by Wendi Zwaduk
“I hope so.” She sighed and composed herself. “Is everyone in place?” She’d never been good at following the rules of presentation. She liked to go into the room, not be announced and have all eyes on her. Tonight, she had to be on her best behavior.
“The package is and the portrait is ready.” Charlie squared his shoulders. “Nothing stopping us now.”
“Okay.” She flexed her hands. We can do this. “Thanks for bringing Corinne along. I know it’s killing you not to have your boyfriend.”
“Don’t have a boyfriend right now and tonight is about you. She’s your friend and she makes me laugh. I’m not going to marry her, but at least we’ve got someone on our side. You know?” Charlie grinned. “This is your shot, and I won’t get in the way.”
Corinne waved to Charlie. “Your turn.”
As his name was called, Charlie descended the stairs with Corinne on his arm. Zara measured her breaths to compose herself again. She couldn’t look scared, but she wished she’d been able to make her entrance with her brother. She kept an eye out for Elmore. The last thing she needed was for him to show up.
She focused on her mission—getting Luke out of jail and on with her life. Calling him the package irritated her, but whatever. This was about more than her.
The announcer gestured to Zara. Her turn. She moved to the top of the stairs. “Presenting, our princess, Catherine Zara Westbrook of Lysianna,” the announcer said.
The light shined bright on her. The sequins of her dress glittered. She eased down the steps and hoped she didn’t trip or fall. Once on solid ground, she curtsied to her stepmother, father and brother. She took her place next to Corinne and allowed herself to breathe. The lights seemed brighter than she remembered and the music louder. She didn’t know a damn thing about classical pieces, but the one the quintet played bounced along at a good clip. Gold bunting had been affixed to the ceiling in long swoops. Gold flowers festooned each table and jeweled vases overflowed with white roses and vibrant pink lilies. The crown on Charlie’s head glittered. Even Corinne wore sparkly clips in her hair. Her father’s crown sat regal on his head, but the circles under his eyes seemed deeper. The conversation remained low and people mingled around her. Part of her wanted to run, but the rest of her insisted she see this through.
Other people arrived at the ball, but Zara paid them little mind. She wanted to get through the evening as soon as possible. She shook hands and curtsied to visiting dignitaries. When Duke Elmore approached, she bristled. His tuxedo fitted nicely and to anyone watching from the sidelines, he seemed dashing, too. His nice exterior hid his rotten core.
“Elmore.” She refused to offer her hand. The less he touched her, the better.
“Dance with me.” He grasped her fingers anyway. “We need to make this look good.”
Sure we do. “Of course.” She allowed him to drag her out to the middle of the floor. A string quintet played a softer song, one better for dancing to. She kept space between her and Elmore as they danced. She’d rather get rid of him, but first, they had to have a conversation. “You’re here.”
“I am and you look lovely, but you’d have stood out better in red. The black is so morbid.” He patted her ass. “Next time, you’ll do as I request.”
She moved his hand. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She allowed him to whisk her around the floor. “You expect me to accept your proposal.”
“Your stepmother already agreed for you.” He resumed touching her ass. “Doesn’t matter what you say now. Deal’s done.”
“I see.” The tingles she felt with Luke weren’t there when Elmore touched her ass. Nothing from this man reminded her of her artist. She dug her nails into Elmore’s hand. Time to corner him. “Before or after you slept with my stepmother?”
“Princess.” He didn’t miss a step, but his eyes flashed. She’d touched a nerve. He yanked her close. The muscle in his cheek twitched, yet he regained his poise. “That’s not for discussion here, but I’m not with your stepmother that way.”
“You’re special friends,” she said.
“Yes. We’re close confidantes.”
“Who exchange gifts?”
“Princess. You need to remember your position,” he snapped. “You’re not here to make choices. Your parents want the best for you.”
“I know.” She stopped dancing. “Never give me the exact same bracelet you gave my stepmother.” She turned on her heel and walked away. When she reached the royal table, Elmore caught up to her.
