07

The carriage ride was tense. No one spoke as we jounced along the cobbled streets of Belhaven.

I stared out the window, watching the land slide by.

Father cleared his throat, as if intending to speak, but he said nothing. Finally, when it felt like the silence had become nearly unbearable, we reached the palace. The four of us, Mother, Father, Alice, and I, made our way up the marble steps to the grand doors. Our arrival was announced as we walked through the doors and down the hall to the ballroom. It looked as it had the other night, with men and women all wearing exquisite dress to impress the king and queen.

Just like before, room smelled of warring perfume, mingled with sweat. People chatted amiably as the musicians played lively music.

I did not bring my book with me this time, although I wished I had. My father immediately found some bureaucrats he needed to speak to—about work, no doubt—and left us to join them. Mother and Alice found some excuse to walk away and, once again, I found myself alone. Sighing heavily, I stood back and watched as couples danced merrily in the center of the room.

"So, you did come," a familiar voice mused by my ear. A pleasant shiver ran up my back and I turned to find William standing beside me.

"Yes, I did." I replied.

"I did not think you would, after you stood me up so harshly yesterday." He said, without accusation. He did not sound angry, or even hurt, as I expected he would.

"I'm so sorry." I said, feeling genuinely guilty for standing him up. "I had . . . other arrangements yesterday."

"It's all right, though I must admit that I was a little disappointed when you did not come." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, making my heart flutter.

I opened my mouth to suggest we meet at a different time, but snapped it shut abruptly.

His Highness would be ashamed to have you for a wife.

Mother's words ran through my head and my heart sank a little. I turned away from him, looking out into the crowd.

"You should go dance with my sister." I said softly.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Why?"

I looked up at him and his blue eyes met my own. "Our parents have discussed your marriage to her. She is better than me. Why would you want me when you can have someone better?" My voice was hollow and dull to my own ears.

"Erika." He sounded a little surprised by my words.

His warm fingers slipped into my gloved hand and tugged gently. He began walking, still holding my hand, and led me to the doors of the ballroom and outside into the garden. A cool breeze whispered against my skin, pleasant after the heat of so many bodies pressed together.

I did not ask where we were going and he did not seem inclined to tell me, so I let him lead me in silence.

He did not say anything as he pulled me farther away from the music and laughter and dancing. We ended up at a marble fountain, the water tinkling musically in the background.

"I do not want to marry your sister," he admitted quietly, his voice sounding loud in the relative silence.

I looked up at him, puzzled. "Why don't you? Everyone wants to marry Alice."

"I like you better." He said, and, even though it was dark, I could have sworn he was blushing. His eyes shone brightly in the moonlight as he watched me, waiting for my reaction.

"William," I whispered. "You can't. No one likes me better than her. Why would you?"

There was a long pause, and when he spoke, he did not answer my question. He just said, "Meet me tomorrow?"

"When?"

"Eight o'clock tomorrow evening."

"Alright."

He smiled, a flash of white in the dark, and neither of us said anything for another moment.

We stood there for some time, neither of us speaking.

"We should go back to the ball." I whispered after several minutes of this.

He looked at me for a moment and then up at the sky, his perfect lips forming a smile. "Or we can go somewhere else." He suggested.

I didn't get a chance to ask any questions before he took my hand again and led me back into the palace.

But then we passed the ballroom.

He led me down a long hallway and then up a set of stairs and down another long corridor before we wound up in front of a set of double doors.

There were two guards standing by the doors and neither one glanced my way as we walked into the room. It made me wonder if it was common for him to bring women here, and if so, how many had there been?

Inside the room, there was a large, four-poster bed, a divan sitting before the fireplace with a roaring fire in it, and a desk with papers stacked neatly on top of it . . . and books. Loads and loads of books. His walls were lined with shelves and each one was filled with more books. There was a set of glass doors opposite us, and they were open, letting in the cool night air and leading out onto a balcony. His room was cleaner and more organized than I expected.

His bed was made, there were no clothes lying on the floor, his papers were stacked and orderly. "Your room isn't very messy." I stated obviously, glancing at him.

His lips quirked into a smile. "No, I would agree, it is not messy. I do not like my room to be messy. I could never find anything."

"It's nice," I said, entering further into his room.

"Thank you," he replied, walking over to the balcony. I followed and stepped outside. From the balcony, I could see out over the gardens. I could see the large fountain in the center, the well-pruned trees and bushes, the rows of colorful flowers that all looked the same under the light of the moon.

And beyond the garden, I could see the stone wall, guarding the palace. Past the stone wall, the forest stretched for miles, showing nothing but green treetops, until it stopped and gave way to mountains standing in the distance.

"The view is beautiful, isn't it," William said softly from beside me.

I nodded. "It is." I looked up at him and he was looking out over the gardens.

I turned and looked back at his room. I walked over to the nearest bookshelf and read some of the titles. Some weren't even in our language.

"Can you speak different languages, then?" I asked, pulling a book from the shelf. The title was written with strange letters and shapes.

"Some," William replied, coming to stand next to me. "I learned certain languages just so I could read books from that country."

"That's impressive." I set the book back on the shelf and moved to another shelf.

I pulled out a book. It was Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. I sat on the settee before the fire and opened the book and began to read.

William laughed softly and joined me a moment later and began reading a book too. We sat there in comfortable silence for some time, reading our books. It was nice.

I did not know how long we were there, until I checked the clock on the wall. It was after midnight.

I stood up abruptly. My parents were probably waiting for me.

William looked up at me, seeming surprised. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I have to go. It's a lot later than I thought." I said, as William stood too.

I went to set the book back on his shelf, but William stopped me. "Keep it."

I looked at him, puzzled. "But this is your book, surely you would want to read it."

He smiled. "I have read it many times. I practically know it by heart. I want you to have it." His face was tinged with pink as he said this.

I smiled, holding the book tightly. "Thank you," I said. I felt this warmth inside me, a happy, pleasant feeling that I couldn't quite explain.

"Of course." We walked back down the long hallway and down the stairs the way we'd come, until we were at the ballroom once again.

The music was still going and people were still laughing and dancing as though it would never end. I turned to look at William, who was looking at me.

"I should go . . ." He said, nodding toward the dais, where his father and mother were sitting on their thrones, watching the celebration.

I nodded quickly. "Yes, of course. I must find my mother."

Neither of us moved.

I knew I should have gone to find my mother, but I just wanted to stay here with him. And then, I did something that surprised us both, I think. I kissed his cheek. It was not a kiss on the lips, because there were too many people, and I was not that brave. But all the same, he looked at me surprised for a moment, his face bright red, and then he bowed, rather awkwardly and tripped over himself.

I felt my face burning as I laughed at his reaction. He smiled bashfully and kissed my hand before disappearing into the crowd.

I stared at the place he had been, only a moment before, my heart pounding loudly in my chest. I couldn't believe I'd done that. It was not something I could ever have pictured myself And then I smiled, pleased—and a bit shocked—that I had been so bold as to kiss his cheek. And then I stepped into the throng of people, feeling as though I were walking on air.