Page 43 of The Heart of the King

Mildred Hazel shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m hungry. I didn’t get to eat lunch.”

Jazz let go of David’s hand and held it out to Mildred Hazel. “I didn’t eat much lunch either. Why don’t we go find something to tide us over until dinner? Then I’ll show you your room.”

Mildred Hazel glanced at David. “Heisn’t going to come with us?”

David stood with his hands clasped behind his back. “I can, but if you’d rather have Jasmine show you around, I do have some work to finish. Then I will be done for the day when dinner time comes.”

She shrugged. “Whatever. Jazz is fine.” She finally took Jazz’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Mildred Hazel started to pull Jazz the wrong direction.

Jazz didn’t let herself be moved. “Have you ever been here before?” she asked gently.

Mildred Hazel shook her head.

“Then why don’t you let me show you around? I’m still learning, too, but at least if we get lost, we’ll be together.”

Reluctantly it seemed, Mildred Hazel let Jazz lead her to a different door and up to the Monarch’s Quarters.

It was a start.

As he watchedhis wife and half-sister walk away, David couldn’t define his feelings. He hadn’t known what to expect from Mildred Hazel, and he didn’t understand who would name a child Mildred in the 2010s.

Except Mildred was his grandmother’s middle name. Maybe that had something to do with it.

Cementing a family connection.

He didn’t have much left hehadto get done, but he should get some finished. He could do more later in the evening if he had time. Otherwise it could wait.

Forty-five minutes later, he headed for his quarters. He hadn’t heard anything about how it was going with Jasmine and Mildred Hazel, but he took that as a good thing. If the girl had been tearing up his apartment, he would have been notified.

When he reached the small family dining room, no one else was there. He started to pull out his phone to ask Jasmine when they’d arrive, but before he could they walked in from the other direction.

“Good evening, Jasmine.” He kissed his wife on the cheek. “And Mildred Hazel, what would you like me to call you?”

She shrugged. “Jazzy is calling me Zellie since we both have the letter z in our name.”

He inclined his head her direction. “I don’t know that I can convince myself to be quite so informal, but what if I were to call you Hazel? Would that be all right?” The last thing he wanted to do was get on her bad side, butZelliedidn’t sit quite right either.

“Fine.”

David didn’t get the impression it really was fine, but he’d take her word for it. “Miss Hazel, would you like to be seated for dinner?” He held out a chair for her.

She stared at him for a few seconds then sat down.

He also held Jasmine’s chair for her then took his own seat. Before eating, he held out his hands to either side. Jasmine slipped her hand in his easily, but Hazel didn’t. After a few seconds, he bowed his head, gave thanks for the food, then released Jasmine’s hand.

He and Jasmine both talked about their days while Hazel ate her food. His questions for Hazel were met with one-word answers and silence, so he gave up. Kind of.

David did his best to keep the conversation accessible to Hazel, should she care to join.

“We will have a meeting on the yacht with the other monarchs in a few weeks,” he told Jasmine. “Their spouses will be there as well. You’ll get to meet Katrín.”

She tilted her head. “Who?”

“Benjamin’s wife. We met him in Eyjania on our trip home.”

“Right.” She tipped her head slightly to the side as though thinking while she finished her bite of food. “Esmeralda - Esme - is queen of Islas del Sargasso. She’s married to your brother, Gabe. Then Edward is king of San Majoria. I’ve met him before since his son married one of my friends. But he’s recently widowed?”

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