Prince Nicholas

The conductor lifted his baton.

I broke into a smile, as an upbeat, lively number began to resonate throughout the ballroom. It was a good thing I decided to sit this one out. The evening was still young, but the exhaustion from riding all morning to Roche was beginning to settle in my bones.

At that moment, I noticed a beautiful young woman across me, dressed in a deep maroon silk gown for the evening's festivities. She was craning her neck above the crowds, no doubt searching for me.

My smile widened, as I raised my hand to wave Tess over to where I stood.

I could not believe that my mind had managed to wipe her out of my memories. It was no wonder that Julie had been so shocked when I had told her I could not remember her cousin sister.

There was suddenly so much to catch up on – ten years' worth of stories to exchange, problems to confide, laughter to share – and the few hours we had before the ball was far from sufficient.

What more, it had been as effortless as our friendship used to be when we were children. Tess had been, and still was, one of the best listeners I knew, and it was one of the reasons why I had gotten along with her so well in the past.

She neared me now, beaming and holding up what appeared to be two, full glasses of red wine.

"Thank you, my Lady, but I do not drink," I chuckled, "not at social events, in any case."

A faint smile crossed her lips. "A pity. There is no joy being the only sober individual at any event," she answered wryly, "but rest assured, this is not wine." She held out a glass towards me.

I gazed at it with some apprehension. "Then what is it?"

"One of the many specialties of Roche," her eyes twinkled, "come now, Sire, do not judge it before you try it." She pushed the glass into my hands.

"All right, all right," I raised it to her, "to...our friendship."

Her smile was tinged with the slightest of sadness, as she silently raised her own to me.

I took a careful sip, and almost at once, a rich, sweet flavour exploded in my mouth. In that moment, I could have sworn that I saw stars burst forth before my eyes. I had never tasted anything quite like it before, and I felt my eyes widen with wonder.

"Merde," I whispered, gazing at the glass, "what is in this?"

"Cranberry juice," Tess laughed softly at the expression on my face, as she sipped on her own glass, "and of course, some sugar and apple juice to sweeten it."

I frowned in bewilderment. "I beg your pardon, cran...?"

"Cranberry. Canneberge in French, if I am not mistaken," she pondered, before smiling, "a fruit that is very good for your health, and one that is also used to make a variety of spreads and compôtes that are absolutely delicious. One taste of them, and you will forget your Marzipan."

I took another eager gulp of my drink. "I can see why that might be a possibility," I conceded, "why have I not heard of this before today?"

"I am not surprised. It is not very well-known," she shrugged, "cranberries are grown and harvested under very specific conditions, and Roche is the only duchy in Monrique that produces them. One of our specialties, as I told you earlier, and very popular among the upper echelon of society."

"High in demand, but low in supply," I mused, "the secret to Roche's wealth."

She smiled in approval. "One of many. You are learning already, Sire," her voice was soft, "you will prove to be a good student when Papa brings you around the duchy from tomorrow onwards."

"I cannot wait to learn," I finished my glass, "and thank you for introducing me to this drink. You have opened my eyes to a whole new world."

Her expression turned thoughtful. "If you want to widen your horizons, you can try another version of this beverage," she swirled her own glass, "with a few more ingredients, this juice can be even more potent than red wine."

"Which is what I presume is in your glass," I noted dryly.

She raised her glass to me again. "But of course."

***

An hour later, I was becoming concerned.

"Where is Kat?" I asked Tess, "it is customary, is it not, for me to dance with all the Potentials before I dance with the rest of the Ladies?"

It was the first time in this Potential Quest that a Potential did not attend the Ball on time. The other Ladies and gentlemen were welcome to come when they please, although they liked to be punctual for my sake.

Truly, I was not angry with Kat. Like Julie, she had the tendency to defy conventions to bend to her will, and I admired that.

Speaking of Julie, however, it was indeed strange that I had not seen her at all day. She would usually inform me before she ventured into the villages in a duchy, but I supposed she did not wish to disturb me when she saw me conversing with Tess.

"Harrington has a penchant for making grand entrances, Your Royal Highness," Tess chuckled, "worry not, she will be here soon."

