I snooped around near the scene of our fight with Farnham to try and eavesdrop on what the guards were saying to little success. The only information I gleaned from the endeavour was further confirmation that the on-site post office had been temporarily closed up while they investigated how a suspect package slipped through.

They were evidently screened when they arrived at the palace. If they had the security protocols I expected them to, then the people working at the palace as servants would be told to bring everything they could possibly need during the stay – with some headroom in case they had to remain on duty for a little longer.

The head butler and maid were responsible for checking their luggage when they arrived for any contraband. All other packages and deliveries went to the post office. Normally they would be opened and inspected before being delivered to the recipient by an attendant.

But a lot of the people at the palace and other large noble estates valued their privacy. They could issue a ‘no-open’ missive to the office to keep their grubby hands out of whatever they had purchased. This was seen as secure enough because they would have purchased it themselves and not accepted it from a stranger.

It was very rare that a family not named Van Walser implemented extensive measures like these, some paranoid sorts did copy their operation to the letter. In the good old days, there were a lot of assassination plots executed through the use of insiders bringing deadly items and weapons onto the grounds.

With more political power being vested in parliament and the judiciary those kinds of incidents saw a steep decline. There was less political wrangling performed between noble families – and the methods of their warfare were newspapers and ballot boxes, not poison and sharp objects.

My line of thought was simple enough. There was a high-ranking insider in the palace who wanted Thersyn dead for whatever reason. The motive was helpful in discerning their identity, but it was too broad for me to use as a basis for my search. They issued a ‘no-open’ order on the packages that Farnham brought through, who himself was disguised as an attendant. To do that he would need to know the exact time and place, and other key information to get the uniform and pretend to be a new employee.

Was Farnham the one who was meant to execute the killing? He wouldn’t be able to get through into the inner sanctum where Thersyn was hiding. He was too green to be trusted with that – and someone within the inner bowels of the palace would have to invite him inside to get past the guards.

And then he had to worry about those guards as well. Farnham was a professional, but he was a crook who worked under Marco Fisichella for a reason. He didn’t have the chops or the talent to pull off some of the daring shit that Marco did on a regular basis.

I was constrained by the appointments for the marriage interview process. I retreated from my spying position and headed into the reception room where the last of the suitors were waiting.

The final six were Felix, Conrad, Otto, Louis, Anton and Ludwig.

Three competitors had gotten cold feet after the last round in the garden. While they were desperate to score a high-level marriage with a notable lady, the pressure in following through on that goal had clearly gotten to them, and they had humbly submitted their resignations from the running. What I was left with were the boastful, the foolhardy, and the scarcely tolerable.

In terms of where they ‘ranked’ in the Van Walser hierarchy – I had no earthly idea. If there was one thing the royal family was good at, it was pumping out enough babies to have an entire family forest, never mind a family tree. There were hundreds of smaller family units intertwined into the greater whole.

When these branch houses formed they intended to hold on to every small drop of royal blood they possessed to maintain a level of relevance in the noble sphere. Now that the Van Walser’s grip on power in the nation was waning both politically and socially, they were scrambling to marry off their worthless kids before the hammer came down and the good times ended.

“I should warn all of you right now! This contest is nothing but a mere formality before my inevitable victory!” Felix boasted.

Conrad shot up from his seat and scowled furiously, “One should not count their chickens before they hatch, Felix.”

“And what do you know about raising livestock? You haven’t worked a single day in your entire life!”

“It’s a figure of speech!”

“Well in that case – those eggs have already hatched right before my very eyes. What else is there to say? I leave my room late last night and witness a befuddled Maria loitering outside of my chambers!”

There was a collective gasp of shock that spread around the room. How scandalous.

“What a load of tripe! I’ve had quite enough of your inane fantasies.”

Felix grinned and crossed his arms confidently, “It is nothing but the pure, unfiltered truth – as white and undriven as the fresh winter snow! There she was, standing longingly and gazing through the windows into the garden, undoubtedly imagining the future we’re sure to share together once I win this competition.”

