Chapter 5
Natalie’s temper had abated somewhat by the time she let herself into her room, and she was willing to admit the night hadn’t all been terrible. The food had been delicious, and Luca had been an entertaining companion while they ate.
She stretched and shook her head, eager to be free of the constraints of her dress and into a more comfortable nightgown.
A few humorous stories weren’t enough to make up for Luca’s subsequent abandonment.
The memory of his wink and wave made her clench her teeth as she slipped off her shoes.
He had clearly known what she was about to be subjected to!
Hilary hurried toward her, obviously having drawn the straw for night duty. The other two maids already slept peacefully in cots inside the special alcove designed for their use, but Hilary had been sitting bolt upright in a chair by one window.
From the look of her sleepy eyes, she had been struggling to stay awake, and she didn’t ask about the evening as she undid the back of Natalie’s dress.
As soon as the maid’s fumbling, sleep-slowed fingers finished their task, Natalie sent her off to the third cot.
Natalie could manage the rest on her own.
The maid went without protest, and Natalie found herself as close to alone as she could hope for while she remained as Rose. Which was yet another reason to swap back immediately. Natalie didn’t like the sensation of being hemmed in by nursemaids.
Hilary had left one candelabra still alight, and its glow illuminated Natalie’s reflection in the mirror. She sighed as she looked at herself. She had gone to the event with such high hopes. But so far being a princess had not lived up to her expectations.
She was too tired to think about what that meant, and it didn’t matter anyway. She was going to set everything right in the morning.
She hurried into her nightgown, but as she slipped into the large bed, she discovered a small slip of folded paper on the pillow. An unfamiliar seal held it closed, giving it an official air, but she couldn’t imagine why an official missive would have been left on her bed.
Tugging it open, she held it closer to the candles, her curiosity rising and beginning to drive away the sleepiness. There was no name on the outside, and she opened it on instinct, scanning the contents before she realized her mistake. The note must have been intended for the real Princess Rose.
The words on the page brought her instantly to full wakefulness, and she scanned them a second time, analyzing them more closely. Reading it the first time had been an accident, but now that she had read it, she couldn’t pretend not to have done so.
The note clearly contained a threat, although the nature of the threat was vague enough that Natalie wasn’t sure what the writer referred to, beyond some link to confidential documents.
Clearly the writer expected Rose to understand his references, and he had included the details of a time and place for a secret meeting.
Or the writer could be a she. Natalie knew she shouldn’t make assumptions.
But both the handwriting and the words gave her a masculine impression, and she couldn’t help thinking of the writer as a man.
Her eyes kept returning to trace the letters that spelled out in your best interests.
Clearly some harm was being threatened toward Arcadia, but was the princess in personal danger as well?
Natalie reviewed her short acquaintance with Rose.
Something in Rose’s manner had changed between Natalie’s encounters with her in the Arcadian palace and their journey to Lanover.
Rose had claimed it was dissatisfaction with the proposed marriage alliance, but what if it was more than that?
Did Rose know she was in danger? Was that why she had suggested they swap places?
But Natalie couldn’t believe her new friend would be callously using Natalie as a shield.
She tapped the letter against her hand, her thoughts racing.
Rose had mentioned the possibility of Natalie receiving notes intended for Rose.
And she had stressed that Natalie must send them on to their intended recipient.
Rose must plan to go to the meeting, taking the danger on her own shoulders.
Unless she had someone to shelter behind. But Rose’s parents had placed their trust in the Lanoverian guards, so no Arcadian guards had accompanied the princess to Lanover. Would she turn to Prince Leo for help, then?
Natalie read the letter again. The writer seemed certain Rose wouldn’t involve another kingdom in whatever was going on. His words oozed with the confidence that he faced a nineteen-year-old girl who stood on her own.
But Rose wasn’t alone. She had Natalie.
Natalie blew out the candles and lay down, her mind leaping with excitement.
With Natalie masquerading in Rose’s stead, they had an excellent opportunity to fool the over-confident blackmailer.
Surely there was some way to turn the situation to their advantage.
Working together with Natalie as Rose and Rose in the background, they could…
Natalie’s thoughts came to a halt, a heavy feeling settling over her.
Rose hadn’t told Natalie of the threat and asked for her help.
She had merely instructed her to hand over any notes without reading them.
