Fourth Meeting

“What did Edward Grey do last night?” Sebastian asked eagerly.

His personal secretary opened up his tablet and cleared his throat.

“Last night, Edward Grey left his house in the evening and went to an end of school party with other pupils from his school. I have some photos. He drank a lot, but stayed away from any drug taking and any sexual activity.”

Edward was already under watch by people working for him. His mother probably knew he had arranged it, but didn’t care. He wanted to know more about Edward before their next meeting and the best way was to get an idea of his daily activities.

“That’s good,” he said and leaned in to look at the photos his secretary was showing him.

His future husband was definitely very sociable. There were photos of him talking to other males very closely. He had also spent some time with girls. Sebastian couldn’t tell from any of the photos if Edward was straight or not. He didn’t look into any of the girls, yet he didn’t seem to be into any of the males either.

“Do you still want him under observation?” his secretary asked. “He’s not left the house at all so far. He’s probably got a hangover.”

“Just for a little longer,” Sebastian ordered. “I accept that he might not leave the house at all before our next meeting, I just want to find out more about him.”

His secretary cleared his throat.

“May I give you my personal opinion?” he requested.

Sebastian looked at his secretary. Ryan had been in his service since he was 16 and was the only person who directly worked for him. He did not usually give out his personal opinion so Sebastian was intrigued.

“I don’t mind,” he said.

“I am married as you know,” Ryan said. “Having your future spouse followed around is not going to give you much information about them. It just shows your insecurity and does not look good if he finds out in the future.”

Sebastian nodded. He accepted that Ryan was right. He was showing his insecurity by using all his resources.

“How do you suggest I learn more about him?”

He was willing to listen to any advice on this subject.

“You do have more limited options because you’re the prince,” Ryan mused. “You’re just going to have to talk to him and try to get him to open up. There’s no point snooping in his life for tidbits about him. Just treat him like an equal and talk to him properly when you meet. Camilla said that you barely spoke during your first meeting and she had to do all of the talking.”

Sebastian scratched his neck awkwardly. Ryan and his mother were stressing the importance of talking to Edward, but it was going to be impossible to have a proper conversation with him if their meetings were going to be chaperoned. It seemed like he had his work cut out for him.

“I’ll work on it,” he said.

***

The royal invitation arrived in a thick envelope sealed with wax and the royal seal a few days later. The letter inside the envelope claimed to be from the prince, but Edward knew it had been written by someone else as it declared that Prince Sebastian had been charmed to meet him and wanted to get to know him more.

He had been invited to the royal castle in the countryside for a short meeting with the prince. The meeting would be chaperoned. The royal family had two official residences in his country, the countryside castle and the palace in the capital city.

The daggered glare his father gave the letter when he read the contents was nothing short of impressive.

“I don’t suppose we can get you out of this meeting,” Lord Grey said doubtfully.

Edward sighed. The sight of the royal letter was bringing his unhappy future one step closer. He had managed to successfully put everything out of his mind for a couple of days. Drinking a lot of alcohol and spending most of the time nursing a hangover had certainly helped him forget.

“Do I need to bring him any presents?” he asked doubtfully.

His parents had raised him to have good manners, but they hadn’t covered being invited to the castle to meet the prince.

“You don’t owe him anything,” his father said immediately. “You don’t need to bring anything for the royal family in any case, they already have everything.”

“He certainly won’t want any cake made by Edward, his are always a disaster,” his mother said with amusement.

Edward didn’t bother protesting that statement. It was true that he couldn’t bake anything.

“Maybe Edward should make some cake then,” his father said with twinkling eyes. “You can give some to that snotty royal advisor.”

“Sometimes I wonder about you,” his mother said with a sigh. “No Edward, you aren’t making cake to give to anyone.”

Edward’s mood was considerably lighter after their conversation and he was glad for his supportive parents. The situation would be less bearable if his parents were mean and actually wanted him to marry the prince.

***

His father insisted on being the one to drive him to the castle. Edward was glad it was his father rather than his mother as he knew his father wouldn’t take any nonsense.

The security at the castle was very tight which was only to be expected. The two of them had to verify their identities and state their intentions for visiting. Edward pretended that he hadn’t noticed all of the curious stares from the security guards.

His heart sank when his father parked the car in the car park and Camilla came into view.

“Lord Grey, Edward Grey,” she said with a plastic smile. “I’m delighted to have you two here at the castle.”

Her blonde hair was in perfect order and there wasn’t a single crease showing on her suit. Edward was aware that his trousers likely had at least one wrinkle in them from sitting down in the car.

His father gave her his most charming smile and shook Camilla’s hand very vigorously. Edward felt a little happier when he saw Camilla’s wince.

“I am delighted to have received the invitation,” Edward replied with a tight smile.

