My jaw wants to drop, but I keep the hinge firmly locked.
Nia’s giggle sounds a bit maniacal as she pulls away from Nolan and dips into a curtsy. “So good to see you again, Prince Ronan.”
“You as well, Nia.” The prince’s gaze finds mine, and his eyes widen. “Who is this stunning creature at your table?”
Nia catches my arm and drags me off the stool. I land with a wobble, but the prince is there to steady me. The way his warm hands curve around my arms makes curtsying impossible.
Heavens. His eyes are even more arresting up close.
“This is my cousin Kerris Dawn, from Gravale.” Nia’s voice drifts from somewhere else. Right now, it’s only the prince and me and his beautiful, beautiful eyes. “She is twenty-five on the fourteenth of May and has come to Rosehill for a husband.”
The prince’s thumbs sweep back and forth against my skin, sending chills racing down my arms. “Isn’t that fortuitous? I suddenly find myself in dire need of a wife. How would you like to be a princess, Kerris Dawn?”
Imagineme, a princess.
It’s a good thing he’s holding me upright; otherwise, my legs would give right out.
“I might consider it,” I hedge, not wanting to seem too desperate.
The third man who came in with them steps out from the prince’s shadow. Behind a pair of round spectacles blink kind green eyes. His chestnut hair curls slightly around his pointed ears in the most playful way. His gaze darts to me before settling on my cousin. “Nia, you’re looking as beautiful as ever.”
“You’re too sweet, Trevor.” My cousin gives the man’s arm a friendly pat. “Kerris, this is Trevor Dillon. He works in the library as one of the city’s most esteemed records keepers.”
How interesting. And he works in a library? Sounds like heaven to me. When I smile at Trevor, his cheeks turn the most endearing shade of pink. “I love reading,” I confess. When you’re stuck on the side of a mountain in the dead of winter, there’s little else to do. “Perhaps you would be willing to show me around the library some time?”
Trevor’s glasses slip down his nose when he offers an eager nod. “It would be my pleasure, Miss Dawn.”
“Kerris, please. Miss Dawn makes me sound like an old maid.”
Ronan steps in front of Trevor, nearly stomping on his boot. “The library at the castle is twice as large as the one in the city,” he says. “If you’d like to see it as well, I’d be more than happy to arrange a visit.”
An invitation to Castle Rose on my very first night? I cannot wait to tell Father. “That sounds lovely.”
A streak of pink flashes in my peripherals, and the woman we met outside Nia’s cottage, Ivee Lynch, waltzes through a gap in the tables. The two women from earlier follow closely behind, as if tied to the bodice of Ivee’s blush-pink gown.
“Prince Ronan! Oh, Prince Ronan!” Ivee waves a gloved hand toward the prince, sparing the rest of us not so much as a glance.
The prince’s smile slips into a grimace, and I’m fairly certain I hear him groan.
Ivee doesn’t stop until she has inserted herself right into the middle of our group. “What are you doing here, darling? You said that you were too exhausted to come out tonight.”
Prince Ronan’s teeth flash with his bright smile. “A prince is entitled to change his mind,” he says. When he winks at me, my cheeks start to heat.
Ivee whirls, her eyes narrowing when they land on me. Her gaze slides down to my new gown, and she snatches a handful of my skirts, examining the fabric with a furrowed brow. “Is this a Madame Ella?”
“It is.” I tug my skirt out of her grasp. Thanks to her strangling the silk, it’s going to need steamed.
“But…she isn’t taking new bookings until next year.”
“Familial connections,” Nia chimes in, hooking her arm through mine, creating a solid line of defense against Ivee’s scowl. “If you’ll excuse us for just a moment...” She sweeps me through a gap in the tables and straight into the privy.
The moment she turns the lock, she starts pacing from the sink to the toilet and back again, all while muttering under her breath. “That bloody witch has the worst possible timing. How did she even know the prince was here?”
“Does it matter?” Yes, she seems rude and awful, but we shouldn’t let one person ruin our night.
“Of course it does! For the last two years, I’ve listened to that wretched cow boast over having her pick of the men. If she wins the prince, then she will be even more insufferable. Imagine Ivee Lynch as the next Queen of Willowhaven.” Nia shudders. “If that happens, I might have to throw myself into The Divide. I was hoping you and Ronan would hit it off, but that cannot happen if she insists on showing up like a bad case of hemorrhoids.”
While Ronan is handsome, I only just met the man. As far as I’m concerned, if Ivee wants him, she’s welcome to him. “I don’t want to be in competition with her.” I don’t want to be in competition with anyone.
