3rd Person POV
An awkward silence followed this exchange.
“Uhm, sorry about your uhm husband?” It had been a while since they had spoken and the both of them were not sure what to talk about.
“Oh, um, it's okay. You, you were at uhm war… I'm glad you made it back alive,” she replied nervously.
“Thanks, so uhm. Do you know any good riding parks?” asked Reginald, trying to set up a date.
“Yeah, uhm. I told you my father owns a ranch, one of the largest here, you know,” said Lady Lowell.
“Perhaps, you would not mind showing me around sometime?” quipped Reginald.
“Not at all, is tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow is perfect. When can I stop by?” asked Reginald.
“I ride very early in the morning, before breakfast,” came Lady Lowell's response.
“Then tomorrow, before dawn,” said Reginald with a smile.
“Prince Reginald?” Lord Augustine thought he had seen wrong when he saw his daughter blushing at a young man. So the rumours had been true?
“My Lord,” Reginald did not know he was Lady Lowell's father but he did not hesitate to bow his head to acknowledge the older man.
“We have not been introduced formally, Xanthippe, I can see you are acquainted with the Prince?”
“Father, this is Prince Reginald, Your Highness, my father, Lord Augustine,” Lady Lowell made the introductions. She was blushing because her father had called her by the name he had given her—Xanthippe. She did not like the name because it sounded so funny to the ears but her father did not mind it all.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Augustine,” Reginald blushed as he shook the hand of the man who had birthed the woman he was in love with.
“The pleasure is mine, Your Highness. I wonder what Xanthippe could possibly interest you in,” remarked Lord Augustine.
Xanthippe was his daughter but he had never had much hope that she would marry well. She was not the typical attractive woman that men liked to chase after. So when the older Lord Lowell had suggested that his daughter should marry his son, he jumped at the offer because he feared that Xanthippe might grow old and lonely. But judging from the blushing prince, he had been wrong.
“She was just telling me that you own the largest ranch in the pack,” said Reginald. He always exuded confidence but he found that he struggled to speak up where Lady Lowell and now her father were concerned.
“Oh yes! It is exquisite! Do you know that I named her after my beloved horse? I just love horses, you know,” the joy etched on the man's face as he said this was a testament to his claim.
“If it's not too much trouble, sir, I would like to stop by tomorrow and join the lady for a ride around your ranch,” said Reginald rather nervously. If her father refused then he could forget about his date tomorrow.
Augustine could not believe that the prince of Shadowclaw pack had addressed him as sir. He did not have feelings for Reginald like his daughter did but his heart skipped a beat.
“It is no trouble at all. You can join us tomorrow morning, before dawn,” said Lord Augustine. Reginald may be a prince but he knew that he was still a man and he knew what men were capable of so he could not trust the man alone with his daughter.
“Uhm, of course,” Reginald had an uneasy smile while Lady Lowell blushed with embarrassment.
“Tomorrow morning then,” said Lord Augustine.
****
“So you and Lady Lowell, huh?” quipped Charlotte, she was teasing her brother.
“It's nothing,” he replied but the blush on his face was enough to tell her that he was lying.
“Nothing? Really? And you're blushing this hard?” quipped Harlin. He had finally managed to extricate himself from the hold of the many women swarming him.
“Fine, fine. I have a date with her and her father tomorrow,” he confessed and sent his sister and friend reeling with laughter.
“Her father? Is this a prelude to a wedding?” joked Charlotte.
“Do you think Alpha Dagen would mind you marrying an older woman?” quipped Harlin, teasing his friend.
“It's not that serious,” said Reginald. He had not even kissed her yet and with Lord Augustine joining them on this date there was no way he was going to get the opportunity to do so.
“I think someone wants it to be,” coughed Charlotte.
“Except you had some action when I was sick, you've had no action since you met Lady Lowell,” said Harlin.
“Even when he had no hope,” added Charlotte.
“Sounds pretty serious to me,” said Harlin and he and Charlotte clinked glasses while Reginald rolled his eyes.
****
“I have some recommendations for the position of Reginald's Luna,” announced Alpha Dagen to Lord Edvin and Lord Tyler. Lord Tyler shook his head; he remembered when the Council of Elders had pressured him into marrying Regina for the sake of giving birth to an heir. Tyler wondered if Dagen had forgotten how much he had hated having to do so and now he wanted to force his son to choose out of the choices he made. He wanted to speak some common sense into Dagen but there was no way to do so. Dagen seemed determined already.
“Do you now?” quipped Lord Tyler half-heartedly. Dagen ignored his cousin's lack of enthusiasm.
“They are from good homes and they will make a good partner to Reginald,” continued Dagen.
“Let me guess, Lady Sarah must be at the top of the list. If I had a son of marriageable age I would want him to marry her,” said Lord Edvin. Tyler rolled his eyes as this was coming from a man who had married a servant.
“You know me so well, dear friend. She is one of the top candidates,” said Dagen with excitement.
“We can make this natural for the prince,” said Lord Edvin with a glint of excitement in his eyes.