“You say that as if I intend to mistreat him!” Natalie protested. “I have every intention of being a delightful wife. You’re supposed to love someone for who they are, and Prince Leo’s rank is an integral part of who he is—as well as his future. It would be more of a disaster for him to marry someone unsuited or unwilling to one day be queen than to marry someone who wants that role. His place in the royal family is his whole future.” She regarded Rose curiously. “Wouldn’t you consider your rank to be an integral part of you?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Rose murmured, not meeting Natalie’s eyes.
“Exactly,” Natalie said, satisfied. “How many girls throughout history have taken one look at a good-looking young man and decided on the spot to fall in love with him? I don’t see how this is any different.”
“I suppose it’s true that people do that.” Rose sounded unconvinced. “But how many of them delude themselves in the process, only to rue that decision later? What if you don’t actually like Prince Leo when you meet him?”
Natalie scoffed at that possibility. “The chances of that seem small. He’s sure to be good-looking for a start—the Lanoverian royal family is famed for their beauty. And aren’t princes trained to be both charming and responsible? I’m sure he’ll be delightful.”
“But what if he’s arrogant and entitled? He is a crown prince, after all.”
“So is your brother,” Natalie countered, naming the only other crown prince she’d ever met. “And he’s never seemed arrogant. From what I’ve seen, he’s kind, charming, and honorable. I’m sure Leo will be the same.”
“Don’t tell me you have a misguided affection for Harry!” Rose sounded horrified, and Natalie reciprocated the feeling.
“For Prince Henry? No! He’s married! And too old, besides. Leo, on the other hand, is only a year or so older than me.” Her voice turned dreamy. “It’s perfect.”
“But what if you don’t like him?” Rose asked, apparently unwilling to enter into Natalie’s delight. “What if he laughs at all the wrong things, and you find everything he says boring?”
Natalie couldn’t help picturing the awful possibility. The Lanoverian royal family were supposed to be both delightful and intelligent, but every family had an odd one out.
“Then it will all have been for nothing,” she said in a small voice.
But she couldn’t believe it was true. It couldn’t be!
“But I’m sure he’ll be perfectly charming!” She spoke the words with conviction, as if she could make them true with her determination.
“Even if you do fall in love with him, what if he doesn’t fall in love with you?” Rose watched her with narrowed eyes. “You won’t be the first girl to show interest in him.”
“But none of those girls are me.” How many of them had taken down a monarchy at fourteen? Natalie had been called plenty of things in her eighteen years, but no one had ever said she was boring.
“I suppose there isn’t anything wrong with you making the attempt,” Rose finally conceded. “As long as you won’t pursue a match unless there turn out to be real feelings on both sides.” She grimaced. “That’s what my parents are hoping will happen with me, after all. It’s almost exactly the same, in fact.”
“You see!” Natalie cried, triumphant. Now Rose was understanding. “Far too many people fail at what they want in life because they don’t make the effort to go out and get it. Like in my kingdom. Everyone suffered under that usurper for far too long because all the adults dithered instead of taking back the kingdom.”
“You say it like it’s that easy!” Rose exclaimed.
Natalie shrugged. “I never said it was easy. But if you truly want something, you have to be prepared to sacrifice for it. And dithering in the meantime won’t get you anywhere.” She made a scornful sound in her throat.
“So what’s your plan?” Rose asked, finally shedding the last signs of condemnation.
“I’ll have to see the lay of the land first.” Natalie wished she had a better answer, but despite the many hours she’d spent thinking about the future, it was hard to make plans when she knew so little about the regular operation of the Lanoverian court. “I expect my biggest issue will be getting enough time with Prince Leo. He may be closely guarded.” She stared into the distance as she pictured the potential obstacles.
“Whereas I, on the other hand…” Rose sighed.
But a moment later, her whole demeanor changed. She leaned toward Natalie, her eyes alight. “What if we swapped?”
CHAPTER 2
“Swapped?” Natalie tried to make sense of the suggestion. “What do you mean?”
“Just for the first few days. As a…a laugh—a prank. That’s what we’ll tell the others when we switch back anyway. But even if we only keep it up for a few days, it will give you the chance to spend some initial time with Leo. If you truly do like each other, everything else aside, then he won’t mind when you turn out not to be a princess after all. And if he does mind, then the feelings weren’t real. You can treat it as a test.” She gave Natalie a stern look. “And if he has no real feelings for you, you have to promise you’ll let the whole idea of marrying him go.”
“You mean we should switch places? That I would arrive in Lanover as Princess Rose and you as Natalie?” The mischief of it appealed to Natalie even before she considered the potential benefits. “But how could that ever work? We don’t look anything alike!”
“That doesn’t matter.” Rose grew more and more animated as she explained her idea. “My maids are loyal to me and will stay quiet if I ask it. And I’ve never met Prince Leo, only his sister, Princess Beatrice. King Frederic and Queen Evangelinehave visited the Arcadian court with Beatrice, but none of them are going to be at the Lanoverian court when we arrive. Now that King Leonardo and Queen Viktoria have stepped down, and Leo’s parents have been crowned king and queen, all four of them are going on a tour of the kingdom to ease the transition. Almost all the senior court are going too, as well as Princess Beatrice and her cousins, Princess Violet and Princess Iris. Only the prince is being left behind. From what my parents said, I think it’s a test of sorts—to see how Prince Leo performs in their absence, now that he’s officially crown prince. It’s why my parents agreed to send me alone. It will only be a few younger members of court at the Lanoverian palace for the next few weeks.”
“Only young people? Are you sure?” Natalie’s mind raced with the possibilities.
