by Ali Parker
She licked her lips.
“I know the perfect thing to settle those nerves. We’ll get a glass of wine and get away from this staircase. People will stop staring before you know it.”
I stole Piper away from the prying eyes and delivered her to one of the wine fountains. We each took up a glass, and once she’d taken a few sips, I led her throughout the ballroom. We stopped to admire the ribbon dancers and flame throwers. The performances were top-notch, as always, and Piper’s nerves seemed to slip away as she was distracted by the spinning flames, contortionist acrobats, dancers, and harp player.
We moved from place to place and made small talk with the people in the room I knew wouldn’t judge Piper. In other words, I stuck to younger generations who didn’t really care much for the politics of our families.
By the time the first hour slipped by, Antoni had arrived at the masquerade and was making his rounds. He bumped into us by one of the wine fountains as Piper and I filled up our second glass, and he nudged me in the ribs with his elbow.
“Your girl is the fairest one at the ball,” he said.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. His mask was simple black porcelain, and it fit him so seamlessly, it was almost as if it had been painted over his eyes and the bridge of his nose.
“She is indeed,” I agreed. I looked around the ballroom. “Have you seen my mother and father yet?”
“No,” Antoni said, rocking back on his heels. His eyes did a sweep of the place. “To be honest, I’m surprised they’re not here yet. Maybe your mother is hellbent on making an even bigger grand entrance than last year. And you know what they say. Late is better when you’re royal.”
“Do they say that?”
Antoni chuckled. “No idea. Sounded right in my head.”
Piper came to stand close to us and looked around. She fidgeted with a feather at the corner of her mask and drew her bottom lip into her mouth. “People are still looking at me funny.”
“Let them look,” I said.
“It’s unsettling.”
“They’re just trying to figure you out,” Antoni said. “That’s all. Let them look. Once they’ve had their fill, they’ll move on and stare at someone else. Trust me. That’s kind of how it works around here.”
“Why can’t they just mind their own business?” Piper asked.
I put a hand in the small of her back. “They think this is their business.”
The night wore on, and as Antoni had said, people eventually stopped staring at Piper. To her, it probably felt like hours, but realistically, it was only about twenty minutes or so before they took interest in a young man named Leroy who’d never set foot in this house before. I couldn’t place who he was, and I couldn’t be bothered, either. I wanted to focus my attention on Piper.
We helped ourselves to the food spread out in various places around the ballroom and took up spots on the outskirts of the dance floor when the music started. Dancers took to the floor and paired up, hand in hand, hand on shoulder, hand on waist. Their masks glittered under the chandeliers, and their legs moved in unison, sweeping them across the floor as one single unit.
Piper was smiling as she watched them dance.
I was about to pull her out onto the floor to walk her through the steps when the music cut off and the announcer at the top of the stairs called the room to attention. I pulled Piper into my side as we gazed up to the top of the stairs where my mother and father had emerged, looking regal as ever. They were both dressed in emerald-green and gold. I couldn’t deny they looked every bit the part of royals as they descended the stairs after the announcer gave voice to their names.
“Your mother looks beautiful,” Piper breathed beside me.
“She does,” I agreed. “But you’re the star of the show tonight, Piper. Dance with me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m clumsier than I look. Asher, wait—”
I was already pulling her out onto the dance floor as the other couples carried on with the steps and the music picked back up. My parents had hit the ballroom floor and were snaking through the guests, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, offering friendly words of greeting. Their attention was on everything else but us. Now was the perfect time to sweep Piper up in a classic waltz and show her what these lavish affairs were really all about.
Dancing.
The masquerade was a ball, after all.
I guided Piper out around me. The skirt of her dress fanned around her legs, shimmering like oil, and then I put one hand on her waist and held her other hand up. “Ready?” I asked.
“Ready as I can be,” she whispered.
“Just follow my lead. Don’t overthink it.”
“I overthink everything,” she said.
“Do you trust me?”
Her eyes searched mine. They were even darker behind the shadow of her mask. “Yes.”
“Then let’s dance.” I took the first step. Piper followed. Her steps matched mine, and we were lucky that this dance was one of the easier ones. I guided her through the movements, dipped her gently, pulled her back up, and spun her out just like all the other couples on the floor.
Laughter bubbled out of her. She didn’t notice the way everyone else smiled and looked over at us. She was a ray of joyous light on a dance floor where people were more concerned with how dignified they looked than with how much fun they could have.
Piper was all about fun.
And in time, her radiance rubbed off on the others around us, and soon, everyone wore smiles as bright and warm as hers. She was none the wiser to the influence she was having on the room. The moment reminded me of the Elton John concert where she let her hair down and I saw her for all she was. Bold, confident, lively. She was everything I’d been looking for but didn’t know I could ever actually find in one person.
And here she was. On my arm. Looking more beautiful than any woman I’d ever seen in my life. And even though she was in my arms swaying to the music with me, it still felt like she was out of my reach.
