Another nod. The tiniest quirk of Alaric’s lips was the only indication that he was displeased.
“Then it’s all going to your plan?”
Cass’s mind conjured up the feel of Briony as she’d wrapped her lithe body around him, returned his punishing kiss with one of her own that had set his body on fire. He pushed it away, but another image replaced it; Briony, gazing out the window of the plane with hope on her face as they’d left Kansas behind. He would most definitely be able to offer her a better life. But he knew that a large part of the excitement that had sparkled in her eyes had been because of meeting her birth father.
The father he was about to introduce her to who was far worse than the stepfamily she’d left behind.
You should have told her.
He could have still persuaded her. His plan to help her stepfamily, the chance to meet Alaric, all of it could have still been enough.
But now was not the time for regrets. And regret was just another gateway to feelings that needed to stay out of their arrangement.
“Yes. It’s all going according to plan.”
Clara glanced irritably at her watch for the fourth time as she walked Briony down yet another hall filled with paintings.
“The east wing hallway features—”
“Clara,” Briony interrupted with what she hoped was a diplomatic smile, “I know Cass sprang this on you. You probably have better things to do than walking me around the palace. If you’ll just take me to Prince Alaric’s study, I’m sure it will be fine.”
Clara frowned, but then cast a longing glance at her watch.
“I am quite busy today. We have an important series of events with the Swiss ambassador coming up in three weeks, and assuming...” Her voice trailed off.
“Assuming I marry Cass, a wedding to plan?” Briony asked with a self-deprecating grin.
A tiny smile cracked through Clara’s smooth mask.
“Yes.” She grimaced. “A week after Christmas.”
“Then please don’t worry about this tour. Cass has inconvenienced you enough.”
Clara stared at her for a moment before she let out a surprised laugh that transformed her expression from dour to startlingly beautiful.
“May I be frank, Your Highness?”
“Of course. But only if you call me Briony.”
Clara glanced around the empty hall. “In private, yes. In public, however, I must adhere to protocol.”
“I understand.”
“Briony, when your brother, Prince Alaric, told me that you would be getting married to Prince Cassius, I worried for you,” Clara confided as she led Briony down another hallway.
“Worried for me?”
“He has a reputation.”
Briony thought back to the numerous photos of Cass with models, actresses and other famous women on his arm at various events over the years. Something that felt too much like jealousy curled in her stomach.
“I’m aware. Although it seems like he’s kept out of the news in recent months.”
“It’s not just his dating history.” Clara guided them around a corner and up a flight of stairs. “The history between Prince Cassius’s family and the Van Ambrose family is not a positive one.”
“Cass mentioned something about that.”
A look of relief crossed Clara’s face. “I’m glad he told you. We were surprised when he offered the marital alliance. But it will be good for... Your Highness? Briony? Are you all right?”