Louis and I managed to sneak away after dinner and we met in the cavernous library in the Palace. I had never seen so many books in one place, but then I wasn’t really one to frequent libraries.

Louis pulled me into his arms for a kiss, which curled my toes and made me melt against him. If it wasn’t for the news I wanted to share with him, I would’ve been content to spend the next few hours exactly like that - in his arms with his lips on mine. But there was too much at stake, and we had to come up with a plan before it was too late.

I gently pushed away from him and lead him to a cluster of over-stuffed couches in a dark corner were we wouldn’t be immediately seen if someone were to walk in, not that I thought many people spent any time in here.

Louis tried once again to pull me into his arms, well onto his lap, but I held strong, as much as I wanted to give in to him.

“No,” I said, “Not yet. There’re things I need to tell you.”

He sighed and slumped into his chair, “Okay,” he said, “As long as you promise me a little bit of ‘just us’ time after.”

I smiled at him, “Of course,” I said a little too breathlessly. He grinned and winked at me, making my stomach flutter. He really was too good-looking for his own good and too charming by far.

“So tell me, beautiful, what is this news that is so important?”

“I found out why Priscilla is leaving,” I said and his eyes widened.

“What is it? Why is she leaving? It’s not because of Dom, is it?”

I shook my head, still not believing what I had heard or was about to tell him. “She’s going to marry Piérre.”

Louis stilled and then exhaled very slowly and I watched a myriad of different emotions cross his face as he tried to reason out such unexpected news. I knew how he was feeling, I had been going over it myself all afternoon.

“I thought she hated him,” he finally said and I nodded enthusiastically.

“I know, I thought so too. I just don’t understand what changed her mind. She had been so adamant about it and her and Papa have had countless rows about it. She came here to get away from him and Papa both. I just can’t make any sense of her decision to marry him.”

“Do you think it is because he took you to the ball? Did she get jealous seeing the two of you together?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied, biting my lip as I once again tried to puzzle it out, “She didn’t seem jealous and, if anything, she was more upset with Dom.”

“Maybe he won her over somehow, wooed her. Has he been hanging around?”

I shook my head, “I’ve hardly seen him or Papa for that matter. And anyway, I can’t imagine how he could possibly woo her, he’s more boring than Dom by far.”

“More boring than Dom?”

I nodded, “That night he took me to the ball was the most boring night I’ve ever had while on a date. He barely spoke to me and when he did he treated me like a mindless chit. All he wanted to do was to talk business with as many high placed officials as he could. I think he’s only marrying Priscilla because of the connections he can make through my father.”

“How did the arrangement between your father and his come about, anyway?”

I shrugged, “I have no idea. I was a baby and Priscilla was still quite young.”

“It’s odd to make a marriage agreement between two people so young—”

“It’s odd to make a marriage agreement at all, let alone two people who barely know each other and with neither of them giving consent.”

“Piérre doesn’t seem too worried about it, if anything, he seems rather keen about the idea.”

I snorted, “Yeah, well there is the dowry and the political connections.”

“Dowry? Do people still do those?”

“My father does. We each have one, but Priscilla’s is way more than mine.”

“So Piérre is marrying her for her money, but why is she consenting to marry him after the fight she has put up in the past?”

“I don’t know, but does it really matter? How are we going to stop it from happening?”

“We need to keep them away from each other,” Louis said, drumming his fingers on the arm of the couch, “And keep Dom in her path.”

I rolled my eyes, “Well, that goes without saying, but just how are we going to do that?”

“There’s a boating event coming up, isn’t there?”

I frowned, trying to remember the calendar of events. “I think so, a regatta on the lake.”

“Perfect,” he said with a grin, “We’ll get Dom and Priscilla paired up on the same boat and make sure the Baron is far, far away.”

“Priscilla and I used to sail all the time,” I said cautiously, “But it’s been a while and I don’t know whether she remembers how.”

Louis waved away my objection, “That won’t matter at all. Dom is an excellent sailor, in fact, he has won several regattas in the past.”

“So, how do we keep Piérre away?”

“You leave that to me. Your job is to make sure Priscilla gets on the boat.”

“Do you think that’s going to be enough, to stop her leaving, I mean?”

“No, but it’s a start. She just needs to remember how much she liked being with Dom and if we can get them to fall in love, then she’ll have to call off the agreement with the Baron.”

He seemed so confident and I wanted to believe him. After spending more time with Piérre, I realised he wasn’t who I had imagined him to be for all these years and he made me a little uncomfortable when he looked at me. I definitely didn’t want my sister to marry someone like him, Dom was a much better fit for her and if she married Dom, I could stay here in Merveille with Louis.

Louis slid over next to me on the couch and put his arm around me, drawing me closer.

“Now,” he murmured in my ear, “Where were we?”

“So are you going to tell them, or am I?”

The Queen’s pronouncement caused the others in the room to quiet immediately. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a determined glint in her eye.

