Leo gave up on talking to Scarlett for the rest of their ride to the theatre. He could not be sure what was on her mind, but his father tended to give his mother space when she was irritable, and Leo figured it was worth a try here, too.

He was happy, however, that when they arrived outside the gleaming veneer of the theatre, she accepted his arm to hold as they made their way to the entrance.

The lobby was a crush of people. There were extravagant outfits of matrons and debutantes alike clashing with the ornate decor of the space. A group of boisterous gentlemen lingered just inside the door, loudly chatting about the outcome of some rigged horse race. One of the men flung his head back, almost hitting Scarlett in the face as he laughed dramatically.

Leo withdrew his arm from where she held it, deciding to wrap it around her waist instead. He pulled Scarlett to his side to avoid any more close encounters from overly animated theatre goers.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Let's get you to the royal box, shall we?"

She nodded mutely, and Leo ushered her up the grand staircase, distancing them from the loud lobby as they traversed the maroon and gold carpeted steps. An attendant greeted them, offering to take their coats and point them in the direction of their seats. As they reached the curtained doorway to the box, Leo heard the voices of Adelaide and Will leak through the velvety fabric.

"Why, Will, that's fantastic! Congratulations," Adelaide voiced.

"Thank you, Addie," Will said, the words muffled in a way that made Leo assume they were spoken through a crushing hug.

Leo moved to step through the curtain, curious to see what the conversation was about...but stopped when he noticed that Scarlett remained still in the corridor behind him. Her face, blank.

"Scarlett?"

"You go ahead," she said breathlessly, waving a hand to indicate Leo should continue.

Leo waited. "Are you not coming?"

She looked away, down the hallway of the theatre corridor. "I shouldn't have come," she said finally.

"But I thought you loved the opera?"

Scarlett slowly turned to face him once more. "I mean to say that I shouldn't have come with you. I do not belong here in the royal box."

Leo's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? We've both been invited," he said, pointing to the doorway where their friends sat on the other side—the friends that requested they both attend.

Scarlett dropped her gaze and fiddled with her reticule, unsure in a way that Leo had never seen before.

"Adelaide is merely being gracious by inviting me," she said. "Or perhaps you asked her to." She gave Leo a questioning gaze that he wasn't able to respond to because she simply continued talking. "But I am not the most...respectable woman. You know this, Leo. I do not have the prestige, titles, or honors that the rest of you do. Everyone will wonder why I am sitting with the queen."

Leo, whose hand had still been hovering near the curtain, dropped his arm and closed the short distance between them, so they were standing a pace apart.

"First of all," he said, speaking softly, "I did not ask Adelaide to invite you. When I was with Will yesterday, he informed me that she was hoping we would all join her tonight. He was going to send a note, but I told him I would take care of it."

Leo sighed, resisting the urge to reach out to her. "Adelaide wants you here because you have been important to her. Important to us. Madame Mischief has swayed the people to support her. And it isn't as though this is the first event you've been invited to with our motley crew, Scarlett."

"It is the first public event," she stressed, her tone direct as she looked up at him. "Late night games of whist and treasonous plotting against the King of England do not count, Lord Farrington."

Leo held her gaze. "Come on now, Scarlett. Everyone wants you here. I want you here."

It had apparently been the wrong thing to say because she instantly stiffened. "And why is that, my lord?"

Leo frowned and opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Will's voice from behind.

"I thought I heard voices out here," he said, coming up to rest a hand on Leo's shoulder. Leo reluctantly tore his gaze from Scarlett's accusatory one so he could look at Will. Leo observed the exhilarated, nearly intoxicated expression upon Will's face and couldn't help but smile.

"Did I hear congratulations are in order?" Leo asked. "What, have you finally figured out how to tie your cravat by yourself like a big boy?"

"Not quite. Still working on that, actually," Will replied with a boyish grin before rocking back on his heels, hands in his costly trouser pockets.

"Spit it out, Trotten," Leo said with a laugh. "You look about as pleased with yourself as that time at Oxford when you took a tumble in the sheets with Wesley Greer's sister."

Will laughed. "No, I reckon I'm quite a bit more pleased than that at the moment."

Emilia suddenly appeared at Will's shoulder, her face nearly as bright as her husband's except she had an exasperated glint in her eyes.

