Page 10 of Learning to Rule

Elodie groans next to me and curls up into a tight ball.

I stumble from the bed, and grabbing hold of my robe lying on a chair next to the bed, I wrap it around me. My eyes struggle to open properly as I make my way across the room, and I let out a pained cry when I kick the door frame before flinging the door open.

“What?”

Hinchbootie stands on the other side.

“Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness, the dressers are here to help Miss Nash prepare for tomorrow. I’ll need to run through all the etiquette of Parliament with her as well.”

“Parliament? Dressers?” My mind races to catch up with what’s happening.

“Miss Nash’s first official appearance is tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do.”

I nod at him, vaguely understanding what he means. I turn back to Elodie, who is sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. She’s smudged her mascara, and with her hair messy from our lovemaking, she looks like she’s experienced a night of wild sex with me, not the image she wants to project to the people of Janastria.

“We’ll meet you in the lounge in ten minutes,” I inform Hinchbootie. “Bring coffee, and lots of it!”

Five

Elodie

Despite the exhaustion binding itself tightly to my body yesterday, I managed to listen to a few hours of Mr. Hinchbottom guiding me through the schedule for the opening of Parliament. When he’d finally finished, Dalton and I collapsed on the bed, neither of us moving again until morning.

“You ready for today?” Dalton rolls over and strokes his hand tenderly down my face.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for it, but I’ll give it my best shot.” I kiss his fingers as he reaches to touch my lips. “I don’t suppose there’s even a small chance your father was joking when he said he’ll be tough on me?”

Dalton shakes his head. “Sorry, my beautiful. My father’s a bastard, through and through. I have to be with him during the ceremony, so I can’t be with you, but I’ve asked Mr. Hinchbottom to stay at your side the entire time.”

“Thank you.”

A knock comes to the door, and a few moments later, it bursts open wide. A flurry of people enters the room—some with trays of food, others with clothes. A maid goes to the bedroom curtains and opens them before coming to the bedside to offer me a cup of coffee. They’ve already learned I’m not a fan of tea, their most popular drink here in Janastria. It’s not…well, it’s not my cup of tea.

“Good morning, Your Highness, Miss Nash.”

Mr. Hinchbottom appears at the end of the bed with what looks like a clipboard in his hands. He bows to us. No one seems to care that Dalton and I are in bed. Dalton is naked, and I’m wearing a barely-there nightgown, although I do have the bedcovers pulled up to my neck.

“We have two hours to get you and Miss Nash prepared,” Mr. Hinchbottom informs us. “We need to be ready for the procession to Parliament at precisely ten am. Miss Nash will ride separately from you, I’m afraid. You’ll be riding with your mother as normal in the second coach. Your father will be in the first state coach. I will travel with Miss Nash. Should we take her into her apartments to change? It will probably be a bit more private for her as I’ll need to remain here to run through the rest of the schedule with you, since I won’t be with you during the day.”

Dalton holds his hand up, and Mr. Hinchbottom immediately purses his mouth shut. I don’t know how Dalton has managed to arrange it, but the personal secretary has remained at our sides since his return to the palace. It seems Mr. Hinchbottom now works for the prince and not the king—I’m secretly very happy about that, even if it will be seen as a demotion for Mr. Hinchbottom.

“Everyone out apart from Hinchbootie,” Dalton commands, and all the other people in the room quickly vanish. “Firstly, no one comes in the room in the morning again until I say they can.” I place my hand over Dalton’s, which is resting on the top of the bedcovers. I can see from his rapid breathing he’s stressed.

“Sorry, Your Highness. I should have asked. I will have that request implemented at once.”

“Thank you, if I want to be intimate with Elodie in the morning, I don’t need you all watching. That practice ended in the dark ages,” Dalton informs the personal secretary, who’s looking a little scolded.

“What?” I exclaim. “They used to watch people having sex?”

Dalton laughs, and the corner of Mr. Hinchbottom’s mouth curls up into a mischievous smirk.

“Didn’t you know?” Dalton looks at me quizzically. “Hinchbootie you can explain that one to her.” Dalton slides from the bed and covers himself up with a robe that’s been laid at the bottom of the bed.

“Er, of course. When a royal couple married, it was customary for there to be witnesses, to ensure the marriage was consummated and that the female bled, proving she was a virgin. The entire court would assemble to watch the occasion. A priest would bless the couple and pray for a fruitful union, and afterward, the blooded sheets would be displayed so all could see the purity of the bride.” My stomach turns as Mr. Hinchbottom explains the medieval procedure to me.

“You did say this doesn’t happen anymore, didn’t you?” I look at Dalton with horror, and he winks at me.

“It was abolished along with the executions. Good thing as well. I think the possibility of displaying your virgin blood went out of the window some time ago.”

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