Then from behind Hector came General Pudding, I nearly tripped over my own red-and-gold hem as I spun around to face the General wearing something very colourful.
My eyes were wide enough to qualify as dinner plates, and the violet Heartstone in my pouch gave a sympathetic, vibrating thump.
"What did you just say?" I hissed, my voice dropping into that dangerous, low register that usually preceded a mass firing. "Married off? By sunrise? I've been back in this kingdom for twenty minutes, and you're telling me I'm about to be legally abducted into a matrimony I haven't even vetted for ROI?"
