Not surprising. He doubted he would ever win his father’s approval. “What else did she say?”
She shrugged. “Not much. The rest was girl talk. Your mother is very nice, very down-to-earth—excuse the pun. Karma showed up, and we went through my clothes. Your mother is quite the fashion maven. She has a good eye for detail. She recommended this outfit for dinner tonight. We had a fun afternoon.”
Fun? He took another drink.
His mother could befun—but few outside the immediate family got to see her softer, relaxed side. With most people, she remained cordial, but cool and measured—even with Alia, whom he’d thought she’d favored. She’d acted overly polite with Charday, whom she disliked. This casual friendliness meant she must like his wife very much indeed—assuming the amitywas genuine. However, he’d never known his mother to fake fondness.
“I’m glad you had a nice visit,” he said, still astonished. The wheels in his brain spun, trying to make sense of it.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Tedious.” He’d suffered a low-grade tension headache all day. The king had dispatched him to meet with a coterie of royal advisors. The mundanity of the trivia had nearly driven him insane. Every single “issue” brought to his attention could have been handled by the advisor—or the advisor’s underling.
As the dinner hour approached, and the advisors continued to recite a litany of insignificant problems, he’d snapped at them to handle it and walked out. He refused to miss dinner again—the time with Kismet provided the sole bright spot in days and nights of tedium, the museum dedication being the lone exception. All week long, he’d been subjected to the worst sort of duties—the king’s passive-aggressive punishment for his disobedience.
Which made today’s visit by his mother rather interesting. He sipped his spirits.
Coincidence? Or parental divide and conquer mission? His father coming down hard on him, while his mother befriended his wife.
Any parent should be thrilled to have her as a daughter-in-law. So, it wasn’t unlikely his mother would like her, except for the political considerations—the necessity to unite two previously feuding families and maintain the bloodline. If future heirs were half human, Earth might one day claim right of rule over Kaldor.
What if his parents were trying to wear them down, break them up?I don’t want Kismet to be hurt.She didn’t deserve that. He enjoyed her company—limited though it had been. He wentto take a drink and discovered an empty goblet. He picked up the carafe. “More spirits?” he asked.
“No, thank you. My glass is still full. One is my limit.”
He nodded. “Wise. Our spirits are potent.” He refilled his glass and took drink. “I have another public appearance you might be interesting in attending.”
“Yes!”
He chuckled. “You don’t know what it is yet.”
“I’d still like to go. I like spending time with you, and it will give me a break from the etiquette classes.”
“How are those going? Are you feeling more comfortable?”
“A little. Everything is so nuanced.”
“It will get easier. Our culture and traditions will become second nature.”
“If you say so,” she said doubtfully.
He had faith in her. “I’ve been asked to speak at the dedication of a new hospital wing the day after tomorrow. It won’t be as fun as MAH, but afterward we can slip away, and I can show you some of Kaldor.” The hospital wing dedication, like the MAH opening, had been scheduled long before his marriage, or his father would have squeezed in another punishment exercise.
Since the museum visit, the news of their marriage had begun to spread, but, after the ball,everyonewould know. The more people saw them together, the greater the public speculation would be when their marriage dissolved.
However,nottaking her out in public would invite rumors he was hiding her away because he was ashamed of her. Besides, everything a royal did fueled speculation. People would talk. Period. He walked a thin line, trying to avoid saying too much or too little, doing too much or doing not enough.
Tomorrow, he had to speak with Charday before she heard about the marriage. Kaldor Celebrity News had been there. Hecouldn’t delay any longer. He looked forward to telling Charday he’d gotten married about as much as he enjoyed his father’s assignments. Oddly, he had difficulty picturing Charday’s face, but he remembered her temper. He took a big gulp of spirits.
He hadn’t seen her in a couple of months. At her instigation, he’d agreed to a “separation” to “rethink” their relationship. She’d given him an ultimatum—marry her or else. He would have married her if he could. But his hands had been tied. Despite having been in the outer circle of royal life, she’d refused to accept the crown prince required the king’s permission to marry. Cosmic Mates galactic marriages being a loophole.
Hekkel! Charday and I could have joined Cosmic Mates, picked each other, and we could have married.He jerked, almost knocking over his goblet of spirits.
“Is something wrong?” Kismet asked, concern written on her face.
“No…no.” He took a big drink.
“You’ve hardly touched your meal.”
