Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3) (6 page)

“I was undressing, Alex. Not an easy feat in the dress I was wearing. Surely, Rebecca’s had similar difficulties,” she said as she raised an eyebrow at him. He scowled but did not reply as he entered.

Arianna shut the door behind him and watched as his gaze raked over the room. “Are you alone?”

“Of course,” she said, only too happy that old palaces were filled with hidden passageways.

“Then you won’t mind if I check?”

“Go right ahead,” she said easily as her arm swept through the air. Alex narrowed his eyes, then began searching the closet and the bathroom. His lack of trust in her pierced her well-honed exterior. Would she always pay for past crimes?

Weary, she sat down on the impeccable bed. She and Finn had never made it there, and she was glad. She couldn’t believe how she had behaved. If anyone found out, well, she didn’t want to think about that.

When Alex strode back into the room, he kneeled down to look under the bed. Arianna rolled her eyes and stood. “Why don’t you trust me, Alex?”

“Let me make one thing very clear,” Alex said as he stood. “I do trust you. Completely. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Oh. “Well, then what the hell is all this about?”

“I don’t trust Henry, and I’m still considering whether or not to trust Finn.”

“What? Why? What happened?”

Alex sighed. “Let’s sit down for this,” he said as he gestured to the seats near the window. “I’m making us a drink.”

“It’s better if I don’t have anything this late.” She moved her clothes from the chairs so they could sit. She remembered Finn’s comment about scenting her arousal and she blushed. She put the clothes on the bed and tied her robe a little tighter. She wished she’d had time to put on some underwear.

Alex handed her some brandy and then took a sip of his own as he sat down. “Henry’s made an unusual request.”

“So soon?” she asked as she took a sip herself. “I thought you weren’t going talk politics or diplomacy until tomorrow.”

“That’s what I thought, too. However, Henry’s ‘nightcap’ proved otherwise.”

“What does he want?”

“You.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Henry wants you,” he said with a twisted expression and took another sip.

“Henry wants me to do what? Sleep with him?”

“He wants you to marry him.”

“Marry him?” she said as she stood and put down the glass in one fell swoop. “What the hell is he playing at?”

“He needs a wife and he thinks you’d fit the bill.”

“And what does Valleria get if I marry him?”

“Assistance finding out who conspired against us. He claims to know who it is, but won’t give us the information unless we agree to join our two countries through marriage.”

“That’s, I mean, I just don’t know what to say,” she said and sat down again. “Have you told Papa about this?”

“No,” Alex said darkly. “Once he hears about it, he’ll want to kill Henry, which won’t do anybody any good.”

“I think you’re being dramatic. I don’t believe Papa would act that way. Not for me.”

Alex gave her a questioning look. “Why the hell would you believe something like that? Papa loves you, you idiot.”

“He doesn’t love me. At least not like he loves our sisters.”

“I’ll say it again: don’t be an idiot. Of course he loves you. I was there the day you were born, the day all of our siblings were born. Trust me, I know when I see a father’s love and he has that for you.”

But did she have his respect? She didn’t know. “What do you want to do, Alex?”

“I want to speak to Finn about this.”
 

“Finn?” She gripped the lapels of her robe. “Did he have something to do with this?”

Alex shook his head and took another sip. “That’s why I want to speak with him. From everything I’ve seen, Finn’s not involved in the running of the country at all. However, from the gentle probing both I and our protection agents have done, the public loves him much more than Henry.”

“They do?”

“Yes. I found out why he didn’t meet us this morning.”

“Why?”

“He overslept.”

Arianna wondered who he’d overslept with. “A woman?”

“No.”

“A man?” she asked but, given his recent behavior towards her, had a hard time believing it.

Alex shook his head. “He overslept because he was out late helping a farmer. Apparently, he is frequently seen talking to and helping the citizens of Brazenbourg on an individual basis.”

“I don’t understand. If he’s so well-liked, why doesn’t Henry let him do more?”

“Jealousy is my guess. He doesn’t want to take a chance that Finn could usurp his crown.”

“That’s ridiculous. I mean, you don’t worry about that sort of thing. You don’t even really care that your twin sister was born thirty minutes after you were, making you and Cat much closer in age than Finn and Henry.”

“You’re right that I don’t care. Though I wouldn’t have minded if she’d taken a little more time being born. I only had thirty minutes to enjoy being an only child,” he said with a smile.

Arianna smiled back, then frowned when she thought about Henry again. ‘What ifs’ scrolled through her mind. What if she married Henry? Valleria would get the information they needed, and perhaps her family would respect her more. What if she didn’t marry him? Would her life be the same? Would they ever find out who wanted to attack Valleria, before they attacked again?

