Page 60 of Legacy of Glass
She hadn’t expected him to use all his limited free time on her project—especially when he disapproved of it. But secretly she was pleased. Between her lessons and his responsibilities, they’d been seeing much less of each other than she’d expected. And the less they saw of each other, the more likely they were to keep miscommunicating.
“Your Highness?” The voice of a concerned guard pulled their attention back to the main street.
His guards had found them, along with Olivia’s groom.
Julius helped her mount before swinging himself into his own saddle, positioning his horse beside hers as they turned back toward the palace.
“So, was your attempt at information gathering successful?” he asked lightly. “Did you find anything?”
Olivia told him Bess’s tale, and he frowned in response.
“It’s a concerning occurrence, if true,” he said. “I’ll check the records kept at the guard’s barracks to see if there’s any mention of it. But I don’t see any connection to Marigold’s situation.”
“Perhaps not,” Olivia said lightly, not wanting to fight with him again. Logical or not, it felt like a start to her.
“I was actually looking for you with some news of my own,” Julius said after a long minute of silence.
He gave her an update on the scholars’ efforts—which seemed to amount to no progress, from what she could understand. She should probably have felt something about that news, but her emotions were so disordered from the afternoon’s events that she couldn’t be sure what she was feeling.
“And I ran into my mother,” he added. “You’ve officially graduated to royal meals and court events now, so you’re to join us for dinner. And I should warn you that she’s planning a soiree.”
It turned out Olivia did have room inside for more anxiety, after all. But there was some anticipation as well. She was ready to spend more time outside the classroom, putting what she’d learned into practice.
Later that evening, when she approached the small private dining room used when the royal family were eating alone, she found Julius waiting in the corridor. He smiled reassuringly at her.
“I know you haven’t spent much time with my father,” he said softly, “but I promise he’s quite friendly in private.”
Olivia’s brows rose. “To his own son, perhaps.”
“And for the moment, you’re family as well,” Julius said lightly.
“For the moment,” Olivia murmured under her breath, but she took his offered arm, relieved to have him at her side as she entered. It was thoughtful of him to have waited.
Thankfully, Julius’s claims turned out to be accurate. The atmosphere over the meal was casual, and King Robert treated her with genial good humor. Like Julius, it seemed he had a public and private facade.
Most of the conversation was taken up with the queen’s plans for the upcoming soiree, and Olivia began to feel some enthusiasm for the event. The queen had treated her with kindness, and she wanted to repay those efforts by performing creditably. But it would be more comfortable if she had some friends of her own, instead of relying only on those Julius had introduced to her. If only Daphne had already arrived.
A sudden thought made her put down her fork.
“May I make a request for the guest list, Your Majesty?” she asked the queen.
Queen Elsinore smiled, but Olivia thought she detected a hint of caution lurking behind the expression. Hopefully the queen’s fears would be allayed when she heard Olivia’s small request.
“Would it be possible to include my aunt and two cousins on the guest list? I know they aren’t usually invited to court functions, but it would be a great relief to me to have them there.”
The queen immediately relaxed, her smile widening. “My dear girl, of course we can invite them! I should have thought of it myself. It’s true that they haven’t previously moved in court circles, but as your family, they have every right to join us.”
Olivia smiled in relief at the queen’s warm response. Nell and Hattie would be over the moon to receive the invitation, and enjoying the event through their eyes would make it much less nerve-wracking for her.
The days before the soiree passed quickly and without any opportunity for Olivia to return to the city in search of further word of Marigold. But she did fall into the habit of meeting Julius and his friends every morning in their private courtyard. Sometimes she arrived in time to watch their bouts, cheering for first one young nobleman and then another. Other times she arrived at the end, missing the actual fighting and contenting herself with exchanging a few words with Julius.
She had spent long hours of darkness lying in her grand bed and considering what had passed between them in the alley. Her conclusion was that she needed to be wary of him. Her resolution to guard her heart had wavered for a moment, and she couldn’t let it do so again. But if they were going to act as a team, they needed regular contact. She only hoped that daily conversations would inoculate her against his handsome face and princely charm. As the population would one day grow used to her, so repeated exposure would enable her to grow used to Julius’s proximity.
On the morning of the soiree, Ashton bounced to her side the moment she appeared and assured her earnestly that she could count on him. Olivia regarded him in surprise until Cade approached more sedately and grinned at her.
“Julius has enlisted us to make sure your cousins have a good time. Helen and Harriet, is that right?”
Olivia threw a look of surprised gratitude toward Julius who was in the middle of a bout with Zane.