Like she belonged to someone else.
The music shifted to something more upbeat. Piper threw her head back and laughed when the couples merged and switched partners. I stepped away from her with a woman in a dark red dress with blonde hair coiled neatly on top of her head. Her mask was red and gold, and her skin was fair, and she batted her long lashes as she smiled up at me.
“Hello, Asher,” she purred. “I’ve been waiting all night to get a chance to meet you.”
“Have you?” I asked, only half paying attention to her. My eyes were glued on Piper, who was twirling in the arms of another man. He was respectful, and Piper seemed at ease with him as they danced. I looked down at the blonde. “Let me take a guess. My mother personally invited you this evening?”
She nodded as we followed the steps of the dance. “She did. She thinks you and I have a lot in common. I’m Anne Marie Francis. My father is—”
“Marvin Francis,” I finished for her. “Yes, I know who he is.”
“He’s a very influential and wealthy man,” Anne Marie said, running a finger along the shoulder of my jacket to play with the collar of my shirt underneath. “Our union would be beneficial to both families. We’d have a summer home in Belize.”
I stilled her hand at my collar. “I’m sorry. I’m not interested. It’s not about you. I just… there’s someone else in the picture.”
“The American?” Anne Marie asked, cocking her head to the side. “I was told she’d be gone by the end of the month. Trust me. I’m very good at mending a broken heart. All you have to do is say yes, and I’ll take good care of you.”
“Enough,” I growled, stepping away from her.
“Please,” she cooed, following my retreat. “Just give me a chance. Your mother would be so—”
“I don’t give a damn what she wants,” I said. I peered over the tops of heads in search of Piper. How had she escaped my line of sight in a matter of seconds? Anne Marie was still all ove
r me, reaching for me with greedy fingers. I caught her wrist and glared at her. “I said enough. I’m not interested in what you’re offering. Leave me alone.”
“But Asher, please, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
“No. Perhaps not. But honestly, that feels more like a blessing than a curse at this point. Now leave me be. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the evening.”
Anne Marie opened her mouth to protest, but I slipped into the crowd in search of Piper. I already had a pit of anxiety forming in my stomach.
There were a lot of small rooms in this house my mother could have stolen her away to. Maybe it was to apologize.
I laughed at my own naivety. My mother didn’t know how to apologize.
Chapter 22
Piper
I didn’t know how it happened.
One minute, I was dancing on the arm of a handsome gentleman in an elegant suit, and the next, I was being whisked away in a flourish of green and gold. Now, mere seconds after my abduction from the dance floor, I found myself with my back against the wall of a very small empty stone room as Asher’s mother closed the door behind us.
She kept her back to me and rested one hand flat against the door. Her shoulders were stiff, and her head was bowed.
“What’s this about?” I ran my hands over the skirt of my gown and tried to take comfort in the silky-smooth fabric. It didn’t work. My heart rate quickened by the second as Asher’s mother remained motionless at the door.
Finally, she spoke. Her voice was low and deep, and I had to lean forward to hear her. “You’ve had your fun. It’s time for you to leave. You’re not welcome here.”
I swallowed past the lump of nerves in my throat. Who did this woman think she was?
As anger built up inside me, I tried to remember the words Antoni shared with me in the car. She was just an overprotective mother doing what she thought was best for her son. This wasn’t personal. And it wasn’t as vindictive or cruel as it felt.
This was the result of a desperate mother who felt like her back was up against the wall.
I sighed and tried to smile at her. I wasn’t sure if it worked or not. “I know why you’re doing this. Believe me. I understand. Asher is your only son, and I’m not exactly the sort of woman you’ve been imagining he would end up with.”
Cadence studied me with narrow-eyed scrutiny. There was a hardness to her that had been there since the first moment I met her. A deep-rooted anger or angst or something that prevented her from just letting go.
“You understand?” she asked. Her tone dripped with scorn and condescension. She took a step toward me. “You understand? You have no idea the hard work Asher’s father and I have put in to raise him to be the man he is today. And you have no idea the trials we went through as a family. I refuse to let him throw it all away on a girl with less potential than a tablespoon.”
I blinked. And then I laughed.
She didn’t like that.
Cadence moved toward me with a raised finger and a wild look in her stormy eyes. “You listen to me, girl. I will not have you spoiling my son. He is a good boy—”
“Man,” I corrected.
“How dare you?”
“How dare I? How dare you? I’ve been nothing but nice since I arrived, and you’ve been parading all over the place trying to paint me as something I am not. I’m not here to steal your son or ruin his reputation. I’m here to get to know him. That’s all. And you know what? It’s a fucking miracle he’s turned out as good as he has with a mother like you trying to squash all of his good qualities under her thumb.”
As soon as the words left my lips, I regretted them.
