Extol of Agnatic Dreams (The Extol Series Book 1) (11 page)

Evangeline was disheartened at the idea of having to eat every breakfast and dinner with these people but knew from experience the more she was exposed to situations the easier it was to handle her anxiety. Within a few weeks, she would be able to eat almost anything they offered her without fear of her body rejecting it. “We only ever ate together during special occasions back at Crimah.”

“Is that why you are creating confetti with your bread?” Baxter asked with a wild grin.

Evangeline looked down at the plate and witnessed for herself the growing pile of destroyed bread piling higher to one side. Blushing, she set what remained in her hands down and gently pushed the bread aside. “I usually eat alone.”

“Be kind Baxter.” Evangeline was glad when Kyleigh intervened on her behalf. All of her bravadoes was gone, and there was no way she could defend herself against Baxter’s sharp retorts. “Evangeline is still learning, and we can only hope that she comes to be comforted by our presence and not threatened by it. This will never come to pass with you being so rude.” Kyleigh offered Evangeline a smile which she returned. She hoped to get some kind of comfort or apology from Baxter as well, but the Prince ignored both women.

“Thank you, Kyleigh.” If Baxter were ignoring her, then Evangeline could ignore him. Already, after only an hour in his company, Evangeline was already thankful for her match and shuddered to think what her potential match to Baxter could be like if this were his attitude. Glais might sound cold in his everyday conversations, but Baxter was far more intimidating with his cocky attitude. “There is so much more I still need to learn about Braykith.”

“A man could live a hundred lives and still not understand Braykith,” Kyleigh warned her. “But I appreciate the effort you are putting in.”

Evangeline would try and learn not only Braykith but how she fit into it, to the best of her ability. She had a feeling already though that some things would be harder to learn than others. “I can see that it is paramount to you Kyleigh that your family remains close. I can appreciate that, and I will strive to maintain those desired contacts. I will always be honoured to be included in your family meals.”

Kyleigh nodded. “You are welcome to take some foods to your rooms if you prefer that.” She wanted to be accommodating, and she certainly found no desire in making Evangeline starve. Everyone was watching Evangeline right now, as their visitor and future queen. Kyleigh would not add fuel to rumours of torture. She also didn’t want to give Evangeline excuses for missing out on this important family ritual, so Kyleigh was careful to adjust the tone of her offer.

The Queen was sure that she understood when Evangeline didn’t immediately try and leave. “How are you finding your rooms?” Baxter asked. “That bed is quite comfortable.” Evangeline was shocked when Baxter winked at her as if he knew from experience the comfort of her bed.

“Glais took much care in creating the rooms for you.” Adeline chimed in with a smile, oblivious to her brother and his dirty joke. She had thought the whole process was rather tender and had dreams of her own someday husband taking such care in her own future. Kyleigh was proud of her son’s efforts in making sure that Evangeline had all the comforts she could want within easy reach.

Evangeline locked eyes with Kyleigh for confirmation, and the queen nodded. Kyleigh had been quietly impressed when her son had taken to fine tune the décor of Evangeline’s living conditions months before she was due to arrive. Evangeline was touched to discover this widely known secret, and suddenly everything in the room that she remembered meant so much more to her than before. She was surprised that Glais had taken as interest at all since it was not so becoming of a man in Crimah to take such a curiosity in feminine décor.

“I adore the rooms and the clothes are incredible.” Evangeline smoothed her hands over her lap just to enjoy the fabric against her palms. She was consistently impressed with the quality but also how well everything fit. She knew she didn’t have a typically shaped body, and these garments were created without someone measuring her personally. There was one concern and now seemed like a good time to bring it up. “My serving girl though is quite something else.”

Evangeline brought Wick up carefully. Knowing now that Glais had designed the finished product it made sense to assume that he had picked the girl who would be with her for most of every day. She didn’t mean to offend, but she couldn’t think of anything worse then the slow madness that Wick was setting on Evangeline already, and it had only been hours.

