She drew a deep breath and reminded herself that she was representing Arcadia and Rose. She couldn’t slight the courtiers of Lanover, however irritated she was with their second prince.
“Very well,” she said through her teeth, giving him a fake smile and forcing herself to accept his arm.
He smiled broadly, and she told herself she was imagining the look of victory in his eyes as he led her toward the other side of the room. But when he began to pay her fulsome compliments, she snapped.
“Stop that!”
“What’s the matter?” he asked in a wounded tone. “It’s hardly my fault that your beauty lights up the room. Aren’t princesses used to compliments?”
Her step faltered, her eyes flying to his, but she couldn’t read anything but amusement in his smile. Had his choice of words been mere chance?
She needed to get a handle on herself. She would have plenty of future opportunities to talk to Leo. For now, she needed to focus on allaying any suspicion.
She forced her face into a more natural smile. “Compliments are one thing, flattery is another. I don’t appreciate the latter.”
Luca’s grin turned a little wicked. “Then you needn’t worry, Lila. I meant every word, I assure you. You’re a breath of fresh air here.”
She gazed at him, her surprise turning to wrath as he extricated himself from her light grasp and disappeared into the crowd with a wave and a wink. She slowly turned to face a clump of elderly courtiers, all of whom were regarding her avidly. Had he truly just fled without even performing introductions?
The babble of voices soon proved his services weren’t necessary, and Natalie gave up any hope of keeping all the names and titles straight. They soon explained that they were all too old to go traipsing around the kingdom on tour, which explained their presence at an event almost entirely dominated by young people.
“We don’t intend to run ourselves ragged all spring like you young people,” one of the women informed her. “But of course we had to come tonight to at least see King Maximilian’s youngest for ourselves.”
Her words launched a series of reminiscences as the group remembered all the times each of them had seen her supposed parents or grandparents in the past. It took nearly an hour, andNatalie’s cheeks were strained from smiling by the end. Natalie herself had remained as silent as possible—a feat she usually found difficult. But her current companions clearly had far more familiarity with the Arcadian royal family than any of the younger courtiers, and she was desperately conscious of the risk of saying something that would give away their charade.
By the time she finally escaped, she had a headache, and she could see no sign of Rose, Leo, or even Luca.
She ground her teeth together as she left the event, wishing cold morning chocolate and holes in his socks on Luca. He deserved it after abandoning her like that.
She stormed through the corridors toward her room, relieved to find she remembered the route. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that Luca had been playing with her all evening.
But why? What had motivated the prince to treat her that way when he thought she was Princess Rose? Did he truly suspect their switch?
The idea made her hot and uncomfortable, and she knew her own guilty awareness put her at a disadvantage against him. How could she hold her own against the infuriating man when she had to maintain a façade?
And what had that façade gained her, anyway? She hadn’t gotten near Leo all night.
She would go to Rose in the morning and tell her she wanted to switch back immediately. Leo didn’t seem to have any issue talking to Natalie, the commoner, and Natalie would much rather get to know him as herself.
She only hoped she had a chance to see Luca’s face when she proved she could surprise him, after all. She had been wrong-footed with him since the start, and she looked forward to finally turning the tables.
CHAPTER 5
Natalie’s temper had abated somewhat by the time she let herself into her room, and she was willing to admit the night hadn’t all been terrible. The food had been delicious, and Luca had been an entertaining companion while they ate.
She stretched and shook her head, eager to be free of the constraints of her dress and into a more comfortable nightgown. A few humorous stories weren’t enough to make up for Luca’s subsequent abandonment. The memory of his wink and wave made her clench her teeth as she slipped off her shoes. He had clearly known what she was about to be subjected to!
Hilary hurried toward her, obviously having drawn the straw for night duty. The other two maids already slept peacefully in cots inside the special alcove designed for their use, but Hilary had been sitting bolt upright in a chair by one window.
From the look of her sleepy eyes, she had been struggling to stay awake, and she didn’t ask about the evening as she undid the back of Natalie’s dress. As soon as the maid’s fumbling, sleep-slowed fingers finished their task, Natalie sent her off to the third cot. Natalie could manage the rest on her own.
The maid went without protest, and Natalie found herself as close to alone as she could hope for while she remained as Rose. Which was yet another reason to swap back immediately. Natalie didn’t like the sensation of being hemmed in by nursemaids.
Hilary had left one candelabra still alight, and its glow illuminated Natalie’s reflection in the mirror. She sighed as she looked at herself. She had gone to the event with such high hopes. But so far being a princess had not lived up to her expectations.
She was too tired to think about what that meant, and it didn’t matter anyway. She was going to set everything right in the morning.
She hurried into her nightgown, but as she slipped into the large bed, she discovered a small slip of folded paper on the pillow. An unfamiliar seal held it closed, giving it an official air, but she couldn’t imagine why an official missive would have been left on her bed.
