The knocker clanged loudly against the door andour footman, Howard, hurried down the hall to answer it. After a quick,barely-audible exchange, Howard shut the door and hurried back down the hallthe way he'd come.

I watched him go to the door and back down the hall from my spot on the sofa in the parlor, just off the foyer. I'd chosen the parlor for my reading spot today because it was raining outside and I really did not want to get wet.

I was curled up on the couch, book in hand, rain pattering gently against the window, steel-gray skies illuminating the pages of my book. It felt like the perfect reading day.

It had been two days since William had scared me half to death by climbing the balcony into my room. We had not met since then. I had been working on how to get past Mother, since she would now probably expect me to sneak out again.

"Who was at the door, Howard?" Mother called from upstairs. Every morning at half-past ten, she would drink a cup of tea in the drawing room and today was no different. It was a very familiar part of her routine. If she missed her midmorning tea, she could be quite unpleasant—well, more so than usual.

Howard murmured a reply too quietly for me to hear. And my mother answered much louder. "Really? Tonight? That is so soon! Thank you, Howard. Tell Erika and Alice to join me in the withdrawing room. That is all." I heard the rattling of a teacup as she replaced it on its saucer.

A moment later, Howard entered the parlor. "My lady, your mother has requested your presence in the drawing room immediately."

My stomach knotted and I set my book down beside me. "Thank you, Howard," I said, rolling off the sofa. I stretched, attempting to rid myself of the sluggishness that plagued me, before going up to the drawing room to meet mother.

She sat in a chair before the fire, holding her cup of tea. I entered and stepped out of the way of the door. "Good morning, Mother," I greeted.

She nodded her head to me in acknowledgment. Alice entered the room soon after me, looking lovely, as always, in a pink gown with sleeves that stopped just before reaching her forearms, and a full-length skirt. Part of her hair was tied in a knot at the back of her head and the other part fell around her shoulders in soft, golden waves.

"Good morning, Alice," Mother said.

Alice dipped a small curtsy. "Good morning, Mother," she replied.

"You sent for us?" I asked.

Mother set down her cup of tea, her face turning severe. "His Majesty, the king, has personally invited our family to the palace to dine with the royal family tonight."

"So soon," commented Alice, looking surprised.

"I agree," Mother said. "But this will be good for you. You can have some time to chat with Prince William, continue getting to know him better, and your father and I can spend some time talking with the king and queen."

Alice bounced up and down excitedly, somehow managing to make it look graceful. "That sounds wonderful!"

"Yes, I knew it would, dear. Go start preparing. Wear something that will blow the prince away." She grinned at her eldest daughter with something akin to adoration in her eyes. The look vanished almost immediately when she turned to me. "And you," she said, somewhat harshly. "You will be polite and well-behaved, and you will hardly speak to anyone. You will not speak at all to Prince William. Do you understand, Erika?"

I swallowed and looked away. "Yes, Mother."

She nodded curtly. "Now, go get ready to go. Dress nice, look presentable."

I nodded my head, tamping down on my anger as best I could. I turned and hurried to my room, my eyes burning. I waited some time before I began to get ready for dinner, knowing it would not take me nearly as long to get as it would take Alice.

Agnes came in some time later, followed by a small group of servants, who set up a washtub in the bathing room and filled it with buckets of warm water. After I'd washed and dried off from the bath, Agnes dressed me, tying the laces of my bodice as tight as always for this sort of event. She curled my hair and pinned it up in a bun.

She stepped back, making sure I looked all right and then she beamed at me. "Lovely, as always, My Lady."

I blushed at her words and returned her smile. "Thank you, Agnes. You always do such an amazing job making me look presentable."

She looked down at her feet, her face turning a bright shade of red. "Thank you, Miss. You are too kind."

I smiled at her and then left my room to join my family in the entryway. The carriage was already waiting and we all filed inside.

During the carriage ride, Mother went over some rules about etiquette and manners that we had learned when we were children, but, for some reason, she felt the need to emphasize.

Despite Mother claiming she and Father were "close" to the king and queen, I had never seen much in the way of proof. Of course, as they would be quick to point out, I did not always pay attention, so that certainly could mean they were really close and I just had not noticed. I assumed, however, that Mother's stiffness and her insistence that we go over basic etiquette, meant that she had exaggerated her and Father's relationship with King Henry and Queen Alexia.

