Chapter 348: Courting (1)
Elsewhere in town, Rue walked with Elijah on the promised time he offered to take her around the town.
Rue glanced at the guards her father sent to protect her as though she couldn’t take care of herself.
Rue welcomed anyone trying to pick a fight with her. The town was quickly starting to bore her.
"Why is it that you and many others leave the comfort of your homes to take a stroll here? Does it feel better to walk amongst other groups?" Rue asked, looking around at the groups nearby.
"It is not something I do unless my mother pulls me along to walk with her and my sisters. Many gather here only when there are events, like to see the flowers bloom or now during the season, to get a glimpse of the person they court," Elijah explained.
"It is a warmer setting compared to balls," said Elijah.
"Hearing that is about finding a spouse makes it even more boring. It is not like this at the border. Marriage is important, but courting someone isn’t on our minds constantly," Rue said, missing her home.
"When I walk the palace halls with my father, I have been stopped and courted by men who only wish to impress my father. It is torture," Rue said, annoyed by the season.
"Who approached you?" Elijah inquired.
"Truthfully, I do not know. The entire time I was thinking of ways to escape, and my father was the one who spoke to the gentleman. Some have been bold enough to come to my home with flowers they managed to get from the border. I should have thrown water," Rue muttered, regretting she didn’t.
Elijah’s right brow lifted, surprised she didn’t like flowers. "I thought someone like you who spends her days in fields would enjoy flowers."
"I do like flowers, but the ones they tried to impress me with make my skin itch. They aren’t allowed near my mother and me back at home. I wish it were that if I wanted to reject a man, I could kill him," said Rue.
"It would be rather extreme. We would lose half the town’s bachelors," Elijah said.
Rue laughed since it was absurd that there would be so many. "Half? Oh no, it is only the few who have visited me."
"You are a growing topic around the town, Rue. You will have far more men standing before you soon," Elijah said, humoured by Rue’s look of horror. "Perhaps if you surround your home with your pets, they would think twice about courting you."
"I should place a snake on the doorknob," Rue considered.
Elijah chuckled.
Rue would be unlike any lady the men in Lockwood ever tried to court. She truly would make them work for her hand.
"I can have a word with the men around the town to stop them from showing up at your doors. Would you like it?" Elijah asked, testing Rue.
Rue looked away from the other couples to Elijah. "You could? Other than being the duke’s son, why would they listen to you? I hear the men here stop at nothing to get the woman they want."
"When I make my interest known, they tend to back away," Elijah shared.
"Cowards. They could never be my husband if they so easily walk away from a challenge. Thank you, but I won’t need your help. I know how to fend for myself," Rue said, a plan already filling her mind.
Rue looked further down the path and noticed a familiar face.
Without a second thought, Rue clung to Elijah’s arm.
The innocent action triggered Rue’s guards, who moved to pull her away from Elijah, but they had to stop themselves. They knew this time would come at some point.
Elijah looked down at where Rue held onto his arm. She stood close, mimicking the couples around them.
"What are you doing, Rue?" Elijah asked in a soft tone.
Rue looked away from the current source of her fun to Elijah. "Making this boring town exciting. You said that you wouldn’t mind if I used you."
"Yes, but this is going to cost you," Elijah said.
Rue frowned.
Since when was there something more added to what they spoke of?
"Why must I offer you something? Before you were rather intrigued in playing along," Rue said, suspicious of what Elijah wanted. "What does a man who has everything at his fingertips need?"
Rue kept a close eye on Selina and the ladies she walked with. Selina was walking faster now that she noticed Elijah.
Rue didn’t have time for Elijah to be bargaining with her.
"I will think of it, but it will not be something you regret. Time is ticking, Rue. Will you let your fun slip through your fingers?" Elijah asked, drawing closer to Rue to add to his teasing.
"I am quite close to throwing you onto the ground, and I will not regret it. Deal," Rue agreed to Elijah’s demands. "You must play along."
"Oh," Elijah smiled, his cheeks showing two indentations on both sides. "I intend to play along quite well."
Rue didn’t like the mischief she was picking up in Elijah’s voice. He was enjoying himself a little too much before the real fun had started.
"Elijah," Selina greeted Elijah. She smiled, using the moment to catch her breath. "What a pleasure it is to see you here. You as well, Miss Rue. We haven’t seen each other since our time in the palace."
"We haven’t, and here I thought myself lucky, but of course, nature toys with me, and here you stand before me. It is a lovely day, so everyone is out in numbers. I would hate for us to intrude on your walk with your ladies," Rue said, shooting a smile at the ladies behind Selina.
"I was just about to walk ahead of the other ladies and walk with my maid. Now that you are both here, I seek company," said Selina.
"Your peers have not wandered off, so there is time for you to run along to be with them again if you find yourself lonely. I was having a private talk with Elijah," Rue said, inching closer to Elijah.
Rue rested her head on Elijah’s arm and noticed Selina close her hand into a ball like she wished to fight.
Lockwood was suddenly interesting.
"Miss Rue, I find it my duty to tell you that, as a lady who is not yet married, how you stand with the gentleman will spark awful gossip about you. They will say you are a wild woman who doesn’t know how to behave. I," Selina stopped, frightened by Elijah’s gaze.
Elijah had never shown Selina such an expression before.