I nodded, urging him to go on.
“She is his only child and will inherit everything after her father. The estates of Glenbarry are enormous. I heard some people saying that Rafe’s mother and Leticia’s mother were best friends. And apparently—” Kalen looked around once and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Apparently, his mother made him promise on her deathbed that he would wed Leticia. Rafe agreed, to please his mother, but I guess he now regrets his decision to marry that shrew.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Isn’t she nice?” I already knew she was horrid, but I wanted to know what others thought about her.
Kalen snorted. “Ha! Nice is the opposite of Leticia. Poor Rafe only found that out once she was officially betrothed to him. I heard from the palace servants that he keeps putting off the wedding, but I don’t know how long she is going to let him get away with that.”
I pulled Kalen’s arm as we wove through the crowd toward Rafe and Leticia. I kept stopping and trying to hide behind statues and people along the way so that Rafe didn’t notice me. When I finally reached eavesdropping distance, I pulled Kalen and sat down on a high-backed chair next to where Rafe and Leticia were standing. Kalen perched himself on the arm next to me. The chair was turned away from the crowd, so Leticia did not see us, but I was sure Rafe had spotted us already; he never missed anything.
“What are we doing, exactly?” asked Kalen, confused again.
I rolled my eyes for the millionth time. “Shhh,” I said, trying to listen.
“. . . And you just go off and leave me,” hissed Leticia quietly to Rafe.
“Leticia,” said Rafe slowly, as if it were taking all his power to keep his anger in check. “I told you I was away. I cannot be at your beck and call all the time.”
“But we are to be married, and I want to know where you were for so long,” she said sharply, “so you’d better get used to it. You gave your word to your mother, and I know even you would not go back on that promise.”
I tried hard to hear Rafe’s reply to that, but a gaggle of chattering women had approached and were accosting the prince. I turned around. Leticia looked peeved, but Rafe seemed to be relieved and was now enjoying himself, flirting openly with all the women who were fawning over him. I got up quickly from my chair, and Kalen followed.
I glanced around the room for Aunt Serena, who I couldn’t spot anywhere, when a young man who introduced himself as Viscount Steele came up to me and asked me to dance. Aunt Serena had tried teaching me the intricate dance of Eldoren, which was very similar to a waltz. I was not very good at it, but I decided to give it a go.
I took the viscount’s hand as he led me onto the dancefloor. He wasn’t a very good dancer either, and I tried to follow his lead, but he made it very difficult. The musicians were playing a lively melody, and my spirits lifted with the music. It was no use feeling sorry for myself and following Rafe around like a lost puppy. I was upset that he hadn’t told me that he was engaged. He’d let me fall for him without a thought as to what would happen when I found out about Leticia.
Despite my anger, my eyes searched for Rafe, and my heart leapt when I found him. He was leaning against a far wall of the ballroom, his powerful arms crossed over his chest, watching me. Our eyes locked, but he didn’t smile.
The viscount was still obliviously whirling me around the dancefloor and stepping on my toes while he was at it. I winced each time and finally stopped dancing. The viscount apologized profusely, but I wasn’t paying attention. I looked back to where Rafe was standing, but he was gone.
The music stopped, and the viscount begged me for another dance. But I’d had enough and turned to leave the dancefloor, when my face collided with a rock-hard chest covered in expensive midnight-blue fabric.
“May I have this dance?” said the voice I had come to love and trust.
I looked up at Rafe. His reassuring presence and piercing gray eyes were so familiar that I couldn’t help but smile.
“But Your Highness,” said the viscount, interrupting and standing close to me. “You never dance.”
“I do now,” said the Prince of Eldoren, never taking his eyes off me.
Rafe held out his hand, and I took it, just as I had dozens of times before. He led me to the center of the dancefloor, and overdressed nobles moved out of the way to let us pass. The musicians started playing a haunting melody, and Rafe swept me up in his arms, holding me close and gliding across the dancefloor. He was a wonderful dancer, and I didn’t even have to think as I followed his effortless steps.
As we danced, Rafe said nothing, but he looked at me as if I were the only person in the room, and in that moment a flame in my heart ignited and my soul woke up, recognizing its other half for the first time. For some unexplainable reason, I knew beyond a doubt that I had finally found a permanent place for my heart.
Everyone watched us as we danced, but I didn’t care. I was in Rafe’s arms, and that was the only place I wanted to be. The music stopped, but Rafe didn’t let go of me immediately. I knew people were staring and whispering, but I couldn’t look away.
Erien came over and pulled me away into the crowd. “What do you think you were doing?” he chided in a whisper. “Everyone is talking about you and Rafe. He’s going to be married; you have to stop this now or your reputation will be ruined.”
“You
