A beating heart

Chapter 29

They were walking arm in arm, all eyes in court fixed on them. He detested all the attention but he had to remind himself that it was for a greater cause. They would stop every few meters to greet the countless congratulators of their engagement. Amélie would proudly show of the dainty golden ring gracing her finger and the women would instantly gush about the upcoming wedding.

He was glad, Amélie was good at talking and entertaining people, much better at theater then he himself. So all he had to do was smile and thank the noble lords and ladies. They had been at this for more than a day now, since their engagement had been announced by Amélie brother, and his dear friend, the day prior. It felt weird and wrong, and in a way he supposed it was. But a part of him was relieved, the fact that people had finally stopped bothering him about his future wife and all the countless offers he had received each day. It was a nice change for once, openly being able to talk to one of his best friends, who now the whole country believed to be his future wife.

And for some short seconds he had forgotten why he had done it in the first place. In those moments, actually marrying Amélie didn't seem like such a terrible idea. She was kind, good hearted and intelligent, maybe the closest friend he had. True, he didn't love her, or not in that way anyways, but he supposed that those things could be learned, acquired over time. And as the past year had shown him, love didn't always make one happy. On the opposite, it had made him miserable beyond imagining.

But his mind couldn't forget Mary for long. Sooner or later, mostly sooner, her face or name would pop up in his thoughts again. Then all the dreams of marrying another would quickly fade away and give way to the lust that was still there in his heart. He wanted her, after all that had happened, after all that she had done, he still wanted her.

He knew that she had to be somewhere in the crowd, he had spied Kenna just a minute ago. Most probably she was hiding somewhere, it would be unlike her to publicly humiliate herself. Although that was the whole lesson behind this little game, wasn't it. But she was to proud to be caught in an awkward situation in front of the whole court.

Amélie had returned her full attention to him as there was no once in close proximity to them. She was practically glowing, it was evident how much she was enjoying herself.

„Dear, I think she is looking at us." she kept her smile innocent as not to alert anyone to the content of her words. „I saw her at the back with that lady of hers. You should say something funny."

„Well if you don't find a suitable husband you can always get through as a detective." he gazed at her, an ever so faint smirk playing on his lips.

She instantly broke out into a fit of in-ignorable giggles and automatically heads started to turn their direction again. He was in awe of how seemingly easy this was for her, every smile, every word, they all sounded so sincere coming from her lips.

„I love the way you blush every time I call you my fiancee." he spoke just loud enough for people hear.

He was slowly getting the hang of this game. She half winked, half glared at him from below and her cheeks distinctly turned a brighter shade of pink. As if to hide her embarrassment, she moved closer and buried her face in his arm.

He also turned her way and bid his lip, as not to laugh at the absurdity of it. But this was fun, and definitely a way to take his mind off more serious matters.

When he allowed his eyes to glide over the crowed searching, he was almost shocked at how close Mary was. He had not seen her approach them but there she stood, only meters away. He quickly turned his gaze back to his fiancee, careful not to break the spell. If he would look her in the eyes it would only make this that much harder. But this was necessary, he had to do this, there was no other way.