“Yes. You are the most beautiful thing in this room. Not the chandelier, not the ladies of the court. It’s only you. How could Inotfind myself so hopelessly enraptured? I only wish for you to feel the same.”
The breath I took made him smile as he stepped back, and the dance ended.
“My Princess,” he said with a bow. I curtsied in response. “Speaking of, however.” Sam sighed. “You would do well to chat amongst the other girls. Go, introduce yourself for me. Form connections for when you are to stay in Chalke.”
“You want me to befriend your court?” It was more than a question, and he met it with the same certainty.
“Ourcourt. Yes. Then you will be able to put names to faces when you invite them for tea or lunch.”
The idea was exactly as Elías had suggested, and it fueled a tingling that made me feel alive.
“Of course,” I fawned. “Of course. I look forward to managing your affairs.”
“Ouraffairs,” Sam reminded me. He was very pleased withourdecision as we parted ways.
Chapter 12
Miss Aster was far more vocal than any other woman at the ball, which was saying a lot, asIwas included in the statement. She went on and on about a lady’s motivation in the court and all the things that we might do together, as the sisterly pair was often on Palace grounds. She and Agatha practically lived there while growing up. Mr. Adeline was a merchant who’d secured the King a fortune years before the War.
Aster suggested a game; it was something to do with horseshoes, but that drifted us into a much morehushedpattern of speech, as she ventured into the topic ofhandsomemenin and near the ton.
“Lord Barrington is always the first to fall in Shoes, I’m afraid. He is intelligent in most things; however, strategy is not his forté, I would say,” one of the women noted.
“No. No one would accuse him of being a good shot either,” Aster remarked. “But he isfineto look at.”
“One ofmanypleasant faces,” Agatha said. “The Prince, for example.” She offered me a cheerful nod.
“And that scruffy fellow that follows him isn’t bad either,” her sister teased.
“Who?” someone asked. “Everyone is scruffy near the Prince.”
“The one with the dark hair,” Aster explained. “You know who I mean. What’s his name, Aggy?”
“I’ve never played Shoes,” I said, determined to avoid the mention of whom they spoke. “How do you win?”
They looked at me and feigned concern. “She thinks the rules matter!” one said.
Aster laughed.
Agatha patted her sister’s glove. “The name you want is Cyrus Evergreen; how many times will you ask before it sticks?”
“That’s it! The ostler fellow,” Aster said.
“Ostler?” I asked.
“Aye,” she said. “And I’d take him for a ride if you know what I mean?”
“You’re so bad,” her sister hissed.
“He’s a swordmaster,” I said. I bit my tongue. “Or something of the sort… But he’s not an ostler.” The girls stared at me. “In case you wanted to know.”
After a silence, Agatha came to my rescue. “There are no rules to Shoes,” she said. She touched me as a friend and then looked around the room. “It’s anything goes; you’ll see.”
“I-”
“And you’ll behave, Attie,” she added. “Cyrus is an engaged man.”
“Engaged?”I asked. “Who in the world would marry him?”