“You know I will, so now you just have to decide who they hear it from, me or you?” she said when I remained silent.

“What’s going on?” Jeanette looked between Alyssa and I curiously.

I sighed and closed my eyes wishing for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I came to ‘girl’s night’ because it felt like an age since I spent any time with the other Ladies in Waiting and I wanted to have one night where I didn’t have to think about my future. Lord knew there wouldn’t be many ‘girl’s nights’ to look forward to after I married Piérre.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth, glaring at Alyssa who simply smirked at me. I took a breath and looked around at the eager faces waiting for me to speak. I was going to miss these women. They had become to mean so much to me over the last year and I already felt the grief over having to say goodbye to them. “I’m leaving Merveille,” I said dully.

Savannah jumped up to her feet and clapped her hands over her mouth. Jeanette looked down at her feet, not happy that I was going through with it. Margaret looked like she might burst into tears and Alex, ever poised and proper Alex, simply widened her eyes at the news before shooting a glance to Alyssa.

“No,” Meredith exclaimed, stomping her foot before turning to Alyssa. “Can’t you make her stay? Surely you can deny her resignation and order her to stay in the country?”

Alyssa sighed before taking her seat in the circle and looking at me. “I tried that already. The Lord Chancellor told me that it was unconstitutional.”

“Damn the constitution,” Meredith went on, “Make a new law so that she can’t go.”

“You’re just worried that Alyssa will make you her PA full time,” I said with a smile for Meredith.

“Well, yeah,” she said with a grin and a shrug, “But I kinda like you too so, you know, I don’t want you to go.”

“But why?” Savannah finally overcame her shock enough to speak. “Why are you leaving? Have we done something to upset you? I know we haven’t seen much of you these last few weeks but we all knew how busy you were and we didn’t want to get in your way but if there’s something you need from us you know you can always ask—”

“Savannah,” I said, breaking into her diatribe. She had worked herself into a state and babbling every thought in her brain was the result.

“She’s getting married,” the Queen said and this statement elicited a round of gasps.

“Married?” Jeanette said, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. “To Dom?”

“Dom?” this was screeched by every female in the room, or it might have only been Savannah, but it sounded like everyone.

“Who is Dom?” Alyssa asked.

“Dominique Furore, the Lord Chancellor,” Jeanette answered helpfully, still imploring me with her eyes to answer her original question.

I sighed and shook my head. “No, not Dom,” I said, wishing that it was him and not Piérre.

“Is there something going on between you and the Lord Chancellor?” Alex asked kindly.

I shook my head, not able to meet her eyes because I was lying and she would be able to tell. She probably could anyway, she was like that. She seemed to notice everything even if she didn’t always speak her observations aloud. Besides, she was marrying Freddie, he no doubt would have told her all this already.

“If not Dom, then who?” Jeanette demanded.

“Baron Romanov,” I mumbled.

“Who?” This was Savannah. I was surprised she didn’t already know who he was. Savannah seemed to know everything about everyone so it was quite a surprise to find out that I knew something she didn’t.

“Baron Piérre Romanov,” I repeated, “We have been betrothed since we were children.”

“An arranged marriage?” Savannah whispered in terrified awe.

“Are those still even legal?” Meredith, ever practical, asked.

“No,” Alyssa said sharply, “And I have offered Priscilla my support if she wished to back out of it.”

“So why are you going through with it then?” Jeanette asked. She looked the most upset, which I could understand. We were best friends and I had kept this explosive secret from her, it was only fair that she was angry at me. I know I would be if the situations were reversed.

“I have to,” I said, looking around the room, pleading with my eyes for everyone to understand. “I’ve known all along that I would marry him, I just thought it would still be a few years away. But he is here now and after the wedding I will be returning to France with my father and then we will get married and I’ll move to his estate in Monaco.”

“He’s a Monégasque, then?” Meredith asked.

I nodded, “Yes. Distant cousin of the Monaco Royal Family, I believe.”

“Do you love him?” the whispered question from Margaret tore at my heart. She was such a quiet little thing but when she did speak sometimes the most profound things came out of her mouth.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath waiting for me to answer.

“No,” I whispered.

“Do you love Dom?” Jeanette asked kindly, softly, like she already knew the answer.

“Yes,” I said, “I think I do.” And then the tears began to fall. I couldn’t stop them from cascading down my cheeks and before I knew it I was surrounded by my bevy of best friends all hugging me and crying with me.

Did I love Dom, truly? Right at this moment it felt like I did and it was the most painful thing I had ever felt in my entire life. How was I going to walk away from him knowing that I was in love with him? How was I supposed to marry someone else?

I sat back in the leather club chair and sipped my whiskey, feigning being at ease. It’s not that I didn’t want to be here, it was just strange to be included. I looked at Will and Freddie, each sitting in their own leather club chair with a tumbler of whiskey. The room was dim and the scent of leather and wood polish made it seem very masculine.

“It’s been a while since I was in this room,” Freddie said wistfully.

