The Duke's Runaway Princess Page 0,6
yet.” She sighed heavily and turned her cup around nervously. “At least I get several to choose from and my brother isn’t just giving me one option. I met Rashid for breakfast this morning and he told me about some of them, their backgrounds and titles and such. He has set up a series of lunches and dinners with the men who have asked to marry me. It’s sort of a blitz dating session spread out over the next several days.” Zarah looked down at her tea, warming her hands with the heated beverage more than drinking it since her stomach still didn’t feel very good after her breakfast meeting. There was just something disturbing about knowing she’ll be married to a stranger in the very near future that diminished her appetite.
Suzanne’s eyes widened in surprised. “More than one choice? That’s hopeful, right? How many are there?”
Zarah felt grim. Just the thought of talking to all those strangers, knowing that she would be assessing them for a role she didn’t want, and they would probably be judging her as well, the whole process was daunting and mortifying. “I think there are ten of them but I’m not positive. I stopped listening after a while because they all sounded so….boring.” There were princes of other royal families, one aristocrat from an Italian family and the rest were wealthy businessmen that simply wanted a connection to Rashid. Okay, probably all of them wanted the connection to Rashid and she couldn’t blame them, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
“Yikes,” Suzanne cringed. “That’s a lot of meals to endure with men who might be creepy.” She looked at the foam on top of her coffee and grabbed a wooden stir stick, mixing the foam and chocolate into her beverage. “But that seems like a large group of men. At least it isn’t two or three, right?”
Zarah shrugged, unconvinced that the size of the potential grooms would help her get through this selection process. “Yes. There’s at least a large selection pool.” She looked over at her friend, her eyes wide with the possible issues facing her. “But what if I don’t like any of them?”
“Then don’t marry any of them. Come to Willingham with me and work with me and my family for a little while until you feel up to facing your responsibilities again.” Suzanne had a different view of the possibilities.
Zarah looked over at her friend, shaking her head as she immediately dismissed the suggestion. It was completely out of the question. There was no way she could outright defy her brother. Argue with him yes. Disregard an order? No. “I couldn’t just leave.”
“Why not?”
Suzanne said that as if it were an obvious solution but she had no idea of the chaos that kind of action would cause. “Because my brother would be furious.”
“And?” She continued to look at Zarah with wide eyes, still not understanding the culture of Tasain and the way families were all connected through marriage and alliances. It wasn’t just her family because her brother was the ruler. It was done all over the country. Business was conducted, agreements finalized and partnerships formed with familial alliances that started with a marriage. It might be antiquated, but it made things work in her country.
Zarah tried to explain this to Suzanne, but she was at a loss herself. In the end, she shook her head. “I just couldn’t do it.”
Suzanne shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. “Okay then, go ahead and meet these guys, test the waters, but don’t reject my offer too quickly. Worst case, you get out into the world and get a little work experience, reassure your brother that you’re safe every once in a while, but put your foot down and don’t let him push you into a marriage that you’ll hate. Stand up for yourself,” Suzanne urged. “Think of all the other women in the world who pushed for change in various areas of their culture and risked so much. You could help be the transformation in Tasain and help women all over the country by not marrying a man hand selected by your brother.”
Zarah considered her friend’s comments but knew she wouldn’t do anything so outrageous. Rashid would find her anyway and Zarah didn’t want to contemplate her brother’s fury when that happened. They sipped their drinks and discussed their graduation which was just around the corner. Eventually, they were joined by their other friends who were also graduating