“I knew college would turn you,” Elmore said. “You were agreeable before.”
She lowered her voice and measured her words. “You are sleeping with my stepmother. She told me as much, which means she’s cheating on my father and he deserves better.”
“Stop.” His lip curled in a sneer. “You’re out of line.”
“I am? Who are you to decide that for me? If she’s sleeping with you, then I will not marry you. No.” She kept her voice level. “Leave me alone.”
“You’ll change your mind.” Elmore snorted. “We’ll make a baby and you won’t have to deal with me, but mark my word, we will get married.”
“No, we won’t.” She left the table in search of her brother.
Charlie was dancing with Corinne in the middle of the throng of people. Both seemed happy. Zara’s heart pricked. She wanted that kind of joy, but wished they had their own respective happiness.
“Catherine.” Her stepmother grabbed her arm. “A word?”
“Mother.” She stopped at the edge of the room. For a split second, when she looked into the crowd, she thought she saw Luke. Could he be there? He’d been freed?
The queen directed Zara to a quiet corner away from the media and attendees. “You’ve turned down the duke.”
“It’s not breaking news.” She swept her gaze over her stepmother. The queen tended to wear cream or champagne colored gowns. Tonight, she wore a crimson sheath dress, encrusted with rhinestones. She sparkled with each movement and the gown ensured she’d grab attention. Zara would be willing to bet the gown cost a fortune.
“He’s the only dignitary willing to marry you. You’ve managed to alienate the rest of them.” The queen narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you know you’re difficult? Men want a woman who can do what they want.”
“He’s sleeping with you,” Zara snapped.
“Rumors and lies,” her stepmother said, dismissing her.
She wanted to play that game? Fine. Zara would play. “He tried to have me killed and you knew about it.”
“Impossible.” Her stepmother’s gaze remained granite still.
“Why would the shooter, who is in custody, but might not be now, tell anyone within listening range that he’d done it and you signed off on the job?” Zara asked. “That’s not something anyone would say off the cuff.”
“Lies.”
“Started by?”
“Everyone wanting to bring down the family.”
“It was you.” She sighed. “Ever since you married my father, you’ve acted like the world is out to get you and you have to be angry first. I don’t care what you want any longer. This isn’t about you. It’s not about me being a good wife or proper royal who follows the line and doesn’t argue. It’s about the family and the country.” She spotted her brother by the royal portraits. “I have to leave. It’s time for the big reveal.” She paused as realization hit. “You want to save face, don’t you? You’re pushing hard to make everything look good, but it’s rotten and I’m done. We’re royals and we need to start acting like it. Why? It’s time to show off my portrait.” She sidestepped the queen and headed to the portrait gallery.
“Catherine.” The king stopped her. “Are you enjoying yourself?” He escorted her to the line of photographs and paintings.
“No.” She stood next to her father. “I’m not.”
“What isn’t up to your liking?” the king asked. “Tell me and it will be amended.”
She summoned her courage. “I know
who tried to kill me.” Everything around her seemed to go quiet, but the blood thumped in her ears. She balled her hands to keep from showing the trembling.
He nodded once. “Come with me.” He stepped behind the velvet rope and walked to the back of the royal dais, away from listening ears and prying eyes. “Talk to me.”
She had his full attention? She hadn’t been granted that in a long time and she refused to squander the chance. “First, the queen is cheating on you with Duke Elmore. I know because he gave us the same gift and when questioned, she admitted it,” Zara said. “It’s messed up.”
The king folded his arms. “There is no law forbidding her from taking a lover, but I’d hoped she’d reconsider. Next?”
He knew? And he’d been okay with the queen’s antics? She forged ahead. “Second, I refuse to marry Elmore. If he’s with her, then he’s not going to bed me.”
“Understood.”
She’d made headway. “Third, Duke Elmore tried to have me killed. Charlie has the proof, but suffice it to say, the duke hired his brother to assassinate me in Kenton.”