Kyleigh nodded slowly. “Yes, Wick can be a rather intense girl.” She agreed without giving much away. The girl had quite a history and now was not the time to be discussing it. Adeline did not need to know those intimate details, and Evangeline had only just gotten here.

“Why did she get assigned to me?” Evangeline just asked the burning question, trusting her judgement on the vibe of the room and feeling when might get a clear statement in response.

“She wasn’t.” Evangeline rose an eyebrow since that seemed to go against the image she had created in her mind of the meticulous care that was taken to design her living space. Kyleigh knew by that look that she needed to offer a little more information. “Not directly at least. When she found out who we planned to house in those rooms, she refused to leave.” Kyleigh didn’t like confessing that to Evangeline, but she couldn’t lie. The truth would come to her soon enough regardless. She might as well hear it from her. “Has she hurt you?”

“Oh no, nothing like that. She is just not the kind of help that I thought would be assigned to me.” Evangeline thought she sounded stuck up and rude but couldn’t think of a better turn of phrase to soften her displeasure. Even now she was dreading returning to her rooms for reasons entirely different to the reasons why she was avoiding coming here.

Evangeline was curious though on why Wick had chosen her, but it seemed to be a secret that the three people she was currently with did not know, or were refusing to talk about. Evangeline would need to investigate that on her own. To hold a proper inquiry Wick needed to stay close, and besides the silence between them, Wick was a rather good attendant.

“If she becomes a burden we can have her removed,” Baxter told Evangeline. If they could not have her leave before she was here, Evangeline found it hard to believe it would be easy now.

“I am sure Wick and I will find a way to live together.” Wick was certainly different, but she did not need to be tossed aside or put somewhere unpleasant. Baxter seemed like the type of person who would do that just for the humour of it. Evangeline didn’t think she was in danger being left alone with Wick. She just missed the gossiping voices of her friends. Suddenly though she was inspired by her gossip with Sigourney.

Perhaps this silent girl was the competition she had joked about and heard about but never seriously expected to meet. “Did she spend much time with Glais?” Evangeline asked, looking for non-verbals flickering looks between Kyleigh and Baxter. They seemed to do it whenever Evangeline said or did the wrong thing.

“When they were only babies, yes they did spend quite a bit of time together. Wick’s mother and I gave birth very close together.” Kyleigh explained. “The children seemed to enjoy the company, so we let them socialise together.” Kyleigh never thought about it before but so much had happened because they had decided a friend was more important than Wick’s mental state.

“What happened between them?” Evangeline prompted.

Kyleigh and Baxter shared that look that Evangeline was starting to understand. Asking on Wick and Glais had been an awkward conversation. Asking for details was apparently not something she should be doing. It was too late to take her words back now, regardless of how they felt about the question.

“Once Glais became thirteen it seems like their relationship was no longer appropriate,” Kyleigh answered, but there was no heart in it. “His studies and focus became different to hers. You understand how it can sometimes be between two people of the opposite sex.” She had wanted to say something else. Evangeline didn’t think Kyleigh had realised that she had given two excuses for Wick and Glais and their relationship. Evangeline didn’t bring it up.

Evangeline sat a little straighter in her chair and then tried to hide it which was wasted because no one was paying her that much attention. It might have been a mistake, and it might mean nothing ultimately, but it seemed strange to Evangeline. It was a real mystery, and while Braykith didn’t offer dragons and demons it did not appropriately convey that there was nothing to investigate. Wanting to investigate on her own, Evangeline moved the conversation.

“Is this level of dress always expected?” She was well versed in the safe topics. After that small nugget of tension, Evangeline felt that maybe a shift to more demur topics would be a welcomed distraction. Weather would have been another conversation point if she so needed it, but this question was also one she wanted to be answered. Evangeline had never felt so overdressed this early in the morning. Although pleased to know that each member of the family she was with had also dressed to these extremes, Evangeline did not fancy repeating the ritual every daybreak.

