Royal Matchmaker

Chapter Ten

The driver came around the front of the Hover and opened Jack's door for him and Jack exited with a smile, "Thanks." He walked briskly toward the restaurant's door, nodding briefly at a couple who smiled at him as they exited. He entered and glanced around at the old-world charm of the restaurant which had been in business for nearly two hundred and fifty years. Nothing had changed since the first time his parents had brought him there; still the roughly hewn beams and floorboards, wooden tables scarred with age from generations of diners, candles everywhere despite there being electric lights scattered here and there around the periphery, and there were always fresh flowers on every table, even in the dead of winter.

Movement caught his eye and he turned to see Ianto seated at a table by the fireplace.

Walking over, Jack smiled. "What a pleasant surprise."

Ianto smiled. "Hi."

"Here I was thinking I would be dining alone, and now you can be my plus one." Jack found that he was really quite pleased with this unexpected turn of events.

"Well," Ianto shrugged. "Not exactly. I told you I had something planned," he stood and smiled. "And I know your father is certainly anticipating me finishing my job before the Jubilee Ball."

Jack's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And how is the search going?"

"You're about to find out…" Ianto glanced beyond the prince, smiled brightly and started walking towards the door.

Jack turned to see what had caught his attention.

"Lady Petra Vulnokovich, meet His Royal Highness Prince John of Boeshane." Ianto worked hard to keep the smugness from his voice as he performed the introductions.

"Your Ladyship," Jack snapped a brief bow and shook her hand. "Jack, please."

"And please call me Petra," the young brunette woman smiled warmly.

Ianto felt an unpleasant jolt as he saw the way Jack was staring into her eyes. 'I cannot be jealous!' he scolded himself severely. "Well, you two have fun," and he quickly marched toward the door, steeling himself not to look back.

Jack led the way to their table and held out Petra's chair.

"When they said dinner at the palace, I thought 'stuffy', but this is a wonderful respite from buttoned-down collars." She smiled engagingly.

"Yes," Jack glanced around the room with pride. "Yes, it is."

The waitress, wearing an old-fashioned Victorian-style shirt with a pin-tucked front, long sleeves and a high collar above a full-length fitted skirt appeared at Jack's elbow and handed Petra a menu and then Jack.

"Thank you," Petra murmured.

"So, red or white wine?" he asked.

"Red, please."

"Hmm. Good choice."

Unable to stop himself, Ianto paused in the open door and looked back into the dining room. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the look on Jack's face said it all.

'I have found the prince a match.' For the first time, success didn't make him happy. Not one little bit. Feeling like he'd just been gut-punched, Ianto Jones slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind him. He walked blindly to the Hover and then just stood there staring off into space while the driver stood patiently waiting for him to move so he could open the dor.

Jack looked up from his menu just in time to see Ianto's coattails disappear as the door shut and he felt a strange pang, like he'd missed out on something special by not having dinner with the Welshman. His attention was brought back to the moment at hand when Petra laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"What do you recommend?" she asked softly.

Opening the menu, Jack smiled. "Well, two of my favourites… do you like steak?"

"Yes, I do."

"There's always the fish, freshly caught from the river that runs right out back," Jack offered as well.

In the matchmaking war room of their large suite, only one photograph remained on Toshiko's Quadrant map: Petra Vulnokovich. Hidden in the shadows of the room, Ianto stood by one of the large windows that overlooked the gardens, staring off into the darkness. Across the room, Toshiko sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, its dancing flames the only light in the room.

Finally, realising he was chilly, Ianto pulled his sweater closer around him and turned away from the window. "Well, they're still not back yet."

"I'd say that's a pretty good sigh, right?" Tosh was aware that Ianto was in a weird mood and had been ever since he'd gotten back from setting up Jack's dinner date.

"Yeah, yeah," Ianto frowned and wrapped his arms around himself. "I guess so."

"What do you mean 'you guess'; are you having second thoughts?"

"Oh no! No, of course not!" Ianto hastened to reassure her. "It's just… I mean… it's just that I've never had so much riding on a positive outcome before. I mean, it's the whole business!" He perched anxiously on the edge of chair by the fireplace.

Sensing that Ianto wanted to talk, Tosh closed her computer and looked at him, seeing the worry in his eyes, the frown lines on his forehead, the way his lips were pursed. Normally he was always so confident, so sure that everything was going just right, but now… seeing Ianto like this gave Tosh butterflies in her stomach and not the good kind either. These were more like bats

"And it's more than that, you know?" Ianto leaned forward. "I've gotten to know Jack. I've watched him grow and open his heart…" He looked at his best friend, hoping that she understood what he was trying to say without him actually having to say it.

