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Had she imagined there was disapproval in Gustav’s voice? Arielle followed him through a door that she guessed was used by staff and tradesmen and wondered why she had been escorted into the palace secretly, instead of entering through the main door with the other guests. Gustav led her through a maze of corridors before he stopped and ushered her into a room.
Her heart leapt at the idea that Eirik might want to see her in private before the ball got under way. But there was no one in the study. A fire was crackling in the hearth, and the biggest dog she had ever seen stood up and padded over to her.
‘He belongs to Prince Eirik,’ Gustav told her. ‘Maks is devoted to the Prince and takes little interest in anyone else.’
‘Hello, boy,’ Arielle said softly. She loved all animals and had been heartbroken when Bess, the old border collie that her father had kept as a sheepdog, had died. ‘I’m sure you guard your master well.’
The huge dog could have put his paws on her shoulders if he’d wanted to. Arielle held out her hand and patted his smooth golden coat, and after a moment Maks pushed his damp nose into her palm.
‘You seem to have won Maks over.’ Gustav sounded surprised. He crossed the room and took a flat leather box from the bureau. ‘Prince Eirik would like you to have these,’ he told Arielle, showing her an exquisite emerald and diamond necklace, and matching earrings.
For a few seconds she was too shocked to speak. Sending her a ball gown was one thing, although she intended to pay Eirik for the dress. But the jewellery must be worth a fortune. She shook her head. ‘Please tell the Prince I can’t accept such an expensive gift from him.’
‘Yes, he anticipated that would be your reaction.’ Gustav’s voice was marginally warmer. ‘However, His Royal Highness insists that you wear the jewellery this evening. You can return the items after the ball if you wish.’ He lifted the necklace from the box and held it out to Arielle. ‘All the aristocratic young ladies will be wearing tiaras, necklaces and other precious jewels that in many cases are family heirlooms. The Prince hopes that wearing the jewellery will help you to blend in with the other guests,’ Gustav said drily.
Feeling that she had to comply, Arielle took the necklace from Gustav. It was heavier than she’d expected, and when she fastened it around her neck, the emeralds and diamonds felt cold against her skin. She removed her faux gold studs, and her hands shook as she attached the emerald drop earrings to her ear lobes. ‘I’ll be terrified of losing one. Even if I wore the Crown Jewels of England, I still wouldn’t be an aristocratic lady,’ she said flatly.
‘At a masquerade ball you can be whoever you want to be.’ Gustav gave something approaching a smile. He helped her to fit her mask over the top part of her face and turned her towards the mirror.
Arielle stared at the reflection of an elegant and exotic woman wearing a couture gown and fabulous jewels and did not recognise herself. None of the other guests at the ball would know that her father was a murderer, or that her integrity had been questioned at his trial, she reassured herself. The judge had believed her testimony that she’d been unaware of Gerran Rowse’s crimes. But the Bray family had accused her of lying to try to stop her father from being sent to prison. It wasn’t true. Arielle was ashamed of her father and hoped he would rot in jail.
Wearing the masquerade mask gave her anonymity. Gustav was right—tonight she could be someone different from her usual reserved self. At the ball she could be the self-confident woman she wished she were. Her mask would also hide her reaction if Eirik announced his engagement to his future wife. Of course, sheknewshe wasn’t princess material, and he would never choose her, but that hadn’t stopped her wishing for the moon.
The ballroom was vast and even more opulent than the other rooms Arielle had glimpsed when Gustav had escorted her through the palace. The polished parquet floor gleamed beneath the lights blazing from many chandeliers. Elegant marble columns rose up to meet the frescoed ceiling, and the vibrant blue silk wall panels were edged with gilded mouldings.
She was directed to join the line of female guests standing on one side of the ballroom opposite the men who had formed another line. The young woman next to Arielle looked towards the doorway and said excitedly, ‘They’ll be here any minute.’
‘Who?’
