“I know, but you must be very careful,” Isabelle warned her nervously. “I do not want you to get into trouble if your father or brother finds out.”
“I will be,” she promised, then changed the subject. “You have not told me about your night with Leonardo yet.”
Isabelle blushed at hearing his name, “You do not mind that I like him, do you?” she asked, thinking it might be strange for Rosanna if her two closest friends were together.
“Of course not, I am very happy for you,” she assured her. “So, are you two an item now?”
Isabelle’s smile faded, “I do not think he wants a relationship with me. After all, I am only a maid. He was probably just being friendly when he asked me to dance.” She felt sad that it might be true, even though she had loved every moment of their night dancing together.
“I think he likes you,” Rosanna insisted.
Isabelle smiled, feeling a little reassured, “How do you know?”
“It was obvious from the way he looked at you,” she smiled. “It seems we have both met the man of our dreams after all.”
* * * * *
Rosanna was feeling excited to see Nicholas again as she ate with her father and brother in the dining room that evening. She was so nervous she could barely manage to eat half of her meal.
“You seem happy today,” commented her father, looking pleased. “Is there a particular reason?”
“I was just thinking how amazing the ball was last night,” she replied innocently, knowing she could never reveal the true reason to him. “Thank you for giving me such a brilliant party.”
“I am pleased you enjoyed it. Were you happy to finally meet Prince Ethan?”
“Yes,” she lied politely. “He seemed nice.”
“I am glad you two are getting on so well. He talked about you all night.”
She felt guilty hearing this and wished Prince Ethan had disliked her too, so it would be less awkward to deal with.
“He seems very taken by you,” her father said proudly. “In fact, now that you are sixteen years of age, we need to start looking for a suitable husband for you. I would be delighted if you and Prince Ethan were married.”
She looked at him in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard, “you want me to marry him?”
“Yes, it would be perfect,” her father insisted. “I discussed it with his parents. They have taken an interest in you ever since you were young. They always believed you could be the future bride for their son. Now that you have finally met and are both of age, we made the agreement for a betrothal.”
She felt overwhelmed at the thought of marrying someone she disliked and found it hard to breathe. She didn’t know what to say and the feeling of dread and sadness rose inside her. She looked over at her brother, expecting him to tease her or make some annoying comment, but he seemed happy with the news too.
“It is a wonderful decision, father,” Jonathon added with a pleased smile.
“The marriage will form a strong alliance with our kingdoms, and since he has been raised from birth to rule, he will make the perfect husband for you,” said her father. “It is rare to find a suitor who is royalty by blood. You are very lucky to find such a perfect match, Rosanna.”
He noticed her face had drained colour, “Are you feeling well?” he asked in concern. “I hope I did not spring the news on you too soon.”
“I expect she is in shock,” Jonathon answered for her with an amused smile.
“Yes, I am,” she agreed, trying to keep herself composed. She could not risk panicking or crying in front of them.
“I am certain he will make you very happy,” her father smiled.
She nodded dutifully, forcing a smile and trying to hide the negative feelings that were getting stronger.
“May I be excused?” she asked, feeling desperate to escape the conversation.
“Yes, of course,” her father replied, although he looked disappointed that she was leaving so soon. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“I need some fresh air, I am feeling a little light headed,” she answered.
“I suppose the thought of marriage brings that effect on us all,” her brother joked.
He and her father laughed and she took her chance to leave the dining room. She rushed up the stairway to her bedchamber, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
She slammed the door closed and finally let herself break into tears as she paced around the room with anxiety, wondering what she was going to do.
Isabelle stopped what she was doing and looked concerned, “What is the matter?”
She stopped pacing to talk with her best friend, “My father wants me to marry Prince Ethan,” she explained. “They have made an agreement and we are now betrothed.”
Isabelle was as shocked by the news as she had been, “When was this decided?”
“They have been talking about it for years from the sound of it, but they only made the final decision yesterday after we both met.”
“I am sorry,” Isabelle replied sympathetically. “I know that you do not want to marry him.”
“What am I going to do?” she sobbed. “I cannot marry that awful prince, especially now that I have met Nicholas. I want to be with him.”
Isabelle gave her a handkerchief, “Perhaps if you tell your father then he will understand and change his mind?”
“I doubt he would and he will never approve of Nicholas,” she replied sadly. “How can he compare to Prince Ethan? My father believes he is the perfect husband for me.”
“It should be your decision who you marry. After all, it is a lifelong commitment.”
“It is different for me. Royalty are betrothed and our parents decide our suitor,” she felt devastated. “I have wished to meet someone like Nicholas for a long time, and now that I have and I am finally happy, it has all gone wrong.”
“I know, it is not fair,” Isabelle sympathised.