Every pair of eyes turned onto me. I remained stoic – simply shaking my head in a frank rejection of the tale that Felix was weaving in the depths of his delusion. They all thought the same thing. I didn’t know where any of their rooms were to start with, so how could I have sought him out for a late-night rendezvous?

“I get it. You’re getting ahead of yourself. That’s the very definition of counting one’s eggs before they hatch! Maria was simply taking a late-night stroll through the palace halls. My Mother likes to do that too, from time to time.”

The other boys leapt onto his explanation like a pack of starving lions and murmured in agreement. None of them were going to entertain the thought of me already having made my decision when they were still in the running. This was a completely different Fenix to the one I dealt with the prior day. His head had inflated as a hot-air balloon would, and now he was sounding increasingly like the other competitors who wanted to be on top no matter how badly they came off having done so.

“We have a word for that. It’s called denial! It was a fated meeting. Not only did the stars align so that we could meet then and there, but my lucky colour came up in the morning newspaper today! My victory is pretty much assured.”

It wasn’t.

I clapped my hands together and ended the debate. The other boys quickly shot back to their seats and made sure they were presentable, while Felix remained standing for a moment in a pathetic attempt to appear as the bigger man in the aftermath. He slowly drifted back to his spot in the circle and sat down again.

“I should make all of you aware that it is impossible for me to close my eyes and ears to your words and behaviour when we are outside of this room. This is a personal decision I am making – and I will consider all of the factors when making it.”

Felix’s expression changed from smug glee to extreme worry in an instant. He’d only gone and done it again. The urge to rub all of their faces in it was too strong for him to resist. I got the impression that he very rarely had a chance to be the one issuing those boasts.

“Hm. I see that we’ve lost even more competitors than last time. I hope I’m not too intimidating a presence for you.”

A chorus of ‘no’s’ and ‘surely not’ came from the remaining suitors as they scrambled to showcase their confidence and willingness to continue. I was fully committed to the Maria Walston-Carter act while at the palace. I was cold, calculating, stern and a touch intimidating. Not the best mixture for finding a husband – but it was good for keeping people away from me at the academy and at home.

“I thought we would have to perform another large round of discussions to reduce the group further – but we can skip that stage of the proceedings and move on to the next.”

A hand rose up.

“Yes, Anton?”

“Forgive me for being forward in asking this, but this is a rather unusual arrangement. None of the young ladies who’ve visited the palace have been this thorough before. Is there a reason why we have to go through all of this?”

I leaned against the sofa in front of me and smiled, “I’m a very particular person. There’s also the fact that this marriage is meant to be permanent. It would do us no good to make a hasty choice and end up back where we started.”

Anton nodded, “Their parents usually push them to make a quick decision too...”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“That’s right. My father takes a liberal approach to the matter. He wants me to be happy with the choice, and he sees no reason to rush at the moment. Does that answer your question?”

Anton was more impatient than the others - and there was some stiff competition on that front. The simple fact that I hadn’t picked the prettiest face from the crowd and declared the interviews over within an hour of arrival put him on edge. I couldn’t do that because that would mean leaving the palace before I figured out what Sloan was planning.

I had to walk the tightrope here and now. If they felt that I was screwing them around for no reason, they would withdraw like the others and scupper my chances completely. I needed to give them a feeling of meaningful progression while stalling them for as long as possible, and maybe afterwards I could go outside and push some water uphill.

“Mister Fleur isn’t here with us for the time being – so I would like to ask you some candid questions that he would not normally allow. May I ask for a truthful answer, no matter how distasteful?”

They all sat up straight in their chairs and awaited my ground-breaking inquiry.

“What do you dislike about me?”

I pointed to Felix.

There was a long pause. The boys glanced at one another in confusion, trying to formulate an answer to the challenge I was offering. Was it a trick? Could they even think of an answer that wasn’t grossly offensive and spoilt their chances of winning? Those were the types of worries I wanted to implant into their minds.

Felix almost broke out into a nervous sweat, “Something I dislike? Surely you understand that it’s a challenging question to answer.”

“Yes – that’s why I asked. I have thick skin. It can be whatever you please.”

