Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) (39 page)

Her hands trembled as she tried to figure out the little clasp on the chain. “You’re not supposed to have to buy your own present,” she said.

“Hey, sweetheart, none of that.” His hands tightened on hers, and he leaned down to meet her gaze again. “Do you honestly think that matters to me? You’re willing to walk down there on my arm tonight.
That
is my courtship present. I always thought I’d be making that walk alone, Quinn. That my crazy, divided life would make it impossible to meet someone that I would be ready to take this step with. And by some miracle, you’re here. I didn’t buy the bracelet because I needed a present; I bought it because I wanted us both to have them, that’s all.”

She stared at him, stunned, blinking back tears.

“Is it too much?” A hint of nervousness had crept into his voice. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

She closed her eyes for a minute, trying to force her scattered thoughts into coherent sentences. Finally, she took a deep breath. “I was just thinking how amazing you are, Will. And how sad I am that all of these years you’ve been right there, and I never knew anything about you. All this time – I only saw what everyone else saw – the studying, the seriousness … how could I have missed
you
?”

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “You saw more of me than anyone else ever did – you still do. And I will never be able to fully express how much that means to me, how grateful I am to you.” With that, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly for a long moment.

“You ready?” he asked, dabbing softly at her eyes with his handkerchief, removing the evidence of her emotion a moment ago. “It’s almost time to be downstairs.”

“No. I have no idea what it is I’m actually supposed to do,” she said, as a different sort of nervousness started swirling inside her stomach.

He smiled. “You don’t have to do anything. It’s really just a birthday party. You have to hold my arm, walk into the dining room, and sit down at the table with me. It’s almost the same as any other night.”

She breathed in and out a couple of times. “Except for all the extra people, right?”

“Right.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered against her hair.

She pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes, reaching up to run her finger down the side of his face, smiling.

He kissed her softly on the lips - just a quick brush, though it was enough to send another flash of heat rippling through her chest, and then linked her arm inside his, the little silver chain jingling softly. “Shall we?”

*          *          *

William had been right – she didn’t actually have to do anything. Once they reached the entrance to the grand dining hall, there was an announcement about William; his formal introduction as an adult prince, and then he led her to the seat next to his at the high table. There were a few interested second glances and whispers as he led her between the tables on his arm.

There was one glance in the crowd that seemed a little
too
interested in the new development between Quinn and William – that of his cousin Gavin. She didn’t know him very well, only enough to know that she neither liked nor trusted him. The look he gave her as she and William passed his table made her shiver.

It was different to be sitting at a table with just the king and queen, and their oldest children and those they escorted. Because it was a celebration for him, William sat right next to his father with Quinn at his side. Simon sat next to Charlotte, his wife Evelyn beside him. Tonight, he wore the heir’s crown.

The head table sat at the front of the room, slightly elevated so that the guests could see William. It reminded Quinn of a wedding dinner in her own world. From where she sat, she could see Thomas and Linnea at a round table just in front of them, the two oldest at a table filled with Stephen and Charlotte’s younger children. Linnea had baby Hannah in her lap. Jared, her date, was keeping toddler Sarah entertained with a rousing game of peek-a-boo.  

When Thomas caught sight of Quinn watching them, he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her giggle before he turned his attention back to his own date.

Next to Thomas, Mia’s cheeks turned a soft shade of pink when Quinn caught her eyes. She looked very lovely, with her dark hair flowing down past her shoulders, and wearing a soft, yellow dress for the occasion. Thomas seemed happy with her there; his eyes were on Mia most of the time, and more than once, Quinn caught a glimpse of the two of them flirting. She enjoyed seeing them like this.

The crowd gathered in the dining room wasn’t as large as she had been expecting. There were maybe only a hundred people seated at the tables scattered throughout the hall. She looked at William curiously. “There aren’t that many people here,” she said.

“No, it’s not actually that big an event. It’s mostly family here, and people of importance in Eirentheos – mostly family,” he smiled.

“It’s just a birthday party,” she said, echoing what he’d told her upstairs.

He nodded. “Just a birthday party.”

On Quinn’s other side was Maxwell and the girl he had brought, a pretty young woman named Catherine. Although she seemed very nice, Quinn didn’t know much about her. William had told her that she and Maxwell had only been courting for a few weeks; they hadn’t made anything official.

The dining room looked beautiful tonight; the tables were draped with purple and silver tablecloths, and enormous bouquets of purple and white flowers occupied the center of each one. Servants darted in an out near every guest, filling glasses with a thick, yellow juice that Quinn didn’t recognize. Soft music drifted through the room from a small group of musicians set up in the corner.

Everyone chatted amiably, nibbling on a mixture of roasted nuts and dried berries from silver bowls that sat between every two people. She noticed that nobody touched the glasses of juice, though, so she left hers alone.

