Chapter 15
Rose arrived at the ball unheralded, but at least the footmen outside didn’t bar her entry. She stood for a moment at the top of the stairs, using her vantage point to scan for Natalie.
But the footman behind her cleared his throat warningly, and she was forced to descend into the ball. The crowd—full of constant movement and laughing voices—made it hard to locate anyone. If only she had Leo’s height.
As if on cue, he appeared at her elbow. The admiration in his eyes made her momentarily forget everything else, and for a second, she was back in the interview room, his arms holding her close, his lips against hers. She flushed.
“Dance with me.” The soft words were less a demand than a certainty. Leo clearly knew how irresistible she found him—and given the speed with which he had appeared at her side, perhaps he felt the same.
She let him take her hand, lost again in the confusing swirl of emotions she had felt after their kiss.
From the beginning of her time in Lanover, and despite all her intentions to avoid him, she and Leo had found their way to each other over and over again.
Even while pretending to be Natalie, they had been drawn to each other.
But he still believed her to be someone she wasn’t. She had let him kiss her under false pretenses, and he deserved the truth. Would it change the way he felt about her? It might—given the way he had avoided the girl he believed to be Princess Rose.
And what of herself? Was she willing to embrace the strength of her feelings, even if it meant meekly doing what everyone demanded—and leaving her home and family in the process?
As the future queen of Lanover she might occasionally make brief visits to Arcadia, but she would never live there again. Could she accept that?
Leo pulled her into the dance, and the feel of his strong arms answered the question in her mind.
In Arcadia she wasn’t even needed as the spare anymore—not when Harry and Charlotte would be starting their own family.
But in Lanover she had already made a difference.
In Lanover, she could share a future with Leo.
But Leo hadn’t actually proposed—or even spoken of love—despite their kiss and the look in his eyes when they rested on her.
Instead he had asked about her family. He clearly cared about her background, and she shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming an increased rank would mean a better position in his eyes.
He might still feel as she had felt on arrival—that the one person in all the kingdoms he wouldn’t marry was Princess Rose of Arcadia.
He was smiling down at her, but a small, concerned crease lingered between his eyes.
She wanted to forget the watching audience and reach up to smooth it away.
She wanted to tell him that she’d been foolish and made too many mistakes, but that despite herself—against her wishes even—she hadn’t been able to help falling in love with him.
She wanted to tell him her heart and ask him to help her kingdom.
She should have trusted him and asked for his help from the beginning.
She couldn’t wait any longer. Hopefully Natalie would understand. Rose would beg Leo not to tell anyone else until she had warned Natalie. He would be willing to wait—as long as he wasn’t furious with her over the deception. But either way, Rose couldn’t keep waiting.
She smiled up at him, her feelings in her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak.
But he spoke before she could, his voice strained.
“There’s something I have to do.” Abruptly he released her, taking a hasty step backward and nearly colliding with another pair of dancers.
She staggered slightly at the sudden loss of his support, her eyes flying back to his. But his face was set in determined lines, and he wasn’t looking at her anymore.
“Leo,” she began, conscious they were causing an obstruction on the dance floor. But he was already striding away, weaving through the dancers.
A whirling couple nearly collided with Rose, and she muttered an apology, hurrying off the dance floor as directly as possible. Once she was out of the dancers’ way, she would find Leo and demand to know what was wrong—because clearly something was wrong.
The song wound to a close as she reached the edge of the ballroom, and she struggled to find him in the mass of moving people.
When she finally caught sight of his head above the crowd, she moved toward him.
But she hadn’t made it far before she realized he wasn’t alone.
He stood extremely close to Natalie, his hand on her elbow.
As Rose watched, astonished, he led Natalie into the next dance.
Her mind went blank. He had left her and gone to Natalie. Of course he had. Princess Rose was the one he was supposed to marry, not Posey. He had probably been toying with Posey all along, always intending to pursue the supposed princess.
She had narrowly escaped telling him the truth when his feelings had never been real. She didn’t want a husband who only married her because of her rank—even if that husband was Leo.
But even as her mind screamed the defiant thoughts, she knew she was being silly—overreacting to the insignificant hurt of being abandoned on the dance floor in favor of Natalie.
She didn’t really believe Leo was insincere and false.