"All right. Oh, and do you know where Julie is?" I asked her, puzzled, "I have not seen her all day. All her Captains are here on duty, yet she is not with them..."

Was it merely my imagination, or did her smile freeze on her countenance?

"Jules must have lost track of time gallivanting around Roche, Your Royal Highness," she laughed before I could ponder on that moment, "both her best friends are with her now, after all. Would you like to dance again before Harrington arrives, Your Royal Highness?"

I nodded, and took her hand, when the heralds on the top of the stairway stomped their sceptres thrice, demanding the attention of everyone present in the ballroom.

We paused in our tracks, waiting.

"Announcing Lady Katherine of Johanne, Lady Alyssa of Louvre and Lady Juliette of Bordeux, Lady Knight of Monrique and the Commander General of the Monriquan Armed Forces!" they cried admirably in one breath.

Three, radiant women strolled towards the top of the stairs from the side door, and paused for a moment, before they began to descend gracefully down the stairs.

I heard Tess suck in a sharp breath beside me, as the whole Ballroom plunged into awed silence.

However, my eyes were drawn to only one of the trio, to the woman in forest green, whose hands rested tightly on the arms of the women on either side of her.

Her rich, golden curls were glowing with the light from the chandelier as they lay unbound over her right shoulder, and her huge kohl-lined hazelnut brown eyes were shifty, almost uncomfortable with herself. Her pale cheeks were high in colour, and the scars that marred her left cheek only added to her beauty, a part of her true, dangerous self.

Her rosebud lips were trembling slightly, no doubt with nervousness. The faded, forest green gown she wore hugged her curves in an hourglass manner, and accentuated her height.

I blinked once. I blinked twice.

Impossible.

"What is she doing here?" I vaguely heard Tess whisper under her breath.

I was certain I must have misheard. She was still smiling widely up at the stairway.

I blinked once more. Surely there was no way in the whole almighty universe -

I could not believe my eyes. Julie had come to a Ball, in truth, as a Lady instead of as a Knight - just as she had promised Mama in Bordeux that she would.

Truth be told, I was not overwhelmed by the fact that Julie had dressed so well for a ball. She had always been beautiful, even in her army attire, even with her usual military scowl. She surpassed all other women without even trying, regardless of whether I dared to admit it to myself. Wearing a gown made no difference to that.

What had truly shocked me was the fact that the usually calm, confident Julie seemed so shy, much more uncertain than I had ever seen her before. I did not think it would have been possible to faze her in any way, and here she was, clearly discomforted over attending a ball.

Still, a stubborn glint remained in her eyes. The same stubbornness that had driven her to become a Knight in the first place.

And that made all the difference. She was almost glowing, glowing with the strength and determination to tolerate something that she dreaded as best as she was able to.

At that moment, she looked so heartrendingly beautiful that she truly took my breath away.

"Remarkable," I breathed, "she has not attended a ball - "

" - since you and I humiliated her at the ball held here ten years ago," Tess cut me off, "I remember." Her ears were bright red, although her ocean blue eyes remained eerily calm.

I was startled by her sudden ire. Her temperament was usually quite mild. It took me a while before it occurred to me that she might be feeling ashamed of herself for how she had treated her cousin sister in the past, and was angry with me, as well, for adding to Julie's misery.

Even I was disgusted with myself for it.

"I am very sorry, as you are, for having wronged your cousin all those years ago," I apologised sincerely, "I assure you, it will not happen again. She and I are friends now."

There was a twinge of unease within me at the word friend. Surely no decent friend would keep thinking about the day he had almost kissed her?

Instead of joy, however, Tess' face drained off all colour upon hearing that. "I beg your pardon?"

I did not understand her anxiety. "I said Julie and I are friends now," I repeated myself for her benefit, "I have been quite the donkey in the past. Indeed, we have both been donkeys, my Lady - only, you seem to have seen the error of our ways much earlier than I did."

She grew even more pale, if that were possible. "You both are friends now? Your years' worth of enmity has vanished within weeks?"she shook her head slowly, heavily, "Mama is going to make me pay for this..."

Before I could ask her what in the world did she mean by that, the three Ladies had already reached the bottom of the stairs. Almost at once, they were surrounded by men, who were beginning to badger and pester them for an introduction and a dance.

