Snippet #2759698

The elder countess's retort nearly elicited a growl from Navarre, the prince pursing his lips and giving her a hard glare as he paused in raising another bite of food to his lips. Lowering his fork, he let his visible eye linger on his intended with a nagging little irritation- he was all but insulted at her near-accusation that he was not a man of his word. His voice lowered even further, barely refraining from letting out a hiss when he did speak. "I assure you, countess I am a man of my word. Regardless of your absurd assumptions regarding my character, I am not about to break an agreement on my end." he was calm, but clearly tired of the whole affair already.
He was grateful she wasn't a simpering court lady trying desperately to cozy up to him; but right now, he was too annoyed to appreciate the change of pace.
Eyes narrowing, he watched Sera like a hawk, pausing a moment before continuing.

"I was merely allowing you to speak up front if you decide you'd rather attempt to amend the treaty's specifics. I don't forsee such a thing working, but you have at least some time to appeal to his majesty before everything becomes final. There are two of you, and I highly doubt it matters one way or another to my brother which of you becomes tied to our family so long as the alliance is fulfilled." Giving Sera one last glance, Navarre returned to his dinner in hopes of it being over soon. Despite his words, he still had a feeling he'd prefer to have the elder countess over her sister if he was being made to marry one. But in the end, what did it really matter? One way or another, this treaty would happen, and he wasn't given any say regardless.


Kezia frowned slightly at the crown prince, wondering if he was always this argumentative. Despite him behaving politely, she wasn't sure how irate such a man could become, and her sister didn't deserve to be subject to any hardship from it. Although, her own father did sometimes grumble in such a way when he was cross, so perhaps he was just in a bad mood? She would have to confide in Sera later on, and see how she was faring. She was lucky to marry a prince, but the prince was slightly more lucky in that he was getting a lovely girl like her dear sister as his future bride. He had no need to be grumpy! In any case, so long as he didn't harm Sera...

As glasses were refilled, she went to drink from hers when a peculiar sound reached her ears, prompting her to look in the direction to find it's source. As her eyes fell on the mercenary, she noted how he was handling his glass. What on earth was he doing?! He wasn't sipping from his glass like a gentleman, but chugging it! Had the manners he'd been displaying been a farce? Had they really vanished so easily? Kezia fought to keep a neutral face, wondering if Robin was some sort of a drunkard.

Kezia turned away, finishing her food when she became aware of the slight nagging sensation of being watched. She looked up once more, and finally registered Robin's eyes on her. Shifting slightly in her seat, the younger countess felt both slightly flattered and somewhat uneasy with a pair of strong eyes on her. Before she could consider trying to alter the situation, the man stopped his staring and went back to minding his own business it seemed. He looked deep in thought, and Kezia vaguely wondered what he could be pondering before deciding the sudden smell of dessert was much more important.

While the main courses were cleared away after they had mostly been completed, Gavin rolled out a serving cart used for tea time and produced two courses of dessert: a lemon meringue pie, and a decadent chocolate cream torte.