She wouldn’t have given him her heart if he was that sort of person.
He had behaved strangely, but there must be a reason for it. She needed to find out that reason, not react with knee-jerk anger like a small child.
She circled the dancers, trying to keep the two of them in her sight.
Leo spun Natalie to the edge of the dance floor and deftly maneuvered them both out of the dance.
Rose picked up her pace as Leo led Natalie outside into the garden.
The nearest section of greenery had been lit with decorative lanterns, and he took her just far enough that they were alone while staying within the light cast by the lanterns.
Rose slipped out behind them, the only one willing to brave the stern expression Leo was using to warn everyone else away. She stopped once she was close enough to hear their words, arriving just in time to hear Leo speak.
“I realize I should have spoken to you sooner.” He sounded stiff and formal, nothing like the way he talked to Rose.
“I’m aware that our parents had certain hopes for this visit, and that you may have come here with certain expectations yourself.
I shouldn’t have waited so long to clarify my position, and I hope I haven’t caused any pain on your end.
While I value Lanover’s alliance with Arcadia, I have no intentions of pursuing a marriage alliance with you now or ever. ”
Rose stumbled back a step, her heart contracting and her stomach churning as she heard him say the very words she had been fearing only minutes before. He had decided against her before he ever saw her, just as she had done with him. Would he still hold to that opinion when he found out the truth?
Natalie opened her mouth to respond, but something stopped her. Her gaze swept their surroundings and fastened on Rose. Her eyes lit up, her face begging Rose to step in. But Rose’s feet had grown roots and her tongue was dry in her mouth.
Leo cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable and worried about offending Arcadia.
“I mean no slight on your personal charm, of course. I know my cousin—” he cut himself off.
“What I mean to say, is that it’s not about you personally at all.
I know that as crown prince, my duty is to my kingdom, and I intend to dedicate my life to Lanover.
But I cannot love where I am instructed to do so.
I refuse to even attempt it. Love shouldn’t be about cold-blooded gain. ”
But what if your heart couldn’t help it? Rose wanted to wail the words. To beg him to reconsider. If love was warm and true, shouldn’t they celebrate the incidental gains that happened to come with it?
Natalie looked at her again, clearly trying to communicate something without words, but Rose’s gaze was too focused on Leo to absorb the other girl’s expression.
“Please stop, Prince Leo.” Natalie held up a hand as a barrier between them, stepping back to give herself space.
“I truly mean no offense.” He sounded worried again.
“None is taken,” Natalie said swiftly. “At least by me. However, you might feel some offense when you hear the truth. So please bear in mind that I also meant no offense. Neither of us did.”
Rose jolted as she finally realized what was happening. Natalie was telling Leo what was Rose’s responsibility to tell. She should have stepped in like Natalie’s eyes had asked her to do. She still should.
But her feet still refused to move, her tongue still stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“Us?” Leo sounded oddly relieved. “Are you talking of Luca?”
“Luca?” Natalie stared at him. “No. Why would I be—?” She shook her head. “I’m talking about Princess Rose and me.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. You are Princess Rose.”
“Actually, I’m not. I’m Natalie. And she’s me. I mean—” Natalie’s words grew hopelessly tangled. “I mean that the girl you know as Natalie is the real Princess Rose.”
“Posey is Princess Rose?”
Rose could read nothing of Leo’s feelings in his voice and face. Both were devoid of all expression, leaving the ground beneath her feet uncertain. Was he horrified? Disgusted?
“Posey?” Natalie must not have heard the nickname Rose had chosen.
“That’s what Natalie said she preferred to be called…I mean…Rose said?” He paused before continuing. “You’re serious?” His face and voice still gave nothing away. “The companion who arrived in Lanover with you is the true Princess Rose?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’m very sorry for deceiving you. We only intended to do it for a few days as a…game of sorts, and meaning no disrespect to you or the Lanoverian court. But then—”
Natalie’s gaze found Rose, another plea in her eyes. But Leo turned his head to follow her gaze, finally seeing Rose.
Their eyes met and suddenly Rose could move again. She needed space—she needed to make sense of the overwhelming emotions flowing through her. She took off into the gardens.
Behind her, footsteps pounded on the gravel in pursuit.