Truth be told, I could not fathom the dark, suffocating rage that filled me at that moment. Rage for those men. Rage that made me want to banish every, last one of them out of the country, out of her sight and mine -

"Come now, Your Royal Highness. The quadrille is about to begin soon," Tess' voice cut sharply through my thoughts, as she began to drag me towards the dance floor.

My eyes remained locked on the woman in forest green.

***

The Lady Knight

"May I have this dance, Lady Juliette?"

"It is an enchanting delight to meet you, my Lady!"

"You shine with the light from the sun, fair dame!"

I glanced at Kat and Lisa beside me, desperate, as they were bombarded by men for a dance as well. I did not understand why they made such a fuss, and most importantly, I did not understand why we were surrounded by men as if we were the stall vendors in a market!

I had enough of this nonsense.

My hand flew to the dagger I had hidden in the depths of my gown, and I held it up, fending them off. "I am very pleased to make your acquaintance as well, my Lords," I smiled deadly sweetly, "but I am afraid you are suffocating my friends, and that does not please me."

I stared pointedly at the red-faced Kat, and the slightly faint Lisa on either side of me.

They understood my message at once. Move, or you would have my dagger to reckon with. I saw the fear in their eyes, as they took a small step back to allow us room to breathe, but continued to smile at us.

Lisa elbowed me in the ribs hard, furious. "Jules!" she hissed beside me, plastering a fake smile on her face for the sake of the eager men, "this is a ball! Put away that dagger. For tonight, at least, you are a Lady. Not a Knight."

"How did you get hold of your dagger, anyway, poppet?" Kat muttered, maintaining the charade, "I had made sure to hide all your weapons out of your sight."

"I am, and always will be, a Knight. You cannot hide anything from me."

"Kat?" a familiar voice called out just then among the crowd, "Lisa?"

I turned around, smiling in relief, as Ned and Evoric pushed through the crowd towards the three of us, dressed in glossy new black suits. Ned looked just as hale and boisterous as ever, but something about Evoric was definitely amiss.

Ned was the first to reach us. "Good evening Lisa, Kat," he boomed, grinning at them before his eyes fell on me, "and who is your lovely friend?"

He offered me a heavy-lidded gaze, no doubt attempting to charm me like he did the other ladies of the society.

"Save yourself the trouble, Ned," I scoffed, rolling my eyes as I held up my dagger, "I am as capable of wielding this now as well as I was before I was forced into this monstrosity."

His eyes popped out in realisation comically, as his jaw dropped. "Jules? In truth?"

"The one and only," I bowed, smirking.

His cheeks tinged pink, as he ran a hand through his blonde locks. "I....well, I'd never," he chuckled indulgently, "I have to say, my Lady Knight, this is a side of you I thought I would never see. You look beautiful."

Before I could comment on that, Evoric reached us. Now that he was closer, I could observe him better.

And I did not like what I saw.

His cheeks had hollowed considerably, and a haggard look had taken over his face from the last time I had seen him in Louvre. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and his goblin green orbs were tired. Even his shock of dark hair had a definite droop to it.

I stared at him, unsurprised. The murder of his father Lord Anthony had clearly taken a significant toll on him. I doubted that Lisa knew about it, else she would have resembled him at the present.

Nevertheless, his goblin green eyes shone with love as they rested on his fiancée. Lisa promptly rushed to his side, beaming up at him.

"Good evening, love," he took her hand, and pressed his lips to it, "how have you been?"

"I have missed you so much," I heard her mumble, "why did you not tell me you were coming to Roche too?"

"It was a surprise, Lisa," Ned answered instead, "and it would not have been much of a surprise if Evoric here had blabbered to you, would it?"

"I suppose not," Evoric chuckled, pulling back to smile at Lisa before glancing at Kat, "greetings, Kat. It has been a long time."

"Good evening to you too, Evoric," Kat waved briefly, chuckling, "it is good to see you again. Will you not meet the new and improved Jules, too?" She gestured to me.

Evoric's eyes registered surprise for a brief moment when they noticed me, before his lips pulled up in a warm smile. "Now this is a wonderful surprise," he laughed, glancing at Lisa and Kat, "how did you manage this feat?"

"The Queen," I muttered sourly.

