Page 31

Chapter 31

Olivia

O livia floated through the corridors, her fingers tracing her tingling lips. Julius had kissed her!

They had been interrupted before words of love could be exchanged, but she had seen the truth in his eyes. Why had she doubted his feelings all this time? She had been too cautious of her own heart and had let that caution hold her back. But now there need be no more barriers between them and no need to break the betrothal.

She glided through the door to her suite, shutting it behind her. As expected, Mildred was back in her nest, still quivering with the stress of the last hour.

Olivia hurried over and flung her arms around the mouse’s neck. “Thank you, girl,” she breathed into her fur. “You saved me.”

Mildred squeaked, and Olivia let her go. “Sorry,” she said with a giggle, her joy and relief still overflowing. “That was too tight.”

Olivia wandered toward the middle of the room, wondering how long Julius’s parents would keep him. The situation with Zane was a complicated tangle, so it was possible it would take some time to sort out. But no matter how late it got, Olivia wouldn’t go to bed. She was confident that Julius would come looking for her when he was finished, regardless of how long he took.

Her eyes fell on a silver tray on the low table between the two sofas, a folded note resting on top of it. Her heart leaped, her mind racing straight to Julius. But a moment’s reflection was enough to realize it couldn’t be from him. It must have been left in her room earlier and overlooked when she discovered Zane searching her bedchamber.

The note didn’t take long to read, and only a few lines turned her idle curiosity into shocked horror. The swirling script tangled and shifted in front of her eyes. She had to be reading it wrong. Break their betrothal? Julius to marry Marigold? No! It was impossible.

Olivia collapsed onto the closest sofa and forced herself to read the note again, going more slowly this time. Every bit of her earlier joy soured, turning to jagged shards in her gut.

No matter how many times she reread it, the words were there in undeniable ink. The king and queen had released Olivia from her betrothal. There was to be another ball that very night. Julius was to marry Marigold after all.

But Marigold was no more likely to agree to such a scheme than Julius. There had to be some mistake.

Olivia leaped to her feet. She would find Julius immediately, and he would explain everything. Surely, it was all one big misunderstanding. That had to be it. She would?—

The door to her suite wouldn’t open. Olivia tried the handle again, rattling it loudly. When it still wouldn’t budge, she banged on the wood and called out. No one answered.

Olivia stepped back, her stomach surging and her breath catching. She had been locked in. There was no other explanation.

She looked down at the note again. The word ball stared back at her. There was to be a second ball, and this time the king and queen weren’t going to let Olivia interfere with it.

The soft tap of a knock made her startle.

“Is someone there?” she called, trying the door again.

Still locked.

The knock came again, but this time she realized it hadn’t come from the door in front of her. It had come from behind her.

Olivia spun around in confusion and stared at the window. A mass of fiery curls was pressed against the glass, visible despite the setting sun.

Stumbling, Olivia rushed to the window and wrenched it open.

“Help me in,” Marigold said between pants, reaching her hand toward Olivia.

Dazed, Olivia grasped her wrist and hauled her over the windowsill and into the room. Marigold collapsed on the ground in swirls of silk. She was wearing a full ballgown, her hair piled artfully on her head.

Olivia leaned through the open window and gaped at the distance below. “You climbed all the way from the ground on those vines?”

She pulled her head back into the room and shook her head at her friend. Apparently Marigold’s time in captivity had done little to curb her wild streak.

“Actually, I only had to climb from the floor below,” Marigold said. “It turns out my family’s apartment is directly below yours. My parents think they’ve cowed me into submission, so they let me retreat into my room alone to get dressed for the ball.”

“I just found this note.” Olivia thrust the paper at Marigold. “What is going on?”

Marigold read the note in grim silence before telling Olivia all about the scheme concocted by her parents and the king and queen.

“Honestly, it’s mostly my father’s fault,” she said with a scowl. “He’s furiously angry at Lord Strathmore and talking like he’s ready to burn the kingdom down over it. I think he’ll be more sensible once he’s calmed down. He isn’t truly a heartless person, and he won’t want to see all of Sovar suffer. But King Robert isn’t willing to take the chance. Arresting Lord Strathmore has unleashed all sorts of chaos on the court—his wealth and support networks run deep. So the king wants to make sure there’s a solid alliance between the crown and my family. So here I am, all dressed up and ready to be the sacrifice.”

