Page 55 of The Throne Seeker (Vallorian #1)

R ose’s mother kept to her promise and left her alone until morning. As soon as the sun rose, however, she came back in full force, ordering Thea to bring breakfast, insisting she be there to watch Rose eat.

Her mother waited until she took a bite before she spoke.

“I was up all night last night—” just as Rose had assumed she would be, “—and I think that if we are going to find you another suitor, we need to do it quickly. I think we should find a resolution and leave—before the situation can escalate. Do you suppose Grant would still take you?”

Rose could barely stomach the thought of agreeing to marry someone else within twenty-four hours of ending things with Tristan, but time was not on their side. Her mother was right. The sooner they could leave, the better.

For everyone’s sake.

“I believe he would,” she said quietly.

“Would you consider him?” her mother asked. “I know he can be a little bit of a peacock , but I don’t think he’d treat you unkindly. You get along well enough, don’t you?”

Rose would normally have laughed at the peacock comment if the situation had not been so serious.

“He certainly does think very highly of himself, and he is arrogant in every way, but he’s never portrayed anything different.

Which, oddly, I appreciate,” she admitted, playing out the scenario in her mind.

“I think he’d let me be free to be who I am.

But I don’t know if he—or rather his family—will accept me, especially once they learn about our situation. ”

“He has plenty of money for the both of you. As long as they don’t find out, I believe his parents will accept you.” Her mother stood. Thinking. Pacing. Plotting.

“I can’t keep it from him. He knows me too well, and he’ll find out eventually. I can’t imagine he’d treat me or you very well after that. Married or not. He’s proven he can keep a secret. He wouldn’t tell a soul.”

Her mother gave a loud sigh, thinking. “Fine. What if you told Grant but no one else? Do you think he’d accept you?”

She thought about it for a moment. “He might… I guess there is only one way to find out.”

“Then that settles it,” her mother confirmed with a firm nod.

“You’ll speak with him, and I’ll arrange to have tea with his parents to see how they’d feel about the union.

In the meantime, I’ll continue finding other options if things go awry.

There were others at the ball that would be happy to accept you.

” Her mother’s brows furrowed at the expression on Rose’s face. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just… surprised you aren’t angry with me. I was afraid you’d be disappointed in my decision.”

Her mother’s eyes softened. “I understand what it’s like to be in the wrong marriage. I never wanted that for you. I’ve only ever wished for your happiness. It pains me to think I’ve not done a better job of making that clear.”

Silence fell over them.

“Do you think he’ll do it? Sign the treaty?” Rose asked, more to herself than to her mother.

Her mother tapped her nails on the wooden vanity. “I don’t know. For Vallor’s sake, I pray he does. I don’t know if we all could bear sending our men to another war so soon.”

Rose nodded, looking down at her hands.

“Now, no more sulking,” her mother instructed, standing up to gather her dress. “We have work to do. There will be plenty of time for that after you’re married.”

Rose went to look for Grant in the grand hall. Compared to the past few weeks, it was somewhat empty for breakfast. She could only assume many visitors had already left for home since the end of the succession.

He wasn’t hard to find, sitting at the far left table, eating alone, his father and mother nowhere to be seen. That fact made her wonder if her mother was already making good on her plot to speak with them.

Rose approached the table with clasped hands, her long, midnight-blue dress flowing elegantly behind her.

Grant gazed upward, discovering her making her way to him. He stood up to greet her, his eyes flashing with surprise. “Rose. I didn’t see you come in… You look nervous.” A slight smirk grew on his lips.

Her cheeks burned—she didn’t know how to do this. She wasn’t smooth like him. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t… Would you care to take a walk with me?”

Grant raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded. “Of course. After you.”

They exited the grand hall and made their way to the gardens without uttering a word. She interlocked her hands tightly to keep them from shaking—not out of fear, but because she couldn’t believe this walk, this talk, wasn’t with Tristan.

They had barely made it through the first arch of flowers when she blurted, “I told Tristan I wouldn’t marry him.” No sense in beating around the bush now.

Grant paused mid-stride, obviously not expecting those words to be the first thing to escape her lips.

To his credit, he had enough tact to gaze at her with compassion.

“I’m sorry. I know how hard that must’ve been for you.

I was wondering when I saw you yesterday.

I wanted to speak to you, but you seemed… preoccupied.”

Her cheeks burned with heat. “You saw that?”

He shifted closer, forcing her to look straight into his bright green eyes. “Even with your wet clothes, hair soaked, and puffy eyes… I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in my life.”

Her heart warmed involuntarily. He was making a habit of surprising her.

“I’m to return home soon,” he said, studying her reaction. “It’s not a castle by any means, but it is a beautiful manor in the rolling hills—trees and farmland for miles… If you want it, it’s yours,” he offered softly.

Her eyes raced back to his as she parted her lips in awe, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. “You mean?—”

“I want you to marry me,” Grant stated with a fierce gaze.

She couldn’t believe how readily he’d asked—there was no hesitation in his voice, no questioning.

Her throat bobbed. “There are things you need to know… You may not be so willing to ask me once you hear what I have to say.”

Grant cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll ask you to keep this to yourself. What I’m about to tell you could ruin me forever. But the fortune you think I have… it’s gone. I have no money, land, or resources to bring with me into a marriage.”

Grant didn’t reply straight away, didn’t even let anything but a blank expression fill his face. Instead, his eyes drifted away, absorbing the information.

Rose remained silent, letting him weigh up his options, biting her lower lip. He took so long to speak that she panicked. “I understand if you can’t?—”

“I don’t care,” he stated at last.

She lifted an eyebrow. “You… you don’t care?”

He closed the gap between them, looking down at her lips.

“I want you, Rosalie. I never planned on it, but after spending time with you… I’ve grown attached.

I knew I had to have you after the first time we spoke at the ball when you ‘wished me all the luck in the world’…

Well, it looks like I found a hoard of it. ”

Her body relaxed as if the mountain that had been weighing down her shoulders had finally lifted.

“But my parents are different,” Grant said. “We can in no circumstance let them know. That is, until we are married, then they’ll have no choice but to accept you.”

She gazed at him with a new wave of surprise. “Are you sure you want to lie to them? I don’t want to cause your family harm.”

Grant gave her a large grin. “You’ll soon find I’m their least favorite child. What’s another red mark on my record?”

“You’d do that for me?” She was genuinely stunned by his grace, taking the whole situation much better than she had planned.

“I would,” he confirmed without a second thought.

She gave him a small smile despite herself, her gaze falling to her hands.

He lifted her chin back up, leaning down and bringing his lips close to hers. “What do you say, Rose? Do you want to be my next red mark?”

She met his gaze, stowing Tristan from her mind as she answered. “Yes.”

Light enveloped his eyes, his smile reaching ear to ear as he pressed the smile onto her lips.

She did her best not to flinch away, keeping still as he kissed her. In different circumstances, she knew she would savor his touch. Perhaps she could learn to like it—learn to love him.

His hands wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her into his chest and deepening the kiss. After a moment, she could feel her mother’s voice prodding her to encourage him. So her arms went up around his neck, trying to familiarize herself with him.

Grant pulled away, a hazy victory lying in his eyes. “I’ll speak to my parents. I know they’ll see the match.”

She nodded, agreeing.

And that was that.