Page 12 of The Ostler's Boy

I nside the gown, I did feel confident, but there was an internal uproar concerning Mr. Evergreen. On one hand, I had spent the better half of an hour convincing Miss Josie that naughty swordsmen were not worth gossiping about—she teased me about the color of my face—and on the other, a foolish, dangerous desire to find the man emerged. I thought of twirling around him in demonstration of my tablecloth’s premiere but dismissed the idea as soon as it arrived. Then I found solace that he would not be at the dance.

What would it prove? I asked myself. Mr. Evergreen would comment upon my spinning, declaring it incorrect or reminding me that a spin in Chalke was—it didn’t matter. Thinking about him would only eat into my evening dancing with the Prince.

The Prince.

My prince.

The man I was engaged to. Sameer, I reminded myself.

My shoes anxiously tapped the marble floor, just outside the grand entry of the ballroom. I waited for the herald to announce my name. After what felt like an unnecessarily long time alone with my undying, frustrating ideas that seemingly kept circling back to how to apologize to Mr. Evergreen, it was my turn.

“Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Svana Eisson, of the Oreian Empire!”

The music picked up, and I tried to manage how badly I shook as I entered an absolute sea of eyes. There were two ballrooms back home, but neither had ever been in commission in my lifetime. Sam’s palace was…strangely occupied and well-used. The staff knew exactly where to be when needed, and everything was coordinated and pretty.

On cue, a young waiter appeared at my side and offered me a flute of champagne.

“Thank you,” I said, bringing it immediately to my lips.

“I did not believe it could be done,” Sameer said from behind me. I spun, greeting him with a silly smile.

“What could not be done?” I asked. “The ball? It did come together very nicely.”

He smirked and glanced at the man beside him, some other lord. Something in me was disappointed that it wasn’t his instructor.

“That you could look more stunning than you did this morning, my love,” he said. “Honestly. I am moved.”

I snickered. “I-This is my first ball.”

He nodded.

“I… I think I told you that,” I said.

His party grew, two women, one crimson-haired and the other blonde.

Sam explained, “This is Lord Barrington; his father plays chess with mine. Miss Aster and Miss Agatha; sisters.”

“Our father advises his,” Agatha said.

“We’re the Coin,” the redhead sang.

“Attie,” she nudged her arm. “We are in proper company. This is the Princess, yes?”

“Of course I know,” Aster said. She didn’t mind, and she met me with a look that showed it. “I think the Princess thinks I’m funny.”

I couldn’t conjure something witty to say. I said, “Is your father Mr. Adeline? I met him. He’s very kind.”

“Great,” Attie said.

“Well, I’m Svana,” I said.

“Aggy,” Agatha said. “Did I hear this was your first ball? Here? Or ever?”

“Obviously here,” Attie moaned.

“Actually… I, I’ve been promised since I was fourteen. I’ve never had a season,” I said.

“Never had a season?” Lord Barrington remarked. “How does that work?”

“Yes,” I said. “How indeed?” No one laughed. “I mean, I have been busy with other things. Piano. Embroidery. Reading. My horses.”

“Horses?” Miss Agatha asked. One of her brows moved. “Are you a fan of racing, Your Highness?”

“Uhm,” I stopped. “Well, no. I don’t race them. They’re more of companions.”

“Companions?” she repeated.

Sam barely tilted his head at her. “What Aggy means to say is that’s lovely, Svana,” he said. He presented me with his glove. “Now. You may not have had a season, but surely we can make tonight special, Princess?”

“Special? How?” I asked.

“With a dance,” he said. “You do dance, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” I said. “I know all of them. My father hired instructors.”

He grinned. Hesitantly, I laid my hand over his, and without further warning, he pulled me into the dancing surge of lords and ladies.

Sam found my ear. “I’m happy to be your first proper partner.”