‘The royal family. They will make an entrance when all the guests are assembled. Is this your first ball?’ Without waiting for Arielle to reply, the woman explained, ‘Prince Otto has been ill, and he is not here tonight, so Prince Eirik will escort his mother. As they walk down the room, the women will curtsey to the Prince and the men will bow to Princess Hulda. Then Prince Eirik will choose a partner for the first dance. It’s rumoured that he will dance with the woman he intends to marry. Naturally, everyone will try to guess her identity behind her mask. Although his most likely choice of bride is Baron Lundberg’s daughter. Ida is easy to spot with her pale blonde hair, and she is wearing a white dress and mask. Perhaps a hint that she will soon be wearing a wedding dress,’ the woman said with a heavy sigh.
Arielle’s gaze was drawn to the set of doors as they were flung open by footmen and Prince Eirik, with Princess Hulda on his arm, entered the ballroom to a fanfare of trumpets. They walked slowly between the two lines of guests and each woman in turn bobbed a curtsey as Eirik passed by.
He looked breathtaking in a superbly tailored tuxedo that emphasised the broadness of his shoulders. His dark blond hair was swept back from his brow, and a black and gold mask drew attention to his sculpted cheekbones, but of course it could not disguise his identity. He possessed an aura of power and pre-eminence that set him apart from other men.
Arielle’s heart thumped as Eirik drew nearer to where she was standing in the line. Her eyes met his intense gaze and she saw something flare in those blue depths that heated her blood. She was conscious of his smouldering scrutiny as he roved his eyes over her velvet gown and sleek hairstyle before lingering on the emeralds and diamonds at her throat. Her breath was trapped in her lungs, and she felt as though only she and Eirik existed.
The strange sense that they belonged to each other body and soul lasted mere seconds before she became aware that Princess Hulda had turned her head and was looking at her. Eirik’s mother’s coldly assessing stare sent a shiver through Arielle, and she released a shaky breath when the Prince and Princess walked on.
When they reached the far end of the room, Eirik led his mother to a chair and waited for her to be seated. There was a tangible air of expectation in the ballroom as he strode over to the line of women.
‘Oh! That’s a surprise. Prince Eirik has chosen Princess Matilda for the first dance,’ the woman beside Arielle murmured.
‘Does that mean she is the woman he intends to marry?’ Arielle craned her neck to see Eirik’s dance partner. There were so many beautiful young women at the ball, and she supposed that Princess Matilda was one of them.
‘I shouldn’t think so. Princess Matilda is Prince Eirik’s elderly aunt and Prince Otto’s sister. It seems that the Prince intends to keep everyone guessing who his bride will be for a while longer.’
Eirik and his aunt began a slow waltz. The male guests stepped forward to claim the women opposite them for the dance. Gustav offered Arielle his hand. ‘May I have the pleasure of this dance, Miss Tremain? Prince Eirik asked me to look after you at the ball,’ he said when she looked uncertain.
‘I’ve never done ballroom dancing before,’ Arielle admitted as the private secretary led her around the dance floor, and she accidentally trod on his foot.
‘My bruised toes are testament to that fact,’ Gustav replied in his dry voice. ‘I will attempt to teach you the rudiments of a simple box step. When I take a step forward with my right foot, you step backwards with your left, then we both step to the side and finally bring the feet together to the count of three.’
She got the hang of it after a while. A brief interlude in the music played by the orchestra was a cue for the dancers to change partners for the next dance. As Arielle moved around the ballroom with a number of different dance partners she was determined not to look for Eirik, but his height and sheer physical presence drew her gaze to him.
Her heart sank when she saw him dancing with a tall, willowy woman with pale blonde hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate chignon. The woman was wearing an exquisite white ball gown and a mask decorated with white feathers. Ida Lundberg was as elegant as a swan, and her regal bearing would make her a perfect wife and Princess Consort for Prince Eirik. That seemed to be the opinion of the other guests when Arielle had overheard snippets of their conversations.
At that moment Eirik looked across the ballroom directly at her. He must have seen her as clearly as she saw him, but he gave no sign of recognition and turned his head away. His dismissal made it clear that he had no personal interest in her and had invited her to the ball simply because she was a representative of the marine research institute that he supported.
