Page 52 of Lost with a Scot
“Her Royal Highness, Anna Maria Zelensky, princess of Ruritania!” His voice boomed across the ballroom.
She nodded in thanks, then lifted her skirts to descend the stairs to the crowd of dancers as they moved beneath the candlelight. The music halted as the dancers came to a stop and parted, allowing her to pass through the center of the room to where her host, Lady Eugenia, and her friends were standing watch over the ball. Ashton and Rosalind led Anna straight to their host.
“Lady Eugenia, may I present Princess Anna Maria Zelensky?”
Lady Eugenia was a petite figure, with elegant taste in clothes, and about the same age as Anna’s mother. She tapped her chin with her fan before smiling at Anna, as if she had conceded victory to Anna for stealing the evening with her entrance. Lady Eugenia curtsied, and the ladies who attended her did the same. “Welcome, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Lady Eugenia,” Anna said. “I am delighted to attend your ball.” It was strange how easy it was to fall back into the patterns of her old life.
“I had the privilege of knowing your mother. She came out the year before I did. She was simply beautiful, inside and out,” Lady Eugenia offered with genuine warmth and a hint of sorrow in her words.
“Thank you, Lady Eugenia. Every memory someone can share with me about my mother is a gift.”
Lady Eugenia breached societal rules and reached out, taking Anna’s hands like a dear aunt. “Someday soon you and I will have tea, and I will tell you everything about her that I remember.”
Anna swallowed hard and smiled as she was overwhelmed with sadness and joy at the same time.
“I would like that, thank you.”
Rosalind came up behind Anna and discreetly tucked the train up at the back of her gown, which would allow her to move freely about the room.
Lady Eugenia’s smile brightened. “Only this morning I heard that Lord Erich of Prussia has arrived. He heard you were here and wished to see you. I was, of course, quite delighted to extend to him an invitation in hopes that you two might meet again.”
“Erich is here?” Anna fought to control her reaction. He was the man her parents had contracted her to marry when she was born.
“Oh yes, he was in London visiting friends and had no idea you were here. He was quite concerned, given the reports of the tragedy that has befallen your family.”
Anna had discovered only that morning that England had finally become aware of the her country’s situation, but the story that was being published in the papers was that her parents supposedly had been killed by rebels and her uncle had done his best to restore order. Somehow, Yuri had managed to spread the story that he was a gallant hero who’d taken over the throne after the king, his older brother, had perished along with the rest of the royal family.
There were even rumors that Anna herself might be an imposter if she appeared in London because Yuri claimed she had died in the attack. Thankfully, Ashton’s reach was more effective than Yuri’s. Between his influence and Audrey’s Lady Society column telling the truth of what had happened in Ruritania, London was ablaze with gossip and speculation that tonight Anna would reveal herself in front of London’s elite society and ask the king to take her side against her uncle.
“Ah, there he is. Erich!” Lady Eugenia called out to a man in the crowd.
Anna was startled to see Erich’s familiar face. She had seen him a year ago when he came to visit her as he did every year since she’d been born. Their parents had hoped it would foster a friendship that would culminate in a marriage that would take place when she was twenty-one. He was a handsome man of twenty-five. He smiled, a dimple peeping out at the corner of his mouth.
He greeted her informally, even though he made a courtly bow to her, and she noticed right away his relief at her well-being. “Anna, thank God you’re all right. Rumors are all over London about recent events in Ruritania.”
“Come, dear Erich,” Lady Eugenia said. “Come and dance with her. Take her mind off her worries with a waltz.”
Anna tried not to think about how her people were suffering while she was here in this ballroom draped in jewels and dancing. But Emily St. Laurent and the other ladies were right—her appearance tonight would win London to her side and help her people.
Erich’s cheeks reddened slightly as he offered his hand to Anna. “Would you like to dance?”
Anna wished she could decline. The only person she wanted to dance with was Aiden. Her gaze darted about the room, seeking him, but finding only the curious gazes of strangers looking back at her. But she knew her role tonight. Be beautiful and charming, win over as many friends as possible, and when the king saw her, she would make her passionate plea for her country and her people.
She placed her palm in Erich’s as the dancers lined up for a waltz. When the music began, Erich gripped her hand and waist as he led her through the dance.
“I heard what happened,” Erich said, slipping from English into Danish to give them a level of privacy to discuss things. “I had no word of your or Alexei’s survival and feared the worst,” he confessed. “At least your uncle is still alive.”
Anna frowned as she realized that he’d heard the false tales her uncle was spreading. “You have beenliedto. My unclemurderedmy parents. He has lied about everything,” she said. “Alexei helped me escape the night the palace burned down, and he stayed behind to fight for our people.”
Erich’s eyes widened and his lips parted in shock. She understood his confusion.
“My god, it’s a miracle you survived.”
Anna was impressed. He did not doubt her words, did not ask if she could be mistaken or suggest that grief had clouded her judgment. “You truly believe me? Over all the reports you’ve heard so far?”
“Of course. I have always known you to not only speak your mind, but the truth. I’ve had my suspicions for some time that your uncle is not a man to be trusted. Yuri is driven by ambition, but I have no reason to doubt you. Fear not—once we are married, I will ensure you are safe.”