"It is a long story, one that we will save for weary days," Kat intervened hastily, "now that you are all here, how about saving us from all these vultures by asking us to dance?" She gazed around at the crowd around us, shuddering.

"It will be my pleasure," Evoric whisked Lisa away almost at once, grinning.

"You had better find someone to dance with, Jules," Kat latched herself onto Ned's arm, "I am off to dance as well. And remember the plan." She gave me a meaningful glance, her forehead clearing as she remembered to remind me.

"What plan?" Ned was curious.

Kat subtly shook her head, continuing to stare hard at me.

Oh, yes. Kat's Le Plan Grand. The very plan that had dragged me into this mess.

Her maxim for the evening: Dance with anyone male - preferably handsome - keep talking to everyone, smile and look endearing. However, at any cost, do not look, gesture, approach or even smile at the Crown Prince until he approaches you himself.

I did not see how this was going to help me find out what he felt, especially since I was not even allowed to talk to him this evening until he himself did.

I trusted Kat, I truly did, however at times, her plans were so strange and incomprehensible - and I did not like it when I was in the dark about anything.

"Aye, Mother," I rolled my eyes, "I remember."

"Remember what?" Ned was becoming more and more curious, but I ignored him and so did Kat.

She beamed at me, satisfied with my answer, and dragged Ned to the dance floor before he could ask and I could say anything else.

I sighed heavily, huffing in exasperation. The heartless creatures! How could they abandon me with these vultures surrounding me? Had they no sympathy for me?

To follow the Le Plan Grand was bad enough. To follow it all on my own?

It was terrifying.

I needed a man to dance with for Kat's Le Plan Grand, a man who considered me his friend, and not a potential wife. Clearly, none of the men in front of me fulfilled that particular requirement.

By God, it was not every day that I attended social events like this to know how to reject these men without threatening them with castration to leave me alone.

I gazed around at the eagerly waiting men, uncomfortable. For all I knew, Nick could be dancing with Tess in ignorant bliss this very moment, oblivious to my plight. I could almost imagine her held snugly in his arms as they enjoyed themselves on the dance floor, beaming and making merry together after ten long years, forgetting all else around them.

The image surprisingly hurt. Like a wagon of rocks hurled straight at my chest at once without warning.

My grip on the hilt of my dagger tightened. This plan of Kat's was doomed from the very beginning. I simply was not meant to be a Lady. Did we not prove that in this very ballroom ten years ago?

Why was she making me suffer through this again?

At that moment, a tall, blonde haired man pushed through the crowd towards me confidently, walking straight up to me, his expression one of great arrogance as he smirked down at me in a superior manner. "Lady Juliette," he lifted my hand up to his lips unbidden, "a pleasure."

At this gesture, the crowd melted away to search for other women to badger, disappointed.

I raised my eyebrow at his forwardness. "And you might be?"

He seemed somewhat startled at that. "I am Lord Andre," he introduced himself, sounding quite full of himself, "Earl of Baden." He smirked, as his eyes slowly travelled up and down my form to the point of impropriety.

I snapped my fingers in front of him, frowning.

He smiled at me, slow and deliberate. "You have a delectable body," he mused, almost talking to himself, "petite, wide hips to give me lots of sons, yes...very nice indeed. You would have been beautiful, too, if not for those ugly scars on your cheeks....but I suppose those can be covered with a veil after I marry you."

He then winked at me, as if he liked what he saw.

I felt my jaw drop at his words. Very clearly, he had no idea who I was or what I was capable of doing to him for even looking at me in such a manner.

I willed myself to remain calm in front of this infuriating man. I was at a ball, and I was wearing Mama's dress. It would not do well for me to wrestle him to the ground, and pound him to bits at that moment.

He noticed the dagger in my hands just then. "What are you doing with a dagger, my Lady?" he frowned in disapproval, "it is dangerous, especially for delicate ladies such as yourself. Let me relieve you of this burden." He tried to reach for it, but I stepped back away from him.

Ladies such as myself? I scowled fiercely at him for an answer. Lord forgive me, but if someone did not stop me, I might well murder this man before sunrise -

"Jules?" a hesitant voice called me at that moment.

