My eyes stung and I realised that I'd been holding them open for some time. Blinking released a tear from each eye, but I stopped it there. I was hungry, so I walked to the kitchen and threw open the unfamiliar cupboards myself, as Daegwin was not around to make me breakfast. No doubt she'd thought to use the opportunity to shirk her duties. The cupboards contained mostly components of larger foods, bread and herbs and such, but I did uncover a glass container of biscuits. I grabbed the whole jar and plonked myself in my chair in the living room. It was a whole jar kind of day.

I thought about the evening. Tears threatened at the corners of my eyes whenever my thoughts took me to the morning’s events, but I tried to stay focused on the dinner we'd shared. He’d clearly enjoyed the wine, and had perhaps underestimated its potency. I made a mental note to procure a few bottles of the stuff in case a similar opportunity presented itself. If no such opportunity arose, I could always drink it myself. Among the many things I had learnt last night was that I had a taste for bloodberry wine. Father would have been proud, though only after scolding me for drinking. He'd let Timoth drink at fifteen, but I wasn't allowed to even though he'd sent me away. It was so unfair, but at least he had no way of knowing.

Eventually I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and bloated my stomach with too many biscuits, so I forced myself to put the lid back on the jar. I ground my teeth from the mental effort, then ascended the stairs to my bedroom and threw my clothes onto the floor. They stank from my wearing them overnight and I was glad to be rid of them.

Clad only in my undergarments, I lay in the bed. It was more comfortable than Daegwin's, and the experience of a night elsewhere gave me fresh appreciation for the featherbed mattress. It smelt of bloodberry, and I wondered if the Prince had spilt some on his clothes and then carried it to the bed. I sniffed the bed, but could not discern his scent.

My self-indulgent reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door. My mind raced as I wondered who it could be - for a moment I thought Alum had returned to set things straight - but then I realised that I’d been slack with my timekeeping.

'Just a minute!' I called out into the corridor, and I scoured my wardrobe for a simple dress I could toss over my body. My hair was a ragged mess but there was nought I could do about that now.

I found something in faded pink and climbed into it, before running down the stairs while rubbing the smeared makeup off of my face with my fingers. I finally reached the door and pulled it open, revealing not Master Orjeik, as I had been expecting, but Duke Wilbern Crower. I was so startled by his appearance that I did not even offer him a word of greeting.

'Uh, good morning, Countess,' he said to me. His watchful eyes peered into my abode as if I was but a statue.

'M-morning, Duke,' I replied. First the Prince's disappearance and now his replacement by the boy who tortured insects. And, to cap it all off, I looked like a walking corpse. Then something occurred to me. 'Wait a minute, I thought you weren't allowed in the women's section?'

He smiled deviously. It was less boyish and more fiendish, though perhaps I was projecting Daegwin's words upon his face. 'I'm not.'

My eyebrows slid from my brow to my forehead. 'Is there something you want?'

'To simply lay eyes upon you is an end in itself,' he said. I rolled my eyes in what I hoped was a display of jovial mockery. He continued. 'May I come in?'

I nodded, my eyes half-closed with either reluctance or fatigue, and he stepped inside. He left the door open behind him, so I leaned out and closed it. When I turned around, he was already seated at my table with his hand in the cookie jar.

'Help yourself,' I said, mocking him further.

'Don't mind if I do,' Wilbern replied. Then, 'if you permit me to say so, Countess, you look unwell today. Is something the matter?'

I suppressed a derisive laugh. 'I slept poorly last night,' I confessed, taking a seat opposite him.

'Did you sleep alone?' he asked me, and I almost fell off my chair. I realised that my expression bore shock that would defy any denials, but I had little choice.

'Of course I did!' I exclaimed. Hopefully my words were strengthened by the fact that they were true.

'Interesting,' he replied, nibbling at his cookie. 'Then why did your servant spend the night among mine?'

Now it was time to lie. I scrambled those corners of my brain which were sufficiently alert. 'She asked to, and I allowed it. She said she had the consent of your servants.'

Wilbern looked me in the eye, his lips dirty with crumbs, and smiled. I knew his next words before he spoke them.

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'You lie,' he murmured.

I did not respond. I knew not what he knew, and did not want to risk providing him with any further information. At least, that was why it was a good idea not to respond. In reality, I was scared. I did not want to be the source of a scandal. Father would be very upset.

Eventually Wilbern continued. 'Fear not, Saemara. I shall not reveal the secret of your evening to the public. However, as your friend, I feel bound to speak to you on a personal level. Nobleman to noblewoman.'

