Page 125 of Heartless

Jest tipped his hat to Peter and before there could be any argument, he was leading her on to the dance floor. Her heartbeat outpaced the music – still livid over Peter’s treatment of her, and afraid that Jest would be recognized at any moment. But mostly she was exhilarated.

He was here. He had come for her.

The fool had come.

She turned to face him. Their hands linked together and a waltz began. Her feet knew the steps, though she barely heard the music.

They were dancing, in front of everyone.

There was no alarm from the crowd. No guards were sent to apprehend him. There were no whispered rumours of his presence.

In this ballroom full of masks, no one would know it was him. It was easy to believe that he was nobility, like any of them. Not an entertainer, or a fool, or a wanted man. He was as refined a gentleman as any guest.

They pressed their palms together and turned in a half circle and Jest took the opportunity to dip his head towards her. ‘You seem surprised, my lady.’

She stifled a laugh and turned towards the next girl in line, twirled around, gripped loose hands with the lady’s partner and found herself returned into Jest’s waiting hands. ‘What are you doing here?’ she whispered. ‘You’re . . .’

He grinned. ‘A wanted man?’

She ducked beneath the raised hands of the next couple. Rotated back. Curtsied.

‘Exactly,’ she said as her palm found Jest’s again.

‘Good,’ he said, his dimples showing. ‘I hoped you might still feel that way.’

They finished the rest of the dance in silence, and by the end of it Cath knew she was wearing a silly, dazed expression, but she couldn’t escape it. Jest leaned over her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckle, and in that touch she felt a slip of paper being pressed into her palm.

He stepped away, watching as she looked down at the piece of crumpled confetti, just like those he had once scattered across the ballroom.

On it was printed a tiny red heart.

She wrapped her fingers around it and looked up again. She swallowed hard, bracing herself. ‘I’m going to accept the King’s proposal.’

Jest’s face froze. They stood in agonizing silence, staring at each other for a long moment, too long, before the storm came into his gaze. He moved closer, his toes brushing against the hem of her gown. She had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.

‘You promised,’ he growled. ‘You promised that you wouldn’t.’

‘That was before you ruined any chance we might have had of being accepted – by my parents or the court or the entire kingdom. They all think you’re a liar and a cheat. They all think you’re a villain.’

‘I was trying to save your reputation,’ he whispered back at her. ‘Besides, you made it clear at the festival that a courtship between us would never be accepted, no matter what I did.’

She licked her lips. His eyes followed the movement, creating a flutter in her stomach that was painful to ignore. ‘You’re right, it wouldn’t. Which is why I have to accept the King.’

Hurt crossed his face, drawing deep wrinkles across his brow. ‘Catherine—’

‘Then, when I give you my heart, it will truly be the heart of a queen.’

He sucked in a breath and started to shake his head, but she ploughed on.

‘And you can take it back to Chess and end your war. That’s what you came here for, isn’t it?’

‘But—’

She inched closer, letting herself be drawn into his shadow. ‘Maybe there is no amount of magic that could ever make this a possibility,’ she whispered against his jaw. He was trembling, but so slightly she could only tell when she stood so close. ‘If I am not to have happiness, let me at least have a purpose. Let me give you the heart of a queen.’

She watched him swallow, feeling the faint warmth of his breath on her cheek.

Then she stepped back and turned away. His hand grabbed for hers but she pulled it out of reach and slipped into the swirl of masks and dancers.

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