“My Lady, there is trouble.” 

Before Anne can elaborate on her warning, the arrival of Celeste's mother causes the young maid to strategically cover up the rest of her words with a soft cough. 

“Good morning, Your Ladyship.” Anne politely bows at her appearance before shooting Celeste a look from behind.

"What brings you here so early in the morning, mother?" Celeste asks with a nervous smile.

Hardly ever is her morning tea interrupted. Besides, Celeste knows of many things her mother would rather spend her time on than to come here for light conversation. 

"I am relieved that you are dressed."

"Why is that something to be relieved about?"

A taut smile appears on her mother's lips. "A guest will soon be arriving."

"So sudden?" No one had mentioned anything last night or when she awoke this morning. Again, she receives non-verbal cues from her maid, but she fails to grasp their meaning. 

"Yes, we should join your father and brother without delay." 

It is not out of the ordinary for her father to have visitors, but it usually did not involve her or her brother. That and the fact that she finds her mother's behavior bewildering. But not wanting to cause further trouble, Celeste obediently trails after her mother and with Anne in tow.  

“Mother, who is our guest?” Celeste asks once they near the front courtyard.

“His Majesty.”

Her body freezes as the royal carriage comes to a gentle stop a mere few feet away. For a moment, she finds her mother's words hard to believe, and now with clear evidence before her, she could no longer deny what are eyes are seeing. In all of his glory, the king leaves from his carriage as the members of the Lane family bow their heads in respect. With eyes wide open staring at the ground, Celeste tries to quickly wrap her mind around what is currently transpiring. 

Why would the king be here? 

“The Lane family greets His Royal Majesty.” 

"Be at ease," His Majesty replies. "Thank you for the kind welcome on such short notice."

They lift their heads while her father starts on their introductions. In a rare event, Celeste's thoughts come to a stop, yet her smile remains. 

“Should we find a quiet place?"

It appears the rest of the family's duty stops there as the king and her father make their way into the gardens. Celeste soon returns to her room with Anne, learning nothing about the discussion that will take place. Sitting down beside her window, she wonders what conversation is so important that it brings the king here in person instead of sending a letter. 

“I tried to run here as fast I could,” Anne explains.

Celeste chuckles as she eyes her maid’s frantic looks. “I do not doubt that you tried.”

***

She did not have to wonder for long. 

After the second hour, the king decided he needed to return to the palace. Her mother leads both her and Theo into the back, towards the garden house. 

"Come have a seat," her father says.

He must have been expecting their return and possibly, their questions. 

Like Celeste, Theo takes that as an invitation to voice his curiosity. "Did the king come to give you your reward, father?"

"He did."

Settling in her own seat, Celeste chooses to remain quiet. Theo may be able to obtain all the answers she is looking for without her saying a single word. 

"What was the reward?" Theo asks. 

Her father looks up to his wife. "The king came with an offer."

Celeste carefully observes his demeanor. He seems to be taking the news well, but that is not out of character. Her father is not the type of person who would be delighted over wealth and riches. Well, that is what Celeste suspects the reward is.

"Celeste."

Startled out of her thoughts, she recovers her smile. "Yes, father?"

"You are nineteen years old this year."

Not a question, but she responds anyway, "Yes, father."

Confused, her mother redirects them back to the original conversation. "What was the offer? A new title?"

"Nothing like that," he answers. "The king would like to be responsible for our dowry."

Celeste could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"For who?"

Though it is her mother who asks the question, the answer was not a hard one to figure out. Suddenly, Celeste could feel all eyes turning in her direction. 

***

Not again.

Why are they revisiting the marriage topic again? 

“Must this be the reward, mother?”

She once had said that gold, peace, and quiet are already great rewards. Why does His Majesty insist on getting everyone married? After yesterday’s explosive news, Celeste has been unable to eat, sleep, or do anything as a matter of fact.

“Remain still, it is quite obvious that you did not sleep last night,” her mother merely says as she motions Anne to continue fixing Celeste's face with powder. 

"I am clearly not fine by the news, mother."

Is she the only one panicking? Does no one find this all strange?

Her mother leans down and takes Celeste’s hands into hers. With a soft smile, she tries her best to quell her daughter’s anxiety. “It is just a meeting and there is no rush to use the dowry. Besides, it’ll be rude to the king if you refuse.”

"Just a meeting," Celeste repeats softly.

Her mother reassures her by squeezing her hand. 

