“What happened to not getting involved?” James muttered to himself. It was far too late for that now. He gave up battling against his feelings the moment Theo had offered him that forkful of eggs to eat.

He looked around at the space on top of the castle turret where he had a blank circumference of about twenty feet to work with. Several bags and boxes of supplies sat by his feet. After the semi-success of the boat ride yesterday, he had to make sure this went off without a hitch.

Because he thought he might finally be able to admit to himself that this was a date. No one else needed to know. He couldn’t ruin his present by always worrying about his future. He wanted to take Theo out for dinner, so damn it, that was what he was going to do.

It was a date, wasn’t it? He had specifically asked Theo to be ready to meet him for dinner at seven o’clock. James had so little experience with dating, though, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d made his intentions clear enough.

Well, he would have to ensure that the setting did that for him. After yesterday’s deluge, he knew another outdoor setting was risky. But the forecast was good and James so desperately wanted to give them both some privacy.

Like they’d had in the kitchen. Even just thinking about it made James smile, warmth spreading through his chest. It had been silly and fun and James wanted more of that. So there he was, standing on the top of the tower where Theo’s room was situated, hoping to turn a blank stone roof into a romantic dinner for two.

Dating had always seemed so complicated to James in the past. Too complicated to even consider with the few guys he had seen regularly. They had been forced to make do with simply meeting for sex. As hot as that had been during James’s twenties, he didn’t want to treat Theo like that. Even if there was a chance they only had this week together.

James knew his duty to his country. He would almost certainly have to marry a woman, one of his mother’s choosing if he wasn’t careful. She had mentioned Princess Klara again in their phone conversation that afternoon. But his heart demanded he listen to it just for now and treat Theo as if this was the start of a true courtship.

It was mid-afternoon, so James had plenty of time to set the scene. He walked along the square crenellations that came up to his waist at their peaks and his knees at their troughs. It meant they would have an impressive sunset view over the countryside during dinner.

James started by placing a single, fat pillar candle in all the dips of the crenellations, each in a tall hurricane glass holder to protect the flame. As he was almost finished doing that, a knock came from the door that led to the staircase. It opened before James could answer.

“Where do you want this, boss?” Manjeet asked, struggling through with a black wrought iron chair.

James dashed over and held the door for him. “Oh, in the middle, thank you,” he said, feeling guilty. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring anything up the stairs. I was going to do that.”

“Nonsense,” Manjeet said as he hefted the chair over to the centre. “Besides, I found help.”

“Mind how you go, Sir,” said Quintin. The chair in his slender arms seemed far too heavy for him, but he was determined to transport it over to stand with the one Manjeet had already set down.

“Gentlemen,” James said in exasperation. “I assure you, I appreciate the thought, but I am more than capable of heavy lifting.”

“We know,” Manjeet said, wiping his brow and rolling up his shirtsleeves. “That’s why we haven’t tackled the table yet.” He grinned and marched back down the stairs.

“This way, Sir,” Quintin said with a slight bow, sweeping his hand towards the stairs. “I believe your impressive brawn is now required.”

James snorted and moved some of the boxes out of their path before trotting down the steps after Manjeet. He had to admit, he was already having quite a lot of fun.

Luckily, James knew Theo was spending the afternoon down in the courtyard working with the team to begin the ball setup. So hopefully, they wouldn’t run into him as they were going up and down the tower. Between the three of them, they managed to struggle up the stairway again with the medium-sized wrought iron table, arranging it as the centre piece on the turret roof.

“Wow,” said Manjeet, leaning over the edge of the crenellations when they were done. “That’s a nice view, boss. Look! Swans!”

“I’m certain Mr Glass will be suitably wooed,” Quintin agreed, deigning to lean a little against the wall to look, his hands clasped behind his back.

James spluttered. “I, uh, this isn’t-”

“A date?” Quintin supplied with a raised eyebrow. “Of course not, Sir. Where should I place the two dozen red roses that were just delivered?”

James muttered some of the choicest profanities he had learned in the Army under his breath. “On the edge of the table will be perfectly adequate,” he mumbled.

Quintin nodded and headed back down the stairs, presumably to fetch the flowers.

James turned to pull the cushions for the chairs from one of the bags, only to see Beanie with a napkin ring in her mouth and her tail wagging playfully.

“No, Beanie! Drop it!” he cried, falling to his knees and holding his hand out. Normally, he’d let her play fetch with anything she liked, but not with cut crystal. Luckily, she gently released the ring onto his palm. “Good girl,” he said affectionately, ruffling her fur. A few moments hunting amongst the bags revealed her tennis ball. “There you go,” James said, rolling it across the roof.

A distinctive yowl announced that James was to have more four-legged help. “Oh, do shut up, Bonney,” he said affectionately. “Why don’t you go play with your sister?” He chucked a napkin between them and they were soon engaged in a game of tug of war, complete with little growls.