Throughout the carriage ride, as Mother discussed manners, she repeatedly mentioned that I was to stay quiet during the dinner unless I was spoken to. This nice was about Alice, not me. Though, one could argue every night was about Alice. I continued to agree to Mother's rules, if just to appease her and get her to leave me alone. I had brought my book, after all, so I was content to mind my own business and keep my head down.

When we reached the palace, we were escorted by guards to the king's formal dining room. It was larger and more ostentatious than I liked. A plush rug sat beneath a large oak table. Tapestries lined the walls, illustrating stories from thousands of years ago. From the ceiling hung an ornate silver chandelier, wrapped in strings of diamond.

The dining table was laden with a very extravagant feast, much too large for the seven of us. Braised lamb, stuffed turkey, roast boar, beef stew, loaves of brown bread, platters of sugared plumbs and pears and peaches, pastries drizzled with honey and powdered sugar . . . there was so much food. We could not possibly eat even half of it!

The king already sat at the head of the table, Queen Alexia sat on his left, and William sat on his right. I entered the room, but William did not look at me as I entered. He was looking at my sister, his eyes alight.

My heart twisted at the way he looked at her. My sister, Mother, and I curtsied before King Henry, as my father bowed low until we were told to rise and to sit. Alice took the seat beside William, and I sat across from her, next to Queen Alexia. Mother sat on my sister's other side, and Father sat at the foot of the table, directly across from the king.

King Henry served himself, which was permission for each of us to serve ourselves, as well. Slowly, gradually, conversation started up. Across the table, Father and the king began talking about marriage arrangement, while Mother listened. Alice and William began speaking to each other across from me.

I stared down at my plate, picking at my food in silence.

"Why are you so quiet, dear?" A gentle voice said from my right.

Surprised, I turned to find Queen Alexia watching me with curious sapphire eyes, the same as William's. "I was told that I had to be, Your Majesty," I replied honestly.

She raised a dark eyebrow at my response. "Oh? And I am guessing that you are Lady Erika Lovet, the second daughter of Lord Lovet?"

"Yes, that would be me," I smiled timidly at her.

She smiled back and I could not help but notice how absolutely beautiful she was. She had long, dark hair and intelligent blue eyes that seemed to see everything. Her fair skin was flawless and seemed to glow, untouched by blemishes or marks. She was petite, with small hands and a small figure, but she sat straight, holding herself with all the power and authority that was owed her as queen.

"You are very beautiful, Lady Erika," she said.

I bowed my head, face burning. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am humbled by your kind words."

#

She laughed softly—a light, delicate sound. "I can see why my son would be taken with you."

My eyes widened slightly at her words. "I do not think Will—His Highness—is taken with me at all." I glanced over at William and Alice, who were deep in conversation. He laughed at something she said and my heart twisted again. I could not help but feel a stab of betrayal—but why should I? Were we anything to each other, really? How long had we known each other? How long had we known of the arrangements being made between him and Alice.

"I know my son, Lady Erika. I would say he is quite taken with you. I do not think he would go out late at night to meet just anyone," she said, her blue eyes watching me for my reaction.

I looked up at her, startled. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, but how did you know about that?"

She laughed again and her eyes held a mischievous light that reminded me so much of William's. "I have my ways. I know all about his midnight walks with a mysterious girl, how he's brought her to the library, danced with her at every ball she's attended of late, brought her to his bedroom . . ." This one made me blush a deep shade of crimson. "I discovered recently that her name is Lady Erika Lovet of Locksley." She raised a delicate eyebrow at me.

I smiled sheepishly at her. "I've been found out, it would seem."

"It would seem that way, yes," she said on a laugh. "However, I am pleased that he has found someone like you and not a prostitute on the street to take company with."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I am pleased by that, as well."

"Good, then we are in agreement. But, whether you marry William or your sister does, we will be a family." The thought made me feel a little bit miserable, knowing it would probably be Alice that would marry him and I would still have to see him on holidays. How complicated this all was becoming.

And then, she added, "Personally, I hope he ends up marrying you." The words were so quiet that I barely heard them. She may not have even spoken them at all, but then, she winked at me, smiling faintly, and I knew she had spoken. Her words gave me a little spark of hope that, maybe, things would turn out for me, after all.

