Chapter 22

Sorry I've been MIA. Schools been hectic lately.

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I closed my eyes and put my hands over my face.

"All right Thomas, Read it out loud." I said.

Thomas took a deep, annoyed, breath before beginning. I heard the rustle of the newspaper.

"Lady Finnegan was spotted sporting a red dress, a risky choice for a wedding, according to an insider Lady Finnegan is eager to find a husband before rumors of her families bankruptcy spread. Most witness swear to…This is stupid. You guys read it."

I opened my eyes to see Thomas slap down the newspaper and leave the room.

I groaned and reached for it but Minho beat me to it.

"Boring, boring, dresses, boring- Aha! The real scandals are at the bottom!"

Minho scanned the newspaper, I felt excitement burst in me when his eyes narrowed and he shut the newspaper.

"What did you say would be on the newspapers?" Minho asked.

I narrowed my eyes "That Lady Clarice is no longer allowed around proper society after she ripped Lady Meghan's dress in attempt to flirt with Lady Meghan's brother. She went to grab him but he moved and she ripped Lady Meghan's sleeve"

"I guess you get five points." Minho said.

"Yes!" I said, clasping my hands together "Keep reading."

"Don't get excited there are still 25 points up for grabs."

"You mean my 25 points, Go on now, declare my victory."

Minho rolled his eyes and sat the newspaper down on the table so we could both look at it.

There were all sorts of mentions of wardrobes, who danced with who, and who sat next to who, Minho had to flip a page to get to the dinner portion of the "special" wedding editorial.

"Lord Taubman was rumored to have him and his wife removed from beside Lord Bowen since his young wife was more than polite when it came to handing Lord Bowen the salt. Lord Taubman caused such a ruckus that the Dowager had to be called in to mediate the situation. Lord Taubman, aged 57, is known to have jealous and even violent spells caused by Lady Taubman's, aged 19, flirtatious behavior. Certifiable drawing rooms have claimed that Lady Taubman has worn powders to hide the consequences of her deplorable character."

Minho finished reading and frowned at the paper. The last bit left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Well I guess that's 15 points for me," Minho said "I wouldn't call Lady Taubman flirtatious, I saw her hand Lord Bowen the salt. People don't like her because her brother in parliament usually votes against the gentry."

"Who is her brother?" I asked, flipping the page looking for the last bit of points that I gravely needed not to lose.

"Why it's your best friend Lord Benjamin. Shouldn't you know that? After all you had Gally do a background check on him."

I narrowed my eyes "I did no such thing and he is not my best friend. Merely a friendly acquaintance. Now stop spewing nonsense and help me find my last points."

"If I were you, I'd stop cavorting with Lord Benjamin, people tend to look for the wrong idea of things."

"I don't cavort with anyone and besides perhaps you should take your own advice." I said, elbowing him so I could get his hand out of the way.

"Me? I have nothing to lose. You as a newly married woman do."

I rolled my eyes before returning to scan the newspaper.

My victory was interrupted when Newt opened the door.

I burned scarlet at his appearance the incident from the morning fresh in my mind.

It had all been so embarrassing.

Agnes and I weren't used to my new quarters or Newts usual morning habits.

After I woke up, I decided to have a bath drawn. It was all going well but as I was stepping out of the bathtub and into the robe Agnes was handing me, Newt barged into the bathroom. Agnes and I screamed, I had grabbed the robe and clutched it to my body while Newt apologized and struggled to get himself out.

I decided to ignore Newt and continue scanning the paper.

I jumped and squealed from joy once my eyes landed on what I had been waiting for.

"There! There it is! I won! I won!"

"What!" Minho picked up the newspaper and began to read "Lady Catherine was spotted dancing with Lord Edmund despite her recent engagement to Baron Cecil- Bah!" Minho crumpled the newspaper.

"It's a tie! We've tied! So technically you didn't win." Minho said after he threw the newspaper into waste bin.

"I told you, you would tie." Newt said, from the door frame.

I glared at him before turning to Minho "We can either drop it or we both get something."

Minho smirked "A win-win."

"Exactly." I said, smiling and crossing my arms.

"You two are insufferable." Newt said but I ignored him.

"Nothing scandalous or disreputable, correct?" Minho asked.

"Correct." I said, tilting my head to the side.

"Deal." Minho said outstretching his hand.

I shook it, pleased that I would still get what I wanted.

"Are you two done? We have somewhere to be Roan." Newt said, his impatience evident in his tone.

"Quite done." I said, picking up the gloves I had left on the table.

I went to the door where Newt extended his elbow.

"I don't always need to be escorted you know." I said, putting on my gloves.

"It's the proper thing. And besides the last time I let you walk by yourself you fell down a flight of stairs."

Minho guffawed "What! When?"

I took Newts elbow "Aren't we in a hurry?"

Newt gave me small smile "Now you're in a hurry?"

I tugged Newt out of the room, eager to leave Minho behind. He didn't need to know about my little mishap.

Our walk to the throne room was silent, I didn't know what to say and besides the air was thick with awkwardness, I didn't want to make it worse.

"I didn't see anything by the way."

My breath caught in my throat. Why did he have to bring it up?

"I'm glad to hear that."

"We should probably communicate better so it doesn't happen again."

