Chapter 99 - Mace

The club went silent upon hearing Delaney announce that the man in front of her was the prince of the land.  Mason Renald was the King's younger brother and next in line for the crown if the King remained unable to have children with his Queen as was seeming to be the case.

Delaney had known Vincent was close with the King himself but she'd never wondered about his relationship with the crown prince.  It made sense though that they would be just as close.

She cursed herself for not recognizing the man before she'd been short with him.  It was one thing to be startled by a random vagabond and react upset but if you were startled by a man who might one day be the King it was a completely different matter.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered urgently, "I didn't recognize you before and..."

"It's quite alright dear lady," the prince grinned and winked at her, "I did sneak up behind you."

Delaney felt her stomach twisting into knots.

"What are you doing out walking the streets by yourself anyways Mace?"  Vincent asked then with a frown, "Where are your guards?"

"Ah yes them," the prince rubbed the back of his neck the same way Vincent did, "Well you see it's much more difficult to have a good time when you're constantly being watched by a dozen grim-faced men with swords."

Vincent smirked, "So you snuck away again?"

"We were in a theater down the way and I excused myself to go up to the rooms I have upstairs. Then I simply popped open a window and scrambled down the drainpipe. I'm sure they're still none the wiser."

Vincent sighed and shook his head in disapproval trying to hide the smile that was tugging at his lips. "Lord, Mace well I hope no one saw you."

"Ha!" the man beamed, "Can you imagine?  The crown prince climbing down a drainpipe?  What a laugh!"

Delaney couldn't keep herself from simply looking at this man in shock.  He was a royal!  And here he was sneaking away from his guards and following a woman into a gentlemen's card club.  It was unbelievable.

"Come now what are we playing?" Mason stepped beside Vincent then and looked down at the card table of men with their mouths hanging agape, "Got room for one more?"

All of the men moved at once, hurrying to give up their seats to the prince.  Only Win stood and took a deep breath, straightening his shirt and vest.

"We'd be pleased to have you play with us your majesty," he bowed to the man.

"Oh yes," Vincent said quickly, "Mason, this is the owner of this establishment, Jay Winston, but everyone calls him Win.  Win this is my dear cousin, the crown prince, Phillip Mason Renald."

Win bowed deeply again, "It's an honor to meet you, your majesty."

"Ah we don't need all that Win," Mason chuckled, "Tonight I've snuck away so I can have a break from being the prince for a while.  Call me Mace."

The prince held out his hand to Win who went pale, before holding out his own hand.  The prince chuckled again before taking the old man's hand in his and giving it a firm shake.

"Pleasure to meet you!  Now, if you don't think I'll be too much of a distraction I'd love to play."

"Of course!" Win scrambled to pull a seat out for him.

Vincent looked at Delaney and smiled when he saw she still looked shocked.  He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead lightly before tucking a finger under her chin to tilt it up so he could kiss her properly as well.

"Oh Vincent," she whispered as quietly as she could manage, "I was rude to him!  And he's the prince!"

"Don't worry Love," he whispered back, stealing another kiss, "Mason hates being a royal.  He loves it when he gets to walk around and act like a regular person and be treated as such.  If anything, he probably likes you more because of your honest reaction."

"I'm so embarrassed," she shook her head.

Vincent kissed her again, deeper this time until her head felt dizzy and he tightened his grip on her to keep her from wavering.

"Although I don't blame you for wanting to spend all your time kissing such a beauty," Mason teased his cousin, "I'd really like to get at least one game in before I'm caught and hauled back to where I'm supposed to be."

Vincent stepped back from Delaney, smiling at her lovingly before pulling out her seat for her.  At the octagon-shaped table, her husband sat with her on one side and Mason on the other.  Win took the seat on the other side of the Prince and seemed to have steadied himself.  Delaney wished she had some of the old man's strength.

"Why don't you play with us?" Mason suggested to the group of uneasy men who had just vacated their seats at the table, "We need four more.  You there!  You look like you'll be a worthy advisory."

The man the Prince had pointed at paused for only a moment before moving to take a seat across from him.  Mason didn't hesitate to call out three more men who all came forward uneasily and took their seats as well.

