An Unfortunate Way to Meet

The trouble with escaping an arranged marriage, Sera discovered, was the amount of fabric involved.

One foot dangled above a rose bed. The other was wedged between two stone balusters. Behind her, somewhere inside Blackwood Castle, a clock began to strike five.

She had forty minutes before she was expected to meet her future husband.

She would rather meet the roses.

"I wouldn't," said a voice behind her. "The gardener sharpened those stakes this morning."

Sera twisted. A young stranger stood beneath the climbing jasmine, riding gloves in one hand. Dark hair brushed a fine cheekbone; a fitted coat, dusty boots, and an annoyingly composed expression suggested someone who had never been caught halfway over anything.

"This isn't what it looks like."

The stranger considered her. "Then I should be fascinated to learn what it is."

"An inspection."

"Of the outside of the railing?"

"The masonry concerns me."

A smile appeared, then seemed to be carefully put away.

"May I help?"

Sera glanced toward the open terrace doors. Rose would be looking for her soon. So would the woman sent to make sure she was properly dressed for the reception.

"Only if you're discreet."

"I can usually manage it."

The stranger came closer, laid the gloves on a bench, and braced Sera's forearm while examining her skirt. A thread of embroidery had caught around the iron fastening of a flower box.

"Stay still a moment."

Footsteps sounded beyond the doors.

Sera panicked. She hauled her trapped foot upward just as the embroidery came loose. Her shoe found the rounded edge of the step, slipped, and sent her pitching forward.

A hand caught her waist. She grabbed a fistful of dark lapel. The stranger stepped back under her weight, shoulder meeting the wall beside the jasmine.

Their mouths collided.

It was barely a kiss: warm lips, a startled breath, the faint taste of mint.

It was quite enough.

Sera jerked backward. The hand at her waist tightened just long enough to keep her upright.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. Or nodded. Neither seemed to communicate the extraordinary failure presently occurring in her brain.

Grey-blue eyes searched her face.

"Your ankle?"

"Perfectly intact. My dignity may require burial."

The stranger exhaled, almost laughing. Then the gaze dropped briefly to Sera's mouth.

Sera became aware that she was still clutching the coat.

She released it.

The hand left her waist a fraction later.

"I'm sorry," the stranger said. A flush had reached the tops of those elegant ears.

That was oddly reassuring.

"It was an accident," Sera said.

"Yes."

"Entirely."

"Of course."

The agreement was prompt. The small smile, directed at the creased lapel, was less satisfactory.

"You needn't look so pleased about it."

The smile vanished. "I was pleased you hadn't broken anything."

Well. That was a reasonable answer, and therefore deeply inconvenient.

The footsteps passed without entering.

Sera smoothed her skirt. One pale blue shoe lay abandoned beside the railing. The stranger retrieved it, knelt, and held it out without attempting to put it on her.

She took it. Their fingers brushed.

Mint. That was what she was thinking about. She ought to have been considering transport.

"Please don't tell anyone," she said.

"About the masonry inspection?"

"Any of it."

"I haven't even asked your name."

"Excellent. That should make an account difficult to give."

This time the stranger laughed openly. The sound was low and unexpectedly lovely.

"Alex," came the introduction.

Sera hesitated. Her intended was also called Alex, but half the people in the world seemed to be called Alex, and surely a crown prince would have been introduced with considerably more ceremony.

Surely he would not be wandering around in muddy boots, rescuing visiting princesses from shrubbery.

"Sera."

Something softened in Alex's face.

"It's nice to meet you, Sera."

She looked away first.

Below the terrace, a gravel path curved toward the stables. Beyond them lay the road that had brought her here that afternoon, against every objection she had made.

At twenty-two she was apparently old enough to bind two kingdoms together, yet not old enough to decline a marriage proposed in her absence.

"Do you know which horses are available?" she asked.

Alex followed her gaze. "For the inspection?"

"For an outing."

"Have you money?"

Sera touched the empty pocket in her skirt.

"A map?"

"I have an excellent sense of direction."

Alex looked at the terrace she had chosen. It overlooked an enclosed garden.

"This is the west courtyard," Alex said gently. "The road is on the other side of the castle."

Sera closed her eyes.

"I dislike you."

"You haven't had enough time to decide."

"I decide quickly."

"Then decide whether you'd like some bread. You look pale."

A little table stood under the jasmine, laid with a plate, a covered dish, and a pot of tea. Sera had assumed it belonged to someone else.

Her stomach betrayed her with a noise entirely unsuitable for a princess.

Alex's mouth twitched. Mercifully, no comment followed.

Sera sat.

"I have to meet my betrothed in half an hour," she admitted as Alex uncovered warm bread and cheese. "I don't suppose you're acquainted with the Blackwood heir?"

Alex paused over the teapot.

"Fairly well."

"Then you can tell me how insufferable this is going to be."

"That depends. How insufferable are you prepared to find it?"

"The entire arrangement is offensive. Apparently a marriage is easier to negotiate if you leave out the people getting married."

Alex set a cup before her.

"I agree."

Sera looked up, surprised.

"You do?"

"I'd prefer to be asked."

She tore a piece of bread. "Exactly. And if the heir expects a silent ornament, there will be disappointment."

"I'll convey the warning."

"Please do. I read at breakfast. I hate hunting. I argue when I'm frightened, which makes people assume I'm not frightened at all."

The amusement left Alex's eyes.

"Are you frightened now?"

Sera studied the crumbs on her plate.

"A little."

Alex did not tell her she was fortunate, or that duty became easier with practice.

"Then perhaps the first meeting can be only a first meeting. No decisions tonight."

Sera's shoulders loosened.

By the time Rose found her, she had eaten two slices of bread and forgotten to be embarrassed about the kiss for several whole minutes.

"There you are," Rose said, relief giving way to an expression Sera knew too well. "Your introduction, Highness."

Alex stood.

"I must change. Thank you for the company."

"Thank you for the rescue," Sera said, before Rose could ask what needed rescuing.

Twenty minutes later, washed, brushed, and restored to a reasonable imitation of royal composure, Sera entered the little drawing room overlooking the lake.

Queen Eleanor waited beside the fireplace.

So did Alex, now wearing a formal dark coat, a silver Blackwood crest at the collar.

The queen smiled.

"Princess Seraphina. May I present my heir, Alex Blackwood?"

Sera stopped walking.

Alex bowed, eyes bright.

"Have you made any improvements to your escape plan?"