“I’m not having a pity party. You have no idea how much pressure is on me on a regular basis. Grace is the one person who makes it manageable. She’s so clever and?—”
“Too good for you?” Stella suggested.
Teddy’s face crumpled. He seemed to cave in on himself, shoulders bowing forward. “Yes, she is, but gods bless her, she still came to this stupid temple with me anyway. Now I have no way of proving to my parents that we are meant for each other. I have no case to make to them and they are so set on me marrying some politically advantageous princess.”
Stella was stunned into silence, having never heard him speak so much or so openly. “I’m sorry. Arden was hoping for the same thing. I had no idea this was even a possibility or I never would have come.”
Teddy kept his gaze on the floor. “I have no recourse now. Without this kind of godly blessing, I have no path forward. Forgive me for needing a moment to resign myself to this fate.”
Stella slumped to sit on the bed and kicked off her silk slippers. “I wish I had a solution, but this was also my last resort.”
They were quiet for a long moment.
“Why do you even want to be with Arden?” Teddy asked. “Is it just the fairy-tale idea of being queen? You know being royal isn’t just wearing pretty dresses and having people write songs about you, right?”
Stella bristled. “Poor, tortured Prince Teddy. It must be so hard to have people listen when you speak. To have respect without in any way earning it. To be so handsome and frigid?—”
“Frigid?”
“Frigid,” she snapped. “I think I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen you smile.”
“I smile plenty when I’m not in such dreadful company.”
Stella scowled.What a pompous prick. “What have I done to you to make you hate me so much?”
Teddy winced. “I don’t hate you. I just…don’t…like you.”
Stella blew out a breath. “Oh, that’s much better.”
He hesitated, looking suddenly embarrassed. “You were mean to Juliana once.”
Stella frowned, racking her brain for a time when she’d been anything but perfectly nice to his little sister.
“When you were—” He cleared his throat, his skin flushing dark pink in the candlelight.
“Oh my gods, the new year celebration? When I was fourteen? Teddy, honestly, you must be joking. I was an idiotchild.”
He jutted his chin in defiance. “You made my sister cry. You told her that she was an average beauty and would never outshine Alexandra. Alex didn’t stop bringing it up for months.”
Stella crossed her arms. “Well, it’s hardly my fault that Alex likes to gloat.” She wanted to argue more, but she still hadn’t forgiven Layleen Davis for making Rosie cry when she was six. She wrung her hands in her skirt and met his gaze. “You’re right. Is that what started our prank war?”
Teddy nodded.
“I’m sorry I made Jules cry. She’s sweet.”
Teddy’s lips twitched. “No, she’s not.” His mouth tipped into a full smile. “She’s kind of full of herself. Too pretty for her own good and too proper. She could use an occasional humbling. I’d just prefer to be the one to do it.”
Stella choked on a laugh. “You’re awful. But she is a little too perfect.”
Teddy sighed in agreement. He stared out the large windows and fell into pensive silence.
“You know, I’ve been so busy with traveling to Olney and trying to figure out this marriage problem that I’ve hardly spent any time with Grace in the past three weeks,” Teddy said. “The ride here tonight was the first chance I’ve had. Do you think you can be homesick for a person?”
Stella stared at him, a strange lump of envy rising in her throat. “That’s a shockingly romantic sentiment coming from you. Is that how you feel about Grace? What makes her feel like home?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking suddenly apprehensive. “She’s so steady. She’s much smarter than me and, honestly, it makes me feel safe because I know she’s thinking of things I won’t.”
He wasn’t looking at her as he spoke. It was almost like he forgot she was there.
