“That’s exactly what Father said. He’s just sore that she’s the queen of Northhelm now, so Northhelm knows all the secrets.” Luca looked sideways at her. “You know we have to tell Rose and Leo everything, right? And you two need to swap back. Our parents will be back from their tour soon. You can’t keep up the charade.”
“I’ve been wanting to swap back since our first night,” she said. “Only the blackmailing situation made me continue the ruse.” She hesitated. “But can you let me talk to Rose first? I can’t start making grand announcements without giving her any warning. I’ll find her first thing in the morning.”
Luca sighed. “I suppose that’s reasonable. And while you’re talking to her, I’ll talk to the guards—see if anyone has seen anything suspicious. If nothing else, I want to find out how he managed to leave secret notes on your pillow!”
“I’d be interested to know that myself,” Natalie said absently, her thoughts on her upcoming conversation with Rose. Would the princess be angry that she’d told Luca everything?
She was more likely to be angry at Natalie’s mishandling of the blackmailer. Natalie winced. One way or another, it wasn’t going to be an enjoyable conversation.
But she would do everything in her power to help Rose find the man and recover Arcadia’s seal. Natalie had seen his face, at least, so she might be able to give some actual assistance. And it sounded as if the Lanoverian princes were willing to help as well. Between them all, there had to be a way.
CHAPTER 15
Natalie went to Rose’s room to talk to her before breakfast the next morning. But the princess was already gone, leaving Joanne to clean up the remains of her meal.
“Where’s Rose?” she asked the maid.
“I’m not sure.” Joanne looked concerned. “She’s been extremely busy lately, but she won’t tell me what she’s so busy with. I heard someone talking about a series of meetings, but that doesn’t make much sense…”
Natalie left, a furrow between her brows. What sort of meetings could Rose possibly be attending as Natalie? Natalie could make no more sense of it than Joanne. And she could hardly search the whole palace room by room.
At least Joanne had promised to inform Rose that Natalie was looking for her. And Natalie could stop by her room again later in the day.
But despite visiting the room twice more, Natalie had no success in locating Rose. After the third attempt, she returned to her own room, dispirited. Where could Rose be?
Hilary, Donna, and Cate ambushed her as soon as she was inside, locking the door behind her and fixing her with identical stern looks.
“There’s a royal ball tonight,” Donna said, firmly seating her at the dressing table and beginning to arrange her hair. “It’s the final event of the season and is being held in honor of the Arcadian princess. Her Highness left us strict instructions that you will not be allowed to disgrace Arcadia by turning up looking bedraggled—or not turning up at all.”
Natalie meekly submitted, guiltily aware of the events she had missed in the last couple of weeks. Given Rose’s own absence, Natalie hadn’t realized the Arcadian had noticed.
“I really do need to speak to Princess Rose. Urgently.” Natalie met Donna’s eyes in the mirror. “Do you really not know where she can be found? None of you?”
“We have our suspicions,” Cate said with a giggle, but Donna shushed her.
“Right now she’ll be in her own room with Joanne, preparing for the ball,” Hilary said with confidence.
Natalie started up, but Donna pushed her firmly back down. “You’ll both be at the ball soon enough. If you’re so desperate to talk to her, you can do it then.”
Natalie winced. A crowded ballroom wasn’t the ideal location for a private conversation. But perhaps they could steal out into the garden for a few minutes.
Memories of the blackmailer and his knife flashed through her mind. She shivered. Just not too far into the gardens.
She didn’t protest again as the maids dressed her in a filmy lilac gown with a lace bodice. It had always been a favorite of hers, and when they placed Rose’s golden circlet in her hair, she surveyed her appearance in the room’s full-length mirror. She couldn’t find a fault. Based on her appearance alone, she really could have been a queen.
The illusion continued as she stood at the top of the shallow steps leading down into the ballroom, a fanfare sounding to announce her arrival. All eyes turned to her, and she had to fight not to shudder. Had this really been the dream she had cherished for three years?
Her ambitions seemed distant and foolish now, all her thoughts on finding Rose—and avoiding Luca until she’d done so. He’d want to know if she’d talked to Rose yet, and she didn’t think he’d be impressed to hear they’d both been too busy preparing for the ball.
Natalie prowled up and down the ballroom, avoiding any men who tried to approach her. She wasn’t in the mood for dancing with random courtiers. She didn’t even stop at the refreshment table, or step outside to examine the decorative lanterns that lit up the nearest stretch of garden. But despite her efforts, she managed only one glimpse of Rose as she flashed past on the dance floor before being immediately lost among the whirling dancers again.
Twice she spotted Luca moving determinedly in her direction and had to dodge through the crowd. If the dancers didn’t disperse soon, she was going to run out of places to hide.
The music finally ended, and Natalie pushed through the wave of bodies leaving the dance floor, searching for Rose among the throng. She turned left and caught sight of Luca, her eyes catching his before she could turn away. She swerved abruptly right, bent on escape, and walked straight into Prince Leo.
He steadied her with a hand on her elbow. “Princess Rose.” He sounded oddly formal. “I’m glad to see you.”
“You are?” Natalie asked, too distracted to consider her words. Given the way he’d been avoiding her since her arrival in Lanover, she couldn’t imagine why he would be looking for her now.
