“So this group here...” She indicated a list of names on her own notepad. “This should be all right?”
Nenet leaned in to look at it, then gave a small shake of her head. “No. Take a second look. You should administer your placement tests, of course. I’m not arguing against that. But once you’ve done so, you’ll have to take special care not to mix ranks together.”
On the rug near the tea table, Jake played with a collection of wooden toys that someone had brought out from the palace storage. Trains, mostly. He drew them back and forth across the carpet, crouched down in a pair of little blue pants that Lise loved. “Choo choo,” he said softly.
Lise blinked. “Ranks...”
“The social classes in Qasha aren’t the same as in Europe,” Nenet pointed out gently. “It will be important not to mix different ranks in classes together, even if their abilities match. The superiors”—the queen mother’s emphasis told Lise she didn’t necessarily agree with the way things had been arranged in the city—“won’t admit that they need to learn, if it means losing face in front of people of a lower rank.”
“Ah.” Lise sat back in her seat. She’d been planning some additional classes—handwriting classes, so that members of different ranks weren’t hamstrung by their inability to write at the same level. Transitioning between Arabic script and the Roman alphabet could be challenging. Everyone should have lessons. But it was going to be a more delicate prospect than she’d counted on. Jake toddled over and pushed a train into her hand, and she gave it back with a fragile smile.
And at the moment, she didn’t feel particularly delicate. The way she’d reacted to that note was more than embarrassing—it was maddening. How could she ever have allowed herself to develop a crush on Raed? So naive. And she’d already sworn that living in the palace was not about getting close to him. It was about convenience.
But if that were true, then his comments on that video conference wouldn’t have stung so much. Lise tried and failed to push them out of her mind again. He’d sounded so sure when he dismissed her as a potential “romantic entanglement.” As if it were ridiculous even to think about it. Well, it wasn’t ridiculous, was it? He’d slept with her. They had a child together. And there he was, on that conference call—
Lise yanked herself out of this circular hell and back to what Nenet was saying—or what she wasn’t saying. The queen mother frowned down at the map. Lise’s heart twisted. “We could stop for the day,” she offered quickly. “You’ve been doing so much for me—for us—lately. I don’t want to tire you out.”
Nenet laughed, waving her off, but it was true—she spent her free time caring for Jake on top of her own palace responsibilities, and Lise knew it.
“I’m not any more tired than usual,” she promised. “But...there is something I need to do, and I’d rather relax for a while.”
“Of course I can help. Say the word.”
The queen mother’s face brightened, and Lise’s heart lifted. “If you’re sure.” Lise nodded, smiling brightly. She’d go to the ends of the Earth to help Nenet. A queen, spending time with Lise and her son—she had no hesitation there. “It’s just something I need to collect. The car and driver are already here, and they have the instructions. If you could pop off and get it for me, I would be so grateful. And don’t worry about Jake. He can stay here with me.”
“Mama,” said Jake.
“I’ll be back, buddy.” Lise went to where her son was surrounded by toy trains on the rug and bent to kiss him. He still had his baby scent, and she already knew she would miss it when it was gone—miss it fiercely. A pang of sorrow for Raed went through her gut. He would never be able to go back in time and know how it had felt to hold Jake as a squishy newborn or a sturdy one-year-old who still wanted to be carried as much as possible. He would never feel his chubby baby legs—not the way they had been before. The way babies grew was so subtle, and so shocking at the same time. One moment they were sleepy, tiny things craving to be swaddled and the next—
The next, they were walking.
Like Jake was now.
He pressed a wet kiss to her cheek, and Lise stood up, shaking off that sadness. There was nothing to feel bad about when it came to Raed. Clearly. She made her goodbyes to Nenet and went out the back door of the palace, where a black SUV waited for her.
Lise sat back in her seat, gazing out the window. Where were they going? Across the city, probably. She’d have lots of time to sit in the air conditioning and nurse her feelings.
Only the driver didn’t turn toward the exit to the main road. He took another turn, much sooner, and Lise sat back up. Where—
The stables?
Did Nenet want her to collect a horse? The SUV stopped in front of the stables, and the driver came around to help Lise out of the car.
“I’m supposed to be here?”
“Yes, Ms. Danbury.” The driver bowed his head over her hand.
“At the stables?”
What?
“Where is the queen mother?” Raed’s voice boomed from the other side of the SUV, the rest of him still hidden. Run, she thought wildly. She did not want to see Raed right now. For the past few days, they’d only seen each other—coldly, cordially—when he took Jake out for a tightly scheduled morning ride on one of the ponies. “Mother?” he called again.
He came around the side of the car, and Lise caught her breath at the sight of him. Dark hair slicked back for a day at work. Tight dress pants that skimmed over the hard muscles of his legs. A shirt that fit him so well it was indecent. His eyes widened to see her there.
“Lise?” His perfect brow was furrowed and the glance he threw at the driver was nothing short of incredulous. “I was supposed to meet my mother here.”
A line of staff members came out of the stable then, bringing with them things they would need for a ride. The first two led saddled horses by the reins. The next two carried stacks of riding clothes. The third, baskets meant to be slung over the horses.
The driver cleared his throat. “The queen mother has arranged a picnic for the two of you.”
Shock rippled down her center. Nenet! How could Nenet have been so tricky? Lise grabbed the pile of clothes that was being offered to her and stalked into the stables, where there were several sets of private changing rooms and bathrooms. This was a rock and a hard place if she’d ever encountered such a situation. God—really? It wasn’t like she could disobey the queen mother. Or let her down. Not after she’d offered to watch Jake and help Lise learn about the city—
She huffed out a breath, her face painfully hot. Good. Great. She’d ride horses with Raed, if that was what Nenet wanted. But that didn’t mean she had to enjoy it.
Lise went back out to the servants in front of the building and found Raed already there in his riding clothes. Her heart thudded, nerves tingling. He was even handsomer in the riding clothes, like something out of a historical novel. A true royal. He stood by her horse and silently helped her on, his hands on her waist, and Lise had to stop herself from pressing herself into that palm—more of that touch, her body called.
No, she argued back. Not now, not ever.