The King's Lover-Chapter 267: Lunch In The Fields

Rose was grateful for the interruption. Caius hadn’t seemed satisfied with her apology, and she was a little lost on what else to do, but the coachman approaching seemed to distract him for the moment.

At least it ended whatever it was he wanted to say and he no longer argued with Prince Rylen so that was a good thing.

Rose stepped to the side as the mat was laid down and the basket was placed on it. It was a decent-sized basket, covered in a napkin. This was clearly lunch. She was certain the basket held more than it showed.

As soon as the basket was placed on the spread-out mat, the coachman bowed and retreated. Rylen and Thomas did the same, bowing and leaving. Rose nearly collapsed when she realized this was just for her and the crown prince. She didn’t want to be stuck alone with him again. The carriage ride was more than enough.

She glanced at the crown prince, and he looked at her with a bland expression. Rose shuffled on her feet, not exactly sure what was going on. Was she supposed to sit on the mat with the crown prince? There was certainly enough space for two, but that wasn’t nearly close to the problem.

"Won’t you sit? A moment ago you were whining to Rylen about how hungry you were," Caius stated with disapproval.

Rose couldn’t recall having such a conversation with Rylen, but there was no point trying to convince the crown prince of that. Whatever had got him in this sort of mood would most likely only get worse and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his moodiness.

Rose nodded and sat at the edge of the mat, keeping the basket in the middle. She folded her legs to the side and sat as ladylike as the dress would allow her to sit on the mat. The ground felt very hard underneath, and even the mat didn’t soften it.

The crown prince didn’t sit immediately, not until she started to unpack the items in the basket. Rose didn’t need anyone to tell her it was going to be her job.

She pulled out a round of aged cheese, which she unwrapped from its cloth, alongside slices of cold roast chicken seasoned with herbs from the palace kitchen. Two dense loaves of brown bread were halved, and dried figs nestled in the corner of the basket.

There were also fresh fruits and a flask that Rose didn’t think held water, as there was another skin bag that looked more like it held water.

Rose moved quickly even though she wasn’t sure what the crown prince would like to eat, but she didn’t want to get yelled at again.

She started with the flask, uncorking it and pouring the liquid into the pewter cup. She only filled one and laid it before the crown prince. It was red and smelled like wine mixed with cinnamon and cloves.

Rose took a deep breath — the spiced wine smelled heavenly, but she knew better than to indulge. After placing the wine, she laid out several dishes. She didn’t bother to ask what he wanted; rather, she set out everything. Whatever he disliked, he wouldn’t eat.

All through this, Caius watched her. Rose expected him to yell or stop her several times, but he didn’t — he just watched.

When she was done setting out his lunch, she attended to herself, opting for some fresh fruit and the dried figs. She wasn’t that hungry, and the earlier exchange had certainly ruined her appetite, but she was sure it would piss the crown prince off even more if she said she wasn’t going to eat. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He had nearly ripped Prince Rylen apart all because she hadn’t told him she hadn’t eaten. How was she supposed to eat when they had left the castle before dawn? At least Prince Rylen had been thoughtful enough to ask.

"Is that enough for you?" Caius asked.

Rose paused mid-chew and slowly nodded. She was only eating because she was worried there would be repercussions if she didn’t.

"You’d best eat more. There will be no chance to eat again until we get to Futherfield. Stopping again would put us behind schedule."

Rose nodded. What the crown prince said made a lot of sense, and if the words had come from any other person in the world, she wouldn’t have taken offense — but she did when he spoke. It was his tone and the condescending way he said it.

She could also hear his anger in the undertones, which Rose found ridiculous. He had no right to be angry. She was the one getting dragged to the other side of the kingdom instead of going to see her very sick mother.

Did he think that perhaps she had forgotten about it or just let it go? Was that why he stayed away — so it would pass over? Rose lifted her head just as the crown prince brought the pewter cup to his lips.

Even as he drank from the cup, he still stared at her over the rim. Rose was sick of his stares. She couldn’t wait to get away from him.

Lunch didn’t take too long, and soon enough, she was back in the carriage. The mat, dirty dishes, and leftovers had been packed up. The coachman took care of them, putting them in the carriage with the bag.

The horses were reattached to the carriage, and Rylen and Thomas got on their horses. Rylen pulled up his hood and covered his hair again just as the coachman whistled loudly.

The carriage started to move, and Rose gripped the side as it jiggled until it settled and began to move in a steady rhythm.

It wouldn’t be much longer anymore. She could survive a carriage ride with him. For some reason, she couldn’t help but think the second half was more bearable. Perhaps his glare wasn’t as intense as before, but Rose didn’t care enough to figure it out.