Free Weight of the Crown by Christina Hollis Page A

before. The security system was switched on, and there was no one else around. She hesitated between taking a chance, and doing nothing in case Lysander took ‘no’ for an answer. Assuming that wasn’t very likely, she decided to take direct action. She would head towards the noise of the party, and give the first member of staff she saw another message for their prince. This time she would send a proper explanation. Slipping his letter into the pocket of her dressing gown, she marched off through the shadowy palace.
I’m not going to wake Ra’id so he
can be paraded in front of Lysander’s feckless friends as some sort of novelty act!
she thought angrily.
    Her plan to pass on a better message didn’t work. She didn’t meet anyone who could relay it. All the corridors were deserted. It was only when she reached a landing above the great state banqueting hall that she saw someone. A footman in uniform stood beside a pair of wide open double doors. She hesitated, but when he noticed her and smiled she knew there was no escape. Creeping downstairs, she hoped no one would wander out from the party until she had passed on her message. Despite her dressing gown and slippers, the footman listened gravely as Alyssa tried to explain that Ra’id was asleep and wasn’t to be disturbed. As she spoke she caught sight of the glittering party going on beyond the open doors and knew she had made a mistake. It wasn’t the celebrity drinking contest she had expected. Expensively dressed, respectable couples were being treated to silver service at a formal banquet. The music came from an orchestra that was playing in an adjoining quadrangle while the diners chatted and laughed. Candlelight and the fragrance of good food made her want to linger, but she couldn’t risk anyone inside the room spotting her. Ducking out of sight as soon as she had left her message with the doorman, she made a run for it. Her slippers slowed her down so she had barely reached the first landing when she heard someone thundering up the stairs behind her. They were taking the steps three at a time. Only one person would follow her with such silent intent.
    ‘Lysander!’He caught her arm before she could escape. ‘Why are you running away?’
    Flustered, she waved at her towelling robe. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
    ‘You should have told Gui to leave the door and come in to fetch me. Then you could have given me the message yourself.’
    ‘I didn’t want to disturb you …’ She faltered.
    Lysander looked so smart, it took her breath away. He was dressed in a formal black suit and a purple sash, which was studded with medals. His finery made the contrast between them all the more painful.
    ‘You mean you didn’t want to tear me away from the party where I was having so much fun?’ he said wryly, making sure Alyssa saw something behind his eyes. ‘But perhaps not quite as much fun as you
thought
I might be having when you stormed down here in your wrap to check up on me?’ He grinned.
    ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing a thing like that!’ she snapped, but his widening smile told her there was no point in denying it.
    ‘Well … maybe you’re right,’ she said grudgingly. ‘I thought you wanted me to parade Ra’id in front of some noisy bunch of famous halfwits.’
    ‘You may have a point.’ He cocked his head towards the state banqueting hall. The company might be more sophisticated than she had thought, but the chat and laughter were still pretty loud. ‘But my real reason for making that request was to show everyone how well Ra’id is being cared for.’
    His pride was obvious. Gazing at him, Alyssa forgot everything except the bond she knew was alreadybeginning to grow between Lysander and his little nephew.
    ‘Why don’t you go back and fetch him, Alyssa? I’ll take good care of him for you, and it’ll only be for a few minutes.’ He smiled.
    It was supposed to be an irresistible request, but it had the opposite effect on Alyssa. It