The Trouble With Princesses Read Free

frowned.
    “I’m sure she’ll be along soon,” Ariadne said, “but if it’s anything important, you might want to wait until morning when she’ll be less—how should I say?—distracted.”
    Rupert’s frown turned into a scowl. “And what would you know about such matters?”
    “Not a great deal firsthand, at least not when it comes to garden trysts,” she admitted, “but I do keep my ears and eyes open. Plus, I love to read. It’s amazing the things a person can learn from a book.”
    “Yes, I know all about your unsuitable reading habits,” he said in a severe tone. “Were it up to me you would be forbidden to open half the books you somehow manage to get your hands on. Such works do nothing but give you dangerous ideas.”
    “Oh, I come up with plenty of dangerous ideas all on my own. I don’t need books for that.”
    His eyes flashed blue fire, then narrowed again. “On that point, we are agreed.”
    She hid a smile. “So what is it you wished to speak to Emma about? Last-minute details concerning your return home to Rosewald next week?”
    Raising her glass, she took an idle sip.
    “Actually, I was going to tell her that I’ve decided to stay in London a while longer, through the Season at least.”
    Ariadne choked on her lemonade. Her eyes streamed as a series of wracking coughs squeezed her lungs.
    “Are you all right?” Reaching over, he laid a hand against her back and gave her a pair of bracing thumps.
    She gasped again but nodded to signal that she would recover, even as she continued gasping for breath.
    He offered her a silk handkerchief from his coat pocket. She accepted it gratefully and let him take the drink from her hand and set it aside.
    She mopped her eyes and fought to collect herself, even as Rupert took hold of her elbow and steered her gently toward a private spot behind a nearby pillar.
    “Better?” he inquired after a minute.
    “Yes,” she whispered, finally able to find her voice again.
    A slow smile curved his mouth. “That is a relief. I would hate to have to inform my sister that one of her dearest friends had expired, and that I was at least in part to blame. Had I known the news of my continued residence in the city would elicit such a dramatic response I would have made certain to keep all beverages well out of reach.”
    “You caught me off guard is all. I breathed in when I ought to have swallowed.”
    “Again, I shall have to take better care in future.”
    She became aware of his hand on her arm, his fingers warm against the narrow area of exposed skin between her long gloves and her sleeve. She met his eyes, which were so deeply blue, and felt her pulse quicken.
    A reaction to nearly choking to death, of course. She drew her arm away.
    So, he is remaining in London for the next several weeks.
    But what did such news really matter to her? Emma’s brother he might be, but that did not mean she need spend a great deal of time in his company. She would find ways to make sure she did not. Her little project would ensure that she was otherwise occupied.
    The music had stopped and guests now stood in small groups, talking while they waited for the next dance to begin. No one was looking at her and Rupert; her small incident had apparently gone unnoticed.
    A tall man with coal black hair and a long, narrow face appeared at her side. He sketched a bow, then inclined his head toward Rupert before turning back to her. “Your Highness, the next dance is mine, I believe.”
    Ariadne smiled as she appraised him, racking her brain to remember his title. She was sure she would recall if he was a duke, considering how few of them there were, so “my lord” ought to suffice for the time being.
    “Of course, my lord,” she said brightly. “I have been awaiting your arrival these many minutes past.”
    He smiled, displaying a set of even, white teeth, a twinkle in his cool gray eyes. “I am flattered by your kind attention, Princess.”
    She studied him anew, finding