Chapter 21: Royal—a Postlude

University

Liam sat at his desk reading the first assignment in his US History Since 1877 course. The rigid structure of the university, including showing up for lectures with a hundred other students, would take some getting used to. It was so different than the unstructured learning environment of Elenchus Schole. He had attended three lecture classes, two labs, and a writing class and it was only Wednesday evening.

He glanced through the open door where Meredith was working on correspondence. She would separate out letters that had arrived for him into those she could reply to and those which required his personal attention. Liam was thankful for the writing course he was taking.

It was amazing how many letters he had received since the party, and they were not all from attendees. He had received personal invitations to charitable events, requests to help with personal problems, and what he could only describe as love letters from women he had never met. Meredith dealt with most things, simply asking Liam whether he would attend this or that event or if he was interested in a woman who had included her scantily-clad photo. What would he do without her? He was so thankful for Meredith.

They had moved into their condominiums two weeks after the post-Thanksgiving party. Elenchus graduated him with honors and he began setting up his new home. Those first weeks before the New Year’s holiday were filled with loving, laughing, and generally enjoying both independence and each other. Perhaps it was the intensity of their love life that made it possible now for him to study in the next room without desperately needing to go to her and kiss her. He chuckled. He still wanted to but he wasn’t desperate.

His phone rang and he picked it up automatically. “This is Liam Cyning. How may I help you?”

“Liam, it’s Elizabeth. Can you believe the writing assignment Professor Harrington gave us? It’s like she’s prying. I hate to write about something so personal. What are you doing?”

“Well, just at the moment, I’m reading history. I figured I would get to the writing assignment later this evening. I agree, it is a very personal matter.” The assignment given was: ‘Describe the class that you would want be if you weren’t of the class you are now. Why does this class appeal to you? How do you think it differs from others’ perception of you? Expound.’

“I was hoping you could give me advice. Perhaps share a bit of what you were thinking.”

“Hmm. Who else is prying?” Liam chuckled a bit.

“Oh, come, Liam. Surely you want to know more about me. Currently we are the only straight royals at the university. We can’t say we have a lot of options.” Elizabeth sounded a bit pouty. He had taken her out the first weekend she moved to town, between Christmas and New Year’s. She was certainly beautiful and pleasant company, but Liam felt no spark between them. He certainly felt none of the urgency it seemed Elizabeth felt.

“Elizabeth, you are so much older and more mature than I am. You are seventeen and I am merely sixteen, trying to find my way in a new and unfamiliar environment. It is way too early for me to be considering a future that is so far away. You know royals are not required to marry within their class. Yes, there are a few restrictions, but at the university you will encounter few people who are not eligible.”

“You don’t care for me.”

“That is not what I said. What would you do if we became involved this term and next term a perfect match showed up? My grandmother estimates there will be a dozen royals at the university next fall.”

“If I found a better match, it would be necessary to extract myself from our relationship.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if the relationship we had was to become friends? Wouldn’t we then be able to freely assess our possibilities without the urgency that you are feeling now?”

“Liam, you ass. Do you know how much courage it took to call you up and suggest something? And you respond in a perfectly reasonable way. It’s very frustrating for a girl. Yes. Of course, it would be better to become friends and see what happened next. I just...”

“It sounds like you have something else bothering you. What is it, Elizabeth?”

“Oh, it’s quite silly. I’ve just found that Carmen Ramirez will be arriving in the summer. We’ve met before and there is a bit of rivalry between us. Nothing serious, of course, just a feeling that anything one does, the other can do better. And with two women to the one straight man, I thought I’d get the upper hand.”

Liam laughed and shook his head. He supposed he would get a lot more of this kind of thing but he really had no plan to make any commitments for a long time. He was satisfied with his life right now and didn’t really want to rock the boat.

“I tell you what, as friends, why don’t we go out next weekend. Maybe Saturday night. We can see if David and Jonathan would like to join us. I’ll see what is going on in town and make arrangements for a driver.”

“Next weekend? Not this weekend?”

“I’m sorry. I have plans for this weekend.”

“Redheaded plans?”

“Elizabeth. Prying.”

“I want you to know, Liam, that I am okay with that. We’ll all have to make disclosures somewhere along the line. Just as any woman who agrees to take David will have to understand about Jonathan. It’s who we are. I only met her briefly, but I could tell I would become friends with Meredith.”