By the time James had sorted the dogs out, Manjeet had already laid a pristine white cloth on the table and was smoothing it down with his hands.

“You know, I can probably do the rest,” James said, feeling a little embarrassed. This was his silly idea. He shouldn’t be involving the staff, no matter how much he considered them his friends.

A scoff from the stairwell made him turn around. “And have the knives and forks the wrong way round?” Peggy asked as she shouldered her way through with a stack of china. “I don’t think so.”

James threw his hands up in the air. “Does everyone know about this?” he asked.

“Yes,” Peggy said, setting down the crockery.

“Pretty much,” Manjeet agreed.

“I do believe so, Sir,” Quintin added as he came back onto the roof with the roses beautifully arranged in an elegant crystal vase. “It seems the staff are quite keen on the idea.”

“He’s an awfully nice chap, Your Highness,” Peggy said as she fussed laying the table. “Always says his pleases and thank yous. And he told me he loved my treacle tart.”

“Everyone loves your treacle tart,” Manjeet said as he rolled his eyes. “That just proves he has taste buds.”

James watched as the three of them fussed over the table. He couldn’t help but smile. “You don’t think it’s a bad idea?” he asked. Apparently, he no longer had to wonder if they had suspicions regarding his sexuality.

Manjeet rested his hands on the small of his back and looked up at the blue sky. “Only if it rains,” he said. “Then you’re buggered.”

Peggy snorted. “That’s kind of the idea, isn’t it?” she asked, just loud enough for James to hear. He definitely went red at that.

He coughed, trying to dispel his embarrassment. “I mean,” he said, “taking Theodore out to dinner.”

Peggy, Manjeet and Quintin all turned to look at him. He felt like they were a judging panel.

“You like him, don’t you?” Peggy said.

“Yes,” James agreed. “But-”

“There’s no ‘but’ if you like him,” Peggy interrupted with a wave of her hand. She went back to positioning the dessert spoons.

“What’s the matter, boss?” Manjeet asked. “You don’t think he’ll like it? I can still take you guys out somewhere, if you’d like?”

James felt his mouth twitch at the corner with a smile. “That’s thoughtful of you, Manjeet. But I’d rather not go out in public.”

“You’re concerned about the reaction to your being a homosexual?” Quintin asked.

James let out a strangled noise and picked up Beanie’s tennis ball to toss between his hands. “I’m a terrible person, aren’t I?” James said. “I should just come out. The family isn’t going to fall apart if I do.”

Quintin raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure, Sir,” he said. “Ignatius might argue otherwise.”

“Iggy can go take a long jump off a short pier,” James muttered. He knew Quintin was right, though. It bucked against tradition, and tradition was the Royal Family’s foundation. “No, you’re right.”

“Why not see how tonight goes?” Manjeet suggested with a shrug. “Then you can work out what to do from there.”

That was a good suggestion. Just one step at a time. James nodded.

Peggy stopped fussing with the table and stepped over to lay a hand on his arm. He looked down at her and smiled. “Just be yourself, love,” she said. “You never know what might happen. But I can tell you nothing will happen if you’re too afraid to try.”

James huffed. Beanie pawed at his trouser leg, so James rolled the ball for her to go chase and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Listen to you all and your infuriating logic,” he said with a sheepish smile. “All right, I won’t jump the gun. Let’s simply enjoy the evening and see where that leads.”

“I don’t need to hear that part!” Peggy cried, pointing a finger at him. “Come on, what else do we need to set up?”

James felt immensely grateful to have a support network around him who just accepted him for who he was. “Thank you,” he said softly.

“Now don’t go getting sappy,” Peggy said, fiddling with the wine glasses. “We didn’t pull off the Olympics with that sort of attitude. Backbone, lad. Fortitude and strength.”

James laughed. “Okay, well I still need a Champagne bucket, in that case,” he said.

Peggy winked at him and bustled off back to the kitchen. Quintin made noises about a gramophone and drifted away, leaving Manjeet with James. “Shall I run these down to Mr Glass’s room?” Manjeet asked, holding up a shoe box that he’d fetched from downstairs.

James stepped over. “May I just check they’re the correct ones?” he asked. Manjeet nodded and held the box while James lifted the lid and carefully moved the tissue paper. One pair of size nine bright red Converse trainers. “Perfect,” he said. “Thank you.”

“No problem, boss,” Manjeet said with a wink. “Why don’t you take yourself for a quick run around the grounds? Then you’ll still have enough time to get spruced up.” He knew running was the way James dispelled nervous energy.

James clapped him on the shoulder. “What would I do without you?”

“Be late everywhere,” Manjeet said with a scoff. “See you later, boss. Just…have fun, yeah?”

James bit his lip. “I shall do my utmost,” he promised.