Note: This chapter picks up the morning after the welcome ball. I really didn’t want to cut the chapter off where I did, but the only alternative to was to make it twice and long, and I felt I would be rushing it more to get it out. So this isn’t the most eventful chapter, but its sets things up for event to come. As always, please feel free to leave comments or likes. I really appreciate the feedback and it helps guide and inspire me for future works.
Kat and Jo pored over the footage from the night before.
“God, those two are like lovesick puppies already,” Jo laughed. “It’s almost sickening to watch.”
“They definitely are making our job easy so far,” Kat mused, staring at the screen.
“Who else do you think is a frontrunner? Who else is wife material, and who do we need to make sure Liam keeps for the drama?
Kat flipped through the head shots of the women. “Hana’ a keeper for sure. She’s good at everything, and there’s nothing not to like. Maybe Lydia and Kiara as well. He seemed interested in conversing with all three of them last night”
Jo nodded her head. “I agree, all three possibly solid choices to compete with Riley. Madeleine comes off as an ice queen, but she really wants to be queen. If she warms up to Liam, she could be a contender, but I could also see her butting heads with some of the other woman. Plus, it’s no secret that she is King Constantine’s first choice for Liam and was dumped by Liam’s brother Leo when he abdicated. There are so many possibilities for her story. What’s your gut feeling on Olivia?
“I think she’s another one that can go either way. She’s had a close relationship with Liam since childhood and has a tragic backstory with her parents being killed when she was a young child. From the footage, she seems more into Liam than he is into her, but that could add some angst with the unrequited love angle. She also has no filter and doesn’t seem to make friends easily. There will be drama with that one for sure. We just have to see how her story plays out, but she’s a keeper too.” Kat thought for a moment, looking at the photos once more. “Oh! One more…Penelope. I don’t see her being a match for Liam intellectually, but she’s gorgeous. And the things that come out of her mouth…we’ll get lots of good soundbites from her.
All right, I think we’ve got a solid group here to get us good ratings. Now we just have to see how Liam is feeling after last night. Wait, there is one thing I wanted to show you.” Jo rewound through some footage before pressing play again. “Do you see that?”
Kat watched Riley being walked back to her room by her guard and then him leaving a few moments later. She didn’t notice anything remarkable. “What am I missing here Jo?”
“Kat, have we not been doing this long enough for you to notice subtle body language? She rewound the footage again. Look at her, she’s running her hand through her hair, smiling, leaning in closer. I think she’s into him. He ignores it mostly, but you can see him break a little at the end. It’s nothing big, but we should keep an eye on it. What was Liam thinking assigning her such a hot bodyguard?”
“I don’t think we have anything to worry about. She’s way into Liam already, but your concern is noted.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That must be Prince Liam. Why don’t you go get the door Kat.”
“Good morning ladies,” Liam greeted respectfully. “You wanted to discuss upcoming dates?
“Yes, please have a seat.” Jo motioned to an empty chair in front of her desk. “We need to discuss who is going on the one on one and group dates. Everyone will be on the group date except the woman you choose for the one on one. The one on one will be this evening, the group date tomorrow afternoon, and then the first cocktail party and apple blossom ceremony will be tomorrow evening. You will be eliminating 3 women from the competition at that time.”
“I would like to ask Riley on the one on one date.”
Jo shook her head in disagreement.“ Sorry Liam, but we can’t let you do that.”
“Isn’t this about me finding my future wife? I should be able to decide who I spend my time with,” Liam objected.
Kat jumped in to try and smooth things over. “Liam you are right, this is about you choosing your wife. Jo and I personally love Riley and would be happy if you ended up with her. But we also need to produce an entertaining show. You chose her for the first dance last night. If you keep picking her first for everything the viewers will get bored. More viewers equals more exposure for Cordonia and Cordonian exports. We know you are doing the show to help the people of Cordonia. You also don’t want Riley to have a target on her back. Woman can be brutal towards each other, and they already see her as an outsider.”
“Oh, I guess you do have a point.” Disappointment showed on Liam’s face, but then he managed a small smile. “How about Hana? I think we could get on well.”
“Kat and I approve. You will be taking her to a vineyard in the countryside for wine tasting, and then you will have dinner and a private concert at the vineyard.”
“And what about the group date?”
“The women will be planting trees in the apple orchard followed by a group picnic. To make it more interesting, the woman who plants the most trees in an hour will get private time with you. There will be a more secluded area where you can have one on one conversations with some of the women, but then everyone will be sent home, and you and the winner will get to have dessert alone with you,” Jo explained.
Liam furrowed his brow. “Competing for time alone with me? This all sounds a little silly.”
Kat interjected again. “Think of how good this will look for Cordonia. You will be highlighting your main export, the Cordonian Ruby. You’ll get a chance to see what these ladies are made of, and the world will see that the noble women of Cordonia are more than just pretty faces and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.”
“It does sound better when you frame it like that.”
“Liam, Kat and I have been in this business a long time. Leave worrying about the details to us, and you just focus on finding your wife.”
~~~~~
Riley woke up with a big smile on her face, thinking about the ball the night before. Her itinerary told her breakfast was at 9am, and everyone was to meet in the main parlor at 10am to find out about date assignments. Just as she was about to leave, there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Drake standing there.
“Bennett, did you just open the door without checking through the peephole to see who I was? You could get yourself killed that way.”
