Erien raised an eyebrow. “It didn’t look like nothing from where I was standing.”
“It’s my life. I’ll do what I want.” I turned from Erien’s angry gaze. I wanted to be alone; I had to leave the ballroom.
But before I could disappear into the crowd, Leticia stopped me, and Rafe was too busy to notice. Leticia ignored Erien and glared at me. If looks could kill, I would have been dead a thousand times by now.
“Calisto told me about you.” Leticia sniffed with her thin, pinched nose as if she smelled something horrid. “We thought you were just Silverthorne’s orphaned ward. It looks like you deceived everyone, Your Highness.”
Leticia was quite beautiful, but as soon as she opened her mouth, all that beauty vanished. She had a shrill, nasal voice, and her words were acidic and deadly. She was definitely someone I wanted to stay away from.
“You may think you can deceive everyone else, but you don’t fool me. I thought I would inform you that Rafael and I are to be married very soon, so don’t start getting any ideas.” Leticia gave me a warning look. “Just because you have discovered that you are a princess doesn’t mean that the prince will leave me for you. He doesn’t care about that sort of thing. He is mine, and there is nothing you can do about that.”
I looked down, embarrassed. Surely she couldn’t know how I felt about Rafe? No one did, or so I thought. But I guess the spectacle I had made of myself was hard to ignore.
“I saw you and Rafael dancing.” Her face was almost feral at the thought. “It is quite plain to see that you want him. If you don’t stay away, you will be sorry.”
Erien pulled my arm, but I didn’t budge. Who did this woman think she was, talking to me like that? “I have no interest in the prince. He is close to my granduncle, that’s all. And for your information, Rafe knew who I really was months ago.”
Leticia’s mouth fell open.
Let her chew on that, I thought as I turned on my heel and walked away quickly. My heart beat heavily, and it felt as if it were breaking. I had intended to stay away from Rafe anyway, and now that I knew he was to be married, I thanked my lucky stars that I had not gotten any more involved with him earlier or told him how I felt. I would have looked like such a fool.
Even if he did have any interest in me, it was just the way he was with any woman. He was gallant and kind and every bit a prince, and the more I thought about him, the more I wanted him. But it could not be, and I was definitely not the type to go after someone else’s fiancée. That dance was the last one we would ever have.
I felt claustrophobic. There were too many people chattering around me and to me. I didn’t even bother listening to what they were saying as I wound my way through the crowd. I had to get out of that room. It was too stuffy. I walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the marble balustrade. I gazed out at the now brightly lit gardens of the Summer Palace, took a deep breath of the fresh night air, and immediately relaxed.
I could think properly out here.
I walked down the wide steps leading to the garden. I just wanted to be alone. A few minutes of walking quietly would make me feel better; then I would unobtrusively slip in one of the side doors and go up to my room, and no one would even notice.
In a few days we would leave for Elfi, and I would never have to see Rafe again. My heart ached with the loss of my first love, but I knew now that it was not meant to be. He was getting married to someone else, and anyway he had never even said that he liked me. I was just imagining he did because that was what I wanted. I realized that now.
I looked out at the beautiful, moonlit gardens. There was no use in thinking about Rafe.
“Why are you out here alone, Aurora?” said an extremely familiar voice behind me.
Talk of the devil. I whirled around so quickly that my foot got stuck in the irritatingly billowing skirt of my Lady Charlotte creation. I could feel myself falling, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Strong hands gripped my arms and prevented me from making a complete fool of myself. When I looked up, I was staring into the beautiful gray eyes of the Prince of Eldoren himself, and to make matters worse, his lips had quirked up in an amused smile.
I gathered myself and stood up shakily. Rafe still held me by my arms in case I stupidly fell down again, I supposed. He looked at me intently, and I quickly brushed away a few stray tears that had unexpectedly stained my cheeks.
Rafe’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed me. “You have been crying.”
I shook my head. What could I say? That I cried every time someone was rude to me? Rafe would really think I was a useless idiot.
“Did someone hurt you?” he asked again, more gently this time.
I shook my head again. I didn’t even look up into his eyes, as I was afraid of what he would see in them. According to Leticia, it was obvious to everyone around me, and she was right. In only a few short months, I had fallen completely in love with Rafe. It was useless denying it to myself, and as much as I tried to stay away from him, it made no difference; he was always on my mind. But he was betrothed and lost to me forever. My only
