Chapter 35

The next morning, her mother arranged a large meal for every Representative to join them in breaking the fast and celebrating the ban on interaction—speech anyway—between the princess and her suitors. While Kit thought sitting out among the men would’ve been more fitting for such a situation, she was positioned up on a dais in the middle of the room where she could see all of them but not speak to a single one very easily. Still, she’d had the opportunity to greet each of them again, and it was nice to chat with the men as they came in and found their assigned seats in the dining hall. Her mother had spared no amount of trouble in having fancy name plates created that showed the crest from each of the provinces, and the gentlemen were impressed at the lengths the queen had gone to make them feel at home.

She sat next to her mother and Duchess Zora on the riser, more interested in the men before her than the fare on the table. Some of them seemed nervous, hardly eating a bite, while others shoveled the eggs, meat, and pastries into their mouths like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Of course, the kitchen had kept them all well fed, even increasing the amount of cooks and other crew members on hand for the Choosing. Still, the larger the man, the more food he seemed to take in, and Kit was certain that a few, such as Merek of Calster, were about to burst at the seams.

Kit quickly found Jecobian in the group. He was far down on the other end of the room, and it was difficult for her to see him from the dais, but she was certain she had his attention, and thinking of their time in the garden the night before had her blushing. She wished she could sneak off with him again at the moment, escaping the proprieties of sitting through breakfast, unable to easily interact with any of them.

“Have you tried the strawberry pastries, my Princess?” Cassius shouted at her from the table across from where she was seated, still a good ten yards away. He would’ve been sitting directly in front of her if the arrangement had been more intimate.

She laughed at his pluck, but by the time she began her response, the room was much quieter as all of the men waited to hear, even those who had also found Cassius’s question comical. “Not this morning,” she replied, not even sure which pastries he spoke of, though she assumed they were the ones she liked most of all that had a sweet strawberry jam in the center.

Before she could say more, he was up and around the end of the table, grabbing a basket of pastries from the center of it, and bringing them with him. “Here you are, my Lady. I think you shall enjoy it.” He smiled at her, and Kit felt a blush creeping up her neck.

How could she resist? Of course, she took one of the strawberry pastries, nodding, and said, “Why, thank you, Cassius. Strawberry has always been my favorite.”

He held her gaze for a moment before hopping down from the stage and returning to his seat. Kit took a bite of the pastry and caught his eye, smiling to let him know he was right as the delightful taste of fresh strawberries spread across her tongue.

“Bold, that one,” her mother muttered, but she hadn’t said a word to stop the transaction or to correct him, and Kit wondered if this meant the queen actually wouldn’t try to interfere. She thought for certain her mother would attempt to dictate who she interacted with, who she invited into her chambers, certainly who she Roomed and who she sent home, even though Yewforian law strictly forbid any sort of influence whatsoever by any member of the nobility, or anyone else for that matter. The idea that her mother would let her choose her favorites and dismiss those she found unpleasant—such as Merek who was shoving an entire scone into his face at the moment—seemed almost too good to be true.

After breakfast, her mother kept her at the table until the gentlemen had all cleared out, giving her opinion about who was the best looking, who had the best manners, and who she thought most worthy of bedding. Kit listened, nodding and giving a polite, “Yes, Mother,” whenever appropriate, but she truly wasn’t paying too much attention at all. Her Choosing hadn’t even truly begun yet, and the last thing she wanted to do was think about who her mother thought she should be Rooming and who she thought she should be letting go.

Once it seemed her mother was finished, she asked, “May I go now, My Queen?”

Rona nodded, and Kit shot up out of her chair quickly, before Her Majesty might change her mind. She thought she had heard some of the men talking about going out to the back fields near the garden and barns, and since it was a lovely day, not too warm, she decided she would join them. Now that she could speak freely, she was looking forward to learning more about each of them. It would take some doing with a crowd so large, but she had all the time she needed.

As soon as she stepped out into the hallway, the two members of her guard that had accompanied her that morning, standing by the doorway as she ate, fell into step behind her. It surprised her when she saw Eli coming down the hall toward them as well. He didn’t look as if he needed to speak to her, and after their interaction the evening before, she had nothing to say to the commander. She headed for the door just down the hall from the dining room, hoping that’s where the Representatives had headed as well.