"It's Tortallan tradition at weddings," Jonathan told him, eyes solemn. He privately suspected it was no such thing, but her friends and siblings chorused assent; Lianne even produced a silken blindfold and, greatly daring, tied it around his head.
He heard whispering from the viewing platform and winced: her ladies-in-waiting were probably staring too, laughing behind their hands at him.
But it would be several kinds of disastrous to gainsay the king and queen, even if the joke was on him. He bowed in their direction, smiled in a way he hoped didn't show his embarrassment, and set off to find his bride-to-be within the grounds of her own palace.