Jane stood at the entrance of the gardens, the wind sending a slight chill across her skin. Thankfully it wasn't too cold. It was refreshing, really. She gripped the fabric of her gown to calm her nerves. 'He won't come, this was stupid. He has so much else to do, so many other people to talk to.' She turned to leave when she saw Liam approaching.
For once she let herself show and smiled brightly. "Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"
"Seating charts shall wait for no one, it seems," he said with a smile. He offered Jane his arm. "Shall we?"
They walked together for a few minutes, content in the silence and the company. Jane spoke up first, gesturing to their surroundings. "The gardens really are beautiful, Liam."
"I can't take all the credit. The gardeners do a wonderful job. This place," he paused, a slight hitch in his voice. "It was my mother's joy. I think of her often when I'm here."
She squeezed his arm gently as they approached the opening of the maze. "Is this it? The maze?"
He nodded. "You probably think it's silly, don't you?"
Jane put on a thoughtful face before tapping him on the shoulder. "You're it!" And she ran off into the maze. She heard a laugh behind her but didn't dare look over her shoulder. It was only a minute before Liam began to catch up with her.
"Too slow, Jane!"
She turned in time to see his arm reaching out for her, and she danced out of his reach with a laugh. "You're going to have to do better than that, Your Majesty!" Jane picked up speed and rounded a corner, and then another until she thought she could slow.
'There's supposed to be a tree at the middle…' Jane looked around, trying to navigate a bit slower now to keep her bearings. There only seemed to be one last
corner and there before her was a large tree with a beautifully decorated swing. She heard Liam's footsteps behind her and as quickly as she could, she hid in the nearby hedge.
"There you…" Liam stopped in the spot Jane had been in, and he looked around. "Jane?"
Once Liam's back was turned to her, Jane stepped forward slowly, careful to stay as quiet as possible, and just as she was about to jump out towards him, Liam spun quickly and reached out for her.
"Gotcha!"
Jane squealed as she tried to back away, but Liam's momentum kept going, knocking them both to the ground, rolling and laughing until they reached the swing. Jane rolled once more so she was leaning on top of Liam, and she grinned.
He laughed again and reached up to smooth Jane's hair. "Well, as unconventional as it was, we made it to the centre of the maze."
She looked up at the tree to admire the lights wrapped around the trunk. "We did indeed. And I believe I won."
Liam shifted beneath her. "And how exactly do you figure that?"
Jane put a bit more of her weight onto him. "Easy. I'm on top."
"There are ways to change that," he laughed. "I call for an instant replay. A second ruling."
She shrugged with a grin. "We don't always get what we want, even princes."
He copied her smile for a moment, but it soon faded as his face became thoughtful. "No, you're right. But there's something about you...something about being with you that feels right."
"You know, we only met last night. You feel like that after only two nights?"
"I do."
Jane nodded. "Me too."
Liam reached up towards her, cupping her cheek in his hand. His thumb moved to stroke her cheek before pulling her down to meet him. He pressed his lips against hers gently. His other arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him.
The feel of his lips sent shivers down her spine, and she nearly groaned when after too quick a moment he pulled away. "Liam…"
"I can't, we can't. Shouldn't." But the look in his eyes told her he wanted more. "What is it about you that makes me feel...makes me want to break all the rules."
She let herself smile and hoped it didn't look too disappointed. "You laughed more in this maze Maybe you need someone like me in your life, then."
He gave her another quick kiss. "Maybe I do. This was, all of this, was unexpected. Pretty close to perfect, though." He stroked her cheek again before they stood up.
Jane looked down at her gown quickly, but the dim light wasn't going to show her how badly she had gotten the dress dirty. She took the moment to keep her eyes away from him, afraid of his answer. "Will I see you again soon?"
"Tomorrow," Liam answered. "It's going to be a busy day, but I'll make time to see you. We should head back before the guards get worried."
"I guess it'd be pretty easy to notice after a while if the main attraction of the social season went missing."
He leaned down towards her as they walked and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. "Which is why we should sneak away often, just for short amounts of time."
"I will become a bad influence on you, Liam."
"And I welcome it with open arms."
Once Liam dropped her off at her room, Jane had the chance to look at the condition of her dress. 'Well, not quite in pristine condition...but maybe there's a dry cleaner to get the grass stains out…' She started to change but stopped and stayed in front of the mirror a moment more. She swayed slightly, the movement of the dancing still in her mind.
A wide yawn reminded her that she was severely jet lagged. And her phone ringing reminded her that she should really get an international calling plan. She unzipped her dress as she searched for her phone, finding it hidden in her clothes from earlier. The screen showed a familiar name, and she nearly hesitated picking it up.
"Hi mom."
"What are you bringing on Sunday?"
Jane fought with her pyjamas while she tried to hold her phone to her ear with her shoulder. "What?"
"Sunday, the reunion. Dessert or salad? If you bring that chocolate pie again, bring two. There wasn't enough last time."