#

The dinner went about as well as I'd expected. After my conversation with Queen Alexia, she returned to talking with Mother and Father. Alice and William were also very deep in conversation.

I was confused. William had not glanced in my direction all night long. The only time he met my eye was once during the meal, and then he'd just nodded curtly, as though we had never talked to each other in our lives, before turning back to my sister.

I can see why my son would be taken with you. Queen Alexia's words replayed in my mind and I glanced at William again, still listening to what Alice had to say with rapt attention.

Why would he ever fancy me when he could have Alice? I thought miserably, looking down at my book. Though, every time I tried to focus on the words, Alice laughed at something William said, effectively breaking my concentration. In the end, the rest of the dinner was spent staring at the page of a book, uncomprehending.

"Erika," Mother hissed, and when I looked up at her, her eyes were narrowed on me.

"Yes, Mother?" I said.

"Stop reading at the table. We are in the presence of the king and queen, for God's sake."

I slammed my book shut under the table and conversation ceased as every pair of eyes in the room turned to me. It hadn't been that loud. I flushed in embarrassment and lowered my head, avoiding Mother's piercing gaze as she glared at me. I would certainly be hearing about this later.

I felt William's eyes on me, then, as I stared at the table. I let out a long, slow breath and looked at everyone around the table, smiling apologetically. "I apologize for my impudence," I said.

King Henry stared at me a moment longer, his dark eyes cold, before resuming conversation with my father. I turned and my eyes met William's briefly, but I returned his with cold disregard, breaking our eye contact to stare at my lap.

As the conversation started up again, I opened my book once more and attempted to be discreet as I read under the table.

Finally, the dinner came to a close and we said our goodbyes. Still, William did not look at me, even as he bid our family goodbye. I curtsied to King Henry before we left. Queen Alexia caught my eye and offered me a small smile, her sapphire eyes glinting in the lamplight.

As we were walking down the hall, we passed several servants and a couple soldiers, though it was late enough that activity was minimal.

Alice stopped walking so abruptly I nearly ran into her. "Oh, dear," she said, "I forgot my gloves in the dining room."

"How very thoughtless of you," Mother said coldly. "I will send someone to fetch them."

"Do not bother, I will go get them myself." She turned and walked down the hall the way she'd come, though, as she passed, I was fairly certain I saw her gloves poking out of her coat pocket.

I was a little suspicious of where she might be going, if, perhaps, she'd brought another pair of gloves and left those, but, before I could ask, she disappeared around the corner and out of sight. I followed Mother and Father to the carriage and we all took our seats and waited for Alice.

As we waited, Mother turned her cold eyes on me. "I cannot believe you I caught you reading in the presence of the royal family, Erika," Mother snapped.

I clutched my book tighter to me, my face burning. "You told me that I was not allowed to interact with anyone. I was only doing what you said," I replied defensively.

"But reading? Under the table? That was extremely rude and offensive! You should be grateful King Henry is a very tolerant man or you could have been beheaded!" She exclaimed.

If only.

"What was I supposed to do, Mother? I could not just sit there and stare at the wall for the entirety of the meal."

"That's exactly what you should have done. You should have just sat there and tried very hard to look inconsequential. That's what a good daughter would have done."

I bit back on all the arguments I wanted to make. It would do not good and I was too tired to try. I stared hard at my lap. "I'm sorry, Mother. I will try very hard not to read under the table at our next dinner with the royal family."

If Mother caught the faint note of sarcasm in my words, she did not react to it. "See that you do."

Alice appeared several minutes later and climbed into the carriage beside me.

"What took you so long?" Mother snapped at her. "It does not take a person nearly as long as it took you to retrieve their gloves."

"I had to search for them," she said easily, looking unapologetic as she said it.

Mother's lips thinned into a line, but she did not comment.

She and Alice began talking of dinner and how it went. Father was reading some sort of report and looked entirely apathetic about the whole evening.

We returned to the estate and, after a quick bid goodnight to everyone, I hurried upstairs to my room. I just wanted to be alone.

#

I sat in a chair before the fireplace in my bedroom, watching the flames dance and crackle in the hearth. I was holding a book—Julius Caesar, given to me by William—but I'd abandoned the thought of reading it soon after I'd picked it up. I was far too distracted. I kept thinking back to William and the way he'd acted tonight.

