Chapter 9
Only later, when she was lying in bed, did Rose remember her plan to look for red doors. With Leo’s distracting company, she had forgotten all about her original intentions for the day.
And on sober reflection, she had to admit the distraction had been a good thing.
Her original plan had been ridiculous. Even if she had somehow stumbled on the right building, she was never going to find a clue lying around outside it.
She might even have caused trouble for Aurora’s agents.
The spy network might be able to surveil a building covertly, but any clumsy attempts by Rose would only draw the forgers’ attention.
The impromptu walking tour had been a far better use of her day. With Leo’s help, Rose had gotten a taste of the city, and of Lanover, that she wouldn’t have managed in a whole string of court functions. She felt sorry for Natalie, stuck at the official festivities instead.
Rose stilled in her bed, guilt creeping over her at the thought of Natalie. Rose had forgotten more than her search for the red door. The whole point of taking Natalie’s place had been to avoid Leo and let Natalie spend time with him in Rose’s stead. Rose had failed completely.
She could have refused Leo’s escort, or at least invented an excuse to return to the palace after the first couple of hours. Had he intended to join a court event that afternoon only to get caught up with her for the whole day instead? How could she have let that happen?
But when she had imagined spending time with Prince Leo as Princess Rose, she had pictured stilted court interactions—conducted under duress and in front of an interested audience. Their day in the city had been nothing like that.
Leo had joined her by his own choice, knowing nothing of her true identity.
He had volunteered his time as a friendly gesture to an interesting visitor—not because he’d been instructed to pursue a match for the sake of an alliance.
He was probably enjoying a final few days of freedom before taking up those responsibilities he had mentioned.
She wrinkled her nose, her mood souring at the thought. He was currently smiling at Posey and showing her around the city—he had even promised to complete the tour over the next few days. But soon he would be courting ‘Rose’ without any emotion behind it.
The thought tainted the image of him in her mind, and she told herself she should avoid him in future. But when the next day arrived, she changed her mind. She should finish the tour of the city, at least. She wanted to get to know Lanover, and no one knew it better than its prince.
At the end of the week, Rose had utterly failed to avoid Leo, but she had successfully dodged most of the court functions.
Natalie wasn’t happy about it and had made her promise to attend the planned ride along the coast—one of the few events actually hosted by the crown prince himself.
Rose agreed, knowing she had no excuse to avoid it—Leo had already given Posey a direct invitation.
Not that she read anything into that. The prince probably wanted her there to bear witness to the beginning of his courtship of the princess. He had probably started worrying that Posey might get the wrong idea, given all the time they had been spending together.
And that was a good thing. Leo was supposed to be spending his time with the so-called princess.
Rose resolved to dedicate herself to Natalie’s cause, promising that she would not only attend but also help maneuver their positions so that Leo rode beside Natalie.
It was the least Rose could do after monopolizing so much of the prince’s time—a guilty secret she hadn’t yet confessed to Natalie.
The court had been running the false princess ragged with their events, and Natalie hadn’t had the energy to monitor Rose’s whereabouts as well.
The riders gathered in front of the palace, and a nameless groom approached Rose with a sedate mare for her to ride.
She thanked him despite her internal dismay.
The horse looked like a boring ride—especially compared to the quality of mount provided for Natalie.
But it didn’t matter. Rose wasn’t joining the ride for her own benefit.
Despite her internal monologue, she couldn’t help a rush of pleasure as she swung into the saddle. It had been too long since she had been on horseback. She hadn’t even realized how much she missed it.
She also couldn’t help noticing Leo’s excellent seat. He was clearly as comfortable on horseback as he was roaming the city on foot. Not that Rose was surprised by that. Of course a prince would have been trained to ride. She really shouldn’t be looking.
She determinedly resisted the impulse to sneak glances at him, focusing her attention on Natalie instead. But Natalie’s attention had been caught by someone on the other side of the group, far from Leo, and Rose couldn’t see who it was through the mass of shifting riders and horses.
Rose moved her horse closer to Natalie’s, positioning herself ready to nudge Natalie toward Leo’s side. At least the other girl’s attention had returned to its intended target, and she was watching Leo with a fixed attention that belied her earlier distraction.
Rose frowned. That wasn’t much better than her inattention had been. Natalie needed to relax a little if she didn’t want to scare Leo away!
They rode through the city in single file, but Rose managed to secure the place between Natalie and the rest of the riders, with only Leo in front of them.
When the road widened, she would do whatever it took to keep her horse as a barrier, holding back the rest of the riders until Natalie had taken the spot at Leo’s side.
When they finally left the city behind them, Leo glanced back.
His pace slowed as the road widened, leaving space beside him.
For half a second, Rose thought his eyes had turned in her direction, but she didn’t stop to check.
With subtle pressure, she sent her mare dancing, effectively blocking the road.
When she had the mare back under control—a far easier task than getting the placid animal to prance in the first place—Natalie was in place beside Leo, and Prince Luca was trotting his horse forward to ride beside Rose.
She watched with satisfaction—it was definitely satisfaction!—as Natalie and Leo conversed, not even noticing her own companion’s silence. But when Leo glanced back in their direction, Luca startled her by speaking.
“My cousin seems to have remembered the princess’s existence.” Luca’s words carried a note Rose couldn’t read, although she had always prided herself on reading people well. Was he trying to give her a hint?
“It’s only natural they should spend time together,” she said stiffly, unable to think of anything else to say. Conversation with Luca was nothing like the easy flow of words when she was with Leo.
