Page 56 of Split or Swallow

“What do you mean?” he whispered back.

“I mean, I thought we were…going on a date.”

“Is meeting my family in the parlor not sufficiently romantic for you?”

Tem took a moment to remember the royal family tree. There was Leo, of course, the only son of Maximus, the king. His mother had died giving birth to him. He had one sibling: his older sister Lilibet, who was married to Edward Fitzwilliam, a duke of somewhere or another. They had two children: Aurora and Desmond. The king’s brother was the Lord Chamberlain, which made him Leo’s uncle, but Tem couldn’t remember his name. He had no wife, which meant no children.

“Um,” Tem said. She had no idea how to respond. Leo chuckled at the look on her face.

“Dating me isn’t like dating some village boy, Tem. You’re the future queen. That comes with formalities.”

Before Tem could process his use of the present tense, the door opened.

“So it begins,” Leo muttered.

“Tem!”

It was Lilly. She was wearing a yellow dress, and she looked beautiful as she bound right up to them and pulled Tem into a tight hug. Then she smacked Leo on the shoulder.

“I was right, wasn’t I? You like her.”

He swatted her hand away.

“That doesn’t make you right about everything,” he hissed.

“Just the important things.”

Leo rolled his eyes. Then his expression sobered, and his voice dropped.

“Is he in a good mood today?”

Lilly pursed her lips before dropping her voice too. “No.”

Tem looked between the two of them. “Who are you talking about?”

“My father,” they said at the same time.

As if they had spoken him into existence, a man appeared suddenly at Lilly’s side. His cold eyes latched immediately onto Tem’s before slipping briefly down her body. Not for the first time, she wished Leo had chosen a less revealing dress. It hardly seemed appropriate to meet the king with this much cleavage. Leo spoke before Tem could:

“Father, this is Temperance.”

The king’s large hand engulfed hers.

“Temperance,” he said slowly, and she had the distinct feeling he was looking straight into her soul. “The chicken farmer’s daughter.”

Chicken shit girl.

Maximus’s eyes slid to Leo’s. “You said she was beautiful.”

His words hung in the air. They sounded like an accusation.

“She is,” Leo said, his voice hard.

“If you insist.”

Tem could feel tears rising and fought to suppress them. Beside her, Leo’s entire body was tense. The silence grew slowly contentious as father and son stared at each other, neither of them willing to break it. Tem glanced between them, completely bewildered by the stalemate. There was clearly a deep history here, but Tem had no idea where it originated. Even Lilly was uncharacteristically silent, hovering nervously next to Tem and biting her lip.

Just when the moment became precarious, Maximus dropped Tem’s hand.