Win dealt the cards and Delaney swallowed hard as everyone placed their bets.  The only people in the club who weren't on edge were Vincent and Mason.

"Now then Vince I believe the last time you and I played cards I beat you."

"If you did it was because I let you win."

"Ha!  I highly doubt that.  Cards are something I happen to be quite good at."

"Probably not as good as my wife.  She's already beaten me twice tonight."

Mason looked up at Delaney again, his eyes bright, "Have you really?  Did he let you win you think?"

Delaney looked from the Prince to Vincent and back.  "Oh, uh, well I'm-I'm sure he did."

"You don't have to pretend to save my ego," Vincent smiled at her as the game began, "She's very good Mace. Win will tell you too, right Win?"

The old man chuckled, "Well I hope so.  I taught her myself."

"You taught her?" Mason asked curiously, "How did that come about?"

"My wife is quite the cardsharp," Vincent laughed, "Let me tell you about the first time I knew I'd gotten lucky with my marriage contract."

Delaney listened and blushed madly as her husband told the crown prince about how he and his friends had gotten extra time to come here and visit the girls but when they'd gotten to the school, they were nowhere to be found.  He told about the attempted coverup and how in the end, he and Duncan had come and discovered their future wives in a gentlemen's club playing cards and drinking.

The men around the table laughed at his story, and Delaney couldn't keep herself from smiling despite her embarrassment.  Vincent told the story as if he'd won a prize at the end when he found her.

"I would kiss you husband if I didn't think you'd take the chance to look at my cards," Delaney teased him, smiling fondly.

"Ah well I'm sure I'll get plenty of kisses tonight," Vincent teased back, making her blush again as the other men laughed.

"Well," Mason grinned, "It sounds like I've gained a new cousin that's quite worthwhile.  Not to mention I'd much prefer looking at her to looking at you or Miles any day."

The laughter and teasing continued as they played.  Delaney couldn't help but smirk when she won the first hand.  It only seemed to make the prince like her even more though.  He got serious and beat her in the second round but chalked it up to luck.

It was very late when they started their third hand. Cecil came over suddenly to Win and bent down, whispering something in his ear. Win mumbled his reply and waved the man away.

"Well your majesty I'm afraid your absence has been discovered and you've been hunted down," Win chuckled as Cecil opened the door to allow at least a dozen guards to swarm in.

Mason's expression changed to one of annoyance and disappointment as he looked up at the guard who had come to stand directly across from him.

"Good evening Captain," he smirked, "Come to play a hand of cards have you?  I'll give you a tip.  Don't try to beat the Duchess there or she'll take you for all your worth."

Vincent chuckled and Delaney smiled bashfully before they both turned to look at the stony-faced captain.

"I've come to escort you back to your rooms your majesty," the Captain replied seriously, his own tone sounded annoyed, "Your carriage is waiting outside."

"Ugh," Mace groaned, running his hands over his face, "You drug out the carriage just for this?  I'd rather just walk back.  I walked all the way here."

"That wasn't safe sir.  We're better able to protect you if you're in the carriage."

Mason groaned louder now and stood up.  Because he was a royal, everyone in the room stood at the same time, including Vincent.

"Well, it appears my fun has come to an end," Mace sighed, turning to shake Win's hand, "I appreciate you letting me play.  Next time I'm able to escape I'll have to come back and see if I can win with Lady Adair gone."

"We would be happy to have you, your majesty," Win chuckled.

"Alright, Vince," the prince turned to them now, "So you're headed to the city tomorrow then?  I suppose if you're going to be there I'll head back too.  Court might actually be bearable if I have you and your lovely wife to distract me."

"We won't be there long," Vincent replied, "But I planned to introduce Delaney to the King and Queen anyway so we'll see you there."

"Ah well even better for you my dear," Mason bowed to Delaney, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it again, "My brother and his wife are dreadfully serious and boring. With me there you'll be guaranteed some fun."

"Just not too much fun Mace," Vincent looked at him knowingly.

The prince winked at Delaney, "Of course not cousin."