Page 33 of Learning to Rule

Elodie

“Thank you for letting me wear this.” I give Dalton a kiss before spinning around in front of him.

The free-flowing dress is vastly different from the formal suit that was laid out for me to wear this morning. I’m not sure my newly appointed lady-in-waiting knew what to make of the fact I barged into Dalton’s room, like a petulant child, telling him I was not going to wear anymore uncomfortable suits. If he wanted me at his side, then he had to allow me to wear something a little more me. We spent five minutes arguing that yoga pants weren’t suitable, but I finally relented. Instead, I chose the summer style dress I wear in Florida but with sleeves to keep me warm in the cold of the Janastrian winter. I definitely feel more relaxed.

“I like you better in pretty dresses than formal suits that make you look too much like my mother.” Dalton winks at me.

“I don’t want to look like her at any point. Speaking of your mother, have you spoken to her? Does she know we’re engaged?” I ask nervously.

I feel a great sense of sadness that Dalton’s mother will never be close to us, but I can understand why Dalton has sent her to the countryside. It’s probably a good thing because while she’s away from the palace she can’t be a reminder of the past regime.

“I had a tense call with her this morning. I think she was actually sober. Well, she wasn’t slurring her words, put it that way. She knows we’re engaged. She’s not happy, but I don’t care. Unless she learns to drink less and be nicer, she won’t be called back from the country any time soon.”

“I have to be honest. I’m glad you made that decision. We need to make a lot of improvements in Janastria, and your mother being out of the way will help. There’ll be a lot of people who don’t like change, and if she had their support here, it could make what we’re going to do all the harder.”

“I completely agree.”

A knock at the door breaks our conversation.

The master of ceremonies for the palace enters.

“The Honorable Prime Minister, Clement Woodrow, and his wife, Mrs. Hannah Woodrow.”

The two enter. Clement bows to Dalton while Hannah curtsies.

“Welcome, both of you. They’ll be calling us for lunch shortly. Please take a seat while we wait.” The couple make their way over to the couch opposite the one Dalton and I have been sitting on, but they don’t sit down until Dalton is once again seated. “I want to thank you both for coming. Especially you, Mrs. Woodrow. I hope we didn’t force you to cancel anything important.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. It’s a pleasure to see you and Miss Nash again.” Hannah smiles at us both.

I shuffle a bit closer to Dalton on the couch, whereas the Woodrows remain respectfully apart.

“First, may I offer my sincere condolences on the death of you father, Your Majesty. It’s a sad event for our country. I know we sent our sympathies in a letter, but I wanted to offer it verbally as well. I didn’t get a chance to do so at the funeral.” Clement holds his hands together as he speaks.

Like Dalton, he’s dressed in a formal suit with his tie tied tightly around his neck. Hannah is dressed in one of the awful formal suits Dalton’s mother favors. I suddenly feel sorry for them. Whenever they were called to a meeting with Dalton’s father, they would have been expected to be as formal as they are now. I don’t want that to be the relationship Dalton and I have with the prime minister and his wife. I want them to feel they’re free to be open and honest with us. To tell us what is wrong and assist Dalton in fixing it.

“Thank you, Mr. Woodrow…no, Clement, that’s the last we’ll say on the death of my father. We are beginning a new era, and I want to undo all the wrongs of the previous one.” Dalton sits back in his seat and loosens the tie around his neck. He removes it, folds it neatly, and puts it on the coffee table next to where he’s sitting. “That will start with these meetings. I don’t want all the pomp and ass kissing that, no doubt, my father demanded. I want the honest truth from you. I want to know what is going on in Janastria and how we can make it a better country for everyone to live in. Elodie will also be joining me at these meetings. I’ll have her properly security cleared because I will not be keeping secrets from her. I want her at my side, guiding me. God knows, she’s the only one out of the two of us who was brought up with love and humanity. I’ll leave the decision to you both, but Hannah is welcome at all the meetings as well.”

Woodrow opens and closes his mouth like a fish, I suspect he’s trying to take in the different personality and approach Dalton has compared to his father.

“Of course, Your Majesty. If my wife is willing to join us, I would like that very much. Just like Miss Nash does for you, Hannah instills a lot of humanity into me.”

“And another point. In this room, when it is just the four of us. We will use our names. I don’t want to be Your Majesty all the time. I’ll have enough of that in public. If we are to work closely together, I want you to feel relaxed—you can’t be that if you have to keep bowing to me and standing every time I get up off my seat. In public, it will be a different matter, but here I would like to think we can form a friendship that will enable us to build a better Janastria. Something I think your party was elected to do.” Dalton sits forward in his seat, his strong forearms resting on his toned legs.

“It certainly was, and I’m grateful to finally have the chance to do it.”

The master of ceremonies appears again.

“Lunch is served, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

Dalton gets to his feet and politely offers his arm to Hannah to escort her to lunch while Clement takes my arm and leads me from the room.

“I have to say. This is not what I expected today,” Clement remarks.

“Dalton is really worried for the country. I suspect he doesn’t know the half of what’s going on. He’ll need a lot of guidance from you,” I respond, watching my fiancé and Hannah as he guides her to her seat at the table.

“I’ll do what I can. I’m just glad he’s willing to listen. There have been times when I thought a member of the royal family would never do that in my lifetime. The previous king’s death may have been a...no, I can’t say...” Clement pulls a chair out for me as Dalton waves away the footmen who were waiting to seat us.

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