Choosing Season Excerpt - The Ball

“That’s true…” Richard twirled Elizabeth round again and wondered if Margaret had completely run away. “In Cyrillus I’ve found I enjoy managing our assets and people. It can get tedious, but it comes with the territory I suppose.” More idle chitchat. He then smiled as he thought about a deeper conversation they could have.

“What virtues do you value? What drives you to be better than you are?”

“I would say my top ones would be diligence, reverence, and humility.”

“What do you revere?”

“I suppose my family’s history and grandeur, it’s easy to appreciate Cyril’s achievements.” Richard raised an eyebrow at the answer.

“And do you consider yourself a humble person?”

“I try my best, but I’m sure I’m not perfect.” Richard’s gut felt dead, that wasn’t an honest answer and continued to stay in the superficial line of chatter. “My new…” Richard glanced toward the crowd and spotted Margaret speaking to Aurora close to the dance floor. His heart skipped a beat and his breathing went a little jagged at the thought of her being next. “…But, I didn’t think that was the correct way.” Richard forced his attention back to Elizabeth but missed everything she had said.

“I apologize, Lady Cyril. Wha… What did you say?”

“Seems like I caught you in a daydream.” She teased as her nostrils flared slightly, but then she smiled wide again. “I said my new driver got lost on the way here yesterday and I tried to correct him, but he was adamant that he was right.”

“Well, I’m sorry you had a little trouble getting here.” He chuckled. “Maybe you should invest in a GPS for him. Pericle’s newest Equos has them built in.”

“I suppose that would be mutually beneficial. I’ve heard you have an excellent car collection.”

“That I do. I have fourteen cars, a mixture of national and international models.” He could tell she wasn't actually interested in the collection, so didn’t offer any details. The music ended and Richard bowed as Elizabeth curtsied.

“Thank you Richard, you’re a marvelous dancer.” Elizabeth smiled as she touched his arm, something just felt off, but he smiled kindly and kissed her hand. Don’t make swift judgments. She walked toward Margaret and oddly raddled her chin before smiling again. Aurora then nudged Margaret forward, she took a deep breath and held her head up as she approached.

“Lady Margaret.” Richard offered his hand to her.

“Your Highness.”

“Please, call me Richard.” He swept her to the dance floor and the world fell away as he held onto her hand and waist. The first ten seconds were embarrassingly awkward, Margaret kept quiet and maintained her line of sight fixated on his shoulder instead of his face. “Elephant in the room.” She finally looked him in the eye. “I realize I wasn’t entirely truthful with you yesterday.”

“I’m sure you had your reasons, Highness.” She put on the fakest smile Richard had ever seen, even worse than Elizabeth’s strange smile. “Citri is beautiful, I don’t believe I’ve seen a more magnificent palace in my life, but I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.” Richard chuckled as he twirled her around until her back was to him and his face reached her ear.

“Drop the act Peggy.” She shivered as his whispered breath hit the back of her neck. He spun her back around and grasped her waist.

“Only my friends call me Peggy.” She hissed.

“I thought we were friends.” Flashes from cameras forced her to continue her fake smile.

“That was before I learned you lied.”

“Not completely. My full name is Richard Maximus Basil.”

“That’s a mouthful.” She was mocking him, but he decided he was going to take it as teasing.

“And I was known as Max in secondary school as well as university. So…”

“You said you were a security guard.”

“Yes. And I apologize for that. But everything else I said was truthful.”

“Really? I'm supposed to believe that you want to reconcile with me?”

“That I do.”

“In exchange for what?” The question struck Richard as odd, why would she assume he wants something from her besides friendship?

“Reconciliation is about extending a hand of friendship not deals.”

“Don't patronize me. Nothing’s ever freely given, especially friendship from a noble.” Richard's chest ached at that, wondering which nobles offered friendship in exchange for whatever they wanted to extort from her.

“No exchanges, no deals. I truly do wish to be your friend.”

“I'd rather not; you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep and Caleb Melan is one of the worst.”

“Where’d you pick up that information about him?”

“I’ve heard you are exceptionally smart, so why can't you figure it out on your own?” Richard tried to hold back his shudder. He’d love the truth, but her comebacks were intimidatingly attractive and the fire in her eyes was so gorgeous. Stop it Richard! Stir the conversation to something more pleasant?

“What do you value most?”

“You're really going to steal my interrogation question?”

“It was a good one. Valor, honor, honesty, temperance, are all things I value.” She seemed to be holding her tongue. “Nothing? Still have a couple minutes with our dance, hate for it to be-”

“Sincerity.” Richard breathed in the not-subtle criticism and waited for more. She was on the verge of breaking eye contact but seemed to convince herself to keep her head up and not back down, impressing Richard again. “Compassion, hope, charity… Courage even when it costs everything.” Richard smiled, everything she said she believed was consistent with what he's seen from her so far. With the exception of hope, she’s lost hope that Myronides could be what it once was. And courage, he’d need to see more of that from her; standing up to Edward and Caleb were one thing, but will she back away from her clearly true thoughts about him?