He agonized over it for a while longer before swallowing his pride and coming out with an honest answer, “I... I think you have a very sharp glare. Sometimes I feel that you’re getting cross with me, even when you are not.”

The tension was palpable. Felix covered his face with one hand and peered between the gaps in his fingers like a child watching a horror movie. I didn’t offer him a clear response. That would come once I had my answers from the rest of them.

My finger turned to the right, “Conrad.”

“You’re too cute. You look like a doll. It makes me nervous.”

On it went; “Otto.”

“I got the impression that you weren’t listening to me during our conversation in the garden.”

“Louis.”

“I prefer girls with light hair.”

“Anton.”

“Your hobbies are a little strange. I’ve never met a girl who loves competitive shooting before.”

“Ludwig.”

“I don’t have any complaints at all! You’re as lovely as a blooming flower, your intelligence and good humour are a beacon atop a foggy marsh.”

He was the only one who didn’t catch on to what I was doing. This was no trick question – I wanted to hear an honest answer from each of them so that they could demonstrate that they weren’t simply hopeless kiss-asses.

“Interesting. Very interesting,” I mused.

“What’s the point of this?” Ludwig fretted, “And how boorish! Surely you all could hold your tongues for the sake of the lady’s feelings!”

I sighed, “I’m not perfect, Ludwig. The point of the question was for me to gauge your honesty, and your readiness to engage in a relationship with a young lady. Surely you don’t foresee a future where I sit in silence for years and years? The least tolerable type of company I can imagine is company which adopts a façade from dawn till dusk.”

“I... don’t understand your meaning.”

“I would prefer a husband who is honest, rather than one who mindlessly attempts to placate me. I have enough of those people surrounding me at the academy already, and that is more than I am willing to bear. I already knew that each one of you had an aspect of my personality that you could not agree with. There is no such thing as the ideal partner, after all. Ludwig – would you be so kind as to correct your answer for me?”

He chewed on his bottom lip and considered the question again, having not come up with an answer to conceal before praising me the first time around. There was something nagging at him that he was struggling to put into words that I could comprehend.

“You are very forceful. I sometimes find myself paralyzed when you propose questions like these. It is difficult to navigate your words during a conversation. It’s exhausting.”

“Thank you.”

I gave the group a moment to breathe after that near-death experience. Fleur would have blown a gasket if he overheard any of that. He was interested in enforcing the usual process and rules throughout the process. I was here to get in his way and keep this misery train steaming along.

“I will not offer my critiques in response. Honesty was all I wanted to see, not a contest of bruised egos. If you are sitting here now, you’re ready and willing to overlook or accept those aspects about me. Is that right?”

They all nodded, unwilling to give up when they were so close to the end. In reality, they were nowhere near, because I wasn’t going to let this end if I could get away with doing so.

“With a family as wealthy and influential as ours, it is inevitable that you will face demands to take decisive action. The last person who should be in charge in those moments is a ‘yes man,’ who is too afraid of offending others to do what is needed.”

Before I could continue though, Fleur knocked on the door and poked his head through the crack.

“Lady Maria, may I speak with you for a second?”

I stepped away and followed him to the outside hallway, moving outside of earshot so that the boys didn’t listen to what we were talking about.

“Is something amiss?”

“A lot of things – but this particular subject concerns you. The Royal Guard has communicated to me that the intruder from yesterday has spoken at length with them during their interrogation, and he made several odd claims in an attempt to put aside his guilt in the matter.”

“Such as?”

Fleur seemed at odds with the idea of telling me what was said, but he pushed ahead and delivered the news regardless of his personal feelings.

“Firstly – he claimed to know you, how a low-rent criminal such as him would become associated with you is a complete mystery to us, and his tall tale about working with you is ludicrous on the face of it!”

He must have dropped my name and tried to put them off the scent by making allegations about me. I needed to think quickly and make them discard that little clue in his behaviour. There was no reason for him to know my name that was flattering to my position.

“That’s concerning. Beyond his flailing allegations to wash his hands of his guilt, it appears that he possesses a source of insider information.”

Fleur stroked his chin in thought, “That was their conclusion too. He proceeded to go even further, accusing you and Mister Franklin of being the ones responsible for knocking him unconscious. While the state of the scene is confounding, it defies belief to imagine that you were personally responsible for downing him.”

