Page 24 of Legacy of Glass
“Lord Emerson said nothing of this to me,” his father said in dark tones.
Julius winced, wishing he could give Marigold an earful. His parents had been trying to form a closer alliance between the throne and the Emerson family—and now her actions might drive a wedge between them instead.
“At least we know Lord and Lady Emerson had nothing to do with this outrageous behavior,” he said. “And given we’ve all known Marigold since she was a small girl, we really shouldn’t be so surprised.”
He gave his mother an exasperated look. The daughter of Lord Emerson or not, his mother should have known better than to choose Marigold of all women.
His mother, however, still seemed bewildered. “But I don’t understand it. How could anyone not want to marry you?”
Julius couldn’t help darting a glance at Olivia. Little did his mother realize she was in the presence of a second girl who found the idea of marrying him equally horrifying. And Olivia didn’t even have the excuse of already being in love with someone else.
Or did she? His gut churned anew. She had denied coming to the ball with a lover, but that didn’t mean her affections weren’t already engaged. Which was just what he needed to make the whole situation worse. There was going to be scandal enough without the court watching his bride pining for another man.
His hands clenched back into fists.
“Clearly Lady Marigold is the one at fault here,” he said, trying to get his thoughts back on track. “She sent a servant in her place and didn’t even have the decency to tell her replacement what was happening! You cannot be serious about going through with the betrothal under these circumstances—to Marigold or Olivia!”
“Given the girl’s circumstances, I’m afraid we have no other choice,” his father said heavily. “At least until we can work out another way out of the situation. For now, we will appease the Legacy, but I have hope we will find another solution before anything irrevocable happens.”
Hope. Julius wanted a stronger assurance than that. If they began the engagement and didn’t find a way out, they would only find themselves even more locked in.
“Olivia doesn’t want to be tied to me,” he blurted out, desperate. “In either betrothal or marriage by the sound of it.”
All three of them turned to look at her, and her eyes widened, her throat moving as she swallowed. He instantly regretted being so ungallant as to turn his parents’ attention her way. But she responded with a clear voice, despite her obvious discomfort.
“Yes,” she said. “The prince is right. I?—”
But his mother was already talking over the top of her, her motherly affection blinding her to reality.
“Nonsense,” she said. “Lady Marigold is the most eligible girl in Sovar and is well known for eccentricity besides. But when it comes to any ordinary girl, she would be delighted to have you. What girl doesn’t dream of attending the Midsummer Ball and dancing with a handsome prince?” She turned to Olivia. “Isn’t that right, dear?”
Julius expected a fiery denunciation, but instead Olivia turned delightfully pink, the color only emphasizing her golden beauty.
“Ah, well…” she stammered. “I suppose…”
“Mother!” Julius exclaimed, trying not to think too hard about the possibility that he had starred in Olivia’s dreams. If he ever had, she must have revised her opinion after their various disastrous encounters.
She was the girl he had hoped never to encounter again, and yet somehow he had found himself standing on the moonlit terrace, arraying himself at her side against his parents. How had everything gotten so twisted?
He reached for a new strategy, hoping it might have a better chance of reaching his mother. “Supposing a girl had dreamed of attending the ball and dancing with me, wouldn’t that just make it worse? It would be cruel to announce her as my bride and a future princess, only to snatch it all away again.” He carefully averted his eyes from Olivia. “Do you want to be responsible for that sort of heartbreak?”
An indignant snort from Olivia was thankfully too quiet to be heard by his parents. If she wanted his parents to abandon their plan as badly as he did, she should stay quiet and look as lovelorn as possible.
The queen looked crestfallen, compassion filling her eyes. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said softly. “How could she help falling in love with you?”
She rushed up to Olivia and took both the girl’s hands in hers. “I’m so sorry to ask it of you, child. But we must think of the good of the kingdom! You must resist my son’s charms—as impossible a task as that is—and I promise we shan’t abandon you at the end. There are many nice men at court, and we will arrange another marriage for you when this is over.” She looked across at Julius. “You can introduce her to all your friends, my dear. The court always seems to be overrun with young men, and she may well take a fancy to one of them.”
Julius’s mouth fell open. “You want me to become engaged to Olivia and then start trying to pair her off with my friends? Some friends those would be if they showed interest in her!”
“Well, not quite so far as that, of course,” his mother said, oblivious. “But if any of them should happen to take a liking to her—and her to them, of course—then it would be just the thing.”
“Just the thing for one of my friends to take a romantic liking to my future bride?” Julius asked, only growing more incensed.
“Naturally, nothing along those lines can be thought of until the betrothal is broken,” his father said in a dampening tone, throwing his wife a stern look. “But certainly we can reassure the girl that we will look after her when this is over.”
“Her name is Olivia,” Julius muttered, earning his own dampening look from his father.
“To be clear,” Olivia said, sounding a little dazed, “you’re asking me to enter into a public betrothal in order to appease the Legacy and the expectations of the kingdom? And you truly believe that is necessary or else Sovar will be harmed?”
