Seventh Meeting

Edward drew his hand back in surprise. This kiss felt different to the other hand kiss, this one felt more intimate. He didn’t quite know how to react to it.

“It’s nice to see you not acting like a sulky teenager,” he commented to lighten the tone.

Sebastian fluffed his blond hair and laughed loudly.

“That is certainly one way to say it. I am hoping the act won’t be necessary anymore.”

Edward didn’t want to see Sebastian act like a sulky teenager again either. It would be even more annoying to see the act now that he knew Sebastian was actually a comfortable person to be around.

“I feel the same way.”

Sebastian frowned suddenly and Edward heard the sound of footsteps approaching them. He turned to see Ryan approaching them and knew it was time to leave. This time he wasn’t as happy to leave. Getting to leave had been the highlight of his previous visit.

“Our time together has come to an end,” Sebastian said softly. “I would walk you out, but apparently your father is very scary when he doesn’t like people and I do deserve a punch for my past behaviour.”

“Edward Grey, I have to walk you back,” Ryan called out as he came to a stop by them. “Prince Sebastian, say goodbye.”

“Good bye, Edward,” the prince said with a bow. “I will see you next time.”

“I look forward to it,” Edward said. “Good bye.”

He walked back through the gardens with Ryan. Sebastian’s secretary was a much nicer person to walk with than Camilla. His gaze wasn’t disdainful and he was willing to answer his questions about the castle.

His father was waiting in the entranceway looking more content than he had looked the previous time. Edward could only guess that the cake in the castle kitchen had been good.

“I will see you two again at some point,” Ryan said with a wide smile. “The situation will get easier to deal with as time goes by, but other things will be harder to bear the more you learn.”

Edward knew Ryan was right. The more meetings he had with the prince, the closer they would become, but at the same time the wedding date would slip closer and the more his future would become set in stone. He wouldn’t be a normal person by the end of the summer, he would be a future member of the royal family and everyone in Albion would know his name and face.

“Thank you,” Edward said to him. “I hope to see you again.”

There was a lighter air in the car this time. He had enjoyed his time with the prince and his father was in a much better mood. However there were also some things to put to the back of his mind like Sebastian’s glances at him and the hand kisses. He didn’t want to think about those things, it would make things confusing. He wasn’t sure he wanted to consider that the prince might like him.

“Was it bearable this time?” his father asked when they got onto a quieter road. “That blonde woman wasn’t there this time to be mean.”

“It was… fun,” Edward admitted. “The prince was kind. He said that Camilla was meaner to me when he was nice to me so he elected to stay silent for our past meetings.”

He could tell his father wasn’t impressed by the sound he made. Lord Grey had a way of making his opinions known without actually saying anything.

“He could just tell her to go away,” his father said.

“I don’t think he directly employs her,” Edward pointed out. “There are some things that are out of his control.”

“There’s other things he can do,” Lord Grey said sternly. “Anyway, let’s stop talking about things like this. We’re just a normal father and son and have no royal connections.”

They were careful to not talk about anything related to the royal family for the rest of the journey. Edward did want to go over things Sebastian had said in his mind as the prince had told him a lot of things, but he wanted to be alone when he did that.

***

Sebastian poured out a careful measure of tea into his teacup and added an equally carefully measured amount of milk. He stirred it and let it sit to cool down. He didn’t like his tea too hot as it burned the roof of his mouth.

He surveyed his outdoor surroundings. He had moved from the area where he had met Edward earlier, now he was on the patio closer to the castle. The view from this area was unparalleled and it helped him think.

The government match system really did work. He was very into Edward Grey. Sebastian knew he liked him a lot now. Removing Camilla from the equation and persuading Ryan to leave them in peace had been a very good idea. Ryan had put up a minor fight, but he had overruled him.

Did Edward like him in the same way?

His future husband had been difficult to read. Sebastian had sensed that he had loosened up a lot after they had a serious talk about the situation. Edward still seemed a little uneasy in his presence.

What he could tell was that Edward wasn’t in love with him.

At least it seemed like they could be good friends. There was that to hope for. If Edward never returned his feelings, they would at least stay friends. That was important as they would be living together in the future.

There were chances for him to get closer to him in the summer months. Things would be more serious in September when arrangements became concrete and unable to be changed and the public announcement of their wedding would be imminent.

Sebastian thought about when he had fed Edward the strawberry. He had greatly enjoyed that moment. It was lucky that he didn’t blush easily otherwise Edward would have noticed. He didn’t want to repulse Edward with his feelings.