The king said nothing, but the muscle in his jaw flexed.
“Father, I cannot marry someone who wants me dead.”
“No.”
A lump formed in her throat. “They want to embarrass the crown tonight. To embarrass me. It’s cruel.”
“It is.” The king held up his hand. “All will be well.”
“Daddy?” She hadn’t called him that in years. “I’m scared.”
“You have nothing to fear.” He smiled and dipped his head once. “I didn’t do enough to protect you up to now, but you’re proving to be quite skilled at reading people and sorting out motives. What do you want, Zara?”
“Want?” She sucked in a ragged breath. “I want Luke removed from the prison and freed. I want the man who did try to hurt me put in his place. I’d like to be able to move around the grounds without having to look over my shoulder, and to be happy. If I had my way, I’d like to return to college, too.” It was too much to ask, but he wanted to know.
Before her father could answer, the queen stepped up to the royal portrait gallery and demanded attention.
“Ladies, gentlemen, family and friends. On this day, we mark the transition for Princess Catherine from princess to duchess. First, the royal portrait. Behind these curtains is the official portrait to both sum up and enhance the image of our dear princess,” the queen said. “We are honored to add her likeness to the gallery.”
Zara tensed. The queen spoke about her like she wasn’t even there. She should be next to the portrait, but she didn’t trust the queen not to do something terrible.
The queen pulled the rope, revealing the image. Zara smiled from the portrait. The stark black-and-white picture was a strong change from the other former images. She appeared nude and risqué, compared to the full-length fully clothed portraits before hers. But the image also screamed elegance and style.
“My God.” The queen stood in front of the portrait. “This will be changed at once. She’s naked.” She opened her arms, trying to block the image. “I want this gone now.”
“Queen, the portrait stays,” the king bellowed. “Our daughter looks wonderful and modern. I like the unique quality of the image. It suits her.”
The queen paled. “My King. It’s unacceptable. She looks…like she’s of ill repute.”
“It stands. No question.” The king folded his arms. “I’m told there is to be a proposal tonight. Is this still the case?”
Zara’s stomach churned. If her father condoned this proposal like he had the portrait, she’d pass out.
Duke Elmore stepped forward. “My King. I ask most humbly and most lovingly for your daughter’s hand in marriage. I wish to make her my bride and the happiest woman in the world. It will please me when she accepts.”
The king stood tall. “Princess? What say you?”
She got a choice? “No.”
“No?” The duke’s smile tensed. “My princess. We’re fated.”
She glanced at the king, then focused on Elmore. She wanted to grill the duke, but her father had the most standing.
“Duke Elmore, you have asked for her hand, but I must ask if your heart is pure,” the king asked. “Is it?”
“Pure and in love with the princess,” Elmore said, his voice smooth. If he’d been unnerved, Zara couldn’t tell now.
“Yet, it’s come to my attention that you love another as well,” the king said. “Which is the truth?”
“He loves Catherine,” the queen said. She made her way to the dais. “Enough games. We agreed Catherine would marry the duke and should get the plans under way. This union should be blessed. It’s fated.”
“You made the choice without her consent.” The king turned to Zara. “Correct?”
“Yes.” Zara’s heart hammered. Her father seemed to have heard her pleas.
The king addressed the crowd and Duke Elmore. “Until a very short time ago, I allowed the wrong people to advise me. I believed these people had the best interests of the crown at heart.”
“My King.” The queen joined him on the platform. “Stop this.” She nudged Zara out of the way. “This union is best for the kingdom.”
“No, it’s not,” Zara said. “He tried to kill me.” Adrenaline thundered through her veins. The excitement of having the truth come out battled with her sadness. Being honest ruined so many lives.
Her stepmother gasped and Elmore glared.
