Page 83 of Disenchanted
“But you thought that I did. I am so sorry, Horatio. I never intended to forsake you to dance with Prince Ryland.”
“It is all right, Ella. You need not explain. I understood. A garrison commander is of little consequence next to a prince.”
“Perhaps to most women, but not to me. Prince Ryland caught me entirely by surprise.”
Horatio studied my face. “Yes, I observed that His Highness appeared to have a powerful impact on you.”
I was unable to meet Horatio’s questioning gaze. I had no wish to trot out the entire pathetic tale of my youthful folly with the boy I had known as Harper. I settled on a partial truth.
“The prince merely reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago.”
“It must have been someone you cared about a great deal, considering the way you kissed him,” Horatio said with a rare edge to his voice.
When I flushed, he immediately apologized. “Forgive me, Ella. I have no right to mention that. It is none of my concern—”
“No, please, I want to explain to you about that.”
“You don’t have to explain anything.”
“Yes, I do,” I insisted. “I would hate to have you believe that I am some royalty-mad doxy ready to fling herself into the embrace of the nearest prince.”
“I never believed that of you.”
“Good! As I said, it was only that Harper— I mean, Prince Ryland touched upon some memory from my girlhood, and before I even knew how it happened, he was kissing me. But I assure you that it meant—” I hesitated, recalling the brief rush of emotion I had experienced, that stirring of embers I had believed long burned to ash.
“That kiss meant nothing to me,” I said firmly. “And I promise you, when I came here tonight, there was only one man I wanted to dance with.”
I smiled up at Horatio. I am still at a loss to explain what I did next. Perhaps I merely wanted to keep Horatio distracted from returning to the subject of me wandering through the forbidden corridor. Perhaps I wanted to prove to him and myself how little Ryland’s kiss had mattered. Or perhaps it was something in theway Horatio smiled back at me, the warmth in the depths of his deep grey eyes.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. Stretching upward, I boldly touched my lips to his. Horatio’s eyes widened for a moment. Then he drew me close, enfolding me in his embrace and returning my kiss. Kissing me in a way that I had never been kissed before. The kind of kiss that begins at your lips and curls all the way through you down to your toes.
When he finally released me, I was breathless and even a trifle giddy.
“Oh!” I sighed. “That was… was…”
“Yes, it was,” Horatio agreed. His gaze was tender as he looked down at me, but surprisingly sad as he continued, “And now, Ella, perhaps you’ll tell me what you have really been doing here.”
Still melting from his kiss, I had a mad urge to confess everything. Then I stiffened, wondering exactly who had been distracting whom. Or perhaps “seducing” was a better word.
Horatio was so upright and honorable; I could hardly accuse him of that and yet whoever would have imagined that the stern commander could kiss a girl senseless like that? Regretfully, I pulled out of his arms, trying to decide if I should stick to my original story or come up with a more plausible reason for invading the forbidden part of the palace.
“Well, I… actually, I was… um… looking for… for…”
I was spared the necessity of finishing my answer when a door at the end of the corridor opened. I tensed, dreading that it heralded the arrival of Mercato. Instead, my sister sauntered out, or perhaps staggered might have been a more apt description.
If I thought Amy had seemed a bit too convivial before, my sister appeared to have reached that state Mal would have described as thoroughly pickled. She had lost all the pins andthe ribbon binding up her hair and it fell about her face in a disorderly tangle. The bodice of her gown was half-slipping off her shoulder and her nose was lit up like a lighthouse beacon.
She reeled back when she saw me, but then her lips curled upward in a silly grin. “Why, hullo, Ella.”
I stared at her in shock, which quickly turned to consternation when I saw the frown settling over Horatio’s face. Bad enough I needed to excuse why I had been caught in forbidden territory, but now I would need to account for my sister as well. Exactly what was Amy doing here?
I moved to interpose myself between the commander and my sister. “Amy!” I exclaimed with forced brightness. “There you are! I have been looking everywhere for you.”
I leaned closer, hissing. “What are you doing wandering alone down here?”
She blinked owlishly at me. “I’m not alone. I’m with my prinsh.”
“Prinsh? I mean what prince?”
