He Objects

Chapter 6: Had To Be Done

My mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?" The bishop said faintly, at a loss for words. Clearly, this was an unheard of occurrence. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and I felt my face flame, though I wasn't quite sure why I was embarrassed.

"I object," Prince Henri repeated simply, "to this union."

"Can I ask the reason for your objection, Your Highness?" The bishop asked, trying to regain some semblance of control over the proceedings.

"You may," the prince said smoothly. "But I'd prefer to speak in private."

By this time, the dowager duchess had risen from her seat in the front pew. "Bishop Harger, I agree. Let's discuss this in private."

Felix's hand tightened over mine, and I flinched as my knuckles pressed painfully together. Prince Henri's eyes snapped onto mine before flicking over to Felix. His right eyebrow lifted ever so slightly, and Felix relaxed his grip on my hand, only to slide his arm protectively around my waist.

Somehow, this, more than anything else, was the most surprising thing to happen during the last sixty seconds. No longer able to wrap my head around what was going on, I looked quizzically down at Felix's hand, securely clamped to the curve of my waist, feeling the heat of it right through the fabric. He had never touched me like this in all the time we'd been betrothed, not even to dance. It felt foreign and awkward, too intimate compared to his handling of me up until now.

"Very well," the bishop said faintly. He turned and gestured for us to follow him to a door on the far side of the altar. Felix guided me firmly, letting me stray just far enough away from him to be able to walk without stumbling while still maintaining his grasp around my waist. My parents, the dowager duchess, and Prince Henri all stepped up and followed us. I heard the volume in the sanctuary grow exponentially before the thick wooden door swung shut with a slight creak.

"What is the meaning of this, Prince Henri?" Duchess Gretchen ordered, whirling to face her nephew. "What do you mean by interrupting the proceedings? Have you no shame?"

"Calm yourself, Aunt," Prince Henri said smoothly.

"Why should she?" Felix challenged, pulling me close again. I blinked in confusion. "Why should any of us be calm? You had years, years to object to this union, and you choose now to bother to voice a contrary opinion?"

"I do realize it's sudden," the prince said, looking extremely unapologetic, "but I'm afraid I have to insist."

"But on what grounds, Your Highness?" my father asked faintly, his face pale. I could see the panic on both of my parents' faces. This was my future that they had meticulously crafted well over a decade ago, now falling apart before their eyes right before the finish line. Still, they didn't dare speak to the prince quite so rudely as the duke and dowager duchess.

Prince Henri paused, glancing at me. "It has come to the royal house's attention that Lady Charlotte has a significant dowry," he said slowly. Felix's eyes narrowed. He was becoming uncomfortably hot next to me, and I was starting to feel faint. "The king decided that the boundary land owned by Marquis Rivaldia should be...reevaluated."

My father gasped. "What?"

"Not to worry, Marquis," Prince Henri said mildly, though my father looked far from placated. "Your holdings will stand as they are."

"If that's the case, why delay the proceedings?" my mother tittered nervously, her voice too bright in the narrow room. "Surely such an evaluation could occur after the nuptials."

Felix was still glaring at Prince Henri. Throughout the heated conversation, he had pulled me more and more tightly against him, so that my only choice was to turn my body into his in an awkward embrace. "You can't be serious," he snarled, scaring me a little. In all the years I'd known him, I'd never heard him sound so angry.

"Yes, cousin," Prince Henri said, addressing Felix calmly. "I am indeed serious."

"Um, excuse me," I said quietly. Instantly, all eyes were on me. Despite there being far fewer people in the room than out in the church proper, I felt infinitely more scrutinized. I tried vainly to disentangle myself from Felix, but he refused to release his hold on my waist, much to my mystification—and mortification. "Could you please explain why a reevaluation of my family's holdings is reason enough to object to the wedding, Your Highness?"

Prince Henri's eyes seemed to turn an even more intense shade of silver. "The king always keeps an eye on the nobility," he said directly to me, ignoring everyone else in the room. My stomach flipped. "Though the Rivaldia holdings will remain the same, there are certain other aspects of your union with Felix that are of concern to the crown."

I furrowed my brow. As with most anyone in the aristocracy, the prince was able to provide a response without actually answering my question with ease. "I'm afraid I don't understand," I finally said honestly, wishing my education had extended to politics instead of being solely focused on the running of a household and estate.

"That's alright," Prince Henri answered evenly, once again addressing me more directly than he ever had since I was young, when he offered me his handkerchief at the garden party. "The point is, it may not be in the crown's best interest to allow this union to happen."

The dowager duchess took a deep breath, her lips pressed in a thin, disapproving line. "That could have been determined well before today, Your Highness," she said tightly. "You dishonor us by causing a scene."

"And for that I apologize, Aunt," Prince Henri said, his eyes still on me. "But it had to be done."

It had to be done. Somehow, with him looking at me like that, I felt something shift within me. And when I met his gaze in return, I could have sworn he noticed it, too.