I turned around to see Clara gliding towards me, followed by a beaming Captain Everard at her side.

I gaped at the both of them, shocked.

Captain Everard was dressed in a new black suit, instead of his military attire. Was he attending the ball instead of being stationed on duty with the other Captains? He was most welcome to do so, as long as he was within a quarter mile's radius of Nick and on his highest alert.

But it was a shock all the same.

The Captains usually hated Balls in general, like me, and chose not to take any part in it. In addition, something about the gentle way he and Clara gazed at each other seemed a little out of place.

"Lord Andre, may I introduce to you my cousin, Lady Clarisse De Beauharnais and Captain Robert Everard?" I gestured to them both.

"My Lady," he greeted Clara first, bowing low over her hand, before shaking hands with Captain Everard, "Captain. It is a pleasure to meet you both."

Clara nodded briefly. "Lord Andre," she began sickly sweetly, "may I introduce to you my cousin, Lady Juliette Van Helsing, Commander General of the Monriquan Armed Forces, and the Lady Knight of Monrique?"

He flinched, horrified, as he looked me up and down again, not believing his eyes. Mumbling something about wanting to use the chamber pot, he excused himself from our company almost at once.

It would have been amusing, if I had not been so vexed with him.

"I would have shown him a thing or two about respecting women, Ma'am, if Clara had not commanded me not to engage in violence for the night," Captain Everard muttered, cracking his knuckles.

Once more, I was stumped. Clara? Since when were they both on first-name basis?

"Captain Everard?" I raised my eyebrow at him, "care to explain?" I gestured at his attire.

"I could ask you the same, Ma'am," he smiled, trading an amused glance with Clara.

She shook her head at him, chuckling. He then leaned forward to whisper something in her ear, much to her apparent delight, before bowing to me.

"May I have the pleasure of a dance this evening, Ma'am?" he held out his hand.

I glanced at Clara, who was gesturing at me to accept.

"We will meet you by the refreshments table when it ends," I promised her, as I let him lead me onto the dance floor for my first dance that evening.

A quadrille, if I was not mistaken.

Much to my surprise, I came to learn that Captain Everard was a rather amusing dancer. Mayhap due to the number of hours he spent on the Army training grounds rather than the dance floor, his movements were stiff and uncoordinated.

I was not an exemplary dancer, either. My mistakes were plenty to the point of embarrassment.

Thus, the both of us were quite the pair, making utter fools of ourselves on the dance floor, much to the disapproval of many of the Ladies of the Society present, and much to the amusement of the older menfolk. The younger ones simply looked on, equal parts bewildered and scandalised.

However, I hardly cared. I was too busy laughing.

"Oh, Ma'am, I would like you to meet a very dear friend of mine," Captain Everard grinned at that moment, gesturing to a couple who had moved towards us, "Don!"

The couple turned around, and the red-haired gentleman's face registered surprise, before he broke into a huge beam.

"Rob!" he let go of his companion's hand to clap Captain Everard's back, "good to see you!"

His companion looked mortified by being abandoned in the midst of the quadrille. I shot her a sympathetic look, which was completely lost on her, as she quickly curtsied and fled from the dance floor before she was further embarrassed.

"You too, Don. Come, I would like you to meet Ma'am," he brought him towards me, "Don, this is Commander General Van Helsing. Ma'am, this is my long-time friend, Lord Donovan of Dufort."

Lord Donovan, who was a very handsome man in his mid-twenties, observed me for a moment, before a crooked smile unfolded on his lips. He held out his hand.

"I have heard a lot about your achievements on the field, Ma'am," he drawled, seeming impressed, "it is indeed a pleasure and an honour to meet you. If Rob does not mind, may I have the next dance?"

His sea-green eyes twinkled with honest friendliness, and at once, I knew he was not the kind who would hound me with false compliments and beg for my favour like the rest of the gentlemen who had pestered me by the staircase earlier.

Most importantly, he was not another Lord Andre. In addition to having Captain Everard's friendship, that was good enough for me. He was perfect for Le Plan Grande. And he need never know about it.

I shook his hand in a firm handshake, grinning. "Nothing would please me more, Lord Donovan."

***

Prince Nicholas

"Your Royal Highness," I felt someone touch my shoulder.

