Page 45 of Legacy of Glass
Julius sank back against the chair. “I suppose they are hedging both bets, mentally speaking. She’s still hardly their first choice. She could barely be considered on the list.”
“And what about you?” Cade asked, speaking with the frankness no one else ever dared use toward the crown prince. “You don’t approve of Marigold as first choice, so is it Lady Olivia instead?”
“No, of course not,” Julius said quickly. A little too quickly.
“Interesting.” A small smile played around Cade’s mouth, making Julius narrow his eyes. Whatever his friend was concluding, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it.
But a knock at the door announced the arrival of the doctor and the end of private conversation with the one person who now knew the full truth about what had happened at the Midsummer Ball.
Chapter15
Olivia
Olivia restrained her impatience until she and Kasper had walked far enough from the others not to be overheard. She wasn’t even attempting to pay attention to where he might be leading her, only waiting for the opportunity to ask the questions that plagued her.
“What do you know of me?” she asked abruptly, uncertain how to ask the question more subtly.
“That depends what you mean,” Kasper said cautiously. “About you personally I know very little—as much as the rest of the court, I presume. But if you mean, do I know what happened the night of the ball, then…yes.” He sighed heavily. “I actually heard my sister mention you a couple of times before that night, although she was careful never to say anything in front of our parents. And of course I had no idea what she was planning. We all knew Marigold disapproved of the planned match, but she seemed to go docile and compliant shortly before the ball. Our parents thought she had capitulated to the inevitable, but they should have known better.” He groaned. “We did know better, but none of us dreamed she would do something so completely outrageous.”
Olivia assumed thewehe referenced was Kasper and his two older brothers.
“Then you know I wasn’t involved in her scheming?” Olivia asked anxiously, still not sure if he might blame her, at least partially. “I truly knew nothing about it.”
Kasper hesitated before speaking slowly. “I’ll confess I wish you had been a little more wary in dealing with my sister. But I can hardly blame you for missing something that her own family also missed.”
“And what of your parents?” Olivia asked. “Do they share the same view?”
He hesitated again, and she winced.
“I believe they’ll recognize the full truth once they’ve had a chance to calm down,” he said eventually. “They’re currently frustrated with everyone involved. But they aren’t fool enough to think you were the instigator of the scheme.”
“I’ll confess I was angry with Marigold myself at first,” Olivia said slowly, voicing something that was only half-formed in her own thoughts. “But I’ve also been…worried.” She turned to fix her eyes on the side of Kasper’s face as they continued strolling down a corridor. “Is it true that she’s gone to stay with relatives outside the capital? Are you sure she’s really there? I heard…” Her voice dropped lower. “I heard she might be missing.”
Kasper stopped, pulling her to a halt beside him and fixing her with a sharp look. “What? Where did you hear that? Are there rumors in the palace? Father is convinced he succeeded at keeping that quiet.”
Dread rose inside Olivia. The slow tendrils of worry that had been weaving through her anger grew thick and strong, crushing the other emotion entirely.
“It’s true, then?” she gasped. “Is she actually missing? The story of the visit to relatives is just to cover her disappearance?”
“Of course she’s still missing,” he said morosely. “Would you come back in a hurry if you knew what a mess you’d left behind and what you would be facing on your return?” He grimaced. “I suppose that’s difficult to answer since you would never have played such a shocking trick in the first place—no one but Marigold would.”
He started walking again, but Olivia dug her heels in and remained in place, forcing him to drop her arm. He stopped and turned back to her.
“I was very angry with her as well at first,” she said. “And I’m sure the storm that’s waiting for her is intense, but…” She trailed off as she tried to think of the right words to express her growing certainty.
“You’ve known Marigold a lot longer than I have, so I’m sure you’ve seen her do all sorts of things. She’s certainly prone to making impulsive and sometimes rash decisions. But has she ever failed to own up to what she’s done? Have you ever seen her try to shirk responsibility for her actions? I know I haven’t known her as long as you, and I’m sure I don’t know her as well, but she always struck me as brave.”
Kasper stared at her in silence, his dazed response to her torrent of words making her flush.
“I just think,” she added, forcing herself to speak more calmly, “that Marigold always seemed more likely to throw herself in front of someone else to shield them than she was to leave them to take the blame in her stead. That’s why I started to worry—and the worry has just kept growing ever since my shock and anger died down. The whole business seems just like Marigold, except for one glaring element. The Marigold I know wouldn’t have run away and left me to deal with the situation alone.”
“No,” Kasper said slowly. “I’ve never known her to do such a thing.”
He ran a hand through his hair, his expression growing more and more perturbed.
“In truth, I agree with you,” he said. “But Father is still furious with Marigold. He’s convinced she ran off and left us to deal with the consequences of her trick, and I guess it has been easier to fall in line with his thinking than to push against it.” His mouth twisted ruefully. “There’s a reason he’s so wealthy and influential at court. He’s always been charismatic. And he’s going to be even more furious now that whispers of the truth are leaking out.”
“I haven’t heard anything at the palace,” Olivia said quickly. “I actually tried to visit Marigold at your manor the morning after the ball—before the prince came to collect me. I heard it there.”