Without much further instruction, her mother leads her towards the drawing room. Standing rigidly before the door, Celeste hesitates to lift her hand to knock. Left with no other choice, her mother does so for her before urging her forward. She turns to look for Anne, naturally seeking comfort, but her mother already has her maid by the hand. 

The voice from within answers, "Come in."

All morning she had a moment to ask for the guest's identity and it did not cross her mind once. 

With a deep breath, Celeste enters to meet the person obscured by the radiant sunlight coming through the large windows.  

“Good morning.”

The door closes behind her and she steps in further. There, at the table arranged neatly with tableware and snacks, sat Duke Ellis Stone. This time, she makes a bigger effort to welcome him by bowing deeper.

Stunned is an understatement. Surely, a situation like this deserved some sort of word of caution from her mother.

“Good morning,” he returns the greeting.

She's overwhelmed by various thoughts— will he find her impolite for hesitating to walk closer? Will he recognize her now? What if he tells her father about their chance meeting in town?

"You're surprised," the duke remarks.   

“Oh, well–,” she starts to say and reaches up to touch the new small pendant attached to her gown.

The odd action draws his attention.

“This isn’t our first or second encounter,” he says.

She subtly winces upon her concerns becoming true. “I was not told who I would be meeting, Your Grace.”

He is not at all phased– in fact, it seems that she is the only one nervous about this.

“I do appreciate your help from that other time.” He motions to the chair right across from him. “Will you be taking a seat?”

She quickly takes her place at the table and finds herself even more self-conscious. She wants to ask if the duke had ever mentioned their second meeting to her father, but that is unlikely due to the lack of scolding she has yet to receive. 

"I apologize for not recognizing you then."

"Please don't apologize," she answers, unable to look him in the eyes. "A fact that I appreciated."

Her mother’s maid enters to pour them fresh tea.

"It is very nice to meet you again, Lady Celeste.”

She tries to find her words, but fails. She reaches for her tea while thanking him and takes a sip. 

“I hope you enjoy the tea,” the duke says. “I took care in choosing one.”

“I am not particular, Your Grace.”

Even with the duke filling in the silence with gentle words, she is unable to let her guard down. At any rate, romantic meetings are difficult, but a romantic meeting with the kingdom’s duke proves to be another level of discomfort.

But she was not raised to be so... mild. 

She sets her cup down. “You must be very close to my father, Your Grace.”

“We have been in constant communication since the war, so I believe we know each other quite well.”

Considering the time that it took to win the war, they really must have known each other for a long while.

She nods in understanding. “My father does not like speaking about his duties in front of us, so I have never heard stories about you, Your Grace. Well, other than what I hear about you from the public.” 

“The public likes to exaggerate,” he answers softly.

“So, you have heard the stories yourself?”

“Unfortunately.”

She finds humor in his response. “Does this meeting have to do with His Majesty’s announcement at the royal banquet?”

“Yes, it does. It is not my own doing, so there is no need for you to be nervous. His Majesty voiced his desire to have me meet with Count Lane’s only daughter as part of his goal to marry me off.”

The king surely knows how to compensate his subjects.

“So, I am one of many you are meeting?”

“Does that offend you?”

“Not at all.” Celeste finds herself releasing a sigh of relief. After today, he would just move onto the next person lined up to meet with him.

Duke Ellis looks up after he takes a sip of his own tea. 

“Since it is His Majesty’s sole wish to see me married, it is difficult for me to be completely interested in the idea," he says. "I have also expressed this to the other women he has requested me to meet."

That notion is foreign to her. To have the privilege to turn down marriage at his age. She thinks about her own parents and wonders how long they would allow her to push off her own.

“I would still like to focus on my responsibilities and I will not have marriage keep me at home or away from my duties,” he continues as Celeste is lost in her own musings.

She finds she’s jealous of the man sitting in front of her.

“Lady Celeste?”

Removing her hand from the pendant on her gown, she refocuses on the conversation at hand.

“Oh, yes, I apologize.” Lifting her teacup, she has another taste. “I completely understand. Well, I’m sure you had better things planned today, Your Grace.” 

“Even if it is uncomfortable, I cannot leave just yet. I want His Majesty to know I am trying.”

These forced meetings are most likely causing him quite the headache, but he is still doing his part. This is an interesting side of the duke that the public wouldn't be able to paint.   

Thinking of her mother, she settles more into her seat and turns her attention to the window. “I should do the same.”

As they reach an unspoken understanding, they work on finishing their teas and snacks in comfortable silence.