Page 104 of A Touch of Charm
It was loud and clear.
“Stars.”
“What?” Andre squatted so he could face Mary.
“The sounds at night. Like this—” She cupped her ear to show she was listening to the chirping outside. “This is the sound the stars make when they sparkle.”
“That’s so sweet,” Andre said. His chest tightened. A sense of romanticism in Mary’s worldview gave him hope. It was children like her that made the world a better place.
“You have to go and tell Thea that you love her,” Mary said.
“She knows.”
“But she’s alone at a ball, and you are here with me. You have to claim your princess, or else someone else will.”
And then there was a thud and a scream.
Andre’s arms grew cold, and his legs heavy.
Thea cried out nearby.
*
A few minutesearlier, downstairs at the ball…
Thea felt as though this was the ball she’d missed the night she refused Prince Ralph. Well, truth be told, she hadn’t made it to the ball that night, and this was different. Tonight, she knew she’d find Andre and nestle into his embrace… but where was Andre?
Thea scanned the room and saw Stan approaching Alex who seemed consumed in an argument with another man.
Oh no! White breeches, a black coat with golden buttons…
Thea excused herself from Pippa and Bea and felt all the eyes on her as she walked toward her brothers.
Red cuffs and golden lapels.
Thea’s pulse quickened and she wasn’t sure how her feet carried her there, but she wasn’t going to run away this time.
And when she came to her brothers’ side, they stilled.
Before her, the man bowed, and Anna appeared with a bouquet of red roses.
The Viennese tradition was the crowning event of the evening. The prince would offer a bouquet of roses—and if she accepted them, they’d be effectively betrothed.
Never!
The man in the Viennese uniform was Prince Ralph, Thea knew it the moment she saw Anna’s look. He turned to receive the flowers from the hostess of the ball, but Anna stepped back, clutching the roses in her arms.
“What is the meaning of this?” Prince Ralph asked.
The music stopped.
As did Thea’s heart.
“As I tried to explain, she doesn’t wish to marry you.” Stan squared his shoulders.
“And we represent our father while on diplomatic mission in England, thus, as we explained, we’d like to dissolve the betrothal agreement,” Alex said.
“No.”