"Are you telling everyone, Will?" she chastised.

"He has not, in fact, told us anything," Leo pointed out, coming to his friend's defense. "He has just been sitting here, staring at us with that stupid grin."

Emilia glanced up at her husband with large amber eyes, her full lips pressed into a little smile.

"But I think we all know what is going on here," Scarlett chimed in lightly. Her cool demeanor was gone, and in its place was a warm, gratified simper.

"Yes," Leo drawled. "It's clear you are already tired of each other and contemplating a timely divorce."

"Emilia's with child!" Will finally burst out, confirming Leo's true suspicions. Leo guessed it the moment he heard Adelaide's voice saying congratulations behind the curtain, but what fun it was to watch as Will struggled to keep in his good news. "I swear I am finished telling people of it now," Will said, looking at Emilia apologetically.

She merely shook her head, beaming.

"Oh, how exciting, my lady," Scarlett exclaimed, reaching for Emilia's hand with genuine happiness.

Leo similarly smiled, sticking his hand out toward Will for a hearty shake. "My heartfelt felicitations, Trotten. It seems you were finally able to give your wife the one thing she's ever truly wanted."

The smile on Will's face didn't falter as he mumbled, "I should be insulted by that comment, but you're not wrong. As soon as this baby comes, she's likely going to completely forget about me."

"Don't despair, Will. She'll come back around for a bit when she wants another." Leo winked, and his friend merely shook his head, shrugging.

Leo looked behind him to see that Scarlett and Emilia were still speaking softly to each other, an occasional giggle breaking into the conversation. But the ladies were soon interrupted by an approaching attendant, informing them all that they would need to take their seats. Scarlett didn't mention her apprehension about joining in the royal box again, instead following Leo to the front corner of the space.

The curtains on the stage had yet to rise, so they all milled about. The box was large enough to fit the six of them without feeling cramped. In fact, Leo noticed there were at least ten of the cushioned chairs available. They stood in a relaxed circle, waiting upon the music to begin. Leo glanced to his left to see Emilia leaning against the box's banister.

"You are glowing, Em," Leo said, admiring her. "Quite radiant. Just as dear Adelaide did when she was with child." He turned to smile toward their monarch, who stood across from them. She flashed Leo a warning grin that Leo didn't intend to heed. The queen was wearing an ivory gown with silver threading. The accents matched the glittering jewels that decorated her blonde curls.

"Leo, do you mean to imply that Emilia and I are radiant only when we are expecting?" Addie asked with a raised brow.

"Naturally, not," Leo assured smoothly. "Your beauty is the one constant this country has, Your Majesty."

Emilia swatted at Leo's arm like she always did when he was over the top, and Leo chuckled...but continued anyway.

"I was just saying the other day that it is such a pity that your husbands refuse to sha—"

A loud clearing of a throat interrupted him, and Leo glanced to Adelaide's left where a glowering man sat, legs crossed in a chair.

"Theo, you cannot get mad. Your wife started it, really," Leo said in his defense.

Eyes rolled around the space, and Leo decided he would cease his teasing. Instead, he looked to his left to see that Scarlett appeared equally exasperated, only her expression was punctuated with a little frown.

The curtains began to lift slowly upon the stage, indicating the opera was about to begin, and they each found a chair to be seated in.

"Must you always be such a rogue?" Scarlett muttered as they settled next to each other. Leo tried to find a comfortable position in the soft, cushioned seat, crossing his legs neatly in front of him, but Scarlett sat with her spine straight, her back not even touching the chair.

Leo smirked. "I find that most women prefer me that way."

"Be that as it may, I am not most women, my lord," she retorted, causing Leo to chuckle.

"I think you're more similar than you may think. Perhaps the problem here is that I was not giving my affections to the right person."

She gave a little sniff, surveying the crowd beneath them in the lower assembly of the theatre. A chord struck, indicating the start of the opening number. "I do not know what you mean by that," Scarlett hissed finally.

Leo tilted his whole body, needing to get close enough to Scarlett so she could hear him over the orchestra. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume as he leaned into the crook of her neck and whispered, "I think you do know what I mean. But don't worry, my dear. For the rest of the night, my attention is all on you."