As she had hoped, both Kyleigh and Adeline had perked up at the mentioning of clothes. Baxter did not seem to share their enthusiasm. Instead of excusing himself politely, Baxter made a show of hitting his palms against the table and rising. The legs of his chair skidded harshly against the ground and Baxter offered no apologies for the jarring sound. He wanted all eyes on him. With all three women watching him he took up the goblet of wine and finished what remained by throwing his head back.

“I shall go to the throne room to ensure all of the issues are dealt with accordingly until Father returns.” He wanted Evangeline to know that he was trusted with such adult matters within the Kingdom, even if the announcement sounded unnecessary. Baxter winked at Evangeline, chuckling as she went scarlet and hid her face behind a hand. She wished she had better control of that impulse because it seemed whenever he achieved the reaction from her; Baxter thought it meant something entirely different.

Kyleigh frowned at her son, shaking her head just enough so he could see it. Embarrassing Evangeline was not proper behaviour and she was shocked that he would think it would win him any favours. Evangeline may not understand it but Kyleigh had guessed correctly at his intentions behind the loud announcement. “You are to dismiss the small claims that can be settled at a later date.” She was stern in her reminder of his actual duties in his father absence. “Anything of more importance, and you must gather the council together and allow them to pass judgement on the
King’s behalf.”

Kyleigh knew that Baxter was hoping to impress Evangeline with his responsibility since she did not seem so impressed by his attitude and what he might consider charm. Whatever hopes he had in securing her away from his brother was doomed before he could even have attempted them and Kyleigh knew enough to realise he was only coming across as ignorant and selfish. Evangeline was promised to Glais and her personal opinion on the matter would do little to change that. Baxter’s attraction to her would do even less.

Perhaps if Evangeline could be charmed into reciprocating his emotions, there might be a brief chance. However, that moment would never come to pass between them. Evangeline suspected his attraction had less to do with her personally and much more to do with winning something against his brother. She was not foolish enough to believe the children of Braykith weren’t only intelligent but also very competitive. Evangeline had no romantic interest in Baxter, and feeling as she did about him, Evangeline doubted he had any real feelings for her that went beyond winning.

As he had shown, Baxter had much to learn about women and Kyleigh was trying to give him the freedoms to learn those mistakes in relative safety before he attempted this kind of act on other allied friends’ daughters. Perhaps they had let their younger son grow too wild and reckless. As they had grown from boys and turned into men, her control had begun to wane. Even though she was the Queen and their Mother, Kyleigh was frequently reminded that her sex affected her position more than either of her titles.

It was a small blessing that this seemed to be one of those days where Baxter would take his mother’s advice. Perhaps the fact that Evangeline was looking into the wine glass and refusing to see him helped Baxter sober up some and realise his role went beyond impressing ladies. She had no illusions that it had much to do with her, and rather an extension of Baxter’s plan to impress Evangeline. She was thankful if his attempts to steal his brother’s wife somehow gave Kyleigh small favours.

“As you wish Mother.” Baxter addressed her with a short bow. Kyleigh pretended this was expected by giving no indication that she was surprised.

“Do not stay in the throne room all day. The stable boy will wonder about you.” Kyleigh was pushing her luck with the tease, Adeline laughing out loud at her mother’s joke.

“I do not spend too much time with my horse.” Baxter was smiling, though, his statement explaining the joke to Evangeline, who had been feeling left out of the moment.

Evangeline smiled as Baxter left, glad he had decided to leave when he did. Not only for his odd behaviour but Evangeline knew that women spoke differently when there were no men present. She missed her girl time, and with no Viviana and Teagan, Kyleigh and Adeline would need to do.

“Well now that it is just us girls.” Kyleigh smoothed down her hair, pushing back her coppery strands, so they fell down her back. It was an intuitive gesture, one that she did automatically and not because her hair was actually bothering her. Evangeline suspected she too would master her own hair management strategies to work with the strange conservative hair policy.