“All of that, and he did not profess to the plan they seek to execute within these walls,” I murmured, “Surely if he sought mercy – he would offer a more convincing series of claims than that.”

“They questioned him for some time. He will remain in custody until the Guard are confident that they are able to transfer him to a prison cell in the city, from which he can stand trial for his involvement. Trespassing onto the grounds is already a grave criminal offence, but if he’s found to have contributed to a violent plot, then decades of imprisonment is the least he can expect.”

I was in the clear for the moment. Farnham had nothing to offer them to prove his story about me, and even if he could prove it that would not mean I would be accused of assisting him. We were the ones who captured him, hardly what I’d do if I was helping out. His only solace would be to sell out his conspirators.

But they had that eventuality all tied up and accounted for. Farnham was talking about me because they withheld their identities from him. These failsafe measures meant that no single member of the plot could cause it to collapse by selling out the others.

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Goddess save me, it seems that I can’t go anywhere these days without being in the proximity of harrowing scenes of violence.”

“A sad indictment of the times we live in,” Fleur nodded, “I highly doubt that even a well-considered plot could succeed in harming any of the royal family. The Royal Guard are always on high alert, and this infiltrator has meant they’ve tightened measures even further. There is no entry or exit into their chambers that is not being observed.”

“I don’t doubt that for one second!”

“Very good. I’ll communicate to them that we won’t entertain any more of his lies about the incident that led to his capture, but I’m mainly here to check in on how the courtship is going.”

“It’s going well. We had just started the day with a small question and answer session.”

“I see. May I inquire as to what the contents of those questions were?”

They were going to snitch on me if I let them control the narrative. I bit the bullet and let him know instead of letting them give a false impression of the conversation.

“I asked each of them to offer a single critique about me. My personality, my appearance, my manners, my behaviour and my tone of speech.”

Fleur was taken aback, “A critique? Dare I say that you are the very ideal of what a young noble lady should be like.”

“You are free to feel that way, Mister Fleur. The point of the question was not to curry insults or trick them into saying distasteful words. My father always said that the first brick to be laid in a relationship’s foundation was communication. The only thing they had to do to pass was offer that critique.”

I had told Fleur that I was a ‘picky’ customer before, but this was the first time he was starting to get a full picture of what I meant when I said that. This process was going to be long, precise, and somewhat subjective. I was not here to pick the first boy who caught my fancy and sign the contract without thinking twice about it.

“Hm. That is a very mature way to go about it. I suppose for an important choice, it makes good sense to take your time and be thorough in your analysis.”

Why did everyone find it so strange? Because a majority of these bachelor assemblies didn’t permit the girl to have any say in the matter from the start. Either their parents would select after observing the interviews, or all but one suitor would drop out and the expectation was that they would agree to marry them. I could thank my family’s clout for allowing me to play games with the system and not raise too many eyebrows in the process.

I was also the one holding the cards in this scenario. They were going to benefit more from marrying me than I would from marrying them. This was probably the only time a matrilineal marriage had ever been proposed to the Van Walser family. I was shocked that they agreed to go along with – a plain demonstration of how desperate some of the branch families were to get their footing in the new, post-monarchy Walser.

“Please allow me to accompany you for the rest of the day. I’ve been discharged from organizing the response for the moment.”

“Of course, by all means.”

Fleur followed me back to the room. I pushed the door open and caught a brief glimpse of Otto and Conrad sitting down on their chairs in a hurry. They were eavesdropping on us through the door, or trying to.

“I hope you weren’t all demoralized by a passing Theodore while I was gone,” I joked.

It bombed. None of them laughed. If anything, they took it as a serious concern given the flood of negative responses I received. Fleur scratched the bridge of his nose in astonishment at how little common sense this flock of single nobles possessed. I silently struck ‘humour’ from my list of acceptable approaches.

“Would you like to take the lead, Mister Fleur?”

“Thank you, now – it’s time for us all to engage in some good sport.”

Unfortunately for him, there were no good sports amongst his audience...