Octavia moved away too, and found one of her friends she hadn’t seen in a long time, Sarah Middlemarch. “How are you? That you should be gone from London so long this season. You missed a large portion of it.”
“Well, Julius’ marriage has meant quite a lot to our family. It’s been his year, really.”
“I understand,” Sarah said and smiled. “It can be... Oh, my. Is that him, do you think?”
Octavia turned to see a young man in white military uniform with gold accents. Much younger than she’d expected, and golden. It was the best way to describe him. Cressida hadn’t been wrong when she’d said he was handsome. He was extraordinarily so. Both Julius and Cressida walked into the ballroom next to him. Anyone arriving after the prince did not get any consideration.
The man was introduced and they made their way around the room that was largely silent and watching as the guest of honor made his way around. Sarah blushed deeply as he came closer.
“And this is my sister, Octavia,” Julius said.
The prince had green eyes and they sparkled as he took her gloved hand and kissed it. Octavia curtsied. “I’ve heard a great deal about you from your brother,” the man said, and now it was Octavia’s turn to blush. Julius had been talking about her. “As beautiful as you have been described.”
“You are very kind, but not entirely truthful, I suspect. My brother would never call me beautiful.”
“Brothers can fail to see,” he said. His smile was like the sun coming out.
“Brothers do inevitably have failings,” she replied with her own smile. Octavia decided she liked him. There was humor in him, and intelligence. And he wasn’t entirely shocked by her disagreeing with something he uttered. That did say something about the man. “Welcome to our home,” she said.
“Octavia actually lives with Julius’ brother, Caius,” Cressida pointed out as if that was at all relevant.
"Have you been to England before?” Octavia asked, after the inane statement from Cressida.
“I have, but not recently.”
“You love all things Italian, like my brother, I understand.” Yes, she had heard endless details about this handsome German royal in the week she’d to spend with Cressida.
“How can one not? Especially the women,” he said with a tiny wink. “But then one has always heard of the unfailing beauty of the English rose.” Was he flirting with her? “Your brother promised me I would not be disappointed if I came to London. The English are, of course, known for their wit. Will you dance with me this evening?”
“If you wish,” she said, to the somewhat unexpected question.
“Good, until then,” he said and bowed quickly before moving on.
“I think he likes you,” Sarah said when he was out of earshot.
“Royals are masters at being charming,” Octavia said, but she had to admit, he had been that perfect balance of wit and charm, and a dash of naughtiness. Far more interesting than she’d expected.
“He really is how you expect a prince to look.”
Chapter 29
“THE HENDERSON MINE ISN’T faring well from what I’m hearing,” Lord Germorach said, but Finn was only half paying attention. Octavia was dancing with the prince, and just about everyone in the room was watching. Her smile was genuine. She enjoyed the man’s attention, or company. It would be a lie to say there wasn’t a spear of jealousy, as he liked being the one she smiled at.
Earlier, he’d had the barest introduction to the prince as he’d made his way around the room with Julius. Cordial enough by all accounts. All the same, he didn’t like Octavia dancing with him. But instead of standing there glowering like a jilted lover, he tried to pay attention to the conversation. “Yes, no, change is inevitable. Some mining operations fail. Others take their business. Anyone who says it isn’t a brutal business is unaware of the facts.”
“A lot of people will lose money.”
“And that is why I invest in infrastructure, not mining.” Granted, his businesses would take a knock for a while, but they would recover.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Octavia’s dance with the prince was finishing, a sense of relief washed over him. “Excuse me,” he said and walked away. “I have a dance I must claim.”
The look on Germorach’s face suggested he couldn’t understand why anyone would be eager to claim a dance over picking through the destruction of investments. Maybe he had a point, or maybe he should be pitied, Finn didn’t know what the truth was there.
“Miss Hennington,” he said with a quick bow when he reached her. “Are you available for another spin around the dance floor?”
“Of course,” she said. “Is it the quadrille already?”
“I’m not sure,” he said as he led her. “It will be a surprise.”
“I’m not usually a fan of surprises, but I’ll make an exception this time.”
“How can one not be a fan of surprises? All the best things are surprises.”
“They are not. Birthdays aren’t surprises. Christmas isn’t a surprise. Neither are weddings.”
“Yes, but I still cannot entirely agree. They are nice and comforting, but it takes something entirely unexpected to be delightful.”
“Like the earth opening and trying to swallow one up?” she asked with a pointed look.
“Or finding a friendship where one least expected one.”
“Are you suggesting we are friends?”
“Sadly, I believe you might be one of my best friends at the moment.”
“That is a sorry state indeed, because we do not like each other in the least.”
“Well, I think there has been a change in that category. You do not like me, but I have had to change my opinion about you.”
“That is gratitude speaking.”
“Yes, perhaps,
