“But he didn’t,” she said, indisputably.
“Only because I arrived just in time!”
“I wouldn’t have been here at all if you hadn’t come blundering along and scared him off the first time!”
He groaned in frustration. “I wouldn’t have blundered anywhere if you’d just included me from the beginning.”
Natalie gave a laugh that ended on a sigh. “Honestly, I’m surprised I managed to fool everyone this long. I’m sure Rose is much too well bred to argue with a prince.” She stood.
Luca stood as well. “Maybe this prince prefers honest arguments to polite manners.”
Natalie laughed. “Very prettily said, Your Highness. But it’s been a long night, and I’m too tired for either arguments or manners. I’m going to bed.”
“I’ll escort you back to the palace,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.
She had no desire to argue. After escaping her attacker by such a narrow margin, she was grateful for Luca’s armed presence at her side as she walked back through the dark gardens. She would have been jumping at every rustle and shadow otherwise.
“Are you really going to start calling me Your Highness?” he asked as they walked. “We’ve already agreed to use our first names.”
“That was an agreement you made with Princess Rose,” Natalie said.
Luca shook his head. “No. Everything I said was toyou, not to your supposed title. Believe me, I didn’t plan for any of what happened between us.”
Natalie said nothing, unsure how to take his words.
“I still intend to call you Lila,” he said quietly, glancing at her sideways as if he hoped his words might goad her into speech.
But she still didn’t say anything. She was too tired to sort through all her conflicting thoughts and emotions.
He sighed and turned the topic of conversation in a different direction. “Princess Rose isn’t going to thank us if she loses her chance to recover the Arcadian seal over this.”
“Arcadian seal?” Natalie asked. “What seal?”
“Didn’t you know?” He looked at her in surprise. “That’s what the blackmailer was referring to in his notes. Leo told me about it weeks ago. A thief managed to steal a number of important documents from Arcadia, along with an official seal. It all happened before you got here.”
“Those were the same items he wanted from Lanover!” Natalie exclaimed.
Luca nodded, giving her an odd look. “Didn’t you notice the seal he used on the letters he sent you? It was the Arcadian royal seal. He used it to authenticate his identity as the thief. I suppose his theft had worked so well the first time, he decided to try it again with Lanover.”
Natalie felt foolish. “I’ve never seen the Arcadian seal before. I didn’t give the one on the notes much thought.”
“You’ve at least heard of the spymaster Aurora, I assume?” Luca asked.
Natalie nodded. Everyone had heard of Aurora.
“Her spy network tracked the thief as far as Lanover, and they’ve been working to identify him ever since. So while I agree that a squad of guards would have given the game away, Leo could have posted spies to watch for the blackmailer.”
Natalie bit her lip. That definitely would have been a better strategy than her trying to watch on her own.
“The thief is obviously unaware that your family already knows about his past theft,” she mused. “He was obviouslyexpecting Rose to keep the loss a secret rather than going to Leo for help.”
“The Arcadians have kept it quiet,” Luca said. “Aurora told Father about it directly.”
“Aurora?” Natalie raised her brows. “I thought she worked for all the Four Kingdoms. Is she in the habit of telling Arcadia’s secrets to Lanover? And does Arcadia know about that?”
“She only tells us the secrets she thinks we really need to know.” Luca sounded amused. “I’ve overheard some heated conversations about it. Given she’s their sister, Father and Uncle Frederic think she should tell them more. But she insists that she works for the good of all the kingdoms now. She just sometimes thinks the good of the kingdoms requires fewer secrets.”
“That’s rich coming from a spymaster,” Natalie said, and Luca laughed.