I felt as if my brain were being hammered inside my skull. My stomach, previously bloated with biscuits, now caged aggressive butterflies. I had no idea where Wilbern intended to go with this. He called himself my friend, yet we had only spoken on a handful of occasions, despite the numerous opportunities he had been presented with on the road to Hollowhold. I was uncomfortable around him due to his unconcealed attraction to me and the gossip that Daegwin had passed on. I was probably being unfair - after all Khad had said much worse, and I had enjoyed his attentions rather than scorning them, and Alum had done something that warranted a royal pardon - but that couldn't stop my gut from churning like the plunge pool at the bottom of a waterfall.

'Go on,' I said carefully.

Wilbern reached across the table and put my hand in his. It was all I could do not to jerk it back. His skin was wet and clammy, but I did not want to offend him by retracting my hand.

'I will speak plainly, Countess. Do me the honour of not pretending that you do not understand my words.' I was silent, which he took as agreement. 'Good. I understand your infatuation with Prince Alum. He is, after all, a Prince. Yet you must see that, no matter how attracted he is to you – as any sane man would be – he cannot marry you. Marrying a Countess would not earn the approval of his father or his brother, and even he must see that it does not bring any benefits to the realm.

“Perhaps if you were heir to your County, matters would be different, but you are not. He will marry a Duchess, or a foreign queen. It is the way things are done. You must understand this.' Again, I said nothing, so he continued. 'On the other hand… My father approves of you. I approve of you, wholeheartedly. I can offer you soldiers to stand upon the walls of Haelling Cove, coin to put arrows against their bows, and a Duchy for your children to inherit.'

'...you?' I whispered.

My tone conveyed my disbelief, but what I was really feeling was surprise. While I had liked Wilbern at Haelling Cove, what I had uncovered of his family made me wary about wanting to become a part of it. And now, with Alum so close, it seemed odd that Wilbern would be approaching me. Though it made sense, now that I knew that he’d been made aware of what had occurred between myself and Prince Alum.

'Yes, me,' Wilbern replied indignantly. He tried to be kind but my response had stung him. 'Do you not see the benefits? Your realm would benefit far more directly through a partnership between the two of us than between yourself and Prince Alum. With him, your children will inherit nothing.'

'I see the benefits, Duke,' I replied. I wanted to continue, but he interrupted me.

'Good! I have my father's blessing, and the support of Prince Milos. I understand that you are not yet of age, but the-'

'Prince Milos?' I said, it being my turn to interrupt. What had Wilbern told the crown prince? 'You spoke to Prince Milos about this?'

'I did. It is his duty, as direct heir to the King, to safeguard the realm as best he can. He believes a union between the two of us will strengthen Haelling Cove, which he regards as vital to the safety of the realm, and free his brother to wed a more suitable bachelorette,' Wilbern replied. He was onto his third biscuit now, and the second his fingers were clear of the jar I slammed its lid on and pulled it onto my side of the table. Conveniently, the action freed my hand from his grasp.

'I think you've had enough. And I think it best that you not discuss personal matters with anyone else - especially if you have yet to discuss them with me!' I said.

I was afraid that I came off as a petulant child, but I felt wronged. I had scarcely spoken to Wilbern in the better part of a year, and yet it seemed that he had been busy plotting my future behind my back.

'I apologise if I have upset you, Countess, but I don’t see how you can refuse me. My offer is generous, and Prince Alum's competing offer – if it even stands, which I doubt – his offer is effectively for show. I can provide you with men, gold, and land for your children can inherit. He has nothing.'

I blinked twice in quick succession. His summation had spoken to me in a way his lengthy explanations had not and I was stupefied at my own blindness. I now realised exactly what he was saying.

I’d come to Hollowhold seeking any man who had even half of what Wilbern was offering me, yet I sought to refuse him? I was being selfish, letting my own emotions cloud my judgement. I had thought of none other than Prince Alum for so long that I had blinded myself to all other options. Yet Duke Wilbern's words rang true in my ears, cleansing my mind with reappraisal.

I sighed inwardly. Such thoughts were more complicated than could be made this early in the day, with this headache. It was not something I could decide on the spot. Nor did I need to. Duke Wilbern sought to lock me down, lest I pursue other suitors such as Prince Alum, but I was only sixteen. I could not, by law and tradition, make such a decision at that age. Wanting to preserve my options, refrain from causing offence, and avoid creating a poor reputation for myself, I spoke gently to him. 'You are most correct, Duke. Your offer is indeed most generous. I must give it some thought, and you must realise that I am not yet of age. I bid you ask me again in thirteen months.'

He bowed his head, knowing that he could get no further that morning. Nor for the next year of mornings.

'As you wish, Countess.' He stood to leave, and I guided him to the door. 'Do think on it.'

'I will,' I said, and he left.