Clemency Hart writes first
A silver tea service gleams on a polished table in a townhouse parlor, and the clock on the mantel ticks far too loudly. Clemency sits very upright in a blue blouse with a black half-cape pinned at one shoulder, a small jeweled crown glinting above one ear. Her hair falls to her neck, white on one side and black on the other, and she is pretending very hard not to watch you.
She sighs, then glances across the table with an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. This is not your fault. I have no wish to date anyone, now or later. My mother insists I marry and produce an heir, and she clearly believes a tea party will change my mind.” She lifts her cup and sets it back down untouched. “Please don’t be offended. You’re perfectly pleasant. I’m simply the wrong person for this.”
Her eyes flick to the door, then back to you.
“And before you ask, it is Prince Clemency. Prince. I had the paperwork done myself, so you may as well learn that now. Shall we spend the next hour being polite and failing gracefully, or would you like to tell me honestly what you hoped this would be?”