"I mean, he's a good man and he deserves to have someone who loves him." Ianto sighed deeply and sat back in the deep chair, melting into the shadows created by the wings.

"Like you do?" Tosh smiled gently.

"Huh?" Startled, Ianto stared at her. "Like I do what?"

Tosh wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Love him?" Ianto voice came out quite high and squeaky. "Are you saying…" he couldn't stop the burst of nervous embarrassed giggles that erupted. "That's completely ridiculous!"

Toshiko looked at her boss and best friend knowingly.

"Don't… no… I…" Ianto waved dismissively, so very glad that the blush currently burning its way up his neck, across his cheeks and around to his ears was hidden by shadows from the dancing firelight. "But… I mean, we have spent some time together, so, of course, I mean naturally…" He refused to meet her eyes and then suddenly turned to her with a frown. "Why do you say that?" he demanded.

She just shrugged and smiled. "No reason."

"I care about him," Ianto spread his hands as he tried to explain.

"I know you do."

"I mean, I do care about him, I care about all my clients, it's what I do… I invest in my clients…" Inspiration struck. "It would be completely inappropriate for me to develop romantic feelings for a client! That would be… that's just… I mean, people trust me not to do things like that! It's just…"

Even Ianto could tell he was protesting far too much but he just couldn't stop. "I mean, that's just completely outrageous!" He couldn't look at Tosh anymore, couldn't take seeing the know-it-all look on her face, the one that said, 'Really?' and 'Who are you trying to kid?' and 'Can you hear yourself right now?'

He found another argument to prove that Tosh was wrong. "He's a prince, for God's sake! I mean, who lives in a house like this?" He flung his arms around, encompassing the twelve-foot ceilings, the lead casement windows, the gold leaf trim everywhere, the masterpiece paintings on the walls, the crystal chandeliers hanging from above, the hand-knotted carpets underfoot… "I mean, look at all this!" He risked a glance at Tosh and the look on her face just made it all the worse.

"You know they really should not build fireplaces this big in rooms like this!" He leapt from his chair, wrapped his sweater around himself again despite being too warm and started pacing the length of the room, finally fleeing out the door into the hallway.

Tosh grinned from ear to ear as she watched him go, then reopened her laptop and resumed her email to her grandfather. "Oh, Yan, I definitely believe you."

Ianto found himself wandering the hallways of the palace, nibbling on his victory chocolate bar and muttering "Ridiculous!" over and over again. "I'm stupid, I'm so stupid!"

"Ianto?" Jack mounted the steps two at a time and walked over to Ianto, who managed – just – to successfully fight down his flight instinct. "Why are you pacing around the palace in your…" He paused and looked Ianto up and down, taking in his rumpled 'I just got out of bed' look, with the oversized sweater covering his pyjamas, but his eyes remained glued to the bunny slippers on the man's feet. "Your pyjamas? It's nearly midnight."

Glancing about shiftily, Ianto blurted out, "You're right! I'm sorry. I better… I should go to bed." He turned and began to hurry off down the hall, only to be stopped by Jack's next words.

"Aren't you going to ask me how it went with Petra?"

"Duw!" Ianto swore under his breath in Welsh before plastering a feigned smile on his face and turning around. "Yes, of course, how did it go with Petra?"

Jack rushed up to him. "Great!" he announced. "I couldn't have asked for it to have gone any better." He was so earnest that Ianto's heart clutched. "We were just talking, half the night. I can't believe I'm saying this but I really think she's something special."

"You do? Wow." Fighting to remain upbeat, Ianto nodded. "Yes, she is, she absolutely is."

"Do you think she might be the one for me?"

Ianto smiled. "I wouldn't have set you up with her if I didn't."

"Well…" Jack seemed surprised by his answer for some reason. "Then I guess I have a lot of thinking to do."

Mesmerised by the happiness shining from Jack's eyes, Ianto missed the beat for a moment. "You do?" and then he caught himself. "Yes! Yes, you do!" he hastily amended.

"Which is a good thing, right?"

Ianto patted Jack's arm. "We could not have done any better," he reassured his client.

"Yes, well…" Jack sighed. "Good night, Ianto."

"Good night, Your Highness," Ianto nodded with a bright yet so very fake smile, which was gone the instant Jack passed him and walked off toward his quarters. "Good night, Jack," he whispered into the empty hallway. He could feel a great fist closing itself around his heart and beginning to squeeze and without even thinking of the mess it might cause, he shoved the half-eaten and partially unwrapped chocolate bar into the pocket of his robe, which he then realised had been hanging open the entire time he'd been talking to the prince, so that Jack could see his Winnie-the-Pooh PJs. He sighed deeply, "Ianto, you bloody twpsyn!"