And in the carriage, Rose had defended Natalie’s parents, saying that they had acted to protect her.
It was a tune Natalie knew all too well.
Natalie’s plans for her future were only beginning, which meant she was still just a commoner girl, trying to push her way into the business of royalty.
And Natalie had plenty of experience with the response she was likely to receive to that attempt.
If she admitted to Rose that she knew about the situation with these confidential documents, Rose would be the one insisting they swap back immediately—and Natalie would find herself shut out of whatever happened next.
By acting alone, Rose would be endangering herself, but she would consider it a noble sacrifice. And no one would stop to ask Natalie what she thought about the matter—they never did. Neither her abilities nor her desires would factor into the matter at all.
Years of resentment boiled inside her, and she placed the letter under her pillow with a new sense of determination. If one girl was going to take on the risk alone, why should it be Rose?
Natalie had found an opportunity to once again be involved in something that mattered—something that could help people—and she wasn’t going to let the chance slip through her fingers.
She would find out the blackmailer’s intentions without risking Arcadia’s only princess.
And in the process, she would prove to them all—including Prince Leo—that she was the kind of person who could do what needed to be done.
When she finally slept, her dreams were fitful and troubled, and when she woke, she didn’t feel rested.
Her determination had not abated, however.
She hid the note from the eyes of the three maids and let them dress her in a gown of their choosing, only urging them to hurry.
After her late night, she had overslept and was anxious to find Rose.
After accosting five servants in the corridors, Natalie finally found one who could direct her to Rose’s hallway, where she was relieved to spot the fourth Arcadian maid, Joanne, emerging from one of the rooms. Joanne looked surprised to see Natalie, but she didn’t try to stop her brushing past her and bursting in on the princess.
Natalie stopped just inside the room, her mission momentarily forgotten. Her nose wrinkled as she looked around the small space. It was impossible not to notice the difference between her assigned room and the one she was currently inhabiting.
“Sorry about the room,” she said, but Rose waved the apology away with a smile.
“Is everything all right?” the princess asked.
“Yes, I just…wanted to check on you,” Natalie said, realizing she should have prepared a more convincing speech in advance.
The note was burning a hole in her pocket, but she couldn’t risk blurting out its existence. She needed a subtle way to question the princess and work out what she knew. But subtlety had never been one of Natalie’s strengths.
She opened her mouth only to close it again while Rose watched her with a raised brow. Finally the princess broke the silence.
“I hope your room is to your satisfaction,” she said.
“Oh yes, it’s stunning!” Natalie gushed. “The view is incredible…” Her voice died away as she looked around Rose’s room again.
Rose just smiled in amusement. “I’ll look forward to seeing it when we switch back places.”
Natalie’s eyes flew to hers. Only the previous night Natalie had intended to insist they end the ruse, but now she was desperate to last another week until the assigned meeting time. Was Rose about to suggest they switch back immediately? What could Natalie say to delay it if she did?
And why was the meeting date so far away? Did the writer of the note want to leave the princess stressing, just as Natalie was currently doing? Was it all part of some stratagem to—?
Rose spoke, cutting through Natalie’s spiraling thoughts.
“You’ve remembered what I said about not getting into any political discussions, right?” she asked. “And about passing on any letters or notes you receive for me?”
Natalie’s mind came into crystal focus. Had she only imagined the extra emphasis Rose had put on the second sentence, and the way the other girl’s eyes now bored into her own?
She tried to keep her expression steady as she slowly nodded.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “I remember.”
She did remember, and now she had further confirmation. Rose was definitely expecting a note of some kind, even if she didn’t know its exact contents. And she just as clearly meant to cut Natalie out of whatever was going on.
“I can promise it was nothing but inanities last night,” she said with a decent approximation of her usual tone.
She allowed a note of dissatisfaction to creep in.
“All except one conversation which went on forever and was just a constant stream of reminiscences about your parents and grandparents.”
Rose looked alarmed, so Natalie rushed to reassure her.
“Don’t worry. I just smiled a lot and said almost nothing, so I don’t think I gave anything away.”
Rose relaxed. Apparently she wasn’t going to insist on an immediate return to their true positions. That was one relief at any rate. Because Natalie was more determined than ever to remain in the princess’s role until the nominated time for the secret meeting.