'Oh crap…'
"Mom...I actually can't make it."
"I thought you booked the weekend off to come home? Jane, honestly you need to get a different job. You can open a practice here at home, I don't get why you still want to live in New York."
There was a knock at the door and Jane threw on a top to finish changing. "Mom, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow morning." 'Time difference…' "Actually, I'll call you tomorrow night, evening."
"Oh, did I tell you that I joined a committee at work?"
Another knock at the door. "Jane?"
"We'll be setting up fundraisers in the lobby of the office building," her mom continued.
"Mom, I really have to go."
"Are you at work?"
"I love you." She hung up quickly, but regretted how quickly she had done it. She sent her mom a quick message, telling her she'd call her tomorrow, hoping that would be okay. Then she opened the door to find Maxwell in the corridor. "Hey, Maxwell! What's up?"
"Sorry it's late, but there's someone I thought you should meet." He stepped to the side and gestured towards Jane. "Bertrand, this is the woman I was telling you about: Jane!"
A rather imposing man stepped into her room, a stern expression on his face. He wasn't imposing in size of stature. He was quite average, in fact. But his presence was...well it was definitely there. He stared at Jane for a moment, looking her over without even moving his eyes. "This...is who you found to represent our house?"
Maxwell grinned. "I nailed it right? You should have seen her earlier tonight, too. She was amazing with the King, and with Liam. Jane, this is my brother Bertrand, if you didn't already figure that out."
"It's nice to meet you," Jane said politely, now wishing she had stayed in her gown. Although the grass stains may have raised some questions.
"The proper way to address me is 'Your Grace'."
She kept the polite smile on her face, her customer service smile. "I'm sorry, Your Grace." 'Don't let the customer know you want to rip their head off and feed it to a koala bear. Slowly.'
Bertrand nodded. "At least she can be trained. Maxwell, may I have a word with you. In private?" Before he could respond, Bertrand grabbed his brother by the arm and hauled him out into the corridor, slamming the door behind them.
Jane desperately wanted to listen, to press her ear against the door and see what they had to obviously say, and yell, about her. But she had seen enough movies to know that move never worked out well, so she gave the brothers their privacy and put on her smile when they came back into the room.
Bertrand cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about that. I had some business to discuss with my brother. You see, while Maxwell was traipsing around with the prince, I was actually working and taking care of our house and estate. Which, I suppose, is where you come in."
She glanced at Maxwell, who seemed rather embarrassed as he had yet to meet her eyes. "How so?"
"I didn't think my brother would have fully explained this to you," he started, his voice dripping with all of the personality traits Jane hated: conceit, arrogance, nobility. She could see now why Drake would hate to be called a nobleman. "If our house puts forth the woman who the prince chooses, we will win fame and recognition."
"Which is something we could use right now," Maxwell added. "Because we're kind of broke."
"Maxwell," Bertrand snarled. "You overstep."
Jane eyed the dress now in a heap by her bed. "Well, I guess that explains why they were so hesitant at the boutique with me. I'll be buying my own, I guess."
"Unfortunately," Bertrand replied, and his look of disappointment seemed to now be aimed towards himself rather than his brother. "We can only really afford the very minimum."
"No one outside of our family really knows how bad things are," Maxwell said.
She nodded, taking it all in, and now wishing she had chosen a less expensive dress. "So, if I marry Liam, do you get money? Like a prize or something?"
Bertrand shook his head. "No, not exactly. But we would be able to leverage the prestige from...your good fortune to great effect. I would rather we get that leverage before others find out about our situation. If word got out of our financial ruin, it would not only be a scandal, but it would mark ruin in every other way possible."
"But our name still means something in Cordonia!" Maxwell raised his fist with his usual triumphant grin. "At the very least, being sponsored by House Beaumont you'll have access to the right people, and invitations to all the right events. We...just can't give you more than that."
"Speaking of events," Bertrand said thoughtfully. "You've prepared for tomorrow's, I assume?"
"Um, no?"
"The derby." When she simply stared at him, he continued. "You do know what a derby is, correct?"
"A fancy horse race. I know what a derby is...Your Grace."
"Very good!" And for the first time, he smiled and seemed to actually be pleased. "This will be your first opportunity to make an impression on the media. They'll of course be at the event. They don't have many opportunities to see the royals so they jump at any chance they can get. Everyone in Cordonia will be influenced by what they write about you."
'Liam really meant it when he said every eye will be watching me.'
"You'll also want to consider your attire for tomorrow, while we're on the subject of...what we can offer you. The Queen will also be attending the Derby, and the right outfit will go a long way in terms of earning her favour," Bertrand continued. "I recommend going for a look that's modern in order to impress the Queen."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jane said, trying to think of everything she packed that would be derby appropriate, not coming up with much.
Maxwell, as though reading her mind, spoke up. "I have an appointment made for you at the boutique tomorrow morning. Just in case…"
"Thanks, Maxwell."