“Duke Elmore, you have been accused,” the king said. “I have evidence you indeed ordered the execution of my daughter. I have evidence, My Queen, that you knew about the plot. Now I’ve learned of your affair. Do you expect me to trust either of you with my life and that of my daughter? Guards, remove them from my sight.”
Zara wobbled. Shit. Her father wasn’t playing around.
The queen shrieked. “You would abolish me?”
“In a heartbeat,” the king snarled. “You were chosen because you claimed to love me, but you took advantage of a grieving man with two small children. You claimed to love me and Lysianna, but you only love yourself. You wanted to be queen, not the mother of my children. Be gone from my sight. Guards, put the duke in the dungeon.”
“My King.” The duke paled. “I knew she wasn’t a virgin. Your princess is tainted. She’s not worthy to be queen, either. Ask her about the painter.” He struggled against the guards. “Ask her.”
Zara balled her hands. Of course he’d make this about something other than his own transgressions. She accepted her shortcomings, but first, Elmore had to pay for his.
The queen wept as the duke was hauled from the room. “My King. Please reconsider. I made a mistake and deserve a second chance.”
“I gave you a second chance when you bedded Sir Longstreth. I forgave you for your affair with Nial Roberts. I even looked the other way when you said you needed space, but were instead visiting Duke Katz. A queen should be loyal.” The king pointed to the door. “Go.”
Holy shit. Zara pressed her lips together. No wonder her father had lost his temper and thrown the queen out. She couldn’t imagine cheating on Luke in such a manner.
The queen didn’t speak as the guards led her from the ballroom.
The king sank onto his throne. “I want her royal portrait removed.”
Zara nodded and accepted her fate. “Yes, Father. I’ll have another taken.”
“Not yours,” he said. “The queen’s.” He flicked his fingers. “Music. Dancing. Now.”
People filtered onto the dancefloor and the music resumed. The king grasped Zara’s hand. “My daughter.”
“Father.” She sat beside him. “I’m sorry this all fell apart.”
The king nodded once. “The young man who photographed you, the one you met in Kenton. He saved your life?”
“He saved me from blending into the background of life and tended to me when I was shot, yes.” Hope blossomed in her heart. Maybe, just maybe, she could get Luke
freed tonight. “He was being kept in the jail.”
“He is the reason you’re no longer a virginal princess.”
She winced. “Yes.” She bowed her head, averting her gaze. “I love him, Father.”
“Does he love you?” the king asked.
“He does. Will you release him? I beg of you to please let him go,” she said. “He did come here under false pretenses, but he did it for me.”
“Prince Charles,” the king bellowed and directed Charlie to the dais. Music continued to play and the people still danced. The king held up his hand. “Bring in the prisoner.”
Prisoner? Zara scooted to the edge of her seat and focused on the main doorway. Luke?
Charlie stepped onto the platform. “He’s no longer in jail, My King.”
Zara stared at her brother. He had to be joking. “He’s gone?”
“He’s been released,” Charlie said. “And he chose his own path.”
Where would he go? She had to find him. Zara stood. “I…”
The king stood and silenced Zara. “I’m told there is another proposal to be made. Is this true?”
Another? Who now? Zara willed herself not to cry. If someone else asked her to marry them and wasn’t Luke, she’d leave.
“My Lord.” Luke strode through the crowd. “I have a proposal.” He wore a simple black tuxedo and his smile stretched from ear to ear.
She blinked. Luke was there. He stood at the base of the royal platform. He’d come to her.
Luke dropped to one knee. “King, Prince, Princess? I offer my heart and soul to the princess and ask for her hand in marriage.”
Zara left the dais and joined Luke on the main floor. “You’re here.”
“I am.” He held a box. “When you were whisked away, a part of me went with you. I told you I love you because I do. I’m not a duke or a prince. I’m a humble artist who may never make enough money to keep you in the lap of luxury, but everything I have is yours. Heart, soul, body. I came here with the hope we’d be together.” He opened the box. A ring with a dark blue sapphire lay nestled in the black velvet. “Will you marry me?”