“Once I tell Nicholas what has happened, he will no longer want to see me,” her heart ached. “I cannot bear to hurt him. He will be so upset when he finds out.”
Isabelle gave her a hug, “If he really cares for you then he will want to be with you no matter what. He is the one you truly want to be with, and the betrothal means nothing if you do not want to go through with it. I am sure he will fight to stay with you.”
“I hope you are right,” she replied, feeling a little better and wiped her tears away. “I will have to discuss it with him when he arrives soon.”
She realised she didn’t have time to stay crying in her bedchamber as Nicholas would be waiting for her. She quickly went to comb her hair at the vanity table and applied more perfume.
“I am feeling so nervous to see him again.”
“I am sure he will feel the same. You will be fine once you are together,” Isabelle reassured her. “Good luck.”
Rosanna left to make her way down the stairway and was soon out into the garden and walking towards the stables. She felt anxious and upset as she wondered how she would break the news to Nicholas. It seemed cruel that this issue had ruined her night after she had been so excited and looking forward to seeing him again.
She caught sight of Nicholas stood waiting for her and his eyes lit up with happiness as she approached.
“Good evening, your Highness,” he greeted her with a bow and kissed her hand.
“Good evening, Nicholas,” she smiled despite feeling upset. “You can call me Rosanna; we do not need to be formal anymore.”
“I will,” he agreed and gave her a hug. “How are you?”
She snuggled into his chest, ignoring everything that was wrong for a moment and just feeling blissful, “I am very happy to see you again.”
She liked how being with Nicholas made her forget all about being a princess, and she could just be herself as if she was an ordinary person. That was the way she liked it to be.
“I am too. It has been unbearable having to wait all day, but now it feels wonderful
to finally be here with you at last.”
They walked into the garden and sat beneath the weeping willow tree, careful to stay out of view from anyone that may pass by.
Her heart ached with pity knowing what she had to say would ruin their perfect moment. She looked down sadly, struggling not to cry and wondering how she could tell him.
He noticed how distressed she looked and felt concerned, “what is upsetting you?”
A tear ran down her cheek, “Nicholas, I am so sorry. I have something awful to tell you.”
“Has your father found out about us?” he asked, hating to see her cry.
“No, he does not know about us yet…” she found it hard to tell him and was devastated knowing her future would have to be with someone else.
He put his arms around her and let her cry on his chest, stroking her hair affectionately.
She wiped her eyes and looked up at him, “My father told me this morning that I am betrothed.”
It broke her heart to see the hurt look in his eyes. He didn’t hold her anymore and stepped back to put some distance between them. This made her cry even more because all she wanted to do was cling to him and never let go.
He was silent for a while as he tried to take in the news and looked down sadly.
“I knew this was too good to be true,” he said dejectedly. “I should have known that you belonged with someone better than me.”
She sobbed miserably, hating to be in this situation, “I wish more than anything that things could be different.”
“Who will you be marrying?” he asked sadly.
“Prince Ethan. We met for the first time yesterday, but I do not want to marry him. I want to be with you.”
He looked at her in surprise, “you honestly do not prefer him, even though he is the better choice?”
“My father may approve of him, but I could not bear to be with that arrogant man,” she insisted. “You make me so much happier and I love spending time with you.”
He felt touched and couldn’t believe that she would choose him.
“I am dreading our wedding day,” she told him anxiously. “I could never love him and I will be miserable as his wife.”
“You should tell your father how unhappy you are,” he suggested.
“He would be very disappointed if I told him and I doubt he would change the agreement. It has always been my father’s decision and he has already promised my hand in marriage to him and his family.”
“But surely he cannot force you to marry someone against your will,” he insisted, feeling sorry for her.
“I think he would. It is a royal tradition and he is too proud to break it for my own feelings.”
“You must try and tell him, not only for your sake but for mine,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I could not bear to see you marry someone else, especially if you were forced to. I never want you to be this unhappy.”
She felt touched that he cared about her, “but my father will not understand.”
“He will. You are his daughter and your happiness will mean the world to him.”
“Do you truly think so?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I will tell him,” she agreed. “It may take a while since my father is very busy and I will not have much time to talk with him.”
“Does this mean there is still hope for us to be together?” he asked.
“I want there to be,” she answered, “but even if my future wedding is cancelled, my father would still not approve of us.”
“Can we at least try to have a relationship?” he asked determinedly. “I would hate if we could not see each other again.”
“I would too,” she said, feeling hurt at the thought of it. “I will do anything for us to be together.”
“We can continue to meet in secret?” he suggested. “That way we can at least have a relationship for now, until you get out of the betrothal and tell your father about us. Hopefully he will accept us being together.”
“It would be a great risk for you,” she told him worriedly. “If anyone finds out we will both be in a lot of trouble.”
