Page 11 of Benet

“Hardly. He played the nice guy, turned on the charm while he was courting her but we all knew since the empress favored him for her ward Marushka would have to accept the proposal. But she was dazzled and fancied herself in love. Believed she was fortunate to have an arranged marriage with a man she actually liked.” Dmitri frowned and his fangs descended. “Had she resisted she might have been able to avoid the engagement—the empress is quite fond of her. But Vasili played his game carefully and my poor devochka had his massive ring on her finger before she caught ever larger glimpses of his true character..”

“Why haven’t I seen this ring?” Benet couldn’t remember her ever wearing an engagement ring any of the times he’d seen her.

“She had it on the day you arrived, because her father was here to see, but you were probably distracted by the twenty men assembled to beat you up” Dmitri pointed out sarcastically.

“Yeah, no doubt. And the lingering effect of the cryosleep.” Benet had done protective details during his time in the military, before the arenas. He guessed Dmitri had picked up the fundamentals during his long time in Outlier. “What do I wear? Not this, surely.” He gestured at his shorts and tee shirt.

“The housekeeper has sent over a uniform for you. I’m sorry but you’ll have to wear the family crest tonight. We have to do everything by the book to keep Marushka out of trouble. There’ll be many eyes on her.”

“The Empress won’t be there, will she?”

“No. This is a party for the younger set. Vasili is a key player amongst the group, socially and politically. He’s been smart about building his alliances and maneuvering less powerful people into positions where they have no choice but to do his bidding. Fortunately I’m outside his sphere of influence but even I can only do so much to protect her. And once she’s married I’ll have no say—” Dmitri’s voice trailed off and Benet heard a faint growl.

He had a bad feeling about the coming event but if Marushka’s fiancé was such a bad actor, he was glad he’d be there to back Dmitri up.

Chapter Four

A few hours later he had to forcibly remind himself of his earlier acceptance of the evening’s assignment. He’d showered, shaved and gotten dressed in the most ridiculous uniform he’d ever seen outside of a historical trideo—the black pants were okay except for the gold ribbon down the sides, but the jacket was a scarlet nightmare, with fringed epaulets and gold buttons, a sash and of course the crest emblazoned on his left chest in red and black. There was a hat too, which was covered in shiny black fur, weighed a ton, gave him an instant headache and smelled faintly like anti-moth crystals. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who looks ridiculous tonight,” he said to Dmitri as they made their way to the main residence on the estate. “If the lady gets into any serious trouble tonight our first fight will be getting out of these damn costumes.”

“The event will be decorous in public,” Dmitri said, adjusting his hat. His badge was stitched on gold thread, with tiny jewels set around the edge and a two headed roaring feline in the center, on its hind legs, a crown on each head. “Vasili has his own security. We must play our parts.”

“A girl couldn’t ask for more handsome escorts,” Marushka said and Benet turned to watch her descend the grand staircase, moving gracefully despite her massive dress, which was pale blue, with ruffles and a train and covered in floral patterns picked out in pearls and diamonds. She had an empress’s ransom in jewelry on and her hair was piled high into an elaborate do with birds and flowers woven into it.

Benet gave her his best bow and extended his hand. “Allow me to escort you to the groundcar, my lady.”

She rested her hand on his arm and this time he saw the giant engagement ring, eyeing it with distaste.

“You’re a fairy tale princess,” he said to her as he brought her outside to the waiting limousine.

“Don’t let appearances fool you.” Her answer was tart. “This dress has ten petticoats and stays and weighs more than I do, I think, yet I must remain graceful at all times and dance and mingle. If we were at Court I’d be in an even fancier costume.”

Benet found that hard to believe but he took her word for it. Living in Outlier seemed to be a head spinning mix of modern and medieval, in an uneasy blend. He and Dmitri got her and the dress into the luxurious groundcar and then took their seats at the rear of the vehicle. There was a partition between them and Marushka, but she lowered the glass so they could talk as the human chauffeur drove them off the estate grounds and onto a modern road.

“Has Dmitri briefed you on what’s going on tonight?” she asked Benet.

“I have,” the Badari answered for him.

“You won’t try to escape, will you?” The intense stare from her blue eyes drilled into him.

Benet wasn’t going to admit anything but the idea had crossed his mind. Dmitri could take care of Marushka without his help and had been doing so for years. He could steal a groundcar, head to the spaceport, sneak aboard a ship or steal a small ship…oh yes, he’d considered the possibilities thoroughly.

She held out her hand and he took it. “You must promise me you’ll stay with us tonight. The consequences if you try to escape and are caught would be horrendous. It makes me sick to think of it. Dmitri would be in trouble and so would I. I requested you for this duty tonight—I’ll feel better with you there.”

And now he was stuck. He hadn’t realized she’d asked for him to protect her.

Benet swallowed hard. “I’ll give you my word for tonight, my lady, but I do intend to find my way home at some point.” Or Kyden will come and extract me from this nightmare.

“So, a promise for one night only?” she asked, clasping her fingers around his.

He was so tempted to lean forward and kiss her but Dmitri’s bulk in the seat next to him was a reminder of his place in this costume drama of an evening. He was a bodyguard, not the prince, despite all the gilt on his ridiculous uniform. “I’m sure you have better things to think about than me tonight. I’ll be there the whole evening and in the morning I’ll hit the obstacle course like your father wants me too. Okay?”

She squeezed his hand and withdrew hers. “I accept.” Busying herself getting a bottle of feelgood out of a compartment beside her seat, she turned to Benet. “Would you care for a drink?”

“I’m on duty.”

“So am I, in a way, and I’m only going to get through this if I’m on my way to being drunk,” she said, her expression forlorn. “Fine, I’ll drink alone.”

“Go easy, devochka,” Dmitri said. “You need your wits about you to handle Vasili and the crowd of jackals and vultures he attracts.”

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