It was not as if he didn't know who I was. It was as if he loathed me, the way he'd acted. Like a friend that had been betrayed. What had I done to deserve such a reaction. I hastily blinked against the stinging in my eyes. I didn't want to cry about this.

Suddenly, there was a soft tapping at the door leading out to the balcony.

Oh, God, he had better not be here, I swear—

The tapping sounded again, louder this time. I tossed my book onto the chair beside mine and walked over to the balcony doors. I pulled them open and found William standing there, his hair tousled and his clothes rumpled from the climb.

I clenched my hands into fists at my side and it took everything in me to resist the urge to slap him. How dare he act so coldly toward me all evening without even an explanation and then show up at my door, as though things were all right between us. He had no right.

"What is the matter with you?" I hissed. "Get off my balcony now. You're not welcome here."

"Please, let me explain," He took a step toward me and my hand twitched slightly. Perhaps he could see the temptation in my eyes and in a flash, he held both of my wrists and had me pinned against the wall beside the balcony doors. The icy wind whispered against my skin, but I was too angry to notice the cold.

"Explain what, William? How could you possibly justify the way you treated me tonight? I cannot believe—"

"This wasn't about you, Erika." His voice was sharp as a knife. "You think I wanted to sit next to your sister? That I enjoyed hearing about her superficial life, the suitors, the parties, her opinion of the weather?" He sounded breathless now, his eyes wide, his face tinged red. "I didn't! My father told me to. I had to act like I didn't even know you so that you could even be there tonight. It was so frustrating. I wanted to sit next to you, to talk to you. And I had to try so hard to not to laugh when I saw you trying to read your book under the table while eating dinner in the king's private dining room, with the king, himself! And I didn't even want to be there. I wanted to be walking the streets of Belhaven with you, just the two of us, the way we always do. But I couldn't, because this dinner was about my marrying Alice, not my marriage to you. Not to you . . ." his voice trailed off.

His face was so close that I could see little flecks of gold in the sapphire rings of his eyes. I did not know what to say. I was completely speechless.

"I do not love your sister, Erika. She does not hold my heart the way you do," he whispered, his voice strained.

Tears pricked my eyes, but I did not want to cry. Not now. My eyes moved to his lips. I wanted to kiss him, but that was most inappropriate. Especially at this hour. In my bedroom. Control yourself, my mother would say. That is not how a lady acts, nor how one should think.

Slowly, I pulled my hand out of his grasp and placed it gently against his cheek.

His eyes fluttered closed, his eyelashes casting long shadows upon his cheeks. He pressed his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes too. I loosed a long, slow breath, wishing time could stop, wishing I never had to see how this story would end . . . for either of us.

"It is cold out here, William," I said. "Let us go inside." My voice was barely above a whisper.

He took both of my hands in his, pulling me into my room and shutting the door behind us. I glanced over to the door that led out to the hallway. I needed to lock it. As a precaution. I pulled away briefly to lock and bolt the door to my room and then I led him over to the chair by the fire. He sat down and pulled me into his lap. I curled up against him as he wrapped his arms tightly around me. My head rested so perfectly against the hollow of his throat, I could hear the beat of his heart through his shirt, the rhythm of his breathing.

It was a lullaby, gently nudging me into sleep. But I did not want to sleep. I wanted to stay awake as long as he was here, spend every moment I was given, with him.

At one point, I thought of something. "When you came to my room last time, did you climb back down the balcony to leave?"

"Yes, I climbed back down," he said, raising his eyebrow at me. "Did you expect I wouldn't?"

"I'm just impressed. It's a long way down."

He grimaced. "Yes, I know. My foot got caught in the lattice and I nearly fell the rest of the way to the ground. But I was fine," he added when I glared at me.

"William," I said, my voice holding a warning. "You had better not get yourself killed because of me."

He laughed softly, his breath tickling the hairs on my neck. "It would be an honor to die for you, My Lady."

I shook my head, though I could not help but smile. "How very romantic."

"I am but a romantic at heart," he said with a smile.

"Indeed," I said. I looked up at William, at the faint smile curving his lips, the soft gold of his eyes in the firelight. Again, I had to resist the urge to close the distance between us and kiss him.

I looked away quickly, back toward the dying fire. I rested my head against his chest, content to let his heartbeat lull me to sleep.