“No one will know if we are very careful,” he reassured her, “and we will only be hiding it for a short time.”
“What if my father disapproves when we finally tell him? He could banish you if he knew the truth about us.”
“I do not care,” he replied. “I would risk anything to be with you and it is worth a try for our relationship. We do not know what he will say yet, so there could still be a chance.”
“I hope so,” she replied nervously.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked her carefully.
“Yes, I am happy to take the chance if you are,” she stared into his eyes lovingly and smiled. “I promise I will talk with my father as soon as I can.”
She felt relieved when he put his arms around her again and held her close. She was thrilled that it wasn’t the end for them and buried her head into his chest wanting to stay with him forever.
They spent the next two hours talking, continuing where they left off from last night. It was as if the betrothal issue had been forgotten and they just enjoyed being together.
“I cannot see you tomorrow since I have work to do,” he told her regrettably, “but I promise to travel down and see you on Tuesday evening.”
She smiled, “I will look forward to it.”
“Hopefully by then you will have good news for me,” he said positively. “I hope the talk with your father goes well.”
They kissed goodbye and she felt happy as she returned to the castle.
Chapter 6
Rosanna was determined to talk to her father about the betrothal the next morning even though she was anxious about it. She hoped that Nicholas was right and her father wouldn’t try to force her into marriage if he knew how unhappy she was about it. She walked to his study, trying to think of how to tell him and build up the courage. She ran her fingers over the material of her dress nervously, trying to reassure herself that it would be okay.
She heard footsteps and looked up to see Leonardo approaching her.
“Your Highness, I need to speak with you,” he said, looking serious. “We should talk in private, I do not want anyone to overhear our conversation.”
She felt surprised and wondered what issue could be so secretive. She sighed and decided that she had better deal with Leonardo’s problem first before confronting her father.
“Fine, we can talk in the music room.”
He followed her there and closed the door behind them.
She sat down and looked at him expectedly, “What is this pressing issue?”
“I saw you last night,” he told her quietly. “You were meeting with someone.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected Leonardo to catch her out on the secret this early. However, it was his job to watch over her so maybe she should have anticipated it. She blushed, wondering if he had seen them kissing and avoided his gaze embarrassed.
“Who was that man you were with?” he asked concerned.
She knew she could trust Leonardo since he was a close friend and decided to tell him the truth.
“He is someone who I met at the ball,” she answered.
“This explains your disappearance that night,” he replied, remembering what happened on her birthday. “I was worried when I noticed you were gone and then your brother started looking for you too. He was very annoyed that I had not been supervising you enough and did not know where you were either.”
“I am sorry,” she apologised, feeling guilty. She knew Jonathon could be a pain at times and had probably told off Leonardo for failing his duty. “I did not mean to worry you or get you into trouble.”
“I forgive you, but next time you must tell me where you are going so I know you are safe.”
“I will. I only went out into the garden with him. We were having such a good time that I forgot to tell you,” she felt
blissful, remembering how wonderful her night was.
“Why have you been sneaking around meeting this man in secret?” he asked suspiciously.
“My father would never approve of us spending time together. He is not royal or wealthy but I really like him.”
Leonardo frowned, “but you are betrothed to Prince Ethan. The king will be furious if he finds out.”
“I know,” she said guiltily, “but I really do not want to marry Prince Ethan. I cannot stand him.”
He looked surprised and confused by her reply. As far as he knew she had been excited to meet Prince Ethan. She realised she hadn’t told Leonardo yet and only Isabelle knew.
“Why do you think so badly of him?” he asked curiously.
“He is so boring and egotistical. I did not like him at all after we met. I was so disappointed he did not turn out the way I hoped he would be. Then I met someone else at the ball and he was so wonderful,” she smiled, feeling so lucky to have met Nicholas.
“Even though I am happy for you, this is not an appropriate time to start a relationship,” he warned her.
“I know that,” she assured him. “I am going to talk with my father and hopefully we can cancel the marriage.”
“And until then you will be with this mystery person and hoping that no one else finds out?” he asked, making it clear that it was a bad idea.
“I did not plan for this to happen. All I know is that I cannot bear to lose him and I want us to be together.”
“You should have waited,” he told her disapprovingly. “This will lead to nothing but trouble.”
“I did not know about the betrothal when we agreed to see each other again,” she insisted. “It was only yesterday when my father told me. I still had to meet him again so I could tell him what I found out. He knows I do not want to go ahead with it and that I want to be with him. I promised I would try to put a stop to it.”
Leonardo raked his fingers through his hair feeling stressed, “Please tell me you have not done anything unsuitable with him,” he asked awkwardly, fearing the worst.
Love Letters Page 4