Cadence stared at me like I’d slapped her across the face, and I stared back, wishing she’d do something to fill the sudden silence between us. Hell, she could have slapped me for all I cared. Anything would be better than the silence.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that you are both so different. And I never would have known he was a royal if—”
“That’s part of the problem. You never would have known. He neglects his duties. He prances around this city like it’s his playground, and he doesn’t give a damn how it makes the rest of us look. That is not how I raised my boy to be. He’s supposed to fill his father’s shoes. He’s supposed to take up the mantle and carry on traditions we have fought to uphold.”
“And he still can,” I said, making sure to keep my voice gentle and even. “Just because he spends his time differently does not mean events like this and his commitments don’t mean anything to him.” I stepped forward, and she didn’t retreat. “Cadence, it’s okay that he’s different than you and your husband. He has so much to offer. If you give him the room to flourish on his own, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you see.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Perhaps not. Or maybe I know more because he’s let me in. Because he trusts me. Because I accept him for who he is and who he wants to be and I don’t waste time trying to make him something he’s not.” I resisted the urge to scream at her. “You’re condemning him. Don’t you see that? You’re trying to steal everything away from him that makes him happy.” I shook my head incredulously and rubbed my temples. “I can’t even believe I’m having this conversation right now. This only happens in movies.”
“I don’t know why you seem to think you know better than his mother,” Cadence said in a growl, “but I assure you I know my son better than anyone. He’s mine. Do you hear me? Mine.”
The door burst open.
Light spilled in from the hallway beyond, and the sound of music from the ballroom rolled across the stone. I looked up to see Asher framed in light, one hand holding the door open, the other braced against the frame.
He looked like a man on a warpath.
“What the bloody hell is going on in here?” he hissed.
I chewed the inside of my cheek.
Cadence took the reins. “Piper and I were just having a private conversation about expectations and duties.”
Asher frowned and looked at me. “Is that true?”
I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say yes more than anything. I wanted to protect him from the truth of the horrible things his mother had been saying and how she clearly didn’t give a damn about his happiness. How she looked to the public was more important to her.
“Piper.” Asher said my name like a plea.
“No,” I said. I had to be honest. He deserved at least that.
Asher’s shoulders slumped. I pushed away from the back wall and moved around Cadence, giving her a wide berth, and stopped beside Asher, putting my hand on his hip in a silent show of support.
He glared at his mother from beneath a furrowed brow. “We’re leaving.”
“Ash,” his mother whispered. She made to follow as he pulled me out into the hall.
Asher rounded on her. “Don’t follow us. If Piper isn’t welcome here among your guests, who are clearly more important to you than your own son, then so be it. I don’t want to be a part of it. Say goodnight to father for me.”
She hurried along behind us in the hall. I could practically smell her desperation, and I hated being the thing that was tearing them apart. I wished I could slow the moment down and find the words to help them see each other—really see each other. I wished he could see that she was coming from a place of deep love for him. And I wanted to show her that he loved her back and he just didn’t understand her.
But there were no words, and my throat was dry, and my palms were sweaty, and all I wanted was for him to carry me away to someplace quiet so we could steal some time alone together.
And that was exactly what he did.
We passed through the ballroom. Asher made no effort to hide our rushed departure, and I kept my head down as we wove through the crowd. After making it halfway across the ballroom, the rest of the crowd began parting for us. We pushed past the
stairs and out a set of wide glass bay doors.
Asher didn’t slow as we crossed the patio. We descended a short set of stone stairs and hit the manicured lawn. Then Asher picked up the pace to a light jog, and we rushed across the lawn to the hedge maze, where we disappeared behind the walls of green.
“Where are we going?” I called softly.
Asher pulled me up beside him and slowed his strides. “Someplace quiet where we can sit and talk. Just the two of us.”
I took his hand and held it until we arrived at the fountain in the middle of the maze. He lowered himself to sit on the edge of the fountain like an old man riddled with age. Then he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and he blew out a long, exasperated, tired sigh.
“I’m sorry, Piper. I should have seen this coming. I should have warned you.”
I sat down beside him and leaned forward to undo the sparkly black straps of my shoes from around my ankles. Asher watched me work and realized I was struggling, so he slid off the ledge and dropped to one knee on the grass to help me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He smiled up at me. “I still had fun with you while it lasted.”
“I had a wonderful time. Honestly, I’ve never been to something like this, and I’ll probably never get the chance again. It was worth it.”
He pulled my shoes off for me and set them down on the ledge. Then he began massaging my feet.
I giggled. “What girl can say she got a foot rub from a royal?”
He chuckled and shook his head at me. “Not many, I suppose. But you deserve it. I can only imagine the things my mother said to you in there.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you think.”
He arched a skeptical eyebrow at me. “Yeah, right. You’re just trying to protect me.”
He was too clever for his own good.
When he sat back up on the ledge, I turned around to face the fountain, gathered my dress up around my knees, and put my feet in the water. Asher laughed and told me nobody had ever had the stones to try something like this.
I shrugged. “Maybe that’s because they’re all terrified of your mother.”