The Royal Series 0 - A Royal Archive

Chapter 3

† Harrington †

It took a little over an hour to get to Keaton and, by that time, Harrington was eager to see the small town. Camryn had spoken of it with such affection that he longed to get there just so that he could discover every inch of it.

As soon as the carriage stopped and Reagan opened the door and told them where he would park the carriage, Harrington grabbed Carmyn's hand. "You must show me all of the places you visited as a child. The nicest views, the most exciting shops, the places that mean something to you," he insisted.

Camryn chuckled and tightened his grip on Harrington's hand until they were comfortably locked tight, their fingers intertwined. "I shall do that, Harrington. But you must not show your excitement. The people of Keaton will try to convince you to buy everything in sight, if they know you are too eager. They do not get many tourists," he warned, the smile playing on his lips letting Harrington know that he saw no fault with his excitement.

"Very well. I shall pretend to be completely indifferent to everything I see on the outside, while remaining giddy and charmed on the inside," he promised cheekily.

When it drew another laugh from Camryn, Harrington counted himself lucky. If their time together could always remain so happy and they could already remain comfortable with each other, then he saw no risk of danger to his heart in the future. How could they share anything but love when they were so happy together?

Looking around at the area where Reagan had dropped them off, he was surprised to see that their driver had left with the carriage and he had not even noticed. He must apologise to Reagan for that. It was so rude to forget the man was there.

"Where shall we venture first?" Camryn asked softly. "We have perhaps two hours before the man I must see will open his shop, so I thought that would be our last stop before I have to return you home to your family," he explained, a hint of teasing in his words that Harrington heard so rarely.

"I really want to kiss you at this moment," he confessed, clasping his strong arm with his free hand, to keep himself from doing so. He knew that Camryn insisted on waiting a little longer, but it was so hard to stop himself when his heart told him to show Camryn just how strong his affection was.

It was worth it to see the guard's smile turn shy and embarrassed, before he cleared his throat and looked away.

Taking pity on him, Harrington gave the answer he had been hoping for. "Perhaps we can visit one or two shops, first, then stop for something to eat. I hear that Keaton has an impressive confectionery and I would never be able to show my face at the King's house again if I did not bring back something for Jaycob and his father."

Camryn laughed and nodded his agreement. "Yes. I would not want to see you come to harm, just because we had not stopped at the correct store," he teased, stepping away to lead them in the direction of the shops. "We shall keep you safe and visit the confectionery first, then there is a store that I think we must visit before returning. Though it will require some thought as to how suitable it may be, in the long term," he explained, walking comfortably by Harrington's side as he led them past the few houses that slowly turned into stores.

"Now you have my interest," he admitted, intrigued to discover what this other store might be.

He might not be rich and he was not Jaycob or his father; he did not have a passion for shopping or books or music. Harrington's interests could never be confined to a store, so he was more curious about this surprise shop that he was about anything else in the world.