Memory of her conversation with Prince Colin seeped up like oil. “Is something wrong? Is there something I can help you with?” I wasn’t sure there was anything I could really do besides urge her to speak with James, but maybe that was all she needed: a nudge.
She glanced around the ballroom. “Would you mind stepping outside?”
“Of course not.”
Outside, rain pattered on the terrace and thrummed on the canvas awning above. Water leaked across the stone in shimmering streams that smelled faintly of wraith. The air was sharp and cold, making both of us shiver, but Meredith looked determined.
“I’m going to speak plainly,” she said.
“Go on.”
“When you first came here, disguised as Julianna Whitman, I was under the impression you didn’t care for Prin—King Tobiah very much. Now that your true identity is revealed, your attitude toward him seems to have shifted and I find myself uncertain whether your previous disdain was part of your act, or true dislike. But either way, I’m aware that something has changed.”
I clenched my jaw. This wasn’t a plea for help; this was a confrontation.
“Perhaps it is that he has changed, too. He’s less severe. More open. He smiles now, in spite of everything.” She hesitated and dropped her voice. “He smiles at you.”
I said nothing, but my stomach tied itself into knots and that terrible yearning washed over me.
She shifted her weight to one hip. “Your Highness. I won’t pretend I know you well, but my fiancé seems to see something worthwhile in you. Since he does not trust easily, I must assume you’ve somehow earned it, and proven yourself honorable in his eyes.”
If only I’d managed that. I couldn’t imagine what Tobiah saw in me. Perhaps he’d admired me when we were children—I’d saved him—but now, with all he knew about me, I knew better than to think he believed I was honorable.
She continued. “His Majesty and I have been engaged since long before you arrived in Skyvale Palace. I do not suppose His Majesty loves me. I know why he’s marrying me. But I do love him, and this kingdom, and you should know that I intend to take my place as queen.”
“I have no intentions of coming between the two of you.”
The duchess softened a touch. “We haven’t spent much time together, but I’ve enjoyed your company when we’ve had the chance. I believe you genuine in your desire to better Skyvale, especially if you truly are Black Knife.”
The clatter of rain filled a pause, both of us perhaps remembering her discussion about Black Knife with the ladies in the solar. She hadn’t liked the vigilante then, and it was impossible to tell what she thought of him now. Her tone was completely neutral.
“I want us to be friends. I hope you know I am sincere when I make that offer.”
She was everything King Terrell had believed her to be: kind, generous, and graceful. “I do know,” I said. “And I hope you know that I have no intentions of interfering with your relationship with King Tobiah. I dislike him less now, but I never wanted him like that.”
Never the prince. Only the vigilante.
Meredith smiled, tension rolling from her shoulders. “I believe you. Now, shall we dance? We have a lot to look forward to. The restoration of mirrors, Skyvale pulling itself back together, and I can even teach you how to spin yarn if you like. . . .”
Arm in arm, we turned to go back inside, just in time to see a curtain swish back into place and Prince Colin’s shape sliding away from the window. Meredith’s hand tightened on my arm.
He’d been watching us.
SIXTEEN
I MISSED MELANIE more than ever.
Meredith was not my best friend, not even close. After we talked a few minutes, smiling at each other in plain view of the guests, she went off to visit with Lady Chey and Lady Margot.
I wandered the fringes, spotting Kevin trailing after his tutor like he was trying to work up the courage to speak with her. He was too slow, though; Alana accepted another man’s offer to dance. Meanwhile, Theresa flirted with a young man from the Indigo Order. Karl and Connor were drooping, having eaten half the buffet table by themselves; I sent them to their quarters to sleep it off.
I spotted Tobiah and James not quite concealed by a hanging banner, and made my way toward them. “This isn’t the time.” The king’s voice was low. Anxious.
“Then when? I realize it’s not a priority, but I want to investigate what happened.” James’s hand breezed over his stomach.
“I’m not sure.” Tobiah drew him toward the public again. “After all of this is done with . . .”
“Dance, Your Highness?” Prince Colin stood directly behind me. The swelling music did nothing to conceal the dislike in his voice.
I spun to find him wearing his typical sneer. He held out a hand, mocking me.
If I declined, what would he do? What kind of show would he make? I was trying to give the impression I was cooperating with the Indigo Kingdom. But if I accepted and later it came out that he’d been in my room the other night, what would people assume?
Did it even matter? What would Melanie suggest?
“I have a proposition for you,” he said. “I’m willing to give you Aecor.”