With great effort, I dragged my eyes off Julie on the dance floor, and looked down at a concerned Tess by my side.

"Are you all right?" she asked me softly, with no anger in her eyes, "you have been distant all evening."

Nay, I am not all right, I wanted to tell her.

I hated the dreamy, lustful way the entire male population present was staring at Julie whenever they had the opportunity to do so, as if they would have her for breakfast, luncheon and dinner.

I hated that Captain Everard took her first dance of the evening instead of me.

I hated that he had introduced her to many of his male acquaintances during the quadrille, which of course, led to the whole lot of them asking her for one dance after another in consecutive order.

I hated that she was chattering with them like never before, and clearly enjoying herself on the dance floor, her rare peals of laughter ringing throughout the ballroom.

I hated that her circle of male admirers was widening and I hated that she did not seem to mind that.

I hated that, through it all, she had yet to even look at me this evening, let alone seek me out and talk to me, as she usually did at the other balls she had accompanied me as a guard.

But these were dark, suffocating thoughts that I could not very well share with Tess without sounding like a murderous, vengeful, jealous suitor.

And I knew I was acting like one. The very real possibility that one of them may steal her heart tonight hounded my mind to no end.

Indeed, was that not why Mama forced her to attend one of my Potential Quest balls? So that she could find a husband for herself?

I wished well for Julie. I truly did. However, I prayed that she would not find anyone tonight. The very thought of some other man holding her in his arms, some other man receiving her smiles and her affection, was unbearable.

I kept watching her, helpless to do nothing else but ensure that none of those idiots escorted her outside for some fresh air. It was the most common prelude to a confession, or worse, a proposal.

There was no way in hell that would happen tonight. Not on my watch.

"I am all right," I managed a small smile and a lie, "merely a little tired from my journey here."

"Mama should have arranged for this ball a day or two after your arrival - not on the very evening," she commented wryly, "indeed, it is no wonder that you seem a little drawn, Sire."

I nodded, smiling weakly. This was what I liked about her. She spoke her mind regardless of what anyone else thought, exactly like Julie did.

Mayhap it ran in the family.

Thinking of Julie brought back those dark thoughts, and once more, I felt like throttling the man she was currently dancing with.

"Greetings Nick, old chap," someone suddenly clapped my shoulder at that moment with too much enthusiasm.

I pitched forward, not having expected it. My vision focused on Ned and a much quieter Evoric beside him, who were both beaming at us.

"When did you both come?" I frowned in bewilderment, "by the Lord, I did not even see you walk towards us."

"We greeted Tess, congratulated her on the evident success of this Ball and we even made small talk - in your immediate presence," Evoric rolled his eyes, "in which world have you been lost in?"

"Clearly, not in ours," Tess smiled, although it did not quite reach her eyes, "I will leave you three to talk among yourselves. I need to check on some of the arrangements. I will return in time for the next cotillion, Your Royal Highness. Please excuse me."

She curtsied, and disappeared into the crowds of people who surrounded us.

My eyes were drawn to the dance floor once more the moment Tess left. I had even forgotten that Ned and Evoric were still standing next to me, until they decided to remind me.

"You have eyes only for one Lady tonight," Ned sniggered in my ear, rudely jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Clearly not Tess," Evoric chuckled under his breath, "but a certain Lady Knight."

Did that have to rhyme?

I crossed my arms, disgruntled, and did not deign to answer that.

"We had heard that you and Jules were getting along much better now. However, we certainly knew not exactly how much better," Evoric snickered, "goodness, you have not stopped staring at her since the moment she arrived with Kat and Lisa."

"Who would not?" Ned sounded awed, as he gazed out at the dance floor, moony-eyed, "finding Jules here was a wonderful surprise. I truly knew not that she could look so...." He trailed off softly, at a loss for words.

I did not like his tone. "Be careful - "

Evoric tilted his head, and observed in the direction of Ned's gaze. "You speak the truth, my friend," he drawled with a glint in his eyes, "she is too damn beautiful to be true."

What?

"She has always covered up her beauty with those awful military clothes, but now, 'tis plain for everyone to admire," Ned breathed dreamily, "truly, Evoric, she looks like an angel tonight."

