Chapter 9
Natalie visited the gazebo as soon as it was light the next morning, searching for clues. But she wasn’t surprised when she turned up nothing. Collapsing onto one of the structure’s bench seats, she sighed.
After all her waiting, she had nothing.
She straightened. Not entirely nothing. Rose hadn’t turned up, which confirmed she hadn’t known about the meeting. The note Natalie still held had been the only communication about it.
Had the time come to talk to the princess about the situation? Show her the note? Natalie had delayed doing so until she could uncover the identity of the blackmailer and turn the tables against him. But she’d failed abysmally at that.
She considered her options. Her failure at the potential meeting had only increased the likelihood that Rose would respond to her revelation by insisting they switch back and then shutting Natalie out entirely.
Her blackmailer was probably insisting on her silence, so if she was scared enough—for both Natalie and herself—she might even send Natalie away from Lanover altogether.
But in so doing, she would create all sorts of rumors—ones that might alert the blackmailer to their ruse.
If he guessed someone else had been involved, who knew what retaliation he would take on Rose.
Natalie had to remain in her current role. They couldn’t afford to have the whole court talking about them and their deception. Not yet anyway.
She hurried down the gazebo steps, lost in her thoughts as she strode through the gardens. If she couldn’t go to Rose, could she tell someone else?
An image of Luca flashed into her mind, but she shook it away with an impatient gesture. He’d caused nothing but trouble so far.
The crown prince was an option, though. He might have the capacity to protect both Rose and Natalie. But what would he make of the note? Would he suspect Rose of being complicit? Or blame her for bringing Arcadia’s problems into Lanover?
The princess had stressed the importance of not allowing their charade to cause an international incident. And this was something far more serious than a brief, mischievous swapping of identities. If Natalie ran to Prince Leo, she might create exactly the sort of incident they needed to avoid.
As she reached a side door of the palace, she sighed.
If matters got too out of hand, she would have no choice but to go to Leo.
But there had been no direct threat of violence so far, so she could risk waiting a little longer.
As long as she was still Rose, another possibility might present itself to her.
As she slipped back into her luxurious chamber, she admitted to herself that the room no longer brought her any joy.
She was heartily sick of the role she had adopted.
She didn’t regret the blackmailer’s note accidentally falling into her hands, but all the other parts of playing a princess had been oppressive and burdensome.
The role hadn’t even allowed her to get close to Leo.
Her goal of winning the crown prince was as far removed as ever, and Natalie couldn’t even bring herself to care.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to remember why she had been so convinced that becoming a queen would solve her problems.
Natalie rejoined the activities of court with even less enthusiasm than previously. Instead of getting easier, the necessary smiles and pleasantries required an increasingly difficult effort.
At least the food remained excellent, and she was finally being left in peace. After her outburst in the garden, Luca was keeping his distance.
It was a relief, she told herself firmly.
The absence of the prince and his verbal sparring had nothing whatsoever to do with why the social events felt extra flat.
She even managed to muster some enthusiasm when an afternoon picnic in the garden turned out to be enlivened with a friendly archery competition.
The armsmaster had set up a number of targets on a patch of grass, and the guests took turns showing off their skill. Those not participating occupied themselves with the picnic food or cheered for their friends’ efforts.
Natalie stood watching the archers with avid interest and a touch of wistfulness. She would have preferred to be a participant than a spectator.
“Should I assume you shoot as well as you ride, Lila?” a familiar voice asked.
She turned slowly to find Luca at her side, wearing his old grin. Her heart most definitely did not make any sort of happy leap at the sight. She was just starved for conversation that wasn’t completely inane.
“Actually, I’ve never shot before,” she admitted. “My mother said that I was quite dangerous enough without a bow in my hands, and that if I was determined to learn, I could wait until I was eighteen.”
Luca gave a surprised laugh, and Natalie belatedly remembered she was supposed to be the princess of Arcadia. She bit her lip, but Luca didn’t question her slip.
“In that case, you’ll have to allow me to teach you.”
She caught a note of hesitancy from him, his eyes offering a subtle challenge, as if he thought she needed goading in order to accept his offer. He was vastly underestimating her desire to learn archery, however.
“Can we start right now?” She barely refrained from bouncing on the balls of her feet.
