'I'm going to present you to King Constantine first. You'll want to make a good impression on him, so he'll consider you a worthy match for his son. Then's your chance to talk to Liam,' Maxwell tells me as he guides me across the room.

'Okay,' I nod, and soon we're before an elderly gentleman who is surely the king.

'Your Royal Highness, may I present Lady Riley Brooks?'

'Your Highness,' I say, giving a small curtsy, and suddenly realise that I don't know how. I pray I'm doing it right.

'A pleasure to meet the suitor Lord Maxwell's house has chosen. I hope you enjoy your time in Cordonia,' the king smiles, and I breathe a secret sigh of relief.

'Thank you,' I smile, and Maxwell takes my arm to move me away slightly.

'Lord Maxwell, huh?' I say, grinning as soon as we're out of the king's sight.

'That's my title. You could refer to me as 'His Lordship' from now on if you want,' Maxwell says in a faux posh accent.

'Eh, I like you better as Maxwell,' I smile, but then he's squeezing my arm.

'Look sharp,' he says, and disappears. I find myself before the prince, handsome as ever, even masked.

'Hello. You'll have to forgive me, but I don't think we've met,' Liam says politely, and amusement flutters in my chest.

'We've actually met once before,' I tell him. He frowns slightly.

'Surely I would have remembered,' he says, squinting at me.

'I suppose this mask is doing its job,' I smile.

'Give me a hint,' he pleads.

'Well, you owed me a drink,' I muse, and watch as his face practically lights up as he suddenly recognises me.

'Riley! I thought I'd never see you again,' he exclaims, going to reach for my hands but then apparently thinking better of it.

'So... this is a good surprise?' I ask.

'The best. But how did you get here?' he asks, looking around the room as though for an answer.

'Maxwell and his brother are sponsoring me. He brought me here,' I tell him, and his smile grows even wider.

'Really? That's amazing! I can't believe you came all this way for me,' he says, suddenly dropping his voice so that only I can hear it.

'Steady, I'm only here for the free holiday,' I say, and he laughs as though I've said something particularly amusing. I don't want to tell him that I wasn't trying to be funny.

'So, do you have any advice?' I ask, quickly changing the subject. Liam looks over my head at the surrounding gaggle of ladies.

'Don't let them intimidate you. Most of them are actually very nice, but they can be...'

'Competitive?' I suggest.

'Exactly, But you can't really blame them. That's the whole reason for this, after all. This entire series of events is set up not only to give me time with my potential matches, but also to give my parents, the council, and the people of Cordonia time to get to know their future queen. From now on, everyone will be watching you,' he tells me, and I try not to look as put out as I feel.

'Sounds... terrifying,' I say. His face falls slightly.

'I'm sorry I can't make it easier for you. For what it's worth, you definitely look the part,' he says, touching my arm lightly.

'Thanks,' I smile.

'I'm sure you'll charm them just as you've charmed me,' he smiles, before looking over my shoulder. 'This isn't the best place to talk, we don't have long.'

'What do you think of all this?' I ask him, gesturing at our surroundings.

'I know it seems a little silly, but it is tradition. And I know how important it is to Cordonia that we find the right queen,' he says, his tone indicating that he couldn't possibly expect me to understand. Which is good, because I don't. 'Sorry, looks like our time is up,' he tells me, smiling at one of the other noble ladies waiting behind me.

'It's certainly not New York,' I say, beginning to move away.

'No. But I hope I'll see you later tonight. If you'll save a dance for me,' Liam asks hopefully.

'Of course,' I smile, and he inclines his head to me before turning away. Maxwell is by my side in an instant.

'Liam looked really happy to see you!'

'Yeah,' I say, looking down.

'What's wrong?' he asks, frowning.

'Nothing – I just... I've never done anything like this before. Obviously. I don't know what I'm doing,' I admit.

'Don't worry, Bertrand and I will be there to help you every step of the way. We want you to win this thing!' Maxwell says cheerfully, and I find myself marvelling at his optimism.

'Right. Thanks.'

'For now, it would be good to get to know the other ladies. They're your competition, but you might be able to make some of them your allies. Bertrand and I are helpful, but the more people you can get on your side the better,' he says, and I turn to look at the gaggle of masked ladies milling around the room.

'I'm on it,' I say, and Maxwell gives me a double thumbs up which makes me smile as I walk away from him towards the ladies. Olivia is upon me as soon as I approach them.

'Riley, you were awfully familiar with the prince. You didn't say that you knew him,' she says sweetly, her voice tight with annoyance.

'Can we go back to how you lied to me about kissing the King's shoe?' I ask pleasantly.

'Hah! That wasn't hilarious, wasn't it? Come on, you can't begrudge me for a little prank. You are the new girl, after all.'

I smile at her while simultaneously trying to convey to her with my eyes how much I already dislike her.

'Yeah, well, hazing's over,' I tell her.

'It's over when I say it's over,' she retorts, the smiles vanishing from her face alarmingly quickly. 'Listen, you should know that whatever happened between you and Liam, you don't really have a chance with him. You can't keep up with us ladies here; we're from the finest families in Europe, and we've been training for this our whole lives. You can't just waltz in here at the last minute and steal him. Liam and I grew up at the palace together as childhood friends, and before his older brother abdicated, it was assumed that Liam and I would be married. I've no intention of losing him to one of you harpies. No offence,' she adds, seemingly as an afterthought.

I look at her for a moment, and then turn to the two other ladies who we're standing with, and Hana.

'Do you always let her talk to you like this?' I ask them.

'She's only stating the facts. There's no point being emotional about it,' the tall, porcelain skinned woman in a purple dress shrugs.

'We all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we came here. Didn't you?' the other lady asks. She's French, and really pretty, tanned with thick, straight, dark hair and deep brown eyes.

'Don't worry ladies. I'm sure little Riley will learn her place at the palace here, eventually. Or else I'll make her life living hell,' Olivia says, and I can't help but let out a shocked laugh.

'And what exactly do you think my place is here?'

'Somewhere below these two. But you know what? Probably above Hana. I'm surprised she's here at all after what I heard about her last attempt at an engagement,' Olivia says cruelly.

'Olivia!' Hana gasps.

'Well, we all know that your family will throw you at any available bachelor as long as it means you can climb another rung on the social ladder. But honestly, it's a bit much to expect that Prince Liam is going to accept damaged goods.'

There follows a shocked silence, in which I marvel at how much I hate this woman I've known for less than ten minutes.

'I... I need to... excuse me,' Hana says, her voice wobbling as she turns away.

'Hana, wait, I'll go with you,' I say, reaching for her, but she shakes her head.

'You're sweet, but I'll be fine,' she tells me, before walking swiftly away towards the staircase.

'Girls like her shouldn't bother being here if they can't handle the truth,' Olivia says, watching her walk away with a look of disdain.

'You're a real bitch,' I snap, realising as soon as the words leave my mouth that if I'm going to insult her I need to try harder than that.

'Yes,' she agrees, without missing a beat.

'It wasn't a compliment,' I say, turning away, unwilling to spend another second in her presence.

'How did it go?' Maxwell asks, materialising at my side again.

'Olivia is just... so rude,' I say, clutching my champagne glass tightly to stop my hands from shaking.

'Well, no time to brood. The last dance will be starting up soon, and I think Liam's waiting for you,' he says. You look across the room to Liam and see him chatting with another noble lady.

'It might be a little rude to cut in, but...' Maxwell says. I take a deep breath.

'Say no more.' I fix on a smile and walk towards the prince, Olivia's smug face hovering in the forefront of my mind.