Did he just call me Bennett? Wasn’t it Riley yesterday? “So are we going by last names now? That’s not fair, I don’t even know yours.”
“That’s all you got out of that? I’m supposed to make sure you are safe, and that’s going to be hard to do if you can’t even manage basic safety precautions.”
“Oh Drake, I highly doubt someone is going to get past security at 9 in the morning and come attack me in my room.”
“While not likely, anything could happen. Just start checking to make sure you know who is at the door before you open it.”
Riley couldn’t decide if she found Drake’s extreme regard for her safety endearing or annoying. Probably more annoying if anything. “Am I going to be stuck with you all the time? I’m not even allowed to walk to the dining room on my own?”
“Trust me, I’m just following orders. This is last on the list of things I want to be doing right now. But no, I won’t be with you all the time. If you are alone on a date with Liam, his guard will be sufficient for both of you. I’ll be at all the group dates and court functions, but most of the time you won’t even realize I’m there. I won’t be traveling with you if events are outside of the palace grounds. You’ll be traveling by limo with the other women.
“I don’t know what would be worse…being stuck in a car with them…or having to put up with you,” Riley teased.“
“Ha ha,” Drake replied sarcastically. “Now I suggest we leave if you don’t want to miss breakfast.“
“Wait, you still didn’t tell me your last name.”
Drake rolled his eyes. “It’s Walker. Now let’s go.”
Breakfast was uneventful. Riley sat at a table with Hana, Kiara and Penelope. The more time she spent with other noble women, the more she realized how different her upbringing was. They had classes on dancing, diplomacy, and dinner etiquette, among other things. There were expectations to marry into nobility, hopefully with a man whose title out-ranked their own. Riley had played some sports and did piano lessons growing up, but that was about it. Her mom’s only wish for her was to finish college and find a career that could make her happy and financially independent.
After breakfast they gathered in the parlor. Everyone was buzzing with anticipation. A well-dressed man with unnaturally white teeth walked in.
“Good morning ladies. I’m Chad Garrison, and I’m the host of Queen of My Heart. I know you are all waiting to hear about the dates. There will be one individual one on one date with Liam today, and tomorrow the rest of you will get a group date with Liam. Without further ado, I leave you with today’s date card. I will see you all tomorrow night at the apple blossom ceremony.
Madeleine, who was seated nearest to Chad, shot up out of her chair and practically snatched the card out of his hand. She opened it and scoffed loud enough for the others to hear before pasting a fake smile on her face and reading the card out loud. “Hana, get ready to drink and dine with world class food and Wine in Cordonia’s countryside.”
There was a mix of reactions around the room. Some women congratulated Hana and some sat silently giving her death stares. Riley thought there was a chance she could get the first solo date, so she was slightly disappointed. But if it had to be anyone else, she was glad it was Hana.
Filming paused and Kat came in to address the room. “Hana, you need to be ready to leave by 2pm. The rest of you have a free day today. You can hang by the pool, work out, walk around the grounds, etc. Whatever you want as long as you stay in the specified areas.”
As the women started to disperse, Kat pulled Riley aside discreetly. “Riley, you don’t get a free day. We are allowing Maxwell and Betrand to spend the day with you.”
“Do we get to have some fun sibling bonding time?”
“Something like that. They’ll explain when you get there. Kat called Drake over. “Drake, please escort Riley to the grand ballroom.”
Drake and Riley walked in relative silence to the ballroom. Maxwell and Bertand were already inside when they arrived.
Maxwell got up from his chair, shook Drake’s hand,and patted him on the back. “Drake Buddy! How have you been? I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last night.”
“Wait a second.” Riley looked back and forth between Maxwell and Drake. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Liam, Drake, and I all grew up together. Betrand and I have known Drake for years, right buddy?”
“Maxwell, stop calling me buddy.“ Drake turned to Riley. “Being Liam’s friend all these years meant I was stuck with Maxwell too.”
“Oh Drake, you know you love me. Just admit it.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever you want to think”
“Hmm,” Riley cut in. “Maybe you can tell me more about Drake then since he doesn’t seem to want to tell me anything about himself.”
“Maxwell, you know I have way more dirt on you than you have on me. Just think about that before you say anything,” Drake warned. “Now, I’m guessing you don’t need me for whatever you are doing here. Can I trust that you two can return Riley to her room safely this evening?”
“Betrand spoke up. “We will take good care of her. No need to worry.”
“You better. I don’t need Liam getting upset with me. See you tomorrow morning Bennett.”
Riley watched Drake leave the room, thinking about their interactions thus far. He showed glimpses of warmth towards her one minute, but then he was closed off and kind of an asshole the next. He was a tough one to figure out, which only made her want to try harder. She would have to deal with that later though. “Okay guys. Can you tell me what we are doing here?”
“Welcome to day two of the Beaumont Brother’s crash course in courtly etiquette!” Maxwell exclaimed.
“Seriously? Do I really have to do this?”
Riley, we are absolutely serious,” Betrand said with an absolutely serious expression to match. “Yesterday was a start, but there is so much more you need to learn, and the producers agree. We want to give you every advantage we can.”
“That, and Bertand is afraid you will embarass us.”
“Maxwell!”
Riley laughed. “Well I guess we should get started so I don’t tarnish the Beaumont name.”