He laughed. “I don’t see why not. I’m fairly confident in my ability to prevent you shooting another guest by accident.”
She laughed herself. “Then you’ll have my appreciation. I’m reasonably sure that shooting a member of the Lanoverian court would cause the sort of international incident I’ve been instructed to avoid.”
“You’re full of surprises, Lila,” he murmured softly, and Natalie tensed.
But he turned away immediately to procure her a bow and quiver of arrows, freeing her from the necessity of responding. Even so, her exuberant excitement dulled, replaced by wariness. What had he meant by that comment?
Had he been looking into her in the days since their encounter in the garden? Was that why he’d been absent? What had he found?
“Relax, Lila! You’re far too tense,” he said as she tried to follow his instructions and fit her first arrow to the bow.
She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Who exactly was the source of all her tension?
But she had no desire for him to know how nervous his curiosity made her. She rolled her shoulders and let out a slow breath before trying again.
“Better!” he said approvingly, and she managed a natural smile.
But when she released the arrow, it didn’t fly straight into the center of the target as she had envisioned. Instead it plopped into the grass disappointingly short of its aim. She pursed her lips, and he laughed.
“If you hit the target on your first attempt, you’d be a prodigy.”
“I would have liked to be a shooting prodigy,” she said wistfully, and he shook his head, his eyes dancing.
“It might be better for all of us that you’re not. Think of your poor mother’s nerves.”
She laughed, her tension easing even more.
“You need to pull the string back further.” He took it from her and demonstrated. “And hold it steadier.”
He talked her through her second attempt, giving her enough tips that she managed to propel the arrow the needed distance. Unfortunately her aim suffered as a result, and it came nowhere near hitting the target.
“Bad luck,” Luca said with a straight face. “There was a puff of wind.”
Natalie gave him an irritated look. “My pride isn’t that fragile.”
He came close beside her. “You need to aim—” He hesitated. “Do you mind if I…?” He gestured to indicate he wanted to move her physically into the right position.
She nodded, her attention on the target, so the feel of his chest against her back and his arms encircling hers took her by surprise. She bit short her soft gasp. She should have realized what he meant, and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had affected her.
She kept her eyes on the target. But while she could pretend to be focused only on the archery, she couldn’t actually ignore the warmth of his body or the strength in his arms as he guided her into the right position.
“That’s it,” he murmured in her ear, and his breath on her skin sent goosebumps racing down her neck.
She swallowed, and he drew back slightly, letting her go.
With an effort of will—and a reminder that it was only Luca beside her, not someone worthy of shivers or goosebumps despite his distracting looks—she steadied herself.
The arrow flew from her bow and bumped against one side of the target, falling to the grass.
“I did it!” She turned her head to look at him and froze.
He had only moved half a step away and was looking down at her, their faces now only inches apart. She took in the golden flecks in the brown of his eyes and wondered where all the air had gone.
“A very interesting mystery,” he breathed, the words so quiet she wasn’t sure if he realized he’d spoken aloud.
She immediately stepped back, and he mirrored her movement, clearing his throat as he did so.
“Keep practicing like that, and you’ll soon have it,” he said. “And while you do, I’ll go and fetch you a plate of food. Shooting is hungry work.” He strode quickly away.
Natalie watched him put distance between them with a furrow in her brow, her thoughts far from archery. Luca was definitely suspicious of her. She needed to be more careful.
And she needed to find a way to track down Rose’s blackmailer and expose him. Then she and Rose could tell everyone the truth, and Luca would have all his answers. He would switch his dutiful—if impudent—attentions to their proper target, and Natalie would never have to be bothered by him again.
The thought brought surprisingly little comfort, but she turned back to the target, determined to stay focused. It didn’t matter what happened after they revealed the truth. She just needed to make sure Luca didn’t find it out for himself before she was ready to relinquish Rose’s place.
She shot at the target again and again, on edge as she waited for him to return. But when she’d emptied the quiver, she turned to find a plate of food perched on a nearby stone balustrade with no sign of Luca.
Her eyes sought him out, and she located him some distance away, talking to two young men of court. Their eyes instantly met, but he didn’t leave his conversation or return to her.
He kept his distance for the rest of the afternoon. But even if he didn’t speak to her, she felt his eyes burning into her and felt the pressure of his watchful gaze.