Page 39 of Legacy of Glass
Looking between them, Olivia noted a resemblance that was strong enough to mark them as brothers, although their manner was entirely different.
Julius clapped the first man on the back with a smile even broader than his friend’s. “They couldn’t keep me shut up forever.”
“I never thought I’d live to see you defy your parents, Julius,” the second man said, a gleam in his eyes as he surveyed Olivia. “But then I only got back from my trip to Marleston yesterday. Now that I’ve seen her beauty for myself, it all becomes clearer.”
Julius stiffened, stepping back toward Olivia, and she had to stop herself shrinking behind him.
“Her name is Olivia,” he said sternly. “Lady Olivia to you.”
“LadyOlivia?” the other member of the sparring pair asked, raising one eyebrow.
Olivia shifted slightly, her initial discomfort at the false title returning in full force. But the open curiosity on the face of the second fencer was at least easier to read than the subtle tone of his opponent, and there was no point trying to hide her situation.
“According to King Robert, the betrothed of the crown prince needs a courtesy title, at least.” She smiled at the fair-haired young fencer.
Both his brows shot up, and he threw his head back and laughed. “You’re not like I imagined. But I can see why our friend here was captivated.” He gave her a shallow bow, still smiling when he straightened.
Olivia grinned at the fair-haired man’s laughing compliment, feeling none of the discomfort she’d done at his opponent’s earlier comment.
“My apologies, Lady Olivia,” the dark-haired fencer said smoothly, mimicking his opponent’s bow. “Naturally I meant no disrespect.”
Olivia returned his smile with less ease, although she scolded herself for being overly sensitive. She had no understanding of the dynamics between these men, let alone between their important families, and she wouldn’t do herself any favors by imagining offense where there was probably none intended.
“The graceless one is Zane,” Julius said to Olivia, nodding in his direction. “He’s Lord Strathmore’s eldest and was away on business for his father, so he missed the ball.”
He nodded at the fair-haired fencer next. “And that one is Ashton, the baby of the group.”
Lord Ashton rolled his eyes. “I’ll be twenty-one next year! I’m only a year younger than you and Cade, and less than three behind Zane and Kasper. I even beat Kasper in our match yesterday—if he’s man enough to admit it since the other two weren’t here.”
“Of course I admit it,” said the fourth young man, finally rising from his seat by the fountain.
His expression was guarded, giving nothing away, and Olivia found him even more intimidating than Zane. He bowed respectfully in her direction, however.
“I’m most interested to make your acquaintance, Lady Olivia,” he said, and she finally saw a gleam of emotion in his eyes, reflecting the truth behind his words.
Julius stepped closer to her again, a warning look on his face as he gazed at his friend.
“She’s my betrothed, Kasper,” he said.
His incongruous warning made Olivia examine Kasper again, her eyes lingering on his burnished bronze hair with its hints of red. She stiffened as she realized what she should have recognized at once.
The youngest of Marigold’s three older brothers was called Kasper, and she shouldn’t have needed the flash of familiar red to remember it. Unlike the others, his interest in her stemmed from knowing the truth of the original arrangements and at least something of the mix-up that had followed.
She wanted to ask Kasper about Marigold’s current whereabouts—surely she had returned home by that point—but she didn’t dare say anything in front of the others. As far as she knew, only Marigold’s family and the royal family knew the truth of the original choice of betrothed for the prince.
“Welcome to the palace, Lady Olivia,” said the final young man—the first to have greeted Julius. He smiled and bowed in her direction. “Ignore the rest of these fools. We’re delighted to see Julius meet his match at last.”
He might be the younger brother of the mocking Zane, but Olivia could find no trace of mockery in his words. He seemed sincerely pleased on his friend’s behalf. She smiled back at him, finding him even easier to like than Lord Ashton.
“That’s Cade,” Julius said, something unspoken passing between him and his friend that Olivia couldn’t decipher. “We were born three days apart and have been stuck together ever since.”
But from the way he said it, Olivia could tell he saw Cade as a true friend—perhaps the closest out of the group of his peers. She just hoped Cade’s welcome really was as sincere as it seemed, and that perhaps he might prove friendly to her for the duration of her stay at court.
She could certainly do with some allies.
Chapter14
Julius