“Edward Grey, come with me and I will take you to Prince Sebastian,” Camilla said without returning the smile. “Lord Grey, wait here. Someone will come to take care of you.”

Edward had guessed that his father wouldn’t be able to be part of his meeting with the prince, but it wasn’t a good feeling to walk away from his supportive father and into the dark castle.

The inside of the castle was dark and dreary and Edward shivered. It was the height of summer, yet in the dingy castle, it felt like it was the dead of winter. It was no wonder Prince Sebastian was so cold if this was where he lived.

Was this where he was going to have to live in the future?

The bland walls were occasionally interrupted by portraits of deceased members of the royal family and the occasional antique. It was nothing like the warmth of his home and didn’t do much to distract his mind from its unease.

Camilla led the way through yet another door and then they were outside again. Edward screwed up his eyes and the sudden exposure to bright light. His eyes were struggling to adjust to the contrast.

“Where are we now?” he asked.

“The castle gardens,” Camilla said shortly and continued walking. “The prince is out here.”

There was green in every direction Edward looked. He guessed that the gardens spanned a number of acres. The parts he could see were full of flowers and trees. It all looked very relaxing and pleasant after the interior of the castle.

They soon came across a set of wrought iron chairs around a table. The prince was sitting on one chair and looked up when he saw them.

“Good afternoon,” he said formally. “Welcome to the castle.”

Edward sat down on the chair opposite him. He was glad that he had dressed semi formally for this visit. The prince was wearing yet another smart suit and nothing was out of place despite the high temperature.

“Thank you for the invitation. How has your day been so far?” he asked.

“Passable,” the prince replied and paused. “Camilla, are you going to be staying?”

Edward saw the dark look in his eyes and knew he hated her guts as well. That realisation cheered him up.

“Prince Sebastian, these early meetings need to be chaperoned and I am also going to stay close to facilitate conversation.”

At that moment Camilla was standing right behind him and didn’t seem like she was going to move. Edward could feel her stare and it wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

“That is my plan, unless Edward Grey has a problem,” she continued.

Edward could sense the challenge and was stuck on how to respond. Naturally he didn’t want Camilla breathing down his neck whilst he made awkward conversation with a prince who didn’t like him.

“Please sit down next to me,” he said reluctantly.

There was a chair next to him and having Camilla sitting next to him instead of standing right behind him would be preferable.

“Thank you for the consideration,” Camilla replied and sat down in the offered seat. “How has your family been?”

“They are good in health,” he replied and wondered if the only person talking was going to the royal advisor.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Camilla said emotionlessly. “Prince Sebastian, tell Edward Grey about your schedule this afternoon.”

The prince looked at her sulkily and straightened his posture.

“I will be going on a distance walk for a charity and then I will be eating with the organiser- that will also double as a photo opportunity.”

Edward saw the dark bags under his eyes and speculated that there had to be a royal makeup artist who normally covered them up. The prince did look tired.

The sunlight was currently beaming off his blond hair in a pleasant way and his skin was completely immaculate. Edward suffered with the occasional pimple and had arranged his bangs in a certain way to cover up a pimple on his forehead.

“That’s interesting,” he commented. “Do you enjoy doing things like that?”

“I like supporting people and organisations that do good work,” he replied with a surprising amount of emotion. “I like to use my name for good.”

Edward could see the spark in his eyes and was starting to change his feelings about the prince always being sulky and silent in private settings when Camilla coughed loudly. The tone was immediately darkened.

“What charitable activities do you do, Edward Grey?” she asked in a foreboding way.

Edward didn’t like the question when it came from her. He did take part in charity events through school, but he knew that she was looking to nitpick anything he was going to say.

“I was referring to activities outside of school by the way,” Camilla added icily. “I know your school makes their pupils help out with charity work.”

Edward could only tell the truth.

“I don’t do any charity work outside of school due to time constraints.”

His eyes fell on the prince and he looked understanding. Then he blinked and looked bored again.

“What a waste of resources,” Camilla tutted.

Edward decided he’d had enough by that point and opened his mouth to demand what problem Camilla had with him. Then he remembered that he was at a royal castle, Camilla was a royal advisor and the prince was sitting opposite him.

“Camilla, stop judging Edward Grey unnecessarily. You don’t know how he spends his free time,” Prince Sebastian said suddenly. “It’s annoying me.”

His tone was one that suited a future ruler, it showed that he wasn’t going to accept anyone going against his wishes.

“Of course, my apologies,” Camilla replied, sounding completely unapologetic. “I will ask different questions next time.”

“Whatever,” the prince retorted. “Find some other pointless questions to ask.”

Edward watched their interaction with a frown. He was finding that the prince was an enigma that was increasingly difficult to decipher. Then he remembered that he was going to have to marry that enigma.

With everything as it stood, it wasn’t going to be a happy marriage.