A Prince's Harem

Cards

“Dearest Kat, are you occupied tonight?” Will asked suddenly, setting his teacup down on the saucer in front of him as he broke the comfortable silence that lingered between the two.

The two had been chatting together for hours, Graecie had been there earlier too but had been called away for a check up with Lady Antoine.

“I am not occupied,” Katherine replied whilst setting her own cup down, “Why do you ask?”

“Because you are joining me at the card table, with the rest of the consorts,” Will explained, “Even Her Majesty will be there, and she does not often join from what Maria tells me.”

“Are you sure I will even be allowed in? It is common knowledge, unspoken perhaps, but still common, that the moment Scott is able to authorise it, we are to divorce,” she questioned slowly.

“And until that moment comes, you are still a Princess Consort, and so you are welcomed, Maria’s own personal invitation,” Will reassured her, “Besides, do you not want to see the look on Francine’s face when Scott’s consorts slowly start joining the table as he marries them in? Especially if we slowly start to outnumber His Majesty’s?”

Katherine thought about the offer for a moment, weighing the outcomes in her head, before she nodded, “I will join you.”

Will brought his teacup back to his lips with a smirk, “Grand.”

~~~

“Will?” Aurelia asked, drawing another card to add to her hand with a subtle smirk settled on her lips, one that only an expert would ever even dream of noticing.

“Yes, Majesty?” Will, ever the expert at cards and reading faces, replied as he too drew another card with a straight face.

After sliding her bet across the table, Aurelia asked her question, “Who taught you to play so well? I assume not Captain Merton or Viscount Renais as I heard their table is highly exclusive and, forgive me for being so crude, but Merton does not like you. I would guess Lady Gatlin taught you the basics, but she only ever plays for fun, never really for competition unless it is against the council, so who taught you?”

Will smiled fondly at the memory he recalled of being taught to play, “My Grandmother from my mother’s side, Majesty, when she last visited me from overseas.”

Aurelia nodded slowly, “The Dowager Duchess was a fierce player. What exactly did she teach you? If, of course, you are willing to share your secrets.”

~~~

The summer air was warm in the carriage as Will sat across from his grandmother, two cards held in his hands as he considered what to do.
Amare Lete was staring absently out of the carriage when she had the time to, both her and her grandson were too restless to truly relax on their journey back to the seaport where Amare was going to bid her grandson farewell.

Will’s eyebrows furrowed tightly as he let out a quiet hiss of displeasure.

“Will, dear, I have made my life out of reading the faces of people, especially at the card table. I know exactly what you are holding by the way you hold your face.”

“How do I know that you are not attempting to fool me and win yourself yet another hand?” Will raised an eyebrow carefully.

“Because I can guarantee that you have no aces in your hands and your next draw will be a gamble if you can stay under twenty-one. If you allow me a drink of the whiskey, I know you stole from your father then I will teach you my ways,” Amare promised, “And I will tell your father I took it.”