Page 29

Chapter 29

Julius

J ulius fought to rein in his temper. The more he gave in to emotion, the more his father would dismiss him. The king had often told him that personal emotions were inevitable—even helpful at times—but they had to be set aside when making decisions for the good of the kingdom. But Julius could not accept this decision as good for Sovar.

“The idea that I should set aside Olivia after months of betrothal and marry Marigold instead is absurd,” he said for the third time.

He threw a look at Marigold. She was sitting in the corner, her body quivering with the effort to remain silent. She had raged and screamed and refused the betrothal loud enough for both of them at the beginning.

But her father hadn’t achieved his position and wealth because he was a fool. He had known the one argument that would persuade his daughter.

He was wielding her love against her, threatening Cade. And since it turned out that Cade’s family was behind the abductions, Lord Emerson had the ability to follow through with his threats. He had promised to see Lord Strathmore and both his sons suffer to the full extent of the law—as well as being utterly annihilated both socially and politically.

The only way he would stay his hand was if Marigold agreed to marry Julius. If she did so, Cade and Zane would be spared and even allowed to keep a portion of the Strathmore wealth. They would have a chance to build their family anew.

Given Julius was certain Cade had never been involved, he had almost exploded with fury when his parents sat back and allowed Lord Emerson to threaten his daughter with the destruction of Cade’s future.

He didn’t think his parents believed Cade was involved, but they were clearly in favor of his marrying Marigold. They probably thought it was a neat way to placate Lord Emerson after the grievous harm done to his family while also turning his wrath away from the innocent Cade—all while achieving their original goal of marrying Julius to Marigold. The entire thing was brilliantly devious and utterly infuriating.

But he needed to restrain his fury. Both his and Marigold’s best hope lay in presenting his arguments logically and convincing his father not to go through with the ridiculous plan.

“Olivia has proven herself to be a fast learner and a natural royal. You didn’t see her when Lord Emerson attacked Lord Strathmore, but she handled it with more command and dignity than I did. The court have accepted her. And you yourself said that the people of Sovar love Olivia and love having a commoner princess,” he said. “How will they react if I abandon her now?”

“That is why we must act immediately, son.” His mother’s voice was pleading. “The story of Marigold’s suffering and your brave rescue of her is already spreading through the city. She was popular before and will be exponentially more so now. It’s the optimal moment for you to free yourself from your current betrothal.”

“There’s no need to free myself from it at all!” Julius exclaimed, unable to keep some of his emotion from leaking through.

His mother moved closer and put a sympathetic hand on his arm. “I know,” she said in a quiet voice, too soft to be overheard by the Emersons, who stood at the other end of the room with their daughter. “I’ve long suspected you weren’t blind to Olivia’s charms. I’m fond of her myself.”

“It’s not just her charms,” Julius snapped. “I’ve worked my whole life to be the perfect Prince Charming I have to be, but recently I’ve realized how far short of that ideal I actually fall. But Olivia fills in the gaps I lack. Together, working as a team, we’re far more effective than the empty illusion I was managing on my own. I don’t just want her, Mother. I’m better with her at my side.”

His mother shifted uncomfortably, but she refused to accept his points or back down.

“If you truly care for her, then you should think of her well-being, Julius. She wasn’t born into this life. She wasn’t trained for it as you were, and to her credit, she has never coveted the crown. You may think you love her, but I’ve seen no proof she feels the same way. If you truly care for her, would you trap her with the burden of a royal position? Surely she would be happier without it.”

Julius froze, dismay seeping from the top of his head to his belly. He had feared the exact same thing himself and now his mother—the one person who had once been in Olivia’s position—was confirming it. Could he ignore her words?

His father must have sensed his weakness because he pressed his advantage, his voice equally low.

“The criminal behavior of Lord Strathmore has put the kingdom in a dangerous position,” he murmured. “We are on the cusp of a political crisis. If Lord Emerson turns against the crown, we will be in true trouble. Many in court will feel he has just cause, and the whole kingdom will be thrown into turmoil. You’ve heard his feelings about Marigold marrying Cade.”

He spoke in a dry tone since they had all heard Lord Emerson’s feelings on the matter—loudly and repeated several times. He would not even consider the possibility of Marigold marrying the son of her abductor, and he wanted her safely married to Julius instead as soon as possible.

He was claiming it was for her own good, naturally, and even her mother had pleaded that Marigold would agree with them eventually. She thought that marrying Cade would only serve to constantly remind Marigold of her traumatic experience.

Julius clenched his teeth, his mind spinning. If Olivia wanted to be released from him, he would do it—no matter the pain it caused him. But he would not rush into marriage with Marigold in her stead. Their parents were the ones who were mistaken—that was the direction true disaster lay.

“Olivia seems very fond of Cade,” his mother said, clearly thinking she was being helpful. “And he of her. He’ll have to withdraw from court for a few years at least, so that will be perfect. I’m sure the two of them will be able to mend any hurt feelings with each other.”

Julius was going to be sick.

He was silent for a moment as he desperately fought to keep his stomach from expelling his last meal.

“But what of the Legacy?” he tried desperately once he had regained control. “That was the reason for my betrothal to Olivia in the first place. Do you really want to risk losing its power by swapping brides?”

“Of course we won’t just swap them without any ceremony about it,” his mother said. “The scholars have finished deliberating, and they believe that it will be fine as long as we have another ball and do the whole thing over again.”

