“No. But fathers can apparently still force their children to marry.”
“So, this is real?”
She sounded so desolate he was tempted to take pity on her—but she was the Queen now, and making it easy on her wouldn’t be doing her any favors.
So he didn’t, instead saying, “It is. So, if we may continue?” He inclined his head toward the stack of forms sitting at her right hand. “There are several legal statements you must sign. You are to select one to three, but no more, causes to champion. These will then inform your outreach activities.”
Her expression suggested that he’d grown another head, but she said nothing so he continued.
“Your attendance is expected at all official state functions. A personal secretary has been assigned to you to manage your calendar, your discretionary budgets, and personal affairs.”
Zayn noted that her color was fading, but she remained upright, present, and attentive. It would do. He sensed there was more going on inside, but overnight she seemed to have managed to gain some control over her constant emoting.
At least she was a quick study. She would need to be. There were those who would use her every emotion against her, and he wouldn’t always be around to protect her.
“Your diplomatic functions will include acting as royal hostess, overseeing entrainment for visiting dignitaries, and representing Cyrano whenever abroad.”
At this, she brightened, once again broadcasting her feelings, transparent as glass. He’d given her credit too soon.
“Politically, should anything happen to me, you are to take my place as ruler, working closely with the advisory council—”
She sucked in a pained breath at his mention of the council, and he felt another twinge of regret. Not for firing her from the position. That had been a given. The Queen did not have a seat on the advisory council. But he could find sympathy for her obvious disappointment.
Continuing, he said, “In readiness for such an emergency, you are to keep abreast of the status and scope of my duties as well as your own. This is considered a royal duty, and you will be allotted time for review in your official schedule.”
Here was another duty she felt an affinity for, judging from the ease she radiated.
For the thousandth time he wondered why his father had chosen her—and for the thousandth time he brushed the thought away.
Speculation was a waste of his time.
“Other duties will be assigned as they arise, but you will be informed well in advance. I mentioned that you would receive a wardrobe budget. In addition to that, you will receive an administrative budget and an annual salary. You will get three months of vacation per year, and six months of maternity leave—”
Mina made a choking sound in the back of her throat, and the energy in the room took on a new edge.
They had not yet discussed heirs.
Heirs—or at least the attempt—would be one of her essential duties as Queen. It was literally spelled out in the position’s description.
As Zayn took her in now, a burst of color masquerading as a deflating cardboard box, he was surprised to feel heat stirring in his gut.
Unlike the women on his list, Mina bore none of the traits he found attractive in a woman. She was tall, whereas he liked petite, serious whereas he valued humor, and, he suspected, she was curvaceous under her suit—more like a proud Valkyrie than a woman with the willowy frame he preferred.
His father couldn’t have selected a more inappropriate woman for him had he tried.
And yet...
Zayn cleared his throat. “Out of consideration for our heirs, and the continuation of the d’Argonia line, both parties are prohibited from extramarital relations until the union has produced three children who have lived past the age of five.”
Mina’s face, having darkened when he began, was a mortified mask of purple by the time he’d finished.
“That’s oddly specific,” she squeaked.
He would have called it distasteful, but essentially he agreed. This conversation was crude. All this information was included in the marriage contract, usually reviewed by each party privately before the wedding. However, there was nothing usual about this marriage.
“Once we have produced the requisite number of heirs, we are free to explore or return to other relationships.” He found himself frowning as he spoke, oddly as insulted by the idea of Mina taking a lover as he’d been intrigued by the idea of producing an heir with her.
“Perhaps we can take it slow when it comes to heirs,” she suggested, her voice coming out scratchy and uneven. Her cheeks were still red-tinged, and she had pushed her seat back, away from the opposite side of the desk.