The ocean drew closer, the road sloping downward as it angled toward the coast. Before long, only a thin stretch of grass separated them from the sand.
“There isn’t anything natural about this,” Luca declared, once again making her start.
She scrambled to remember what she had said to provoke such a response, but he didn’t seem to notice her confusion, continuing on in a strong voice.
“On a glorious day like this we should be galloping along the sand, not plodding sedately along the road.”
Rose’s brows contracted. She didn’t disagree with him exactly, but she wasn’t about to go galloping away from the rest of the party—even if her horse could be goaded into a gallop, which was doubtful.
But Luca wasn’t looking at her. He guided his mount forward without another word in her direction. Riding along the grass verge, he came up beside his cousin, and Rose caught the challenge he called to Leo.
“Race along the beach, Leo?”
Leo didn’t respond, but Luca wasn’t abashed, laughing and calling out again.
“Don’t let Lila hold you back.” He used Natalie’s chosen nickname. “I’m sure she thinks she can beat us both.” He shot a look in Natalie’s direction, his eyes sparkling.
Rose’s frown deepened. Natalie wouldn’t go racing off across the beach any more than she would, but Luca should have known better than to suggest it. He was placing her in an awkward position.
But when Luca directed his horse onto the sand with a whoop, Natalie responded instantly, racing after him with calls of foul play. The two of them sped off across the sand as startled murmurs broke out from the double column behind Rose.
Leo was watching the two racers with a speculative look in his eyes, but when he caught sight of Rose’s expression, he glanced quickly at the rest of the group.
“My cousin is right,” he called in a loud voice. “It’s far too nice a day not to venture down onto the beach.”
He turned his own mount toward the sand, although he moved at a sedate pace. Rose’s mare fell into place beside him, Natalie’s departure forcing her to take the position she had intended to avoid.
Once on the sand, they followed after Natalie and Luca, although they kept to a much slower pace than the racers.
Leo chuckled. “Perhaps I was wrong about the differences between Lanover and Arcadia. Their princess seems just as relaxed as any Lanoverian.”
Rose’s eyes flashed to the distant figure of Natalie. She had finally stopped her headlong dash and was in the process of shaking her hair completely loose of its pins.
Leo wasn’t the only one to have noticed either.
The voices of the courtiers continued to rumble in surprise and interest, and Rose ground her teeth together.
Natalie had promised not to bring Arcadia into disrepute while acting in Rose’s place.
Clearly Rose should have been keeping a closer eye on her.
She urged her mare forward, using all her skill to coax the sluggish horse to action. Leo kept pace easily, and they reached Natalie and Luca ahead of the others.
Rose angled her mount away from the two princes, approaching Natalie and whispering frantically to her, an edge to her words.
“Quick, put your hair back up before the others reach us and get a proper look at you! What were you thinking?! Princesses are supposed to behave with more decorum!”
Natalie’s entire demeanor changed, her bright smile crumpling, and Rose felt a prick of regret.
But she wasn’t scolding Natalie on Rose’s own account—she was doing it for the sake of Arcadia.
If Natalie had gone for a private ride with a couple of friends, it would have been one thing, but she was at an official court event.
“I’ve lost most of my pins!” Natalie whispered, sounding frantic. “I’ll never be able to get my hair respectable again.”
Rose glanced at the approaching riders and then toward the princes. She could hardly get down and start searching in the sand for the lost pins. She’d never find them.
Leo responded to the appeal in her eyes, urging his horse toward them. “If you’d like to return to the palace, Lila, I can escort you there myself.”
Rose suppressed a stab of irritation as she realized how completely Natalie had disrupted the outing. She should have been feeling relieved instead since Leo’s suggestion would give Natalie some time alone with him.
But Luca spoke quickly, cutting into Leo’s plans. “Don’t forget you’re the host today, Leo. You can’t leave. But I can escort Lila back if she wishes to go.”
Natalie hesitated, but she really had no option other than nodding acceptance of his offer. The two of them wasted no time in heading toward the grass, riding away just as the first of the other riders approached.
“We should ride on,” Leo said softly. “Cover any awkwardness.”
Rose nodded hearty agreement, and they both urged their mounts back into movement. She felt bad about sending Natalie and Luca away, but the prince had been foolish in issuing his challenge, and Natalie had been just as foolish in accepting.
The frustration and guilt slowly seeped out of her, the soft breaking of the waves eroding her tension until the tightness across her shoulders eased. She gazed across the sparkling water. It was impossible not to relax in such a gorgeous setting.
“My apologies, Posey,” Leo said stiffly, his manner taking her by surprise. Apparently the beauty around them wasn’t having the same relaxing effect on him.
She gazed at him, her brow creased. “What do you have to be sorry for?”
“I’m apologizing on behalf of my cousin.” Leo sighed. “I hope Princess Rose won’t be too upset.”
“I’m sure she’ll recover,” Rose said shortly, then sighed herself, softening. “I’m sure Prince Luca will look after her.”
“Yes.” Some life returned to Leo’s voice, and his eyes sparkled. “It does seem so, doesn’t it?”
Rose shot him a confused look, but he was smiling toward the ocean, his bearing already lightened considerably.
“Do you often ride down to the beach?” she asked.
“Not often enough,” he said absently before looking at her and smiling properly. “And never in such appealing company.”
She looked away quickly and told herself he must be thinking of the departed princess. As she should be. It was Natalie who was supposed to be spending time with Leo, not Rose.