Julius frowned. The scholars had reached a consensus? Why hadn’t he been informed? Had his parents purposely kept the information from him given his mother’s awareness of his feelings toward Olivia?

“We’ll expand on the story of your rescue of Marigold,” his father said. “We’ll say that the two of you are in love and that she was intended as your betrothed from the beginning, but she was abducted on the night of the ball. We’ll tell them that Olivia is a close friend of Marigold and stepped in to placate the Legacy, intending only to help her friend and the kingdom. That’s very close to the truth, anyway. The people will understand that your and Olivia’s ruse was intended to fool the Legacy, not them. We’ll say the two of you have never been more than friends, but that you’ve been working together this whole time to locate Marigold. You finally succeeded at locating her, and you were so desperate to rescue her that you rushed in yourself. It’s a romantic tale and won’t do Olivia any harm in the public’s eyes, so you needn’t worry about that. She will be a selfless hero who worked tirelessly to save her friend. And you will be a desperate lover, doing your duty to protect your kingdom, even while you worked in the shadows to find your true betrothed. We’re already organizing the new ball for tonight.”

“Tonight?” Julius and Marigold cried in unison.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not as fancy as the last one,” the king said shortly.

The queen’s mouth twisted, clearly pained by the necessity of putting on a less than stellar social event.

Julius’s mind raced to find the flaws in his parents’ plan. He was sure they must be there—they had put the whole thing together under pressure and at unbelievable speed. There had to be flaws.

But Julius’s growing desperation didn’t help him to think clearly. He wasn’t as convinced as his father that the public would accept the story the king had concocted. But by the time that became clear it would be too late. Olivia would have been sent away—with Cade, no less, apparently—and he would be tied to Marigold. Given the current mood in the room, he wouldn’t be surprised to hear the wedding was already being planned for the following week. Autumn was the traditional season for weddings, after all, given all the betrothals that began during the summer social season.

“Father,” he began, having run out of arguments. He had no options left except to refuse to participate in the outrageous scheme—and to keep refusing no matter what they threatened.

But before he could state his refusal, the door of the small receiving room burst open, and Daphne stormed in, an enormous mouse trotting behind her.

“There you are!” she exclaimed. “Why is this palace so enormous?”

“Excuse me,” the king said coldly, “but this is a private meeting.”

“I don’t care,” Daphne said calmly. “I need to speak to Julius.”

Julius ignored his parents, hurrying to Daphne’s side. “What is it?” he asked, alarm spiking through him. “Where’s Olivia?”

“That’s just it,” Daphne said, clearly concerned. “I can’t find her. Mildred came to my room and?—”

“Mildred walked to your room? Alone?” Julius cried. “But she never leaves Olivia’s suite.”

“Exactly!” Daphne said, clearly gratified that he understood the enormity of what had happened. “So I went back to Olivia’s suite with her to try to find my cousin, and she was gone.”

The queen cleared her throat awkwardly. “I didn’t expect her to respond so promptly, but it’s most considerate of her.”

“What do you mean, Mother?” Julius asked, his voice icy. “What have you done?”

“While Lord Emerson was…explaining the situation to Marigold, I thought it would be best to send Lady Olivia a note,” his mother said. “You were probably too distracted to see me slip out for a moment.”

Cold fury ripped through Julius. Before he had agreed—before they had even finished discussing the situation—his mother had attempted to preempt his decision.

“How dare you,” he said, his low voice so loaded with his fury that his mother turned white and fell back a step.

“Your mother was perhaps a little precipitate,” his father said in a measured tone, “but there’s no harm done. If Lady Olivia has already left the palace, she obviously doesn’t mean to cause trouble, which is a relief. We must all work together if we’re going to see Sovar safely through this crisis.”

“Excuse me,” Daphne said with as much icy dignity as Julius had ever displayed. “I wasn’t finished speaking. Olivia wasn’t only missing from her suite, but her bedchamber was in chaos. Her possessions were thrown everywhere, like someone had searched the room in a hurry—or there had been a fight.”

“What?” Julius asked sharply, stepping back toward Daphne.

The queen shifted uncomfortably. “If she’s already gone, she must have packed in a hurry. I can understand if she didn’t feel the need to worry about the state of the items she was leaving behind. It’s reasonable she might feel a little hurt.”

“Someone will need to track her down and smooth any ruffled feathers,” his father said, his brow creasing. “We don’t want her causing trouble. But that can wait for after the ball. Once the new betrothal is official, we can have someone?—”

“It absolutely cannot wait,” Julius said, his voice and stance as implacable as stone. “If you will not search for Olivia, I will do so. Do I really have to remind you that you’ve already made this mistake once before?” His eyes flicked to Marigold.

“I assure you she hasn’t been abducted by Lord Strathmore,” his father said in a tone of strained patience. “We already have him in custody.”

“If you mean to suggest my cousin might have been offended and flounced off without Mildred or me ,” Daphne said, “then you obviously never knew her at all. I’ve never heard such a ridiculous theory.”

“Nevertheless,” the king said, “our focus for now must be on the ball. It is mere hours away. Guards can search for Olivia after that.”

Julius shook his head, hearing what was behind his father’s words. He should be an obedient prince and play the role his father decreed. If he did that, then resources would be put into finding Olivia. But he was done playing an empty role. The woman he loved didn’t need Prince Charming. She needed him—the real Julius beneath the role. And he wasn’t going to let her down.

“Sorry, Father,” he said. “But I’m finding Olivia now.”

Before his father could move to stop him, he left the room, Daphne and a giant mouse at his heels.