The Royal's Obsession Read Online Free PDF Page A

had been a place of weavers for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
    “Generations ago, women would gather the murex shells in order to create the richest of purple dyes. There were even stories of women who could spin golden silk from the spit of clams. Weaving is part of Santa Olivine’s heart and soul, and I am proud to carry on the tradition.”
    Each weaving was more beautiful than the last, each carefully patterned and beautifully dyed. Anastasia couldn’t pick just one, but then Augustine appeared.
    “This one,” he said, pointing to a cloth that had been dyed a deep indigo.
    “Why that one?” she asked in surprise.
    “Look at the pattern. This is the one that looks the most like the movement of the waves.”
    When she looked closer, she could see what he meant, and she smiled.
    “Yes, this one please.”
    When she reached for her purse, Augustine waved her off. He handed the woman a large handful of cash, making her eyes widen. She started to speak with him in Greek, something forceful and stern, but he waved her off with a grin. She scowled, picking up the cloth that he had indicated as well as another one, one that was dyed black.
    He laughed, and accepted them, turning to Anastasia.
    “Here. Apparently, I was generous enough that she wanted you to have this one as well. I hope you like black.”
    “Oh,” said Anastasia, examining the dark fabric closely. “Look, it isn’t black at all.”
    “Oh?”
    What she had thought was black was actually a deep, deep blue. Unlike the wave pattern that was woven into the other cloth, this one was woven to create a pattern of wheels. The result was a richly textured fabric that she couldn’t stop running her fingers over. When Augustine touched it, he hummed with approval.
    “It is amazing work, and if I am totally honest with myself, I got a bargain to say the least. Once upon a time, young Greek girls would come out to places like Santa Olivine to buy their wedding linens. This is what I imagine they came to buy.”
    Anastasia grinned up at him.
    “Well, now that you have bought them, does this make you a young Greek ready for his wedding?”
    He looked at her sharply for a moment and then shook his head.
    “You know, I think you are the first person to ask me that honestly and without ulterior motives.”
    He started to walk along the vendor stands, and without thinking about what she was doing, she trotted along after him.
    “How do you mean?”
    He shrugged. “I am, after all, royalty. Just because I am not the heir does not mean that there aren’t…certain expectations. People have been speculating about who I am going to marry for almost ten years now.”
    She laughed a little at that. “That must have been so irritating when you were a teenager. My parents are much the same way.”
    He blinked at her, frowning a little. “Are your parents very concerned about your prospects?”
    “Well, they’re most concerned about my lack of prospects. Everyone they think is ‘suitable’ for me in New York is, well, kind of terminally uninteresting.”
    He laughed. “And like any American girl, you want to get married for love.”
    “Well, of course, but there’s more to it than that.”
    “He needs to have a healthy bank account?”
    Her laugh this time was a little more uneasy.
    “That never hurts, does it? No, the truth is that someone who marries me needs to be passionate. They need to be concerned about the same things that I am concerned about, and they need to be…” She shrugged.
    “All I am saying is that you are not the only one with expectations about who you should marry,” she said. “Are you going to marry for love?”
    Augustine was silent for a moment, and then he shrugged.
    “I don’t know. My brother did, and even if it’s more than a little shocking how he went about it, it seems to have worked out for the best, no?”
    “He and Trinity do seem very happy.”
    “My grandparents, though, they only knew each other through