Chapter 6
“Please have a seat, Princess Rose.” The young noblewoman gestured toward a rich blanket spread out on the grassy hillside.
Cushions had been scattered invitingly across it, and spread out before it was a view of not just the city but also the palace. Clearly the blanket had been placed in the best available spot—but it was also empty.
Natalie forced a smile and sat down, trying to arrange her legs in a graceful manner—a frustratingly difficult feat.
When she had accomplished it to the best of her ability, she took a surreptitious look at the other blankets strewn over the grass around her.
Each of them contained a group of young people whose conversation and laughter floated across the gentle breeze.
She looked up hopefully at Lady Trina—the host of the event—but the other girl didn’t sit.
“I’ll have the servants select a plate of delicacies for you to eat.” Trina hurried away, intent on her self-assigned task.
Natalie sighed and looked around again. Most of the group had gathered in front of the palace for the walk to the hillside, but Leo had failed to join them. Natalie had assumed that meant he would meet them at their destination. There was still no sign of him, however.
The courtiers in attendance were all young, and Natalie thought she’d met them all the night before. At least, she assumed so, given no one had supplied their names.
If only everyone didn’t say the exact same things. Then she might have a hope of remembering everyone’s identities.
Trina returned, and Natalie smiled as welcomingly as she could. But as soon as Trina had delivered the plate of food, someone called to her, and she bustled off, visibly full of the importance of hosting.
Natalie sighed again.
“You don’t need to glare at the food so ferociously,” said a laughing voice. “I promise I didn’t prepare this menu either.”
Natalie looked up. “Oh. It’s you.” She wanted company, just not this company.
Luca’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry to disappoint.” He threw himself down beside her, lounging comfortably among the cushions.
Natalie looked behind him hopefully. If Luca had just arrived on the hillside, maybe his cousin had too. There was no sign of Prince Leo, however.
She deflated, fiddling with the closest cushion and trying not to sigh yet again. From the corner of her eye, she caught Luca watching her, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. He must think her very unlike a proper princess. She sat up straight and pasted on her best royal smile.
“Your Highness!” Trina returned, slightly out of breath, as if she’d hurried straight back from whatever hosting responsibilities had occupied her.
“I’m so sorry for the interruption. There are certain complications with this location, but I was sure you would appreciate the view of our beautiful city and consider it worth any inconveniences. ”
“Lanare is stunning,” Natalie said with sincerity.
The southern kingdom was entrancing—utterly unlike her own home in the mountains. But she couldn’t add that, so she fell silent.
Trina bobbed a shallow curtsy to Luca. “I’m so glad you could make it, Prince Luca. I was sorry to hear Prince Leo had other duties that required his attention.”
Luca smiled, his manner easy. “It’s Leo’s loss.
He would much prefer to be outside than stuck behind a desk.
” His expression suggested Leo was well known for this trait, and Trina laughed.
Natalie chuckled as well, a beat behind.
“But with his parents away, he takes his responsibilities seriously,” Luca added.
“Of course!” Trina said quickly. “You must let him know that we all completely understand. It’s our honor to help entertain Princess Rose during her visit.”
She beamed at Natalie but took the first opportunity to hurry away. She seemed to consider herself relieved from the duty of entertaining her guest of honor now that Luca had appeared to keep Natalie company.
Natalie watched her go disconsolately. “So honored she needed to run for the other side of the hilltop,” she muttered.
Luca laughed, and Natalie flushed. She’d spoken without thinking. Rose would never say something so impolite about her host.
“I’m sorry to hear you don’t feel honored,” Luca said with a wicked twinkle. “When you’ve been given the very best rug—and so much space!”
Natalie glared at him. “Yes. It’s a reminder of all the space you gave me last night.”
Luca tried to look contrite and failed utterly. She suspected he didn’t know how.
“It’s best to remove the bandage all at once,” he told her solemnly. “Now you’ve spoken to every one of the elderly courtiers left in the capital, and you can safely avoid them for the rest of your visit.”
“Can I just as safely avoid you?” she asked sweetly, and he grinned.
“Ah, but I’m much more nimble than the average eighty-year-old. And people do keep inviting me to everything.”
Natalie looked back over the assembled young people. “Leo was invited, too, but he didn’t feel the need to show up.”
“Yes, but that’s because he has responsibilities,” Luca said.
Natalie cast him a suspicious glance. Something in his tone hinted at unspoken meaning behind his words. Did Luca see her as a responsibility?
She looked around a little more wildly, hoping to see another familiar face—any other familiar face—walking past. Where was Rose? She’d been at the reception the previous evening. Surely she didn’t intend to abandon Natalie to handle all the remaining events alone.
