the twins exchanged a sort of secret glance between them, and although steffen and gabrielle wore their usual serene expressions, elise was certain they exchanged some sort of signal because they did not look at each other.

elise looked to falk, whose eyebrows lowered over his piercing brown eyes. gerhart was unsettled. elise knew this because he did not ooze charm and instead sipped wine from a goblet, hiding his lower face as he studied his father's companion.

"it is our pleasure to meet you, lady clotilde," gabrielle said, speaking on behalf of the king's shocked children.

"thank you," lady clotilde said with a deep, throaty voice. she spared elise and her foster siblings a glance but focused most of her attention on king henrik, steffen, and gabrielle. "i am delighted to be here."

"i met lady clotilde in the woods not far from brandis. she lives there in a charming house," king henrik volunteered. "i have visited her many times during these winter months. she has become a dear companion."

"you are too kind, my lord," lady clotilde said as the servants started bringing in trays of food and setting them down on the table.

elise and her family immediately began helping themselves to the food, selecting sliced apples, stewed carrots, parsnips, and cuts of beef and pork.

only lady clotilde did not reach for a dish or food of any sort. instead, she frowned. "why do the servants not serve you?"

"why should they? we've got perfectly capable arms," nick said.

"we generally dine with informality. times of serving are restricted only to dinners involving politics, visiting monarchs, and matters of the country," king henrik said, patting lady clotilde's arm.

"you should change that. it's not proper," lady clotilde said.

"if you wish, my dear; you may change it later." king henrik said.

falk straightened up. "i beg your pardon?"

"ahh, yes. that brings me to the news i wish to share with all of you. i have asked lady clotilde to marry me, and she has consented," king henrik said.

elise choked on her apple slice; nick spewed out the mouthful of beer he was in the process of drinking, and mikk-who was cutting his beef-made his pewter plate shriek when his knife slide across the surface. gerhart dropped the gravy bowl he was passing to falk, spilling gravy everywhere and making a tremendously loud crack. the noise was eclipsed, though, by a servant who was in the process of bringing in a meat jelly and dropped the pan in surprise at the proclamation.

only falk, steffen, and gabrielle were composed.

steffen's eyes still crinkled in his perpetual smile. "you are to wed? you have our congratulations, as well as our deepest sorrow that father did not think to introduce you to us sooner, lady clotilde," steffen said.

"when do you plan to hold the marriage?" gabrielle asked.

"the first of spring," king henrik said.

"in a month? are you mad?" gerhart yelped.

falk kicked gerhart under the table after mikk nodded at him.

"that is a brief courtship," gabrielle tactfully acknowledged.

"i want you children to warmly welcome lady clotilde into our family," king henrik continued, unaffected by gerhart's remarks. "love her and treat her as you would your own mother, for she is to replace her and eclipse her in your hearts."

silence reigned over the table.

elise and her siblings stared at their father, stricken more by this proclamation than by king henrik's sudden intent to marry. queen ingrid was the family treasure. although the arcainian royal family was closer than most ruling families, there was tension between them. queen ingrid was the one person who was able to pull them together, regardless of the situation.

she could never be replaced.

the stubborn stillness betrayed the royal family's thoughts over king henrik's bride, and king henrik grew stormy in the open sign of rebellion. his frown turned into a scowl as his children remained silent.

sensing the mounting pressure, elise stood. she walked to lady clotilde's seat and folded herself in an ornamental curtsey. "i welcome you to our family, lady clotilde. i look forward to learning more about you, and i hope you will enjoy your new life here in castle brandis," elise said.

one by one, the other royal siblings stood and joined elise in front of lady clotilde, bowing or curtsying to her.

"brown-noser," gerhart whispered to elise.

"nothing good will come of angering father and alienating his bride," elise said.

"of course you would know that," gerhart said before he threw himself back in his seat, angrily mixing his jellied meat with his mashed potatoes.

"mikk, send for erick and rune, now," steffen whispered behind a frozen smile before he retreated to his chair.

"welcome to the family, lady clotilde. if you will excuse me, father, lady clotilde," mikk said. he left the room when king henrik acknowledged him with a hand.

"of course, my boy. go ahead."

when everyone was seated, nick leaned back, using elise as a physical barrier so he could whisper to falk, "i guess we should have started watching him closer months ago."