Page 20 (2/2)

"We can’t see each other where I was at," I said "This makes more sense"

"Maybe I have no wish to see you," Conner said

"If that were true, you’d have had Mott keep me in my room"

"In any event, it was very rude"

"It was princelike," I said "A prince would never let anyone else determine his seat"

After a brief hesitation, Conner slass in toast to me "Indeed"

Conner took several opportunities during dinner to point out the errors I wasthe saht before, while I was lying on the ground by the river I told hiht hand for everything He pointed out that it wasn’t likely the prince would switch to the left hand for e I corrected the errors, and Conner moved on

Despitetopic more suited for Master Graves than dinner conversation, he indulged us with a lecture on the custoe

"If he’s king, why is he tied to a schedule?" I asked "Why couldn’t he tell all his subjects that he’s off doing what he wants and they can wait?"

"He could," Conner said "But his primary responsibility is to his country, not to hier, a decision maker, a leader Not a child at play"

"But if one of us takes the throne, you’d do most of that for us, wouldn’t you?"

Conner shook his head "I’ll be there to help you function in your role I’ll be a counselor, a guide But you will be king"

Conner went quiet while Iht in the next course of our meal She served Roden instead of me and didn’t look at any of us

When she turned, I got a gli her hair to hide it, but when she bent over, the bruise was obvious

"Where’d you get that?" I asked her She glanced up at me, then quickly looked down So I turned to Conner "Where’d she get that bruise?"

He waved his hand noncommittally "She has a reputation for clumsiness I expect she ran into a cupboard door or a wall, isn’t that right, Ien looked from Conner to me, then back at Conner and nodded Nobody in that room could have missed the fear in her eyes

"Somebody did that to her," I said

"Nonsense," Conner said "Ien, if sohed at his own joke Obviously, Ien could not have told him And I suspected even if she could, she still wouldn’t have dared

"We have business," Conner said to all of the servants in the rooo"

When they left, Conner said, "You seee"

"Soave her that bruise We both knoasn’t an accident"

"She’s a servant girl, beneath your station now Let those in her circles look after her interests"

"Those in her circles probably caused it"

Conner brushed off my statement with an eet the servant girl and reaged to be married?"

That had Roden’s attention "Already? To who?"

"To whom, Roden The betrothed princess Amarinda of Bultain was chosen at her birth for the crown prince Darius She is the niece of the king of Bymar, and an alliance between Eckbert’s home and hers is necessary for continued peace in Carthya The betrothal was King Eckbert’s idea His wife, Queen Erin, was from an inconsequential border town in southern Carthya, unknown in any social circles of the upper class He was expected to choose froreat controversy when he married Even today, little is known about her life before thehis borders, he was always a great defender of his wife"