I closed my fist, collecting parts of his shirt between my fingers. He brought me into a much closer dance than I had anticipated, one I didn’t know, and with the combination of his choice of words, how deftly he had managed to swing me through the steps of a foreign routine, and how quickly my heart raced, the majority of spins and dips made me sick. I barely kept up, striving to focus on his features instead of the pattern of passing window panes that littered the back wall.

The song slowed and then picked up, and I was moving even faster.

“This is quite lively!” My head was swimming.

“The Chalke Quickstep?” he asked. “We’re spirited here, I’m afraid.”

“Yes, I have noticed.” I smiled to let him know I was not bothered by the fact, just…unexposed. “Oreians dance much slower, I think. Our dances are–”

“Do you dance a lot out of season?” he asked. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

I shook my head.

“Just in lessons,” I said.

“I’m surprised,” he confessed. “I thought you were the type to host as many events as you could. Every night, I imagined. Enough to drive your father mad. At least in the summer months. Assuming you have summers in Oreia? Is it cold year-round?”

“We have summers,” I said.

“You know what I mean,” he teased.

“I do?” I watched his eyes travel around the room as he nodded and greeted a few friends throughout our turn. “Um. Oreian summers are-”

We met eyes. Warmly, and I felt as though someone had unleashed a flock of birds behind me.

“Tell me something, Svana,” Sam said. “Something no one else in this room could ever know about you.”

That made me laugh.

“Is that funny?” he asked, grinning wide. “I just wish to know my wife.”

“Of course, but I would wager that I could tell you anything to accommodate your request.”

“Come again?”

“I meant, no one here seems particularly interested in me , sir.”

“On the contrary,” Sam said. “You’ve caught everyone’s attention tonight.”

“I have?” I asked. I waited for him to call me fair and then hated that I replayed Mr. Evergreen’s compliment in my head. “Does that include yours?” I asked.

“You know it does,” he said. He scanned my dress. “Dare I confess that I like seeing you in white? You look like a bride.”

“A bride?”

“Do the women in Oreia not wear white gowns to their weddings?” he asked.

“Oh. We wear whatever we like. I’m sorry, I’m quite dizzy.”

He frowned. “You wear other colors? What? Like blue?” he asked.

“Yes; I’ve seen blue,” I said. “Can we slow down?”

“Blue!” he said. “No matter. You can wear what you wish. Whatever’s traditional for you then.”

“I can wear white. I just meant-”

“But I like knowing that the men here tonight, and in our circle, they’ll all be forced to remember you in this color. White is bridal here in Chalke, and you wearing it marks you unavailable to them.”

I swallowed. “I… You know your father made a few comments about my braid.”

“Were they nice?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“Then forget them,” Sam said. “He’s an old man; he made my mother miserable.” He caught the crassity of his statement and then apologized quietly for it. “Your secret, then?”

“My what?”

“Something nobody knows,” he added. “I want to hear it.”

“...I don’t know what I could say,” I told him. “I’d have to think about it.”

“Alright. I’ll go first,” he said. He smiled ruefully. “My mother fell from her horse when I was a child.”

“That’s fairly common. I’ve fallen plenty of-”

“She died.”

“Oh, god.” I gripped his hand a little tighter. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t know.”

He nodded. “Horses don’t like me. I think they smell my fear.”

“They don’t like you?” I asked. “I’m sorry, but an entire species impervious to your charm? I don’t believe it.”

“You flatter me,” he said.

“I can believe your fear, however, and yes, they have a sense of those things, I agree. They also know when a person means well for them. They may sense fear, but they feel courage, too. I do believe they would appreciate yours if you mustered it. I’m rambling. Sorry. I’m not offended. If that helps?”

“It helps,” he said. “And it helps to know that you find me charming.”

The intensity was almost too much to bear. I stuttered with my response, stupid and giddy.

Sam leaned in and spoke softly. “I am trying so hard to dazzle you, my love. Tell me it’s paid off.”

“You wish to dazzle me?” I asked.

“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 I not find 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.

“Our court. 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.”

“Our affairs,” Sam reminded me. He was very pleased with our decision as we parted ways.