“Do not disappoint me,” Elden barked at the man next to him. “We will meet on this tomorrow, and I expect to be prepared.”
Well. He was The King. If anyone had to be on top of his game at all times, it was him. Caitlyn tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt, but the image of Emrys coming home to find himself engaged loomed in her mind. She imagined the same thing would happen to little Adora someday, even if she was his favorite. Had Imelda been given any choice in husband? Had the king told her how many children to have as well? Was four the standard obligation, or would the younger children get to choose how many to bear for the expansion of the family line?
The king strode to his carriage. He offered Eliana a hand so that she could enter first, and then climbed in himself. One of his assistants made a shooing motion toward the rest of them, and Emrys took Caitlyn’s hand to help her into the carriage.
“This is something else. Do you do this every year?” Caitlyn settled herself onto the cushioned seat, trying to keep the fluffy skirt of her gown from clumping around her.
“I’m not home every year, but when I am, yes.” Emrys leaned back as the carriage started to move slowly.
“What do I do? Do I just wave at the people? Do they want some rando waving at them? This is about fawning over the royals, after all. Not the prince’s date.”
Emrys looked at her with a strange expression. It was fond and kind and…a little conflicted. She rarely saw conflict in him. He was so decisive, usually. She put her hand on his leg and patted his knee.
“I’ll wave if you want me to,” she conceded.
“I think you should. It’s only polite.” Emrys took her hand.
It took some time for their carriage to make its way out into the streets of the city. Everything must have been shut down for the day. When Caitlyn peered out the window, she could see that there were people walking in front of them, and the parade itself was quite long, but the royal family was the highlight. They were what people were waiting to see, even if they occasionally got a glimpse of the royal family going about their business surrounded by guards.
Caitlyn wondered what the people would be doing that night while the royals were at the ball. Would they have their own dance that evening? A raucous street party?
Emrys squeezed her hand just as they began to approach a crowd of people on the street, sitting and waiting. Children waved little flags in exactly the same way kids did at Fourth of July parades in the States. One family held a full-sized flag, and they stood with it, two of the children jumping up and down. Caitlyn laughed and waved and blew the children a kiss.
“You’re a natural,” Emrys said.
“At least I don’t have to walk the whole parade. That would be exhausting.”
Just then, a band struck up with the anthem with a large, brassy sound. They were too far away to hear it clearly, but Emrys had mentioned that the anthem would play at some point, and he had played her a bit of it on the piano. Around them, the voices of the people grew along with their numbers. Caitlyn wished she had some candy to throw to the children. Would that be undignified? Probably.
The horses didn’t walk fast, and the procession’s route wound through much of the city. Caitlyn arched her back, starting to feel stiff. It was less fun now that they were half an hour into it. Emrys gave her an apologetic smile and then turned to wave to a new crowd. Caitlyn stifled a yawn.
Wickedly, she looked over to Emrys. He was devastatingly handsome in his outfit for the ball. Underneath his black suit jacket was a snug, double-breasted waistcoat that emphasized his well-cut abs and developed pectoral muscles. Just below the line of sight of the carriage’s windows, Caitlyn moved her hand down his abdomen, slowly.
“Stop,” he instructed her.
“I’m sorry. Was that not appropriate?” Caitlyn teased. She kept her gaze out on the crowd and a smile on her face.
“No. It isn’t appropriate.”
“Then this definitely won’t be.”
With a deft motion, she unbuckled his pants and slipped her hand inside.
“Cait!”
“Keep smiling, your highness!” She said brightly.
“A smile is not going to be a problem.”
Chapter Eight
When the procession finally returned to the palace, over two hundred people were already in the expansive ballroom dancing to a lively waltz played by the string orchestra. Emrys kept Caitlyn on his arm and watched her eyes shining as she took in the towering walls lined with gold filigree molding, the chandeliers that sparkled over the dancers, and the dancers themselves gliding in their gowns and tuxedos around and around the room. Her expression reminded him of the time he’d taken her to Giverny to see Monet’s gardens. She’d never been terribly overwhelmed by art. Her reaction to the museums had been gently appreciative. But when they’d stood in front of those gardens, she’d lit up, bouncing on her toes, and grabbed his hand excitedly.