Quinn had eaten the nut-and-berry mix before; it was a sort of appetizer that appeared before fancy dinners here in the castle. Although most foods here at least resembled things she was familiar with at home, there was one very unusual kind of berry in the mix, an odd green with an irregular shape. At the first couple of dinners she had attended in Eirentheos, she’d been afraid to try them. At Simon’s wedding though, Thomas had convinced her to taste one, and after that, she’d been hooked. Nothing in her world compared to them.

Now, between polite conversations, she found herself surreptitiously digging through the bowl, looking for those green ones. She was just reaching for the bowl a third time, when William nudged her softly with his elbow. She looked up at him, abashed at being caught, but he only winked and dropped a small handful of them on her plate.

The heat flowed through her chest again.

After a few minutes, Stephen smiled at William, and then he and Charlotte stood. A hush fell over the room immediately.

William put his hand on Quinn’s knee then, and, heart beginning to flutter again, she looked up at him and smiled, placing her hand over his.

“Charlotte and I would like to thank you all for coming here tonight,” Stephen began. “It is a very rare privilege for a man to be blessed not only with the love of a kind, upstanding, and beautiful woman,” he looked over at Charlotte, who was stunning tonight, in a long, flowing purple gown, her delicate silver tiara perched atop her dark curls, and she returned her husband’s enormous smile, “but also with these children who, even in their youths have shown themselves to be courageous, loving, and sacrificial in service to others and to the Maker.”

He paused then, as the guests clapped, and he looked down at William, smiling and extending his hand toward his son, who took it and stood up next to him.

“Tonight we’re here to celebrate William as he comes of age, an extraordinary son even among this group of extraordinary children. I don’t know if I could ever find the words to express how proud Charlotte and I am of him. His compassion and care toward others will no doubt be held up as an example to other healers for generations to come. We raise a toast tonight, and drink the juice of the sunfruit – may the rest of your life bring the same sweetness and life to our kingdom that your childhood has. We love you, Son.”

Stephen paused to smile as everyone applauded again, and then he cleared his throat. The dining room quieted immediately. “We have yet one more reason to celebrate this evening, as William makes official his courtship to the Lady Quinn, who has already found her way into the hearts of our family. Tonight, we ask the Maker for his blessing over their courtship and for his guidance as their relationship continues to grow.”

As the crowd stood and cheered, Stephen and Charlotte pulled William into their arms. Tears ran unchecked down Queen Charlotte’s face as she reached for Quinn’s hand, and then pulled her up and into a hug. Before Charlotte let her go, Stephen leaned in close to them.

“Whatever happens, Quinn,” he said softly, “I want you to know how happy it makes both of us to have you here, and to see you and William together. I’ve never seen either of you as happy as you are with each other.”

Tears stung the corners of her own eyes as she nodded, unable to come up with the right words. After a moment, William’s hand found hers again, his fingers rubbing the thin chain of her bracelet as they all sat back down, and the servants began bringing out the dinner dishes.

After their plates had been cleared away, William led Quinn outside onto the main patio. It was just beginning to grow dark and the hundreds of candles that had been placed in sconces running down the castle walls and all along the low wall surrounding the raised terrace gave the whole place a warm, flickering glow.

He had seen it this way before, but the celebration had never been for him. He was a little surprised by how emotional he found himself over the whole thing, over actually becoming an adult, and having his own party. It had really struck him for the first time as he had taken Quinn with him up to the head table at dinner – escorting a girl to a place that, for his whole life, had been reserved for adults.

 He supposed it meant he could make his own decisions now. It was a thought that had been running through his head all day – since two nights ago after he’d talked to his parents, really.

He couldn’t believe what they had told him, and he wasn’t sure whether to be angry, or furious – or grateful. At different points during the last two days, he’d been all three. What shocked him the most were the moments he wasn’t completely, staggeringly livid – which was the emotion that would have made the most sense. He had no doubt about how he would have felt if he’d found all this out three months ago.

All these years he’d thought he was in Bristlecone for reasons that were actually his choice, but he hadn’t been. He’d been there to help keep an eye on Quinn, like some kind of crazy spy, even if he’d known nothing about it. His parents and Nathaniel had spent the last nine years hoping the two of them would find each other and hit it off.

They’d been set up.

And she knew.

And she was still here, still holding his hand, next to him at his celebration, announcing their courtship together, wearing his bracelet. All night, he’d been moving his wrist a little more often than was strictly necessary, just to hear the soft little jingle of his own jewelry, to feel its comforting weight against his wrist.

He didn’t know how Quinn was doing it, standing here with him, not freaking out over what had been done to them. He wanted to ask her, but he didn’t think that discussing it at the party was the best idea. He felt badly now that he’d taken off earlier, blown off some steam by riding Skittles all the way to Mistle Village and back. Although seeing the ruins of the clinic again had helped him put things into perspective about why his parents would be willing to take such a huge risk, or at least why they’d want one more set of eyes on the true heir to the throne.

As he looked at the girl standing next to him, he was in awe of how in control of herself she seemed – more so than he felt. Most likely, she was just as confused as he was; he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly find out you were the heir to the throne in a kingdom in a world you’d never known existed.