Free Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) by Christine Pope Page B

There could have been four thousand girls here today, instead of merely four hundred, and they still would not have offered her any true challenge.
    But although I wished to go directly to her, to ignore the eager faces of all the other young women, I knew that would be a churlish thing to do. Oh, I would speak to her, no doubt of that. It would have to appear unforced, however, something which occurred naturally as I made my rounds in the pavilion. How long that would take, I did not know, and the wait would most likely be excruciating, but eventually I would meet her.
    And how I would have to pretend that I was interested in anyone else, after I had seen her, I had no idea.
    I did guess, however, that the next four days were going to feel very long indeed, if I could not spend them all exclusively with her.

Chapter 5
    A shara

    O h , he truly was the handsomest man I had ever seen. I had thought surely the stories must be exaggerations, that everyone said the Emperor was so very attractive simply because he was, well, the Emperor. But no, now that I had seen him, I thought in truth that the stories had not been effusive enough in their praise.
    The wait had been unbearable, standing in this stuffy pavilion for the greater part of three hours, sipping sparingly at the iced wine so I should not get tipsy, eating just as carefully of the foods put out, which were far richer than what I was used to. The last thing I wanted was to make myself ill with sweetmeats and cheese.
    I had hoped to make the acquaintance of some of the other girls, to help pass the time a little more comfortably, but none of them seemed inclined to be friendly, and indeed several of them had flashed me openly hostile glares. Perhaps it was that none of them knew me; I saw several of them chattering with one another, and guessed they must know each other from court, or perhaps if their families’ estates bordered one another. I had no such acquaintances to fall back upon, and so tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, staying away from the refreshment tables and trying not to think of the hours passing, and of my aunt having to suffer my stepmother’s whims. I could only hope that my stepmother had been so wearied by getting Jenaris and Shelynne ready that she had taken to her bed soon after they left, thus leaving Aunt Therissa to manage only my kitchen duties.
    At least you have had some luck , I told myself, for neither of your stepsisters are here, and it would not have been much fun to attempt to avoid them for the greater part of three hours . True, with so many girls divided amongst four pavilions, the odds had not been terribly high that we would end up in the same place. Still, it was a relief, not having to dodge them.
    But then I knew the weary hours of waiting had been worth it, for he entered the pavilion at last. All conversations stopped dead as he apologized for the wait, and told us that he hoped it had not been too terrible. And he paused suddenly, his dark eyes seeming to pierce the crowd to meet mine. I could scarcely breathe. I could do nothing, but stare back at him, taking in the fine sculpted lines of his jaw, the straight strong nose, the sooty black hair held back from his brow by a circlet of gold. How tall he was, and how broad the shoulders under the doublet of fine figured silk in a deep wine shade!
    The moment passed, and he seemed to find his voice, to speak quite normally to the girls to either side of him, some commonplace about being glad that the day was not too warm, and that he hoped they found the iced wine to their liking. They giggled and simpered and hastened to say that everything was just so, and how kind of him to be so concerned for their comfort. And I found my hand tightening around the stem of the silver goblet I held as a wave of irritation passed over me. Did they know how foolish they sounded, how empty-headed and silly?
    I was surprised at myself, for I had never been the jealous sort. Then