Chapter 8
While Joanne spent the day exploring the portion of the palace that belonged to the servants, Rose spent it exploring the extensive palace gardens.
She didn’t even think about what Natalie was doing with her day until she caught sight of the other girl from a distance.
Natalie was also walking through the gardens, but she was firmly ensconced in the middle of a group of young courtiers, and their path was taking them out of the palace grounds.
Was Rose supposed to be among them? The thought was clearly belated—if she was, it was too late now.
She continued to wander through the greenery as she pondered the broader issue.
Did the prince’s public welcome the previous evening mean she should consider herself invited to all other court events?
It was easy to imagine Natalie seizing the opening. If they hadn’t swapped places, she would have leaped at the chance. But Rose hadn’t become a commoner for a few days so she could spend her time hanging on the fringes of royal society.
But what did she want to do instead? Back in the carriage, the question of what she would do as Natalie had seemed distant and unimportant. But now it had become both immediate and unanswerable.
What she wanted to do was find the items stolen from Arcadia. But her only assignment from Aurora’s agent had been waiting on a letter that might never come. Was there really nothing more active she could do to help?
Unfortunately, determination proved insufficient to provide an answer. Even as she slipped into bed that night, she still hadn’t come up with anything useful. But she couldn’t spend all her time wandering in the gardens alone—that was even less appealing than joining the court functions as Posey.
Despite her frustration, she slept well and woke to breakfast on a tray. She ate beside her one small window, enjoying the quality of the food, if not the view.
As she savored the last bite, she considered her options. She could visit Natalie’s room and find out the court’s plans for the day. Even if Natalie was already gone, one of the maids would be there and would certainly share the information with Rose. But the idea held no appeal.
Neither did more aimless exploration. She had enjoyed it the day before—the Lanoverian royal gardens were well worth a day’s visit—but one day had been enough.
That left the city. The footman had spoken about a forger’s circle based in a building in the capital. Rose didn’t have the skills to infiltrate the forgers, but she’d like to at least see their headquarters for herself. And if she should happen on a clue while she was there…
She didn’t stop to consider how many buildings in Lanare had red doors—she didn’t want to know the answer. Instead, she once again dressed in her most practical gown and left the palace.
With each step away from the building, she felt a little freer. She had made her own decision and was acting on it—without needing to explain and justify herself or submit to the fuss of an entourage. Just Rose and her own two feet.
“Posey!” The voice drifted across the garden, pulling her to a surprised stop. She turned, unable to see the speaker at first and unable to guess who might be seeking her.
Leo emerged around an ornamental hedge and strode toward her, moving just short of a run, although he wasn’t out of breath.
“Are you heading into the city?” He smiled down at her. “Do you want a guide?”
“That would be lovely.” Her mouth answered before her mind could caution her to refuse.
With Leo at her side, she wouldn’t be able to actively pursue the forgers’ building.
The most she would be able to do was keep a watch for any red doors.
But he looked so light and carefree that she couldn’t bring herself to reject his thoughtful offer.
He had managed to escape his duties for a brief excursion, and she wouldn’t be the one to stand in his way.
He fell into step beside her, and she eyed him from the corner of her eye. At the welcome reception, he had looked every inch the royal prince. Now, however, he wore ordinary clothes, distinguished only by the excellence of the cut.
Not that anyone could ever think Leo was ordinary—not with his face and bearing. But he looked far closer to it than Rose would have imagined possible. Her own simple gown appeared elaborate by comparison.
He caught her peeking and grinned. “Are you shocked? I’m guessing the royals in the mountain kingdom aren’t so casual.”
She shook her head and laughed. “Not shocked. But perhaps…mildly surprised?”
He chuckled. “We’ve always been less formal here than in the other kingdoms. It’s harder to be ceremonial all the time when it’s this hot.”
“Lanover must be very relaxed indeed if the crown prince is permitted to wander around the city without any escort at all.”
“Except for one mountain girl?” he quipped, and she reluctantly laughed.
“I don’t think anyone would consider me much protection.”
“Thankfully we aren’t likely to need protection. Even in my father’s day he was allowed to ride into the city without guards or grooms, so he can’t complain when his son does the same.”
“Fascinating,” Rose murmured.
Arcadia wasn’t the most formal of the kingdoms, but she had always been accompanied on trips outside the palace grounds.
“In truth, I should be spending the day stuck behind my desk,” Leo confided.
“But I caught a glimpse of you from my chamber window and made a hurried change of plans. I’m glad I caught you before you left the grounds.
” He took a deep breath of the fresh air.
“Now if anyone asks, I have a good excuse for abandoning my duties.”
He grinned at her as if it was a stratagem hatched between them—a conspiracy for two. She couldn’t help smiling back.
