Page 53 of Her Royal Highness
Sherbet smiles at me, hands in his pockets as we all walk up together. The stairs are wide enough that the three of us can actually stand side by side, and there’s still room for someone to pass us.
“What are you doing here, Sherbet?” Flora asks. “I thought you’d be gallivanting in Greece or something.” Flora leans a little closer to me. “Sherbet’s boyfriend is Greek, and we’re all wildly jealous of the trips he gets to take to visit him.”
Sherbet laughs. “Last time I checked, Flora, dating someone from Greece was not a prerequisite for visiting. You could have your very own Greek holiday anytime you want.”
Flora mulls that over, tilting her head to one side. “Christmas, then, maybe? After the wedding, of course. I’ll talk to Glynnis.”
I wonder if I’ll ever get used to it, the way things like “a trip to Greece” get the same amount of consideration I’d give to going camping for the weekend. What is it like not to have any sense of money or limitations or time? How does anyone live a life like that?
But then, as Sherbet guides us onto the landing, I remind myself that I’m spending a weekend in a castle, so hey, maybe that life isn’t as remote as it seems.
“Flora, I believe you know where your room is,” Sherbet says, and Flora slings her bag over her shoulder, grinning.
“The Fruit Punch Room, yes, thanks, Sherbs.” With that, she wiggles her fingers at me and says, “I’ll come by your room once I’ve unpacked and freshened up, okay?”
“Sure,” I reply, still wondering what “the Fruit Punch Room” might entail, but then Sherbet is opening a door to his left and ushering me into the bedroom.
It’s all done in shades of mint green with the occasional darker green accent and a few splashes of deep, rich purple. My bed has an honest-to-god canopy, plus little curtains held back against the massive posts with purple velvet ribbons.
A giant window dominates one wall, and when I walk over to it, I see I have a view of a little garden plus, in the distance, the ocean.
I glance back over my shoulder at Sherbet, who’s grinning, hands in his pockets. “It’s something, right?” he says, and I figure if a boy like this is impressed by this room, it reallyissomething.
“I can’t...” I say, trailing off and shaking my head before laughing. “Something, yeah,” I finally say before turning back to look at the view again.
“It’s one of the prettiest rooms in the whole castle,” Sherbet tells me, “which I guess is why Flora always picks it.”
Turning back, I look at him, surprised, and he winks at me.
“She insisted you have it.”
CHAPTER25
Flora is as good as her word, coming back to my room after about twenty minutes, wearing an entirely different outfit. I’m still in the black pants and sweater I wore here, but I actually put on some mascara and a little lip gloss, and Flora notices immediately.
“Look at you, Quint,” she says, teasing as she tugs me out the door and into the hallway.
“Figured I should bring it if I was going to hang out with lords and stuff,” I tell her. “But I still have no idea what I’m going to wear to dinner tonight.”
Flora waves that away. “I told you, I’m handling that.”
“That’s what scares me,” I mutter, and she flashes me a sly grin.
“Do you doubt my taste?”
“Not doubt so much as fear,” I say, and she gives a bright laugh.
We make our way down the hall, past portraits and littlealcoves with small marble statues, and as we head for the stairs, I ask, “Why is your room called ‘the Fruit Punch Room’?”
Without answering, Flora walks to a door a little way down the hall and opens the door, gesturing for me to come over.
I look inside, then almost immediately take a step back. “Whoa.”
The walls of the bedroom are so red it almost hurts my eyes, and the bedding is covered with a pattern of fruit trees and grape vines.
“Makes sense now,” I say, and she nods.
“When Lord Henry was made Lord of the Isles, the former owners of this house had to hand it over to him. Allegedly they were so pissed that Lord Henry was taking over, they tried to redesign the entire thing before he could get here. But they only managed this one room, making it as ghastly as possible. Lord Henry thought it was funny, so he kept it as is.”
