She spun on the new arrival, furious.
“Lila?” Luca asked again, peering past her shoulder. “Was there someone else there? That sounded like footsteps.”
He hadn’t even seen the man in the gazebo! He had just wandered through this particular part of the gardens at the worst possible moment. Of course he would show up and ruin all her plans!
“What is wrong with you?” Her chest heaved, her eyes flashing her anger. “Why do you always have to push in where you’re not wanted?”
“What are you talking about?” He lightly grasped her arm. “Lila, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night? No one’s seen you all day.”
“Am I not allowed one day to myself?” Natalie trembled in the wake of both the earlier tension and the crushing disappointment. “Is that the cost of being a princess? I can’t have a moment to myself?”
Luca frowned, peering at her face in the partial light of the moon. “You’re serious.” He let her go and took a step back. “You’re truly upset.”
“I’m always upset with you,” she snapped back, but he shook his head.
“No, this is different. In the past—that was a game, of sorts. But tonight, you’re truly angry. What did I do?”
He looked over her shoulder again, his face tightening. “Were you meeting someone?”
“No!” she snapped. “I wasn’t. Not that it’s any business of yours.”
“Then why are you out here?” he repeated. “And why are you so angry?”
Natalie drew in a shaking breath. “Never mind. It’s too late now anyway. Just for once,leave me be.”
She stalked toward the palace, expecting to hear his footsteps on the gravel behind her. But apparently he had respected her words. For once he made no further move to push himself into her orbit.
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 wasbecoming 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.
