pretty much raised ourselves, although the staff at the castle were amazing. But when it came to having parents who were proud of us, or who praised our achievements, or made us feel positive about ourselves, all of that was lacking in our upbringing.”

“Olivia’s right,” Jaxon added. “When she and I got married her father sent her here with barely a maid and two guards to protect her on her travels. He never wanted to come to the wedding, although my parents invited him and the queen personally. To say I was shocked about that was an understatement, and when Olivia told me what her brothers were going through, I was deeply concerned. Onyx and I have messaged each other since, and I know both of the boys care about Olivia, but the lack of caring from their parents was and is concerning.”

“So what you’re saying is that the situation last night made things worse for Orion, not better.” Vincent got a sinking feeling in his stomach, and it had nothing to do with not eating breakfast.

“You effectively won your husband in a card game from a man who has never shown Orion any form of caring his whole life.” Jaxon reached for his wife’s hand. “Orion has created his own life, running various businesses since he was eighteen, working alongside Onyx to try and better the lives of the people of Tyrion.

“He’s a prince anyone would be proud of, in word and deed, and yet his father never even asked him to attend functions at the castle, because he wasn’t considered important. He was ignored by his own parents. When you said that King Oscar insulted you on your wedding day, claiming he’d won a strategic alliance with a neighboring country over a card game, I guarantee he never remotely cared that his son was the wager. He was basically gambling with an item he would’ve happily given away for nothing.”

“I truly have made things worse.” Vincent thought for a moment. It would be really easy to do what Olivia suggested. He could accept his marriage was a mistake. Without Orion around the gossip would die down eventually. His mother would be disappointed in him, but Vincent had never doubted the supportthat woman had given him his whole life. In essence he could move on, and his life would go on the way it always had. Just without Orion, or any other spouse for that matter, because of course, he’d still be married.Would that be such a bad thing?

But then Vincent remembered why he’d wanted to marry Orion in the first place. He wanted to settle down. To prove he was more than the party boy everyone assumed he was. He wanted to do something worthwhile, to be someone who people came to for advice instead of party favors. He wanted to be the man Orion deserved.

“Please tell me where Orion has gone. I need to find a way to make this right, and I can only do that if I know where he is.”

Chapter Fifteen

Five days after fleeing the castle at Carntan, it couldn’t be more obvious that Orion and John were a world away from society living. They were at the makeshift camp that had been thrown up, once the possibility of a mine project was first realized, and to describe the facilities as rustic was an understatement.

“No one is going to blame you if you head back to the castle, least of all me,” Orion said as he pulled on his hiking boots, wincing as the back of one of them caught on a blister he’d developed on his heel.

John, who was cooking breakfast over a small camp stove, barely glanced at him, intent on not burning the eggs. “Sir, you don’t become any less royal simply because you’re wearing dungarees and work shirts. A crown prince consort should, at the very least, travel with no less than a personal valet and two to four guards.

“As you refused the service of the crown prince’s guards back in Carntan, it’s up to me to maintain the standards as best I can. Someone has to watch out for your health and well-being. You should take that boot off, sir,” he added as Orion stood up and tested his sore foot. “Your heel will need some type of covering before you wear them again, to prevent your blisters worsening.”

“You are right.” Orion sat back down with a sigh and bent down to undo his laces again. “This place feels a world away from days spent in warm offices with plush rugs on the floor. My feet are still adapting.”

“We could always bring a rug up here, if you’re planning on spending more time here in the immediate future.” John deftly spooned out two servings of the eggs, which smelled incredible. All the exercise Orion had been doing, both with traveling and since arriving at the camp had definitely sparked Orion’s appetite.

“I doubt anyone would miss me if I did, aside from Onyx and Olivia.” Glancing around the single room cabin, Orion chuckled. “It might take more than a rug to bring this place up to any standard considered suitable for a royal personage.”

“It’s sturdier than a tent.” John sniffed. “At least one has a roof over one’s head when they’re performing their private ablutions in the morning.”

“I must admit I wouldn’t mind a full bath,” Orion plucked at his shirt, sniffed it and grimaced. “And I do get your point about requiring regular use of a laundry service. The men here all take their dirty washing home on weekends. We may have to consider doing something similar if we’re here for an extended stay.”

“Come and eat your eggs, sir.” John held out his chair for him, and Orion hobbled over, one boot on, one boot off. It wasn’t until they were both eating when John asked, “Have you given any thought to where you might live going forward? Where your home might be?”

“Good question.” Orion pointed to the plate. “I don’t know where you learned to cook eggs like this, but these are tasty, thank you.”

“It is easier to cook for us in here than it is to impose on the workers’ private down time. That didn’t answer my question, sir.”

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