The Debutante (Season Series #2)

Bonus Chapter 38.5 - Andrew

**A/N: I tried out another writing exercise this past weekend by writing an Andrew POV in first person. Once again, it's more of a bonus chapter that I'll probably re-write and get rid of in the final draft, but I figured that at such a time in the story his POV would be a welcome change for a chapter! I know it's short but I hope you all enjoy it!**

The council session dragged on as I drummed my fingers against the table. The Ardalonians were arguing us in circles, clearly unwilling to negotiate. I knew why, but I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of confirming that Dulciana would be one of my top three choices. Not that it mattered, but father had insisted I grant one of my places to her. He'd be angry enough with me after the announcement that I owed him at least that one political boon.

My stomach wasn't the only one grumbling at the table as the sun sank in the sky. We'd been in the sealed council chamber since luncheon, the buffet table long since emptied. As I watched the dust motes swirl through the sunbeams falling on the heavy mahogany council table, my thoughts turned to Libby. They usually did, whenever I allowed my mind to wander. I wondered what she was doing now, hoping that she was somewhere outside with her friend, the Colonel's daughter, perhaps riding Juniper.

When the snow fell in earnest, I was going to take her back to that very same clifftop vista we'd visited earlier in the summer with Thomas and Anne. Our ride together had been the highlight of the entire Season for me and as soon as this top three business was settled, I planned on showing her how much more important than a silly court ritual she was. The frosty trees and frozen rolling hills would take her breath away, just as a cozy dinner for just the two of us at the inn in Harridon would take her mind off her courtly troubles. All I needed was the ring, which the jewellers had assured me would be ready by then.

"I daresay we've reached an impasse," Father said, shooting me a look that tore me from my reverie. I cleared my throat, blinking myself back into the present.

"An impasse only because you refuse to grant us any concessions as tokens of goodwill," Ambassador DeGallo said, with a pointed look in my direction. I met his stare calmly, quirking my mouth into the smallest of smiles. As expected, his own lips curled back into his trademark sneer as he looked towards my father.

It was no secret that DeGallo hated us. He was odd choice for an ambassador, but the Ardalonians were an odd people. They somehow thought the news of their internal strife and besiegement by anti-monarchy revolutionaries hadn't crossed beyond their borders. To add to it, Thomas and I were still attempting to puzzle out why, exactly, Dulciana had been sent to us when she could have married an Ardalonian and inherited her own throne. She was well-liked among her people, though now that I knew her, I had no idea why. Thomas liked to think that perhaps she was too stupid to understand her own laws, but I'd spent enough time with her to know that her doe-like brown eyes hid a coldly calculating mind. Naming her as one of my top three would prove troublesome as it would only encourage her, but I'd put an end to her plotting as soon as I talked my father around about Libby.

"She's after a crown, Andrew," he'd said dismissively over breakfast, "That much was clear when she danced with your brother so shortly after quarrelling with you. Forget about her and choose a queen, for your sake and mine."

I had to blink myself back to my senses as DeGallo prattled on, once again, about the need for a gesture of goodwill. The air in the room had grown stifling and thankfully I wasn't the only one slipping in and out of daydreams. One of DeGallo's junior assistants, Vasquez, had nodded off at least twice during the proceedings, his nodding head drawing multiple disapproving glances from a number of father's advisors.

"I move that we adjourn," Father said, his voice still calm and steady despite the weariness in his green eyes.

"I second," I said automatically, as eager for this to end as everyone else besides DeGallo. There was a general shuffling of papers and scraping of chairs as Father rose, the rest of us following suit. I fell in beside him, subtly stretching out my aching back. Something needed to be done about those chairs.