Page 69 of Searching for the Prince
“Er…”
She laughed and gestured to the door. “I’ll wait through there.”
She was dressed in a gold flowing robe and shimmered as she left, which made him think she was ready for the wedding, which then begged the question of why the fuck had she turned up in their bedroom. Gwil stood motionless for a moment, not sure what the fuck was going on. Surely Queen Talia, Mother of the Groom, hadn’t come to collect him.
Gwil opened the suit bag, its contents were no human three-piece but a fae robe made of cloth that made him think of the midnight sky, with silver embroidery in exquisite detail. He’d seen some of Hyax’s fanciest clobber, and this was just as nice. The suit he’d intended to wear was long forgotten as he slipped the robe on over his head, the feel of the silk next to his skin was delicious, although the length and the wide sleeves might take a bit of getting used to. He didn’t think his usual shoes even his best ones, were going to cut it, although that had been thought of as there was also a pair of black boots in the box.
Gwil stood in front of the mirror. He looked fucking amazing. He’d always liked clothes and had mourned the passing of Victorian fashions, but if being the Prince’s Beloved meant he got to parade around like this, he would be demanding to be taken out at every opportunity. The high collar was a little tight but he could cope.
Talia was waiting in the lounge, petting Midnight. “She is a lovely creature.”
“Yes, and she knows it.”
She smiled. Talia was a beautiful woman and it was clear who Hyax had inherited his looks from. “Don’t we look the very picture of a partner to a prince?”
“I’m pretty sure you weren’t that keen on me taking up such a mantle.”
She tapped a finger to his high collar and muttered something and the material shifted, more fitted in some areas and his neck was now freer. “I have lived a long time, Gwil.And I intend to live a lot longer, if I hadn’t learnt to accept that I am capable of being wrong, then it would have been a poor existence.”
“So, you’d be fine with me marrying Hyax?”
“Eventually, your social position is on the rise. You’ve a little way to go yet, and we’ll need to remove Metra first, but I don’t see him hanging around for too long.”
This was as close as he’d ever got to a welcome-to-the-family speech. “I won’t order the matching towels yet.”
She laughed. “You are a funny one, Gwil.”
A scrambling noise came from the blocked fireplace and it was followed by frantic banging. “Fang Face, let me in!”
“That’s Copperpipe. He’s an associate of mine.”
“What’s he doing in the chimney?” she said while clicking her finger and thumb and opening the hearth.
Copperpipe tumbled out in a flurry of arms, legs, and swear words. Talia took a step back and from her expression, she didn’t know what to make of him, which was a pretty standard response.
“Copperpipe, what are you doing here?”
Copperpipe dusted himself down, although it was more like adding new smears to his sacking. “I have information about your pretty prince’s future in-laws and an old flame of yours.”
Copperpipe stared him up and down and then realised Talia was there and let loose a long whistle. “Ooooh, you are dressed up nicely. And this must be your not-mum-in-law. Hello, Queenie.”
“The correct address is Your Majesty,” Gwil said. He turned to Talia. “He’s not one for formal niceties.”
“You don’t need to be nice when you have information.”
Copperpipe wasn’t wrong, but he’d never thought he’d have to deal with him in front of a Fairy Queen. “Go on. Tell me what you’ve got and your price.”
“I’ve discovered there’s something called chocolate-covered custard creams. A biscuit. I want many packets and good tea.”
Gwil was pretty sure he could find them easily enough on the internet. “Deal. Now spill and hurry up as I’ve somewhere I need to be.”
“Your ex-boyfriend has been acting odd, even by his weirdy-nerdy standards.” Copperpipe sniffed. “Giving fae lots of money in exchange for bags of shiny chalk.”
“Chalk? Is that a euphemism for something?” Gwil asked. White powders in various guises were a well-known commodity, although Oliver had never been the type to partake as he said it ruined his thought process. Also, he didn’t need the money and Gwil couldn’t imagine him lowering himself to be a dealer.
Copperpipe gave Talia a side-eye. “No, white rock out of the ground in the fae realm. Dunno what it is though.”
“Oh, we had heard that the Elementa had new mining complexes.” She pursed her lips. “Thank you, strange potato person. I am grateful for your information.”