"That is a good idea, when do you regularly bathe?"

"In the morning" Newt answered.

"Oh I prefer before bed but I wanted to get that oil off me."

We had luckily reached the throne room before the conversation ran dry.

"Uncle will be in a state. Just let him tire himself out." Newt advised before the guards opened the doors.

Georgios was pacing, his hand on his chin. There were some advisors around and Antonietta and Janson huddled together over a parchment.

Georgios pointed at us and wagged his finger, not stopping his pacing or looking at us.

"Plans have changed. We're skipping the Deadland tribes during your honeymoon."

"But-"I was cut off by Antonietta.

"Galia sent an invitation for you two to visit them on your tour."

I immediately looked at Janson.

He nodded.

"Why would Galia do that? They're cut off from everyone." Newt said, taking the invitation from his mother.

I craned my neck to get a good look at the letter.

It was short, it congratulated us on our nuptials and invited us to spend some time

As I looked over the parchment, a thought kept itching at me.

"Do you intercept all of our correspondence?"

"Of course we do. You are young and inexperienced, you need to be watched." Antonietta said taking the letter back.

"What about when Newt is king?" I asked.

"His advisors will keep a close eye then." She answered; her nose was always slightly scrunched in displeasure when she talked to me.

"Why do we have to ignore the Deadland Tribes just because Galia invited us in?"

"Why this? Why that? Your questioning is irritating," Georgios finally turned to look at us " A princess place is to do what she is told without questioning, interchangeably, a queens place is to support her king in everything. All performed quietly"

I hadn't come in looking for a fight but the day was full of surprises.

"Oh yes! How silly of me to ask questions and express my opinion. Should I just go back to my room and wait for Newt to come around and impregnate me? Would that make you happy?"

"Well if we're completely honest that is the only reason we paid so much to get you here. So off you go, complete your duty."

"What lack of manners! From both of you!" Antonietta interceded the spat "I expect more decorum from the royal family."

"The reason, Roan," Janson said "that we want to avoid the Deadlands is because Galia is not just strategically placed to buffer us from Hiberia, but also because if they open their market up to Britanicca the economic gain compensates the loss of the tribes. I hope you are aware that Galia's seclusion is based on their self-appointed superiority and they look at the tribes as below their station. If you visit the tribes it will certainly be an offense to the country."

"But my mother stems from a tribe why would they invite us?

"Simply put, they need someone of a high blood status to marry Prince Winston. We're assuming it's a way for them to slightly open up relations in order negotiate for Rosemary." Janson answered.

How did he become so involved? Janson wasn't supposed to be here that long. Regardless, he had thrust himself into the deepest of Britannican backrooms.

"You two will negotiate a favorable contract for Rosemary's marriage. We want you to prioritize trading charters and any free-market deal. This is a prime opportunity for you, Newt, to impress the parliament and get their support."

I turned to one of the advisors, it was the woman who had married us.

"Has Rosemary been told of this?" Newt asked, folding his arms.

"Absolutely not. We can't risk it getting out to Hiberia that Galia is in contact with us. She'll most likely throw a fit and everyone will know. If anyone asks, you will still go to the tribes. No one outside this room must know of this." Ava answered, stepping forward, her arms clasped in front of her.

I felt everyone's eyes turn towards me.

"How do you plan to smooth it over with the tribes?" I asked, trying to divert the attention from my evident Hiberian affiliation.

"After all the contracts are signed and secured you two can take a trip there or invite some prominent members here. We didn't specify were you two would go so they can't officially take offense. Roan you can write to your Mothers family or something with an excuse." Janson explained.

"Looks like you have it all planned out." I said, crossing my arms.

"Yes now the next matter at hand is a quick pregnancy. It is vital if we want to keep public support high." Antonietta said, handing Newt a parchment.

"You need to document your intimacy here so we can calculate conception and ensure a success."

Newt had turned bright red "Mother I am doing no such thing."

"Son, you have to. It's the only way to handle the issue in a controlled manner. Besides, its tradition. Every Isaac marriage in the past has had one. Now last night is already one there but you need to keep this as accurate as possible."

That calendar was going to be very blank and very inaccurate.

"We've marked the days where Roan will be more fertile. Prioritize those days and don't waste them. Time is of the essence."

I had started to grow uncomfortable so I pulled at my dress sleeves and avoided direct eye contact with the people around us and I concentrated on the ceiling corners.

"No need to be embarrassed, this is a simple fact of life. Now off you go. Go say your goodbyes, you'll leave early tomorrow morning." Georgios dismissed us with a wave of his hand.

I rolled my eyes before turning around and heading for the door.

I didn't notice that Janson had followed Newt and I until he spoke. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I must give you credit for your cleverness but I hope you realize the danger you've put yourselves in."

"What are you talking about?" I asked and kept walking.

I learned that the best way to handle any sort of accusation was to deny, deny ,deny.

"Don't play coy, I know what you did with the sheets. I'm giving you time to sort it out but if you don't straighten things out by the time you get back from the honeymoon. You will force my hand."

"What would you possibly do Janson?"

"Don't test me Roan, we both know what I'm capable off."

With that he slinked off down a different hallway. He was so dramatic all the time.

I could feel Newts eyes on me.

"Don't worry Newt. Janson isn't the only one who can make threats."