Somehow his words felt like a compliment, and she wanted to turn and smile. But she didn’t, and she didn’t know why.
“I should stand with my parents,” she said. “It would be more proper than-Well, than anything else I’ve done this evening.” She looked up at him-at Sir Harry Valentine, her new neighbor, and unbelievably, her new friend. “Thank you for a wonderful adventure.”
He bowed. “It was my pleasure.”
But their farewells felt far too formal, and Olivia couldn’t bear to depart on such a tone. So she grinned at him-her real smile, not the one she kept on her face for social niceties, and asked, “Would you mind terribly if I opened my curtains again at home? It’s getting beastly dark in my bedroom.”
He laughed aloud, with enough volume to attract glances. “Will you be spying on me?”
“Only when you wear funny hats.”
“There is only the one, and I only wear it on Tuesdays.”
And somehow that seemed the perfect way to end their encounter. She bobbed a little curtsy, said farewell, and then slipped off into the crowd before either of them could say anything more.
Not five minutes after Olivia located her parents, Prince Alexei Gomarovsky of Russia located her.
He was, she had to admit, an extremely arresting man. Very handsome, in a cool, Slavic way, with icy blue eyes and hair that was the exact color of her own. Which was rather remarkable, really; one didn’t often see hair quite that blond on a grown man. It did make him stand out in a crowd.
Well, that and the enormous attendant who followed him everywhere. The palaces of Europe could be dangerous places, the prince had told her. A man of his renown could not travel without guards.
Olivia stood between her parents and watched as the crowds fell away to make room for the prince. He stopped directly in front of her, his heels clicking together in an odd military fashion. His posture was amazingly straight, and she had the strangest notion that years from now, when she could not recall the details of his face, she would remember the way he held himself, tall and proud and correct.
She wondered if he had served in the war. Harry had, but he would have been across the Continent from the Russian army, wouldn’t he?
Not that that mattered.
The prince tilted his head ever so slightly to the side and smiled, a close-lipped affair that wasn’t so much unfriendly as it was condescending.
Or maybe it was just a cultural difference. She knew she shouldn’t rush to judgment. Perhaps people smiled differently in Russia. And even if they didn’t-he was royalty. She could not imagine that a prince could reveal his inner self to many people. He was probably a perfectly nice, perpetually misunderstood man. What an isolated life he must lead.
She would hate it.
“Lady Olivia,” he said, his English accented but not excessively so. “I am deeply pleased to see you again this evening.”
She swept into a middling curtsy-lower than she would normally do at such an event, but not so deep as to appear obsequious and out of place. “Your Highness,” she said softly.
When she rose, he took her hand and laid a feather-light kiss on her knuckles. The air crackled with whispers around them, and Olivia was uncomfortably aware of being at the very center of attention. It felt as if everyone in the room had taken a step back, leaving a moat of emptiness around them-the better to see the drama unfolding.
He relinquished her hand slowly, then said, his voice a low murmur, “You are, as you must know, the loveliest woman in attendance.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. You do me a great honor.”
“I speak only the truth. You are a vision of beauty.”
Olivia smiled and tried to be the pretty statue he seemed to want her to be. She wasn’t really certain how she was meant to respond to his repeated compliments. She tried to imagine Sir Harry using such effusive language. He probably would burst out laughing, just trying to get the first sentence out.
“You smile at me, Lady Olivia,” the prince said.
She thought quickly-very quickly. “It is simply the joy from your compliments, Your Highness.”
Dear heavens, if Winston could hear her, he’d be rolling on the ground laughing. Miranda, too.
But the prince obviously approved, for his eyes lit with heat, and he held out his arm. “Come take a walk about the ballroom with me, milaya. Perhaps we shall dance.”
Olivia had no choice but to lay her hand on his arm. He was wearing a formal state uniform of deep crimson, with four gold buttons on each sleeve. The wool was scratchy, and she could only think that he must be dreadfully hot in the crowded ballroom. But he showed no sign of discomfort. If anything, he seemed to radiate a certain coolness, as if he were there to be admired but not touched.
He knew that everyone was watching him. He must be accustomed to such attention. She wondered if he realized how uncomfortable she felt in this tableau. And she was used to having eyes upon her. She knew she was popular, she knew that other young ladies looked to her as an arbiter of fashion and style. But this-this was something else altogether.
“I have been enjoying your English weather,” the prince said, as they turned a corner. Olivia found that she had to focus on her gait to remain in the correct position at his side. Each step was carefully measured, each footfall utterly precise, heel to toe in the exact same motion, every time.
“Tell me,” he added, “is it usually so warm at this time of year?”
“We have had more sun than is usual,” she replied. “Is it very cold in Russia?”
“Yes. It is…how do you say it…” He paused, and for the briefest of moments she saw a flash of struggle in his face as he tried to think of the correct words. His lips pressed together with irritation, then he asked her, “Do you speak French?”
“Very badly, I’m afraid.”
“That is a pity.” He sounded vaguely annoyed by her deficiency. “I am more, er…”
“Fluent?” she supplied.
“Yes. It is much spoken in Russia. More even than Russian among many.”
Olivia found that most intriguing, but it seemed impolite to comment upon it.
“Did you receive my invitation this afternoon?”
“Yes, I did,” she replied. “I am honored to accept.”
She wasn’t honored. Well, maybe honored, but certainly not pleased. As expected, her mother had insisted that they accept, and Olivia had already spent three hours in emergency fittings for a new gown. It was to be ice-blue silk, the exact color, Olivia suddenly realized, of Prince Alexei’s eyes.
She hoped he would not think she had planned it on purpose.
“How long do you intend to stay in London?” she asked him, hoping she sounded more eager than desperate.
“It is not certain. It depends on…many things.”
He did not seem inclined to expand upon that cryptic comment, so she smiled-not the real one, she was far too tense to summon that. But he did not know her well enough to see through her society smile. “I do hope you enjoy your stay,” she said prettily, “however long you choose to visit us.”
He nodded regally, declining to comment.
They rounded another corner. Olivia could see her parents now, still across the room. They were watching her, as was everyone else. Even the dancing had stopped. People were talking, but their voices were low. They sounded like insects, buzzing about.
Lord, how she wanted to go home. The prince might be a perfectly nice man. In fact, she hoped he was. It would make the story so much better-if he were a lovely person, trapped in a prison of formality and tradition. And if he was perfectly nice, then she would be perfectly happy to make his acquaintance and talk with him, but not, dear heavens, like this, in front of all the ton, with hundreds of pairs of eyes watching her every movement.
What would happen if she tripped? Stumbled over her feet as they turned the next corner. She could do it up small-with just the tiniest bob. Or she could play it for all it was worth, tumbling to the ground in a mad heap.