[ Shoulders held high, she wastes no time correcting him. One of them needs to care about titles and proper conduct, she's decided; especially with the way Mikhail is grinning at them.
Even though she probably should return to her guest quarters in the Little Palace to get cleaned up, she doesn't want to leave his company. She wants to continue the conversation they were having about his father. She wants to hear the (no doubt needlessly exaggerated!) story he would tell about their unceremonious collapse into a bog. Maybe she even finds out how well he likes card games.
But these wants are a bit dangerous, aren't they? She's not so silly that she will get swept up in the fleeting attention of a young, handsome king. There are probably a couple dozen other ladies he talks to in such a way. She needs to remember what actually is. The life she's built for herself - solid, if ungleaming in comparison.
So, this, then. For him to accept or deny. ]
I should head back. My husband will be wondering where I've been all afternoon.
no subject
[ Shoulders held high, she wastes no time correcting him. One of them needs to care about titles and proper conduct, she's decided; especially with the way Mikhail is grinning at them.
Even though she probably should return to her guest quarters in the Little Palace to get cleaned up, she doesn't want to leave his company. She wants to continue the conversation they were having about his father. She wants to hear the (no doubt needlessly exaggerated!) story he would tell about their unceremonious collapse into a bog. Maybe she even finds out how well he likes card games.
But these wants are a bit dangerous, aren't they? She's not so silly that she will get swept up in the fleeting attention of a young, handsome king. There are probably a couple dozen other ladies he talks to in such a way. She needs to remember what actually is. The life she's built for herself - solid, if ungleaming in comparison.
So, this, then. For him to accept or deny. ]
I should head back. My husband will be wondering where I've been all afternoon.
[ نه, she thinks. No, he won't. ]