Will nodded, “The last time was with Jacob.”

“And Jordan,” Freddie said but Will scowled.

Jordan and his father had tried to take control of the Royal family and the Royal treasury by first killing the King and the Crown Prince in a supposed hunting accident and then trying to woo Queen Alyssabeth into marrying him, when his romantic advances failed, he kidnapped her. Jordan’s father had killed himself over the incident and Jordan was serving his sentence in Merveille’s high-security prison. Neither Will nor Freddie had much love left for their one-time good friend. Neither did I for that matter. I had worked closely with Jacob, the Crown Prince, and we had become friends. His death had left a big hole in, not only my life, but many others. He had been much loved by the Palace staff and citizens of Merveille and we had all looked forward to the day when he would reign as King. That dream had been cut short by his senseless death and the country had mourned hard. Queen Alyssa had stood up to take on the role of Head of State, although the decision had been a controversial one, and was proving to be as good as her brother no doubt would have been.

“Is this to be your ‘man-cave’?” Freddie asked Will with a smirk.

Will smiled serenely back at Freddie and inclined his head. “Alyssa has given me free reign to do whatever I want with this room. She says the pervading smell of cigars and testosterone makes it completely uninhabitable for anyone of the female persuasion.”

I grinned as Freddie laughed loudly. The room did, indeed, have a lingering odour of good quality cigars. It had been the late King’s ‘man-cave’ for want of a better description. Many an international deal had been made within these four walls and I was sure the history of the room dated back to when the castle was first built. There was something so very masculine about the space.

“Are you taking suggestions as to what to improve in here?” Freddie asked, “Because I have some rather brilliant ideas.”

“Such as?”

“A wall of televisions tuned to every available sports channel.” He paused to think. “You will probably need to install a satellite dish as well and then we could pick up the American sports channels as well.”

“We?”

“Well, of course we. When Alex and I marry we will be setting up residence in the house in town and I won’t have access to a man-cave, well, not until we take over the Château de Monterey and that won’t be until my mother and father quit this earth, so of course you will make this room available to me.”

Will chuckled and shook his head. “What ever did I do without you while you were in America?”

Freddie had left Merveille to seek his own fortune, independent of his father, the Duke of Monterey, until he was called back to Merveille to take over his father’s company when the Duke had become the interim Prime Minister, a position he still held.

“So Dom,” Freddie said, turning sombre and giving me his full attention, “What is going on with you and Priscilla.”

I knew I had been called here for more than just a friendly drink, but I didn’t think they would be so direct about it.

I sighed, “Nothing at the moment. She is avoiding me.”

“Would you like there to be something between you?” Will asked without judgement.

“We had begun to explore the possibility of something beyond a working relationship,” I said, not sure how much I wanted to disclose about my relationship with Priscilla. I didn’t want to betray her confidence, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting out of this room without giving them something.

“What happened?” Freddie asked.

I shrugged. “After the Lawn Party, I thought things were heading in the right direction and then she burst into my office in tears and told me she was leaving the country. Now I know that she is intending to marry the Baron, but I have no idea why or what to do to stop her.”

Will looked at Freddie. “Have you heard anything back from Benjamin’s man?”

Freddie shook his head. “Not really, no. I know that the Baron is skint. The previous Baron had been a gambler and a drinker, but he had also been quite genius with his investments. The new Baron doesn’t have the same touch as his father did and any stockpile the previous Baron had built has been decimated by the current Baron. He has sold all the property he could, being left with only one estate in Monaco that he couldn’t sell due to the entail.”

“And does Priscilla have some sort of dowry?” Will asked, looking between the two of us.

“I don’t know, my Lord,” I said, “I haven’t yet been able to determine the particulars of the marriage settlement between the Ambassador and the Baron. I imagine that it would be one reason why the Baron is bound and determined to not let the Ambassador out of the contract.”

“But there has to be a reason for the Ambassador to have drawn up the contract in the first place,” Freddie mused, “Surely a man doesn’t just wake up one day and decide to enter into a marriage contract for his pre-teen daughter.”

“So what do you plan to do, Dom?” Will asked me.

“About?”

“About getting Priscilla to stay. I know Alyssa is working on her, but I think you could be just as persuasive as my fiancée, you may even be able to convince her more easily if you have romantic notions towards her.”

“Romantic notions—”

“For goodness sake, man,” Freddie said, “Do you love the girl?”

“Love her, my Lord?”

“Don’t ‘my Lord’ me, Dom, just give it to me straight. Both Will and I have been in your shoes and we both had to fight to win the day, but now, here we are, both engaged to be married to the women we love. Do you want what we have? If you do, then now is your chance to fight for it.”

“Yes,” I breathed and the tension that had been in my shoulders melted away. I was in love with her and I did want what these two men had. I never thought I would ever want to marry again, not after losing Adélise, but Priscilla had found a way into my heart and I could deny it no longer.

“Excellent,” Freddie said.