“And Julius agreed to this?” Olivia asked, struggling to breathe. “I know he takes his duty to Sovar seriously. I just thought…”

“Of course he didn’t agree,” Marigold said promptly, and Olivia’s throat loosened.

“But I haven’t seen him since he raced out of the room to find you,” she added, “so they may have found a way to bully him as well. For me, my father is threatening to make sure Cade takes the fall along with Lord Strathmore. But for Julius, they were trying to spin some sort of tale about you being better off free from the palace.” She shook her head. “The king and queen must be blind if they can’t see that you’ll make a far better queen than me.”

“Did Julius believe her?” Olivia asked. “Does he think I’d be better off without him?” She tried to hold onto their kiss, but what if she’d read it wrong? What if it had been a farewell kiss?

Marigold hesitated, sending ice through Olivia’s veins.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I wasn’t supposed to hear any of it, but I have excellent hearing.” She grimaced. “I couldn’t catch every word, though.”

“Then we’d better hurry and get you dressed for a ball, Olivia,” Daphne said from the bedchamber door. “It’s past time you told Julius how you feel about him for yourself.” She gave her cousin a knowing look. “You do think he’s worth the sacrifice of being royal, don’t you?”

Olivia gaped at her.

“Well?” Daphne asked.

“Of course I do,” Olivia gasped. “But where did you come from? Were you in there the whole time?”

“Of course.” Daphne stretched and yawned. “When I came back into the palace, I came straight to check on Mildred. She was fine, so I thought I’d have a little nap while I waited for you.” She grinned. “I thought you might be a while.”

Olivia flushed, thinking of that alcove and the stolen moment with Julius that had delayed her. Julius’s kiss had opened a beautiful future for her, and she refused to believe it had been meant as a goodbye. She had to trust in Julius and his kiss. She would find him and tell him how she felt just like Daphne said.

Then she remembered the flaw in Daphne’s plan. “Unfortunately, I can’t go to the ball. They’ve locked me in.” She glanced at the window doubtfully. “I don’t think I’m as brave as you, Marigold. I can’t climb down to the ground on unstable vines.”

Marigold grinned wickedly and pulled several long hairpins from the elaborate arrangement on her head. “Fortunately, one of the Emerson servants didn’t always lead such an upright life. He knows how to pick locks, and I convinced him to teach me when I was thirteen. I like to practice now and then to keep my skills fresh. You get dressed, and I’ll get us out of here.”

Daphne smiled. “I wasn’t sure I liked you at first, but you’ve won me over.”

Marigold grinned back, unoffended. “Same.”

“I just hope I have a dress to wear,” Olivia wailed. “Zane had just started pulling apart my wardrobe when I found him.”

“Wait, Zane?” Marigold paused halfway to the sitting room door and looked back over her shoulder. “He did what?”

Olivia quickly told the other girls what had happened between her and Zane in her suite, and about being forced into the tunnel and out of the palace.

“It wasn’t Lord Strathmore?” Marigold asked, incredulous. “It was Zane the whole time?” She shook her head. “If Lord Strathmore gets released, my father will be livid.” She grinned slowly at the idea before quirking an eyebrow. “You know, I never did like Zane, even though he is Cade’s brother. Something about him always made me uncomfortable.”

“Always trust your intuition,” Daphne murmured.

Both of her friends trailed Olivia into her bedchamber and to her wardrobe. To her relief, most of her gowns were still untouched.

Daphne drew out a magnificent creation from the back, an elaborate, formal gown whose embroidery and layers of blue paid homage to the dress Olivia had worn for her betrothal announcement. “This is perfect,” she announced. “You should definitely wear this one.”

She helped Olivia into the gown, and all three girls nodded in approval. Daphne ushered Olivia to a seat in front of her dressing table and began quickly pinning up her hair.

“You’ll have to wear my slippers, of course.” Marigold kicked off her glass slippers. “I just hope you can walk in them since your feet are smaller.”

