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in summer?”
    An awkward silence threatened, and my mother graciously stepped into the breach. “Tess?” she said, calm and self-possessed despite my social blunder. “We were going over the proposed exchanges.
    Would you like to see?”
    Immediately I shifted my attention from Garrett’s presence behind me to the map on the table. All fluster aside, I was keenly interested in what King Edmund was offering in return for taking their unnecessary, second-born son off their hands and out of their borders.
    The map showed much of the lower part of the continent, my mother’s large bays and several of her smaller ones clearly marked. We controlled the usable beaches for hundreds of miles up and down the coast, and thus most of the sea trade came from or through us. The shore we didn’t actively use met the land in jagged cliffs. Farther inland were the hardwood forests where we harvested the timber for our homes and the sturdy, fast ships we were known for. Between the woods and the sea was a distressingly small tract of land fit for farming.
    Beyond the forest was Misdev. King Edmund retained a slim portion of the forest we took from them two generations ago. The kingdom was thoroughly landlocked but made up for it by consisting of large tracts of farmland butting against the mountains. It was hoped the union between us would rub out the last of our grudges and increase the quality of food crossing into our borders.
    My father leaned over the map and tapped a finger upon a small cove on the outskirts. “See here?”
    he said, leaning so his bald spot showed. “We would lose one of the minor, shallow harbors. Along with a generous ribbon of land so they can get to it.”
    A whisper of unease took me. The proposed section would drive a dangerous-looking wedge between us and our neighbors to the south. They wouldn’t like that at all, and neither did I. “But I a good portion of the populace pulls their fishing boats out there,” I said, tugging the map from under my father’s elbow. “I thought we would be returning the forest to them.”
    My father had a satisfied air about him as he leaned back and I beamed, his gaze alternating between Garrett and me. “Didn’t I tell you she was clever?”
    Frowning, my mother touched his shoulder. I watched the exchange, not knowing what was being said. A sullen, almost defiant look flashed across my father’s face before he focused on me. “You’re right, Tess,” my father said. “They will lose their homes, but they will be farmers.”
    “Where?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice mild and polite. “It takes a generation to turn woods into good farmland. What will they do in the interim?”
    “They will farm the land we get in exchange for the harbor and boats,” my father said, clearly pleased.
    “Boats!” I cued. I looked at my mother, who nodded almost imperceptibly. A harbor and boats? We controlled the sea. Our armada was the only thing we had to fend off the greed of the surrounding kingdoms. “How many boats?” I asked warily.
    “Dear, that’s not polite,” my mother said, and I pulled from her gentling hand.
    “Neither is forcing your people to scratch the ground for their sustenance instead of pulling it clean from the ocean as they have for generations,” I said hotly.
    “Tess!” my father exclaimed as he flicked a glance over my shoulder to Garrett.
    “Forgive me,” I said, my words and tone contrite but my expression grim. I steeled it back to a proper, pleasant demeanor as there was a whisper of linen and the prince moved to the opposite side of the table so he could see me. His shadow fell over me, and I looked up.
    “You have no reason to ask for forgiveness,” he said. “You care for your people. I won’t fault you for that. A queen puts her people first.” He straightened, holding my gaze with his. “Your people will be justly rewarded on their first harvest, dear lady. The produce they bring to your markets will not have spent