Rose’s plan would give Natalie direct and easy access to Leo—far easier than she had dared dream. Of course, he might be offended at finding himself fooled, but it wasn’t as if they were planning to keep the ruse going. Once Natalie had been given the chance to actually connect with him, she would tell him the truth readily. She wasn’t foolish enough to let things get serious while he thought she was royalty.
“I heard the Duke of Sessily will be staying—to keep a discreet eye on the young prince.” Rose said the words as if she was repeating something she had heard someone else say. “But I’ve never met him either, only his mother the Dowager Duchess—and despite her age, she’ll be going with the tour.”
“I thought you weren’t willing to trick Prince Leo,” Natalie teased, her excitement growing stronger by the minute.
“This is different,” Rose said with a royal dignity she seemed able to put on at will. “While I’m sure he doesn’t want to be courted only for his rank, neither do I. Fooling him into calling us the wrong names for a few days is hardly a trick of anyconsequence.” She gave Natalie a significant look. “It’s not at all the same as fooling him into committing his life to someone whose only interest in him is acquiring his rank.”
Natalie laughed. “From everything I’ve heard, it’s exactly the sort of prank that would appeal to Prince Leo. According to the rumors, he and his cousin, Prince Luca, spent their entire childhood getting into mischief. So he can hardly get angry at us for doing something similar ourselves.”
“If he’s the sort of person who can’t take what he himself dishes out, then neither of us should marry him, prince or not,” Rose said softly but with determination. “So it really is a test of sorts.” She gave Natalie another look. “And you do need a test, given the danger of deciding who you’re going to fall in love with before you know anything about them as a person.”
“That seems fair,” Natalie said. “But I’m sure he’ll pass the test. I don’t expect to have any problem caring for Leo the person.”
Rose gave a soft sigh, her mood falling inexplicably, and Natalie’s earlier curiosity was roused.
“Why are you so set against him, anyway?” she asked. “Given everything we’ve heard about Prince Leo and the whole Lanoverian family, he’s likely to be an easy person to fall in love with. Not that I’m not grateful,” she hastened to add. “I wouldn’t want us to be in competition.”
“I just want to make my own choice.” Rose looked down. “But I’m afraid of…”
Her usual poise had disappeared completely, and Natalie’s curiosity gave way to something sharper and more intense. She leaned forward.
“You’re afraid? Has someone been threatening you?” She sucked in a breath. “Have they hurt you?” All thoughts of her own mission were forgotten, burned away in the fire of her wrath. Who could want to hurt someone as genuinely sweet asRose seemed to be? And a princess, besides! They must be a monster.
“Is that why you’ve been so on edge?” she demanded. “Is that why you want to switch places?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Because if so, forget a short-term ruse. We can turn the carriage around right now, and I’ll sort the villain out before we go a mile further.”
“Would you really?” Rose goggled at her. “And what if it’s my parents, the king and queen?”
Natalie frowned. King Max and Queen Alyssa had seemed like genuine, compassionate people to her, but Natalie had misread people before.
She reached across the gap between the carriage seats and took Rose’s hand in a firm grip. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way. You can count me as a friend, no matter what.” She drew a deep breath. “I’ve helped bring down a ruler before.”
“I can see how. You really don’t let anything overwhelm you, do you?” Rose squeezed her hand before withdrawing from her grip and laughing. “But don’t worry. No one is abusing me. When I said I was afraid, I meant I was afraid of disappointing my parents. If I turned Leo down, they would never complain to me, but I know an alliance with Lanover would help Arcadia. Not that my parents would want me to sacrifice my happiness, but…well…as you said, I suppose they’re thinking that Leo would be an easy person to love.”
“But you don’t want to love him.” Natalie relaxed back into her seat, her blood pressure returning to normal now that the apparent danger was allayed.
Rose just shrugged and looked out the window. Natalie continued to watch her, but the silence didn’t tempt Rose into confessing whatever thoughts filled her mind.
“So we’re really going to do this?” Natalie eventually asked, some of her earlier excitement rekindling.
Rose smiled at her and nodded decisively. “I’ll talk to my maids at the next rest stop. They’ll insist one of them stays with me in whatever room you’re assigned, but it will be simple enough for you to say that you’ve instructed one of your maids to take care of your friend. Since mother insisted I bringfour, no one will wonder about that.”
Natalie reached out her hand again, and this time, Rose shook it, the two girls grinning at each other. Natalie had liked Rose from the beginning and been grateful to her, but she was now certain they had the potential to be firm friends.
“You’d better tell me more about your family and Arcadia,” Natalie said. “So I don’t say the wrong thing and expose our switch too early.”
“Yes, of course,” Rose said. “We’ve got plenty of time while we’re traveling. And you can tell me about the mountain kingdom. I’ve been wanting to hear more about it and about your rebellion.”
Natalie nodded agreement, but her mind was still on the practicalities. “At least we won’t have to worry about switching clothes. Queen Gwen insisted on gifting me a magnificent new wardrobe for my eighteenth birthday since she knew I was coming to visit your court.”
“You’re taller than me, so that would never work anyway,” Rose said, assessing Natalie with a considered gaze. “Oh, and if anyone tries to talk policy with you, deflect the conversation. And if you get any notes for me, make sure you pass them on. I don’t want our little game to turn into an international incident.”
Natalie grinned. “I’m excellent at deflecting conversations when they turn to topics I don’t want to talk about.”
Rose laughed. “Why do I not find that hard to believe? Do you ever do anything you don’t want to do?”
Natalie sighed. “I’ve been doing hardly anything else for the last three years. But hopefully that will change soon, once I’m a princess.”
Rose eyed her with a doubtful expression. “Perhaps…” she said slowly, but Natalie wasn’t really listening. She was too busy imagining her glowing future.
