They both entered a parlour where a man was sitting with a big sized trunk. Seeing them, the man stood up and bowed his head. "My king. My queen."
They both gave him a nod and Dorian gestured for Grace to sit on the sofa with him. As soon as they sat, Melody hopped between them, spinned around twice and sat down. One hand upon the dog, Grace looked at her husband.
"He is our royal jeweller," Dorian said to her. "I want you to pick out any ring you want as your wedding ring."
Grace blinked at him and then saw the jeweller opening the trunk. She looked at the golden band on her finger which Dorian had given her the first day of their marriage. Grace didn't want to remove it. The band had become a symbol for her. A symbol of her husband's kindness, respect and decency towards her. The moment she had said that she expected a ring from him, he had immediately given her this. And now it was precious for her.
Before she could refuse Dorian, Mr. Kit appeared in the doorway.
"You summoned me, my king?" he said and Dorian nodded and instantly stood up.
"I'll be back in a moment. You select any and as much rings as you want until then." Saying this, he strode out of the room.
Melody raised her neck, confused between staying with Grace and following Dorian. With a sigh, the dog got back to sitting in her relaxed position.
The jeweller placed a blue velvet sheet on the table that had numerous rings over it. "My queen, this is the collection of the rings with precious stones the king ordered. Which one would you like?"
Grace was mesmerised by the glittering gold and stones. The bands were in every size, thin to thick with every precious stone over it. Emerald, sapphire, ruby, topaz and many white diamonds. Grace liked all of them. But not more than Dorian's golden band on her finger.
"They all are lovely," she said to the jeweller.
The man puffed his chest proudly and twitched his thick moustache. "Thank you, my queen."
Grace smiled at the man and looked back over the laid tressure. "Do you have men's rings right now?" She asked after a moment.
The jeweller nodded his head happily. "Of course, my queen." He bent again to his trunk and picked up a red velvet sheet and placed five rings over it. These were bigger and much less adorned with diamonds.
A silver band with round dark-yellow diamond caught Grace's eye. She picked it up and saw it closely. It was beautiful, the diamond's colour resembling closely to Dorian's eyes.
"Chose one?"
She turned around to see her husband walking back in the room. He sat in his earlier spot and frowned at the ring in her hand. "Isn't it too big for you?" He asked.
"I will make one of the queen's size," the jeweller rushed to offer.
Grace smiled at the man. "No, thank you." She turned back to her husband. "I chose this for you."
He raised his brow. "Me?"
"Yes," She held the ring between them. "Let me check the size."
Dorian raised his left hand and over Melody's reclining body, Grace slid the ring in his finger. It fit properly, the silver suiting his skin and the bright diamond resembled the eyes that now gazed at her in confusion.
"From me," Grace replied to the unasked question. "You are married too."
He gazed at the ring and raised his brows. "Alright. And which one did you choose for yourself."
"Oh," she chuckled. "I already have one." She caressed the ring on her finger.
"Grace, that was a temporary ring," Dorian said.
That made her upset. "Do you want this ring back?" She hoped not.
"No."
Grace blinked in relief.
"But," he continued, "It's plain. You can have any other ring. If you don't like any of these designs, then I can summon some other jeweller."
Grace saw the jeweller sitting between them tense.
"No, no," she rushed to explain. "All of these are beautiful. But I would like to keep this." She held the finger adorning the band to her chest. "I love this."
Dorian sighed and then turned to the table. Seeing him observing the new rings before them, Grace chewed her lip. She was worried that Dorian would demand her to wear a ring according to her status. She didn't have the heart to get rid of her precious band.
Dorian picked up a silver band with a yellow diamond on it. It was similar to the ring she'd chosen for him.
"Well," he said holding her right hand, "You have more than one finger." And he slid the silver ring over the empty ring finger. Now both her hands had beautiful adornments. Grace smiled seeing them. Once her maid, Jenny, in Runecliff had said that Grace would get a husband who would adorn her with jewelleries. She was talking about Oliver back then. At that time, Grace had merely laughed, wondering that Oliver would not pay much attention to a wife. Surely he would have provided her with lots of jewelleries. But Dorian had literally adorned her, with his hand.
Smiling happily, Grace raised her head and saw Dorian talking with jeweller about the payment for both rings. Taking the payment, the jeweller packed his trunks and Grace showed the rings to Melody who immediately averted her eyes, having least interest in the rings.
"So," Dorian began to say when the jeweller left, "Did you like the ring?"
"Yes, I love them both." She gazed her fingers with awe.
"You didn't thank me."
This time, Grace was the one to smirk. "I wouldn't risk you asking something in repay."
His lips curved up as well. "I would have asked something according to your enjoyment."
She chuckled and shook her head. "I doubt that."
Oh my god, was she flirting? Grace had never enjoyed talking with a man before, let alone flirting. But she had wanted to. Apparently, Dorian was fulfilling her every fantasy one by one.
Unconciously, they both had leaned a bit towards each other. Melody made a sound and hopped down the sofa, not enjoying being squeezed.
Taking a nervous breath, Grace met her husband's eyes. The golden eyes were cast down to her mouth. It made Grace run a tongue over her lips.
A faint groan left Dorian's lips eyeing that moment. In a hoarse voice, he began to say, "Grace, I want to-"
"My king!"