“Are you used to something different in the Arcadian court?” Luca asked, something in his tone making the question sound more earnest than his earlier quips.
Natalie thought back to the few days she had spent at the Arcadian capital. She had certainly never seen Rose standing alone at any social occasion. But Rose would disapprove of her speaking rudely to one of Lanover’s royal princes, and Natalie had already forgotten herself several times.
“I suppose it’s different there,” she said cautiously. “Since everyone knows me. They’re not so…careful.”
Luca’s lips twitched, and he glanced toward Trina.
“Lady Trina does seem unusually careful.” He grinned at her.
“What an excellent word, by the way. It’s not normally what she’s known for either.
I wonder what has her on edge.” He watched Trina across the hilltop before smiling at what seemed to be a private joke.
“Of course Leo isn’t the only one flexing his muscles while his parents are away.
Trina’s parents probably gave her a lecture before they left about not embarrassing the family in front of visiting royalty. ”
If that was the explanation for Trina’s behavior, then all the other young nobles must have received similar lectures. Either that, or they were wary of her potential to upend their hierarchy. Perhaps it was both.
She wished she could announce to them all that she—or rather Rose—had no intention of marrying their crown prince. And neither were they going to offend Arcadia and disgrace their families over a misspoken word.
“But don’t worry,” Luca said, his eyes laughing at her depressed expression. “There’s only about twenty more families left to have their turn playing host.”
“Twenty?” Natalie stared at him. “Do you mean we’ll be doing this for the entire visit?”
He glanced at the view. “I imagine some of the events will be indoors.”
Natalie glared at him, trying to ignore the headache forming behind her temples.
She felt exhausted, although the walk to the picnic had been done at a gentle pace and she had already been sitting for some time.
She had never enjoyed small talk, but she had never realized how utterly draining it could be either.
Luca shifted closer to her, his voice dropping low. “Not every Lanoverian has been lectured on being careful.”
Natalie remained ramrod straight, refusing to mirror his motions and lean toward him. She gave him a reproving look.
“If you tell me your parents have never lectured you about being careful, I’ll call you a liar.”
He laughed, unabashed. “The word might have been thrown around once or twice, but never in connection with your name, I assure you.”
Natalie raised her brows. She would have liked to know what he had been told regarding Princess Rose, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of asking.
“Social events don’t have to be dull,” Luca said with an expressive look. “We can always entertain each other by being…reckless.”
Natalie jumped to her feet, shaking out her skirts. “Last night, you abandoned me to an entire gaggle of octogenarians and ran for it. Without shame, I might add. And now you want me to entertain myself by flirting with you?”
Luca stood slowly, easy elegance in all his movements. He adopted an expression of hurt. “I don’t remember saying anything about flirting. I would never offend a foreign princess with such a suggestion.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed, and she turned to march toward the other side of the hill—a move that would have been more effective if Luca didn’t easily match her stride, grinning down at her as he kept pace. The man was both infuriating and impossible to shake.
“Do you really mean to shadow me everywhere I go?” she asked icily.
“Not at all,” Luca said promptly. “Say the word, and I’ll leave you to stand in state alone on the top of the hill.”
Natalie glanced at the occupants of the other picnic rugs—none of whom showed any inclination to leave their settled positions.
“Fine,” she said with what grace she could muster. “If you must follow me, you can occupy yourself by telling me about the city.” She pointed toward the buildings below them and the various landmarks that were visible from a distance.
Luca grinned and launched into guide mode, his tales about his city proving both informative and interesting.
Natalie might even have forgiven him for being the wrong prince and allowed herself to feel grateful for his presence, except that she kept catching him laughing at her with his eyes.
He seemed determined to infuriate her, though she had no idea why he was treating the supposed Arcadian princess in such a fashion.
He certainly made it impossible to adopt a proper princess manner back to him.
Whatever his reasons, she was relieved to lose him in the throng of courtiers descending the hill at the end of the event, and she resolved to avoid him as much as possible in future.
Her resolution proved difficult to keep, however.
As Luca had predicted, a seemingly endless number of the younger members of court took turns hosting events for their peers and the visiting princess.
And as Natalie had feared, the young courtiers continued to hold her at arms’ length, their conversation painfully polite and shallow.
To make matters worse, Leo was rarely present, and she concluded that he could only be guaranteed to turn up to events he was personally hosting.
Even Rose failed to appear more often than not.
Only Luca reliably attended each event, his words—whether teasing or serious—always accompanied by the laugh in his eyes that told her he viewed her as a game.
Natalie would have happily relinquished Rose’s identity several times over if it wasn’t for the intrigue of the note and her concern over the upcoming meeting. It was the only thing that drove her through each exhausting day.