Page 22 of Legacy of Glass
He heard a loud sigh and an audible whisper of “So romantic” as he stepped through himself and closed it behind her. He clenched his teeth as he tugged Olivia further from the door and any prying eyes.
At least the abrupt movement and fresh air seemed to have snapped Olivia out of her shock. She was looking at him with wide eyes, but she no longer looked incapable of thought or speech.
“I couldn’t find any sign of her in the ballroom,” he said grimly. “I suppose there’s no question Marigold wrote this?”
Olivia gasped. “I didn’t even think of that! I couldn’t find her either, but it didn’t occur to me that she might have been abducted.”
So Olivia had been in the ballroom looking for Marigold as well? It was odd of his parents to send her to do such a task after already sending Julius, but he was too consumed with his own shock to think much about his parents.
“I hardly think she’s been abducted. You do know her, right? Know what she’s like?” He raised an eyebrow at Olivia, who was clearly grasping at straws.
When she didn’t respond, he pushed harder. “Have you seen her handwriting before? Does it match?”
Olivia looked down at the letter still gripped in his hand and bit her lip.
“Well?” he asked when she still didn’t answer.
Reluctantly she nodded. “It does look like hers. It’s a…rather distinctive style.”
Julius almost snorted. That was one way to put it.
“But perhaps she was coerced into writing it!” Olivia exclaimed. “If she was seized by someone after she left me, then?—”
“Why are you wearing glass slippers?” Julius asked abruptly.
Olivia looked down at her feet, currently hidden beneath her skirts. “Why does everyone keep talking about that? I thought everyone had to wear glass slippers to the Midsummer Ball. I must have heard it discussed a hundred times over the years.”
“Usually that’s true,” Julius said grimly. Apparently Olivia was even more clueless than he’d suspected. “But one year in every generation is different. The royal family always has only one child, and the Legacy ensures it is always a prince. So when the prince reaches adulthood, the king and queen host a special Midsummer Ball. And that year, at the ball, no one is permitted to wear glass slippers except the girl chosen by the king and queen to be their son’s betrothed. The prince—along with the kingdom—discovers the identity of the chosen bride when she enters the ballroom to a fanfare provided by the Legacy.”
“What?!” Olivia gasped. “No, that can’t possibly be right. My cousins would have mentioned…” She trailed off, looking to the side.
Julius watched her, trying to work out the meaning of the emotions that flittered over her face.
“Well?” he asked, unable to help a sardonic note in his voice. “Did your cousins mention it?”
Olivia turned a soft pink. “I thought I couldn’t go to the ball with them because I didn’t have slippers, but I’ll admit I knew there were other reasons they didn’t include me.” She sighed. “And maybe I avoided talking to them about the ball much. But I talked everything over with Marigold, and she never said anything about this ball being different. She was wearing glass slippers too. She?—”
“Precisely,” Julius said in clipped tones. “And that is the proof that this isn’t some abductor’s ruse.” He shook the letter. “Lady Marigold clearly planned this from the beginning. Would her letter be so apologetic if all she’d done was leave you to attend the ball alone? She set you up to take her place!” His hand clenched into a fist, crushing the letter. “How dare she! This is the future of Sovar, not some child’s game.”
Olivia gaped at him. “You’re telling me this year’s ball was an elaborate drama designed to trick the Legacy?”
Julius shook his head impatiently. “Every ball is an appeasement to the Legacy. This one is just…more complicated. Even my parents can’t do anything about the existence of the Legacy. We’re all saddled with it, so of course it’s my family’s responsibility to do what we can to ensure it benefits our people rather than harms them.”
“But I came in wearing the slippers,” Olivia said slowly, as if piecing the last of it together in her mind. “So the Legacy turned all its focus on me.” Her words sped up. “And then you approached me, and we danced together, and that only confirmed it. And now everyone in that ballroom thinks I’m your betrothed, and…” She broke off the hurried words, slicing her arm through the air in a gesture of repudiation.
“No!” she exclaimed. “This can’t be happening. I don’t care what the Legacy thinks. Your parents may be king and queen, but they can’t demand I marry you because of amisunderstanding!”
Julius’s stomach clenched, his whole body tensing.
“What?” he demanded in low tones. “What did you say? My parents want to go ahead with the betrothal? Withyou?” He shook his head. “You must be mistaken.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Olivia said, her tone ice cold. “I can assure you I have even less desire to marry you than you seem to have to marry me. This whole thing is a farce. They can’t be serious.”
Julius wanted to assure her they weren’t, but brutal honesty prevented him from doing so. His family had been controlling the Legacy for generations with the Midsummer Balls. He had been raised to know they played a significant role in the well-being of the kingdom. Was he sure his parents wouldn’t insist on the betrothal?
But no. He shook his head again. It was madness. They couldn’t do so. Olivia was a total stranger. They knew nothing about her. They couldn’t make her queen!
“What exactly did my parents say?” he asked, trying to stay rational.
