The Royal Contract

He still had more or less an hour to spare, but he had to leave soon. Or, he would be terribly late or probably miss his next appointment entirely.

“Sir, lunch is already served at the dining hall.” Their butler announced as he stood not far from his father. Afterward, he proceeded back inside to inform the rest.

“Maybe you can at least stay for a few more minutes.” Amelia stepped in, seeing the slight tension between the father and the son.

And just like his teasing, she was used to this scene, but the Count always won in the past. She wondered if anything had changed now.

“Listen to your friend. A few minutes of your time will not hurt your next meeting.” His father seconded, wanting the lunch to proceed without a hitch.

“Ok. But I can’t promise that I will be staying for the rest of the meal.” Lance finally conceded, seeing the worry lines on Amelia’s face. But, he was not doing this for his father.

.....

He did not want her to be caught up in his argument with his father. He still had time. There was no harm if he ate the first course, said hi again to the rest of the guests, and then bade his farewell.

“That is good enough for me,” Amelia answered with a satisfied smile.

She could feel her heart doing a somersault when he gave her one of his signature smiles. The one that caused her stomach to twist into a knot and fill with butterflies.

“Then, shall we go?.” His father said as he walked away, leaving the two of them to follow.

He could see how much Amelia liked his son. It was written all over her eyes. His son must be too dense to see it, or his eyes were blinded again by someone else.

He had been keeping tabs on his affair. Luckily, his son ended it with the foreigner. But lately, he was hearing a new girl circling around him. A female reporter spotted several times with him.

“I hope that I did not put you in a terrible spot.” She took his offered arm, entwining hers with his. Suddenly, she could feel the electricity coursing through her skin from their connection. She wondered if he also felt the same way. She bit her lower lips, feeling slightly foolish for letting her silly attraction take control of her. When he did not even show a slight hint that he liked her.

She suddenly felt terrible that he might have been forced to join them. She did notice that he kept looking at his watch. He seemed to be in a real hurry to be somewhere else.

“Please, do not feel bad. I would not be here if I did not want to be.” Lance assured her friend, observing her reaction, touching her hands gently. “It is just that my other meeting is important too.”

He still remembered that she only bit her lips when she was nervous and feeling less confident. It was one of the few traits he still recalled about his friend.

“I understand. I wish my father had announced it a lot sooner so that we would not be in this unfortunate condition.” She commented, hoping that she could dispel the awkwardness of their situation.

“Anyway, maybe I can just take you out to dinner one of these days. Make up for this terrible mix-up.” Lance offered, wanting to give time to his friend.

He would really have enjoyed her company if not for another meeting he had already arranged. He did not want to make the others wait while he put up with one more of his father’s schemes.

“Sure. I will love that.” She answered him as they joined the others on the table. As expected, she was seated right next to him, while on the other side was her father.

On the other side, she greeted Lance’s mother, who had arranged the delicious meal. As always, his mother looked lovely. Most of Lance’s features, she always believed, he took from his mother.

The first course was over, but Lance’s mother refused to let him leave until the main course was finished. She insisted that it was rude. Lance never talked back to her mother, so he had no choice but to stay.

“Now, I feel bad that you would be terribly late for your next meeting,” Amelia whispered on his side.

Things were almost doing great between them. The adults seemed to be ignoring them, giving them the time to converse with each other without much interruption.

She took advantage of it, asking him questions about his life while she was far away. He did ask her about her life, and she answered him with full enthusiasm. She was extremely passionate about he work.

“It is ok.” He did not want her to worry. “I know I still can catch up with her if I drive quickly.” He stated, confident that he could still make it on time.

He mentally calculated it in his head, and if he beat a few speed limits, he would be there just a few minutes late. That would not be so bad since he was rarely late for any of his appointment.

He would just call her while he was in the car to explain his situation. He was convinced that she would wait for him. After all, she needed him.

“Oh!” She finally understood why he was such in a hurry. “I did not realize that you were going on a date. You should have said so, then I would not have insisted you stayed.”

She suddenly felt more ridiculous, thinking she might have a chance with him. After his father told him that he was still single and not in any relationship.

She suddenly felt hopeful that there might still be a chance for them to be together. But hearing he was in a hurry to be with another girl. Her world crashed before her very eyes.

“No, it is not what you think.” He was about to correct her assumption, but he suddenly realized what had just happened.

He saw it in her eyes. Her friend had been infatuated with him. He wondered if it was a recent feeling or something she had been carrying since they were young.

He suddenly felt awkward since he only saw her as a friend. Maybe a sister, a little sister that he liked to tease and bully when they were young. But protected when they grew older.

“Then, what is it?” She asked in her low voice, not wanting the others to hear their conversation.

She was embarrassed enough. She did not want to add to her humiliation anymore by letting them listen to what they were talking about.

“Yes, it is a date, but we barely knew each other.” He quickly told her, wanting every notion that he might feel the same way about her erased from her mind. “But I really don’t want to make her wait.” He continued to make an emphasis.

If she believed he was already working on a relationship. It might stop her from pursuing any kind of feelings for him. He never liked lying, especially to a friend, but this was an extreme measure.