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Celeste remained enraged but let this one go. She dropped her hand, thinking better of it.
“Be dressed early tomorrow. We need to measure you and your finger, and we need to prepare. There is no time to dawdle. If I catch you alone with him again, it will be your head. I won’t allow you to marry him.”
I teared up, suddenly feeling vulnerable and even more tortured. I wanted to spend time with him. This was a crush, but I was on the cusp of making it more than that. I fought my tears until she was out of view when I turned to Astrid. She carried me back into my room. I sobbed into her shoulder while all four of us sat on my bed. No one spoke. The little girls were confused.
“What did you do?” Ingrid asked. “You were alone… with Rick?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions!” Astrid told her.
“He invited me to the ballroom. It was all innocent. He’s teaching me to dance. I need to learn. He was very sweet.”
“Can he teach me?” Odette asked. “In exchange, I could play on the piano. I would so love that!”
“Let’s not all overwhelm Rick with requests for dance lessons,” Astrid said. “We’ll scare him off.”
“Well, I will need chaperones now,” I groaned. “All we were doing was dancing.”
“We knew she’d go ape after you made out with him at the polo.”
“You did what?” Odette asked.
“You made out with him?” Ingrid chimed. “What was it like? Did he kiss you?”
“Was it like totally amazing?” Odette asked.
“We didn’t make out. We had one kiss.” I blushed. “It was nice. He is a good kisser.”
“Would you do it again?” Ingrid asked.
All the blood rushed to my face.
“She would!” Odette laughed.
I giggled. “Okay, yes, I would. I would do it again in a heartbeat—and would have if she didn’t show up and start screaming.”
Astrid slapped my knee. “I told you that you’d regret not going.”
“He’s so handsome. I hate it. And he’s so good at dancing. I don’t deserve someone who can dance.”
“You do, too!” Odette said. “Oh, darling sister, this is what we all need.”
“I donotneed a man!” Ingrid protested.
“I would not throw a man like that out of my bed,” Astrid said. “I wouldn’t marry him. I’m not interested in anything like that, but I am not you.”
“Well, you aren’t about to marry him, are you?” Odette asked.
Astrid shrugged. It was like she was telling me to move forward and just do the thing.
“I… we have… fallen for one another,” I said.
Astrid and I had not told the little girls what was going on. They wouldn’t understand and while they couldn’t gab to anyone of importance about it, we knew it would confuse them. So, even to them, I kept up the ruse. It hurt me in the pit of my stomach. It was a white lie but a lie all the same. Saying all of it also made it feelreal.
“So, given that I’m Queen and life is complicated, we’ve decided to marry,” I said.
“How did he propose?” Odette brimmed.
I froze.
