Something told me that was a bad idea—that I shouldn’t let her know that my soul wasn’t of this world. That was something I had to keep a secret from her as long as I possibly could.
“Welcome, Lady Lillia,” Kalon said smoothly. “I hope you’ve found everything to your liking so far.”
“Yes, thanks to the kindness of Baroness Kilgard and the Imperial Family, I’ve found my debut to be quite enjoyable so far.” Lillia blushed.
How irritating.
All he did was greet you, you blushing harlot.
Oh, my gosh. She was the original heroine meeting one of her romantic interests. She wassupposedto be blushing right now! Her blushing was a good thing for my plan of escape.
So why did I want to shove her face down into an ice bucket to make her stop?
Was I…jealous?
I was. I was jealous. It was like there was a little cartoon Allie in my head waving her fists and screaming,‘How dare you blush at my man?! I’ll cut off your head!’
Oh, boy.
This was an uncomfortable development.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Kalon said, handing off his empty glass to a servant. “Will you be attending any other events?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will be attending the hunt tomorrow, the closing banquet, and I’ve been invited to Lady Rietta Green’s tea party.”
“It sounds like you’ll be very busy.” Kalon plucked my half-finished glass from my hand and deposited it on the same tray as he had his, then rested his hand over mine on his arm. “Please excuse us, Baroness Kilgard, Lady Lillia. We’ve had a long journey from Stein, and my fiancée doesn’t appear to be feeling too well.”
I blinked up at him. “No, I—”
“We should get you some air,” he said, gazing down at me warmly.
“Yes, I think you’re right.” I looked at Lillia. “I do apologise for not greeting you properly, but I am feeling quite faint.”
She smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness to it. “Of course, I understand. I’m sure there will be other opportunities for us to speak, Lady Alicia.”
Maybe I really was exhausted because that sounded more like a threat than anything else.
“We will take our leave, then.” Kalon swept me away before another word could be said, and he bustled me through the busy crowd until we reached the terrace.
The cool air washed over me, and I drew in a deep breath of the fresh air to steady myself.
“Get a chair,” Kalon said, poking his head through the doors. “Are you all right, Allie?”
I nodded, gripping onto the balcony. “Yes, I’ll be all right shortly. It’s quite warm in there, that’s all.”
He made a noise that was somewhere between a scoff and a grunt. It was fine. I didn’t expect him to believe me. I didn’tneedhim to believe me. I was just grateful for a reasonable excuse of our travelling to get me out of this situation.
The servant he’d asked for a chair a moment ago returned with one. Kalon took it before sending him on his way and practically shoving me down onto the chair. He reached up and undid the clasps holding his cape in place, then bent down and wrapped it around my shoulders, securing the rope around my neck.
“Really, I’m fine. You don’t need to fuss.”
“Just say ‘thank you’ like a normal person,” he retorted firmly. “You’re clearly not all right. Have you met that woman before? Lady Lillia?”
I gazed out at the gardens. “No. If I had, I doubt the baroness would have introduced us so formally.”
“Really? Because you were perfectly fine until you saw her, then you went as white as a sheet.”
Great.