Olivia met Marigold’s eyes in the mirror on her dressing table. “No,” she said. “Julius approached me at the Midsummer Ball because he thought I was his parents’ choice. And then his parents accepted me to appease the Legacy. This time, I want him to choose me himself, freely. If he chooses his duty over me, I can’t stop that. I won’t trap him. Neither am I willing to allow such an important decision to be dictated by the Legacy. We both go in glass slippers, and Julius chooses between us himself.”

Marigold wrinkled her nose. “That’s very noble of you—but know I’m only agreeing because I’m confident in his choice. I have no interest in becoming queen.”

“But where are you going to find a second pair of glass slippers?” Daphne asked, ever practical. “I can see they’ve put one on display in your sitting room, but you can’t wear one slipper.”

Olivia bit her lip. She hadn’t even thought about what had happened to her other slipper. But in some things, Aunt Helen was extremely reliable.

“My aunt packed my clothes for me, and one of the maids unpacked them into the wardrobe. I’m betting the other slipper is in the bottom somewhere.”

Marigold hurried over and dove into the wardrobe, unworried about her own outfit. She emerged triumphant, one glass slipper gripped in her hand.

Within seconds, she had the other one out of its display and was kneeling to slip them onto Olivia’s feet. Olivia wanted to protest that she could put them on herself, but the nervous knot in her belly made it hard to talk.

Marigold flashed her an encouraging grin and left the bedchamber, her lock picking hairpins back in her hands. Olivia stood and faced Daphne.

“Are you coming?” she whispered.

Daphne surveyed the remaining dresses, a gleam in her eyes. “I’ll get myself ready and come behind you. The two of you should make your grand entrance alone.”

Olivia nodded, swallowed hard, and joined Marigold.

“Success!” Marigold cried as the door lock clicked. She opened the door and peered outside. “And they didn’t even leave any guards.”

Olivia grimaced. “I’m sure they thought there was no way I could get out on my own. They were probably right, too.”

“Never!” Marigold cried loyally. “You would have found a way.”

The two girls wasted no time hurrying through the palace. The whole way, Olivia remained tense, watching for guards, but none crossed their path. They slowed as they approached the ballroom.

“Are you ready for this?” Olivia asked Marigold.

Her friend took her hand. “This is how it should have been from the beginning. I can see that now. The two of us entering together.”

Olivia smiled back at her, but half her attention was on the ceremonial guards placed on either side of the ballroom door. One of them shifted slightly at the sight of the two girls together and sent his comrade a questioning look.

The second guard shook his head. “I heard His Majesty myself. Lady Olivia is free to enter the ball.”

“Even in glass slippers?” the first guard whispered. “ Both of them in glass slippers?”

His companion shrugged. “The king didn’t mention footwear. He just said that she’s to be allowed in.”

Olivia drew a relieved breath. Just reaching the ball had felt like enough of an ordeal. She didn’t fancy fighting off two guards to get inside.

Her heart beat faster as she and Marigold stepped into the doorway, the double doors allowing them to stand side by side as they surveyed the ballroom.

A fanfare sounded from invisible trumpets, and silence spread through the ballroom as every head turned to stare at the two arrivals. Eyes skipped from Olivia to Marigold, whispers breaking out as people caught the flash of two pairs of glass slippers.

A path opened through the crowd, revealing Julius, tall and regal. Olivia’s breath caught.

She had already chosen Julius, and she would continue to do so every day, despite the difficulties that came with him. But would he choose her over the duty his parents demanded?

Julius stood for a moment, staring across the ballroom at the two girls standing together. And then he was moving—running—toward them, his smile wide and his eyes bright.

Marigold squeezed Olivia’s hand and tugged her gently down the shallow stairs to stand on the ballroom floor. They reached it just as Julius arrived in front of them. He gave no indication of even seeing Marigold, his eyes for Olivia alone.

He held out his hand to her.

“Will you dance with me, beautiful lady?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes and brightening his smile. “And then would you be mine forever?”

“Yes.” Olivia put her hand in his willingly this time, giving him her heart along with it. “And yes. I will gladly do both.”

Julius pulled her into his arms and onto the dance floor as the music swelled around them and the crowd broke into cheers. The crown prince of Sovar had made his own choice, but Olivia still felt the power of the Legacy giving wings to her feet. They would have their love and the future of the kingdom as well.