"We'll let you get some sleep." Bertrand turned. "It seems as though you were already ready for it." Then he left.
Maxwell smiled sheepishly and held up his hands. "He's really a nice guy when you get to know him.
"I bet. Good night, Maxwell." She closed the door behind him and let out another yawn, at the same time as her stomach growled. She tried to think back to when she had last eaten. Had she eaten anything at the masquerade? Another growl told her no. She looked at the time. Nearly midnight.
Jane slipped on a sweatshirt and slipped on some shoes, hoping that it was late enough most people would be asleep and she would get away without being seen. She walked down the corridor and stopped at an intersection. "Kitchens are usually on the main floor...probably?" she mumbled to herself. With a half-confident nod, she turned the corner to head towards the main staircase. She made her way down and picked a direction. Left.
She didn't get far down the corridor when a figure rounded a corner ahead of her. She stopped, deer in headlights, and her anxiety didn't lessen when she realized it was Drake. She waited until he got closer before greeting him.
He grinned and looked her over. "Well, this is certainly a look."
Jane folded her arms across her chest, and only now realized she hadn't finished taking out the bobby pins from her hair. She self-conciously put a hand up to try to straighten it. "You're up late," she said in an attempt to deflect.
"So are you."
Her stomach growled again.
Drake continued past her. "Kitchen's at the end of the hall, to the right."
"Thanks," she muttered, but a thought came to her. "Hey, Drake?"
He stopped dramatically, stomping as he turned around. "Yes?"
"I know you have some very important business to get to. I...does Liam talk about his mom much?"
That seemed to get his attention. He let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. "Not often. He'll sometimes talk about some memories, but they're never about closer to when she passed." Drake paused. "He told you about her?"
She shook her head and leaned on the wall beside him. "Not really, just told me about the gardens, how she helped design them. They remind him of her." When he nodded, she grinned. "We played maze-tag."
"Oh god, that game?" Drake groaned, but laughed. "That's why I had to cover for him tonight?"
"I won, by the way," she bragged. "I hope that was okay, but he told me about it."
He shrugged and pushed himself off the wall. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because I know you're his best friend, and I'm just the waitress from last night."
Drake looked at her, considering her for a moment. "Not to him, you're not." He continued down the hall. "Good night, Warren."
'He remembered my last name.' She watched him walk away before calling out, "good night." After another moment her stomach growled again. "Yes, yes, I shall feed you."
The next morning, Jane made her way to the boutique and instead of Hana this time, she was met by Olivia. 'Oh good...my favourite person.'
Olivia turned to her quickly, her jaw gaped open in surprise. "I thought you were on the first flight home last night. I thought you were at least smart, if you weren't pretty I figured you'd be at least that. I thought you would've realized you don't have a chance of marrying Liam."
But Jane had met these kinds of people, these women before. "Olivia, I know you're smart. You wouldn't be friends with Liam if you weren't. So I'm not sure why you haven't realized by now that you don't need to hurt others to protect yourself. Not everyone is out to get you."
"What? I…"
"Look, I know we're rivals or whatever, but that doesn't mean we have to dislike each other. And...if Liam considers you a friend, he must see something redeeming about you. So I should, too. Whatever else is going on, we don't have to hurt each other to get there."
Olivia's jaw stayed open, but she shook her head as though to ignore everything. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you're not going to fool me." She turned away and opened the door. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"I know you're probably going to embarrass all of the other suitors with your obvious lack of fashion sense, but try to avoid that. You've likely never had the chance to attend a derby, so you really must look the part. Try to look like you belong. The press is always looking for something that's runway-worthy, but that's just my recommendation. For what it's worth."
"Is it worth as much as your last piece of advice?"
"No, I…" Olivia's face dropped. "Forget it. I'll see you at the races later. And I won't be holding back."
Jane smiled. "I hope not." She turned her attention to the dresses behind her, her eyes looking over all the beautiful selections. And then she remembered her wallet. She had some savings, yes...but she had always hated spending money on clothing. She usually justified her splurges by telling herself she could wear the outfit multiple times, but if there was ever a time and place to not to that, it was when the press was around. And a bunch of noble women.
'Bertrand said the queen likes modern styled clothing. And honestly...something makes me want to believe that Olivia was actually trying to give me advice. Maybe Drake doesn't like anyone because he doesn't get to know any of them. Or doesn't let them get to know him.' She found two options that fit reasonably within her budget. She could arrange to have the Beaumonts pay for half, and she would pay the other half.
After trying on both outfits, she decided to wear the more modern outfit. 'If I can gain the Queen's favour, it will be easier to get the people's favour as well. It likely isn't as easy the other way around.' Jane eyed herself in the mirror and smoothed out the floral skirt. The white sleeveless blouse fit her perfectly, and although she wasn't completely sold on the fascinator, it certainly completed the outfit.
She let out a deep breath. "Derby, here I come."
