Free Shipmate: A Royal Regard Prequel Novella by Mariana Gabrielle

it. I’d have paid a monkey to see Lanceley
dripping lemonade! You mustn’t make as much of it as he does, Miss
Smithson. He is a fool, and once you sail away, it will be
forgotten. You will marry Holsworthy in a sennight?”
    She gulped the remainder of the smoothest
sherry she had ever tasted.
    “Nine days, Sir. At his parents’ home in
Saltash.” Realizing she was whispering, possibly even mumbling, she
consciously collected her voice and spoke more clearly. “We will
set sail as soon thereafter as is practical. I know he is hoping to
be at sea before the sun sets.”
    “I have misgivings,” the princess said.
“Please do not take me amiss, but from all I have heard, Miss
Smithson, you are… rather an unlikely adventurer.” She nodded to
her brother in acknowledgement of his rank, “Though of course, I
will defer to the prince, as he is your future husband’s backer. I
merely wish to ensure your interests are considered.”
    “‘Tis true,” the prince said, looking her up
and down, appraising her with a practiced, but not licentious, eye.
“You are not the model of a seafaring merchant’s wife, nor of an
ambassador. You are young yet, and unaccustomed to Court life. Can
you make yourself an asset to him?”
    She looked to the side of the room, but her
voice steadied further, far smoother and more even than she felt.
“I hope my husband will find me young and strong, willing to work
to advance him… and advance you… your father… England, I mean.” She
blushed, and neither made any effort to address her confusion. She
knew better than to ask impertinent questions, however, so ended
with, “With respect to your misgivings, Your Royal Highnesses, you
may be assured I have lost mine.” This was as long as she could
keep up a pretense, and her voice began to shake again. “If I can
speak to the royal family of England, I suppose I can learn to
speak to anyone.”
    “Brava, Miss Smithson!” The prince clapped
his hands. “I think you are an excellent choice!”
    Princess Amelia rolled her eyes, but did not
otherwise reply to her eldest brother’s self-serving assertion.
    “Holsworthy assured me he would be entirely
forthright about the privations you can expect on your journey,” he
said, “But have you any questions for me, Miss Smithson?”
    Very tentatively, slowly, with the hope she
was not pushing too far, Bella queried, “Might… may I ask,
Sir…”
    “Yes?”
    “Why do you take such an interest in the
marriage of a merchant and minor gentry?”
    The princess explained, “It was I, Miss
Smithson. I heard of your situation during the… normal course of
things. There are relatively few women who might undertake such a
journey, and surely none from the nobility. When I enquired
further, I was given cause for concern. Are you certain you wish to
take this course?”
    “I do, Ma’am. I admit I did not dare dream
of travel, nor conceive of such a breadth of destinations. But Lord
Holsworthy has explained everything, and you may be certain this
is, in the main, my choice,” she whispered. Gaining volume and
vigor, she continued, “I was raised among the nobility, Sir, and I
can pretend to aspire to be a courtier, should it be required.”
    The prince looked over at his sister
triumphantly, “Very prettily said, my sweet. You are a brave
girl.”
    So as not to forget, she brought up the only
point Lord Holsworthy had specifically requested. “I do hope you
accept my thanks—our thanks—on the gift you have made Lord
Holsworthy of the land in India. I am quite looking forward to
being of use to you on the subcontinent. And the ship… it is the
most beautiful I’ve ever seen, even half-finished, and Lord
Holsworthy says you ordered it designed with my needs in mind.”
    The prince nodded, saying, “With the
participation of my brother, William, who is much more a sea-going
fellow than I.” Bella hoped the Duke of Clarence had been sober
when he contributed to the plans, but even