Since there was no wall around the palace, there were no gate guards to note their prince’s exit, and no one questioned them as they left the grounds and entered the city.
But Rose had to suppress the instinct to look over her shoulder.
She kept expecting someone to hurry after them and prevent their escape.
Leo laughed, and she realized he was watching her again. “You look as if you’re escaping from prison. I promise we don’t lock up our guests in Lanover.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said lightly, her royal training keeping the internal wince from showing.
Leo began a light commentary as they walked, pointing out buildings of either architectural, historical, or social note, and making her laugh with his anecdotes of the mischief he had managed in the city during his childhood—always with his cousin alongside.
Somewhere amid the laughter, Rose forgot the itching feeling that they might be pursued and reclaimed at any moment. Leo wasn’t supposed to be there beside her, but he was easy company.
“My own childhood was sadly ordinary by comparison,” she said.
“Even under the rule of the usurper queen?” Leo asked, clearly surprised.
Rose bit her tongue. “I wasn’t at court then, of course,” she said quickly.
“My parents were only assigned to their current liaison role after the throne was restored.” She tried to steer the conversation away from Natalie’s childhood.
“But it’s interesting to see the differences between Lanover and Arcadia.
It makes me wonder what the other kingdoms are like. ”
At least Natalie had visited Arcadia, so Rose had an excuse to talk about it.
“When I was a child,” Leo said, “my parents visited Arcadia and brought back a painting of its palace. My sister and twin cousins pined for at least a week. Beatrice kept insisting that was what a real palace looked like, and the twins tried to convince Father to build several extra stories on top of ours.” He grinned.
“They were convinced we needed a tower or two at the very least.”
“But the Lanoverian palace is beautiful in its own way,” Rose objected. “The style is different, of course, but the gardens are incredible—and you’ve still got a view, even without any towers.”
Leo laughed. “You don’t need to convince me. I wouldn’t change it for anything.” He smiled fondly back in the direction of the palace.
“What made your sisters and cousin change their mind? Or do they still prefer other palaces?”
“Thankfully it was the same year the twins begged their parents to commission beds for them that would stack on top of each other. They received the beds as a birthday gift, but when the temperature increased they discovered the flaw in their plan. Iris insisted it was too hot to get to sleep on the top bunk and ended up sharing Violet’s bed below.
After that, they accepted the reality that heat rises, and they gave up asking for extra levels for the palace. ”
“Princesses on bunk beds like soldiers?” Rose laughed. “Your aunt and uncle must be very accommodating.”
“The twins can be very persistent,” Leo said dryly.
“But Aunt Tillie had the good sense to design the beds so that the top one could be removed and used as a normal bed alongside the bottom one. So the furniture didn’t go to waste, even after the idea of stacked beds was abandoned. I believe they still use them today.”
“How sensible,” Rose said approvingly. She hoped she was equally flexible when she had her own children one day.
A few moments passed in silence before she gave a small sigh. “I wish I’d had a twin.”
Her aunts were twins, and each of them had given birth to a pair of twins themselves. But her young cousins lived across an ocean.
Leo grinned. “There’s nothing quite like it.”
She raised an eyebrow, and he added, “My aunt and uncle have always lived at the palace with us, so Luca has been as good as a twin to me. And, of course, Iris and Violet always had each other. Poor Beatrice used to feel left out.”
Rose’s brows drew together in sympathy. She had wished countless times in her life that she had a sister of her own. For the most part, Harry had been an excellent sibling, but it wasn’t the same.
“Don’t feel too sorry for her.” One side of Leo’s mouth quirked upward.
“Those three were thick as thieves, and the dynamics were always shifting. At other times, Violet was the one to feel alone and excluded. I always found it hard to follow, but my mother told me there are stages to these things.”
Rose laughed. “There usually are.” She had always adored her older brother, but she could remember certain ages when he had been far less accepting of a younger sister following him around everywhere.
“It would have been nice to grow up with a collection of cousins,” she said wistfully.
“I certainly have more than I know what to do with,” Leo said cheerfully. “But thankfully they don’t all live in Lanover.”
“Do you ever get together with all of you?” Rose asked, wondering how the practicalities of that would work, given how far the Lanoverian royal family had spread.
“Only once,” he replied with a laugh. “We all gathered in Northhelm, and at the end of the visit, our parents decreed never again. According to Father, the host kingdom might not survive a second such occurrence.”
“But now you’re a serious crown prince who always puts his responsibilities first,” she said with mock solemnity. “It’s quite sad, really.”
He shook his head. “Surely usually should count. Think how dull I would be if I did nothing but work.”
She huffed out a disbelieving laugh. It was impossible to imagine Prince Leo ever being dull.