Page 5 of A Royal Arrangement
He stretched side to side in his office chair before picking up his phone and pulling up the local news. Immediately after reading the front-page headline, he dropped his phone like it might burn him.
When Will Edgemont Finally Have a New Queen?
He didn’t know why everyone was so concerned about him getting remarried. Plenty of people lost a spouse and never got married again. Colin rolled his eyes as he scanned the article. Words likecurmudgeonandhermitpopped out at him, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t read before.
Colin hadn’t left the palace much since his wife’s funeral, four and a half years ago. He supposed the media was grasping at straws, trying to create news stories about him any way they could. Apparently, all the media could talk about now was how they thought he needed “a kind, caring, gentle queen to soften his grumpy exterior.”
He blew out an exasperated sigh. No one understood what it was like to walk a day in his shoes, but they thought they knew what heneeded. What he needed was to be left alone and for people to stop talking about how he needed to remarry. He and Addie were doing just fine on their own.
Colin glanced at his watch at precisely nine o’clock, and—right on time—his most trusted advisor and friend, Duke Wesley Hughes, walked into his study, looking like a giant as he ducked under the door frame.
“You’re punctual as ever, Wes.”
Usually, the duke would have a quick retort, but that morning, his expression remained serious.
“What’s happened?” Colin stood abruptly, scraping his chair legs against the old wood flooring.
“You should sit,” Wes responded, taking his own seat after Colin had sat down again.
Colin waved a hand in front of him, silently telling Wes he could proceed.
Wes shuffled the papers he held in his hands. “Did you read the front-page article in the news today?”
He nodded in response.
“Whew, I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to bring up the results of the poll.”
Colin sat up straight in his seat. “Poll? What poll?”
Wes pressed his lips into a firm line. “So, youdidn’tread the article.”
“I skimmed it.”
His friend let out a long breath. “You make my job extremely difficult, you know that?” He ran his hands through his poufy brown hair. “They polled the Edgemont people, asking if they wanted a new queen.”
“As if the people get to decide whether I remarry,” Colin scoffed.
“Colin, eighty-two percent of the people responded that they wanted a new queen.” Those results were a startling majority. He bit the inside of his lip as Wes continued. “The people said you have come across as distant, gruff, and disconnected since you lost Isabella.”
“Those are only the opinions of a few people, though, right?” Colin asked.
Wes cleared his throat. “As you know, the Royal Board has been pushing for you to remarry for the past few years.”
He inhaled deeply, trying to remain cool and calm with his only real friend. It wasn’t Wes’s fault that the rest of the board and the people of Edgemont saw things differently. That they were pushing for the one thing he didn’t know how to give them. A queen. Another marriage.
Colin placed his elbows on the desk, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin on them. “I only lost Isabella four and a half years ago. I’m not looking to replace her.” He cleared his throat. “I hardly have enough time to lead the country and spend quality time with my daughter. How do they expect me to date and find a new wife?”
Wes gave him a sympathetic look. “I know she was the love of your life, and no one is trying to replace Isabella.” He paused, straightening the papers on the desk.“They aren’t expecting you to date anyone.”
He sighed in relief. “What do they want, then?”
His friend’s gaze dropped to his lap. “They found a solid candidate, Colin.”
“A candidate?” Colin sputtered when he made the realization. “Do you mean an arranged marriage?”
“Isn’t that better?” Wes shrugged. “You don’t have to go on a bunch of dates. Heck, she already knows you don’t love her because you don’t evenknowher. It’s exactly what you want.” He held up one finger. “A mother figure for Addie.” Holding up another finger, he added, “A marriage, in name only, to satisfy the board.” Three fingers in the air, he said, “And you’re providing your people with a queen—one they desperately want.” Wes grabbed Colin’s apple off his desk and tossed it in the air before taking a giant bite. “Plus, you never know…maybe you’ll actually end up falling in love with her.”
Colin harrumphed, falling back in his chair. “I can promise you I won’teverlove another woman. There’s only room in my heart for one girl anymore, and that’s my daughter.” He ran his hands along his chin, which was now covered in a shadow of stubble. “Who’s the woman they want me to marry?”