“Would you like to apologize for what you called me yesterday?” Her eyes narrowed as he guided her into an outside spin. He brought her back and loved the touch of her fingers, the current he felt yesterday was burning brightly, he felt her stiffen when his hand grasped her upper back and led her in a low dip.

“No.”

“Really?” Richard’s voice rumbled as he smiled, making her shiver in his arms.

“You’ve given me no reason to change my view of you.” The blaze in her eyes returned but she kept her expression as pleasant as possible. There’s that amazing courage. “You say you value honesty, yet you lie about who you are. Isn’t that… Hypocritical?” He sighed internally, realizing her mistrust of him is his own fault, maybe forgiveness is a virtue that they both need to learn.

“How about we strike a bargain then? Let’s promise to never lie to each other again.”

“Fine by me. Here’s another bargain: Leave me alone these two months and I can be your eyes and ears amongst the candidates.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can tell you what they really think of you. I'm sure ten candidates will be difficult to choose from.” Their feet moved gracefully along the dance floor and her delicately soft hand was sending heat through his arm that reached into his heart. Her gown had small crystals along the bodice that he hadn’t noticed before, and he also realized they matched her glimmering sapphire eyes, the skirt wrapped elegantly around her whenever he spun her. This dance felt magical and fever-inducing, two sensations making his heart smile without his permission. Eleven.

“Do realize I already have eyes and ears everywhere on palace grounds.”

“But do you have any in town? Or in our private chambers?”

“Good point. But how would that work if I'm supposed to leave you alone?”

“I'll let you know on our date, ours isn't until the day before the luncheon, so it’ll work out fine.” Richard's heartbeat quickened at her statement. I can't go that long without seeing you. He pushed that thought back. Why is he thinking that way? She's a Myron. He took a breath and tried to think of a way to rephrase the thought.

“I think it'd be better if we had a weekly meeting to discuss, you’re expecting me to put a lot of trust in what you say after one dance and a chance meeting in a bar.”

“I didn’t lie at all to you, so you have no reason to mistrust me.”

“But you are a Myron, and your family's track record says you'll drop out by the end of next week.” Richard instantly felt sick to his stomach. Why the hell did I just say that? Margaret hid her emotion behind a smile well, but he could tell he hurt her when her jaw twitched and her gaze fell from his face to his shoulder. “Please forgive me, I… I shouldn’t have said that.” Margaret brought her gaze back up to his, Richard’s chest was crushing his heart at his prejudice that now brought pain within her eyes, and he swore he’d never harm her.

“No, I’m glad you did. But try as you might, I will not be made ashamed of my family.” She scoffed, sending a burning shudder through Richard. “It's good to know where we stand, even if it’s just proving that you are just a d-”

“I'm sorry on behalf of everyone here for the mistreatment you've received. I shouldn’t have said that, I… I shouldn’t judge you before-” Margaret smirked and shook her head, telling him she doesn't believe he truly is sorry for being so stupid. What can I say now? Richard pushed the thoughts back and… He’s never been nervous with a woman before, why can’t he think of anything to fix his screw up?

“I’m sure you’re looking for a reason to send me home anyway, so I’ll save you the trouble and go home tonight.” You promised you’d give her a chance.

“I won’t be sending-”

“Don't lie. It tracks with your family’s record.”

“Don’t blame me for your uncle’s mistakes.” That was harsh. Calm down. You need to convince her to stay.

“Why not? I’m blamed for his and my grandfather’s. So why shouldn’t I do the same?” Richard’s anger dwindled as he considered her words.

“I am truly sorry. Please. Is there anything I can say to encourage you to stay?”

“If you demand it, I will comply, your Highness.” Richard's heart sank, he doesn't want to demand anything of her.

“I won't demand it, but mother and I truly want to restore our families goodwill.” Margaret’s anger seemed to leave for a moment as she broke her gaze and let it fly across the room. Richard followed her eyeline and saw Gideon Myron for the first time glued to a corner with Senator Drengur close beside him. Bard was talking casually and Gideon seemed happy to see him, Richard saddened at the assumption that Gideon receives just as much disdain from other nobles as Margaret does and so hides in the shadows. Richard looked back at Margaret and squeezed her hand, her lovely eyes met his, making him smile that she refuses to let people convince her she's beneath him or any other noble. “How about I give you a fair shot at winning my affection?” Richard's gaze accidentally fell to her ruby lips as he spoke; the desire to kiss her was unbearable, but self control was another virtue he worked hard to master and wouldn’t mess that up again. Especially since he just met her. What is wrong with him?

“I’d rather drown in a fountain.” Margaret quipped, making him laugh; she tried to hide it, but a small smile crept onto her lips.

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