If he knew how close I was indeed to strangling him with my own two hands -

"Indeed, if I were not already engaged to Lisa, I think I might have asked Jules to court me," Evoric put an arm around his shoulder, stroking his chin in a daze as they both ogled at her together.

This is utterly ridiculous -

"Well, since you cannot, I think I will," Ned mused, his forehead creasing in concentration, "I must approach her before anyone else makes her an offer. In fact, I think I shall ask her this instant."

Hell nay. Wait till I -

"I think I will come with you and try my luck as well," Evoric seconded.

With that, they both started to walk forward simultaneously. On instinct, I pulled them back by their collars none too gently and smacked their heads together hard. My height gave me an advantage, allowing me to keep a tight hold on their collars despite their insistent squirming.

"Where do you think you are going?" I tried to rein in my rage as best as I could.

They shot me genuinely puzzled looks. "We are going to ask Jules which one of us she would like to court, of course," Evoric's forehead creased, "do you think we are insipid enough to wait until someone else asks her?"

"You can come along with us too, Nick," Ned piped up excitedly, "you could praise us and butter us up to her. She will definitely listen to you, since you both are such good friends now."

Something about the way he stressed on the word friends rubbed me up the wrong way.

"Forget about it," I snarled, "no one will ask to court her. No one, you hear?"

Ned looked most woeful. "Why not?" he whined, "come now, Nick, you are the only one who can help us, who is our close friend as well as hers - "

"She is not just my friend, Ned."

I pinned him with a fierce glare, towering over him. "You have absolutely no idea how much she means to me," I lashed out harshly before I knew what I was saying, "and I swear to God, I will be damned before I allow either of you to court her - "

The both of them exchanged startled looks, before they burst into loud guffaws.

"Priceless!" Evoric gasped out, shaking his head, "our little Nicky is enamoured of someone at long last!"

"What a day! I never thought I would live to see it," Ned pretended to wipe tears from his eyes, as he clapped Evoric on the back, "well done!"

I felt my eyes widen as round as saucers, as the truth of what they had done dawned on me. "You mean you - you -"

"Of course we were only jesting," Evoric laughed out, "come now, Nick, did you truly think I would find anyone more beautiful than Lisa? Or would want to spend my life with anyone else? Did you truly think that, after seeing all that happened in Louvre?"

I felt my ears redden in embarrassment. "I suppose I should not have," I rubbed my neck, "but all those fools fawning over Julie are wearing on my patience - "

"We have noticed that as well," Ned shared an amused look with Evoric, "but we wanted to be certain."

"And now that we are," Evoric grinned, glancing at Ned, "we have a plan."

And when their eyes met mine, I knew I need not worry anymore this evening.

***

The Lady Knight

"I need to rest, Captain Everard," I panted slightly, "come, let us eat. Clara, stop talking and let us go!"

I grabbed both Captain Everard and Clara's hands before they could return to the dance floor, and before I could be asked to dance again. Like a woman on a mission, I dragged them both to the refreshment tables.

My eyes feasted on all the sumptuous food on the tables with delight. "Marvellous!" I clapped my hands together in delight, "long live the cooks of the world!"

With that, I helped myself to one of the sweetmeats that were piled up on a plate at the edge of the table. Captain Everard grabbed a couple for himself too, and proceeded to munch on them.

"I am curious, Captain Everard. Why did you decide to attend the ball this time?"

"I invited Robert to come to the Ball with me," Clara answered instead, as she watched us both, "he is excellent company - and he prevented Mama from hounding me to dance with potential suitors tonight." She scowled at the floor.

I grinned, pleased upon finding another who was in a similar predicament. "Truly, I never had the chance to thank you both for saving me from Lord Andre. And from the rest, as well."

I glanced around us, where starry eyed young men were waiting in the background for me to be free of Captain Everard so that they could ask me to dance. I shuddered upon contemplating my plight if Captain Everard and Clara were to abandon me now, as Kat and Lisa had before.

"You are most welcome, Cousin," Clara shrugged, "you looked like you were about to murder him with your bare hands, and with all honesty, after hearing his words, I felt like doing the same." A dark look flashed across her eyes.

I nodded in agreement, cracking my knuckles unconsciously.