He would have to seduce him slowly.

***

Another royal envelope arrived at the Grey household whilst the three of them were sitting at the breakfast table the following morning. Edward opened it as it was addressed to him and knew it was different to the previous two immediately. It contained a letter this time instead of just a card.

This letter was handwritten and the handwriting showed it had been written by a different person this time. He knew who had written the letter when he read the first line.

“Dear Edward, I would like to invite you to the castle again. We had fun last time and I was sad to see you leave. You can stay for longer this time and I will be happy to meet Lord and Lady Grey this time. Mother has agreed that we no longer need to have a chaperone. I look forward to meeting you again. Yours sincerely, Prince Sebastian Hallowswift,” Edward read aloud.

The three of them exchanged looks.

“This is the first time we’ve all been invited,” Lord Grey observed. “The prince does know his stuff. I might take back my first opinion of him. After I’ve met him properly of course. The royals and anyone who works for that family has two faces.”

“I look forward to meeting him without Camilla Roberts,” Lady Grey said. “I’m still worried about her popping up somewhere. Anyone who doesn’t like my son isn’t someone I can like myself.”

“Sebastian said that she had been removed from anything related to our marriage,” Edward said absent mindedly.

For some reason Sebastian had ended his letter with kisses. He hadn’t mentioned that to his parents as he didn’t feel they would be amused by that.

The prince was confusing to evaluate. Sebastian was unhappy with the arranged marriage yet he seemed to be very keen to get close to him. It didn’t feel like Sebastian wanted to be his friend or even his best friend, it was like Sebastian wanted to be his boyfriend.

Those hand kisses were a clue and there was the look Sebastian had given him when he had licked the popsicle. There was the random strawberry feeding and the lip touch as well. He had ended up thinking about those things despite his desire to avoid remembering them.

There was of course the possibility that he had completely misread all of those signals and he was overthinking everything.

One thing that Edward prided himself on apart from his athleticism was his ability to read body language and intent. It did help on the playing field to work out if his opponent was feinting or really was going for a shot. His predictions were normally right.

Now his senses were telling him that Sebastian was very interested in him.

At least one of them would enjoy the arranged marriage.

He was still undecided about how he felt about Sebastian. The prince had only been sociable for one out of three meetings after all. There was also his own distaste for the arranged marriage clouding his opinion.

If Sebastian’s choice at the government office had been a little different, he would be having a very nice sunny holiday in France right now without much to worry about. All he would be worrying about was which university would accept him and he would be able to study what he wanted in the future.

He could be friends with the prince, but he didn’t know if he could ever feel anything more for him. The prince was undeniably attractive and charismatic, but he wasn’t feeling anything for him yet.

Edward still wasn’t sure if he was even gay himself. If he was straight, he wasn’t going to like this marriage no matter how much Sebastian liked him.

“Are you on first name terms now?” his mother asked curiously.

Edward blinked and returned to reality. The breakfast table wasn’t a good place to have deep thoughts. He closed the letter before replying.

“Yes, he said I didn’t need to bother with his title. I think that only works in private. If I do it elsewhere, there will probably be someone to tell me off.”

“Be careful. I don’t want you to get told off anymore than you need to,” Lady Grey said. “I’m glad you two get along better though. Do you think you could be happy with him?”

Edward put the letter back in the envelope and picked up his toast again.

“It’s too early to tell that,” he said. “I prefer to not think about the future at the moment.”

“Let’s just get our next meeting at the castle out the way,” his father agreed.

***

The three of them arrived at the castle with time to spare before the time stated on the letter. It had been hard for Edward to find a reason not to let his parents read the letter themselves. He would have to tell Sebastian not to add kisses to any future letters.

He stepped out of the car first and saw a figure coming out of the castle to greet him. He was surprised when he saw that Sebastian was coming out to meet them himself.

The prince came to a stop in front of him and bowed. Clearly he wasn’t willing to do a hand kiss in front of his parents.

“Edward Grey,” he said politely. “I’m happy to see you again.”

The prince’s eyes changed when his parents came to stand next to him. He looked much more formal and serious.

“Lord and Lady Grey, it’s a pleasure to welcome you two here,” Sebastian said. “I hope you enjoy your visit here today.”

“It’s nice to meet you again under different circumstances,” Lord Grey replied. “I hope you will treat my son well.”

Edward was surprised when Sebastian took hold of his hand in front of his parents.

“I will look after Edward with my life,” he vowed.