As the silk of her robe shifted slightly, she readjusted it, keeping her semi-bare body covered. If she married Henry, there would be no more clandestine meetings with Finn. She was a one-man woman.

“What are you thinking?” Alex asked as he put down his glass.

“I’m wondering what would happen if I did marry Henry.”

“What?” he asked as he stood. “Not two minutes ago this was a ridiculous request, and now you’re actually considering it?”

She stood again, meeting him face-to-face. “If it helps you and Valleria, why not?”

“Holy hell, Arianna. You deserve to marry for love, not convenience.”

Arianna shook her head. “I’ll never marry for love, so I might as well marry for convenience.”

“You deserve better than that.”

No, I don’t
. “It’s my choice.”

“Not this one. You know Papa will not agree to this.”

“He will after I’ve talked to him about it.”

Alex ran impatient hands through his hair. “Why the hell are you doing this?”

“I’m not ‘doing’ anything. I was just considering it.”

Alex gripped her shoulders. “Don’t feel you have to sacrifice yourself for me or Valleria. Is this about what happened in the past?”

She shrugged away his hands and stepped back as a chill swept across her features. “The past doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“It has everything to do with this, I think. You need to move past it.”

“I have.”

“You haven’t. You think we don’t notice it? The family is well aware of it, I assure you.”

“Leave me be, Alex. It’s my life. While you may not like Henry, you respect his position as a ruler.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because if you didn’t, you would have punched Henry in the face and gotten us thrown out of the palace entirely when he made his request. Since that didn’t happen, I’m assuming you restrained yourself.”

Alex grunted but didn’t deny it. “That still doesn’t mean I want my little sister to marry him. I’m only giving him the smallest benefit of the doubt as it is. If Henry were the second son instead of Finn, well, he would find himself with a busted lip and a swollen eye.”

“Look, let’s just calm down. Why don’t we both try to get some sleep and talk about it in the morning?”

“Papa’s waiting for my call.”
 

“So, call him. Tell him the truth, and tell him how I felt about it.”

“He would never agree to anything like this over the phone. He’ll want to come here to speak with you in person if you decide to go through with this.”

“He can’t come here; his anniversary party is in a few days. He can speak to me then, although, if I want to go through with it, I will.”

“Ari, I just don’t know.”

She gave his arm a squeeze. “Do me a favor? Talk to Rebecca before you talk to Papa. She may be able to give you another female perspective on this.”

Alex softened at the mention of his fiancée’s name, as Arianna meant him to. “Yes, all right. God, I miss her. Has it only been a day since I’ve seen her?”

“It’s been less than a day, though I bet you both were video messaging earlier, weren’t you?”

Alex smiled but didn’t deny it. “Can’t you see, Ari? What I have with Rebecca, that’s what I want you to have.”

Arianna’s face hardened again. “That’s not in the cards for me, Alex, and I don’t think you’re surprised to realize that.” Before he could respond, she continued. “Please, Alex? Trust me enough to know my own mind.”

Alex pursed his lips, then nodded. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” she said as she led him to the door.

He paused in the doorway to look at her. “Think long and hard about this, Ari. Marriage should be forever, whether you’re royal or not. I know you, even though you don’t think I do. Once you make a commitment, you stick with it.”

“Some might see that as an admirable trait.”

“Not if you’re making the wrong choice in the beginning. I don’t want you to be sad or regretful later on.”

As she once was
, she knew he was thinking. “I said I’d think about it and I will.”

Alex nodded and strode out. Arianna spent a few moments watching him walk away, his confident steps receding down the hall, then she turned back and locked the door. She went to pick up her dress from the bed and, as soon as she fingered the silk, she remembered Finn and the dress slid from her fingers.

Her gaze shot towards the wall where she had found such pleasure and where he may still be hiding behind the closed door. Could he hear anything? Had he heard anything?

She walked slowly over and ran her hands over the wall until she found the small button. Instead of knocking, she decided to open the door herself. She pressed the button and then gasped as the door opened.

No one was behind it.

Even while relief swept through her, so did disappointment. She shut the door, then moved a small table in front of it, just in case. While her body would have been glad to meet his lips again, her mind needed to focus on other matters.

***

Finn finally made it back to his room. Only growing up in the palace had given him the time needed to learn all of the hidden passageways through the palace, though he doubted Henry had used his time the same way. Tonight, he found his time and effort dedicated to the task well spent.