"By the way, your dress suits you extremely well. From which dressmaker did you have it made? It is not a Madame Fallon's gown for certain." She observed me curiously.

I shuffled uncomfortably. "It was Mama's."

"Tante Jeanne's?" she was surprised, as she smiled warmly, "well, it is a wonderful gown, and you look absolutely stunning in it tonight. It puts even most of my new gowns to shame."

"I never thought I would see this day," Captain Everard grinned, looking me up and down, "you are a bonny lass, Ma'am, if I say so myself."

"Why, thank you, Captain Everard," I snickered, "you do not look half as bad in a suit yourself. I never thought I would see the day we would be exchanging compliments at a ball, either."

"Well, I had my reasons to come this time," he grinned down at Clara, before looking up at me teasingly, "have you met the Crown Prince yet, Ma'am?"

I shook my head, reddening slightly, as Clara scowled. "He is most likely closeted somewhere with that sister of mine," she muttered in disgust, "what he finds in her, I know not. Neither do I want to know. And I would never know, in any case."

A large part of me agreed wholeheartedly with her.

"Let us not brood over Lady Therese," Captain Everard waved it off, "allow me to share with you some ball-themed jests I heard recently, since we are in attendance."

"Nay, thank you," Clara hastily put in, "Robert, there is no need to - "

"Let us hear them," I nodded, intrigued.

Indeed, surely anything had to be better than being asked to dance again, or worse, being horded by a group of desperate, narcissistic men searching for pretty, pliant wives to bear their sons.

"All right," he began excitedly, "what do you call a musician with problems?"

I gazed at Clara, bewildered. "I am afraid I do not know."

"He will tell you soon enough," she muttered.

"A trebled man!" he answered, his eyes twinkling, "do you understand, Ma'am? Troubled – Trebled man?" He began to laugh out loud, a deep-chested laugh that came from within, inhibited.

I began to laugh incredulously at him. "Is that supposed to be amusing?"

"He has been going on and on all evening," Clara groaned tiredly.

Captain Everard did not seem to have heard our replies. "Here is another," he rubbed his hands, "where do butchers like to dance?"

"Do butchers dance?" I wondered out loud, amused.

"Pray, do enlighten us, Robert," Clara raised her eyes to the heavens above.

"At the meatball!" he guffawed, going quite red in the face.

I knew not why, but I found myself laughing along with him. His jests were in no way funny, but the fact that he seemed to think so made me clutch my stomach with uncontrollable laughter.

Soon enough, Clara was laughing her heart out too, and the three of us were causing quite a ruckus at the back of the ballroom by the refreshment table as Captain Everard belted out one jest after another.

In truth, we were laughing so hard that we failed to notice the arrival of a towering dark-haired man dressed in a black suit, with a golden crown resting lopsided on his brown locks.

"Here is one more," the familiar deep voice remarked, sounding amused, "what do cows dance to?"

I turned around to find Nick standing behind me, with his hands crossed behind his back. Surprisingly, Tess was nowhere near him, and neither was Lady Rosanna.

Truly, I could not deny how ridiculously happy that particular fact made me.

His dark grey eyes currently regarded me with humour, and another intense emotion that I could not identify, that scared me as much as it thrilled me.

In the meanwhile, Captain Everard's forehead had scrunched up, as he tried to think. Clara merely threw me an exasperated glance, not even bothering to ponder.

"I do not know, Sire," Captain Everard gave up after a long while, "please tell me."

"Any kind of moosic they like," Nick grinned, chuckling as Clara and I groaned.

I punched his shoulder, exasperated. "You are as horrible as he is!" I huffed, "by God, where do you both find these jests?"

His smile faded. "When Jamie lived, he was full of them," he reflected quietly, "he used to wear on our family's patience, especially Sister-mine's." His tone turned sad for a moment, before he plastered a smile once more upon seeing my concerned expression.

Captain Everard burst out laughing, not having noticed the slight dip in Nick's mood. "I see...because...cows...go...moo!" he gasped out in rapid pants, "that is too amusing!"

Nick rolled his eyes in amusement, before he glanced at me impishly. "Lady Clarisse, Captain Everard," he began, not taking his eyes off me, "would the both of you mind if I steal Julie for the next waltz?"