Chương 4

The music shifted again as they reached the center of the ballroom. Angelique looked at Louis's hand, then placed her own in it. Louis closed his hand around hers. The moment he led her to the dance floor, the room noticed. Conversations faltered. By the time they stepped onto the edge of the dancing crowd, the cameras had found them. The press line at the far end of the hall stirred. Journalists lifted their cameras. Light flashed. A Voice of the Pacific camera crew moved closer, lenses fixed on them.

Louis felt the change at once. For a second his step shortened. He was not afraid of the room, but he knew how quickly attention could become a story. He had been at the center of moments like this before, and some of them had ended in photographs he preferred not to remember.

"You look like you're about to be executed," she murmured.

"This isn't your first time, is it?" He glanced at her, then found his step again.

"No," he said, low.

"Just the first time it mattered." She raised one eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter. Just dance. Let them make what they want out of it." The music settled into a slower rhythm. Louis found it again and drew her in. He placed one hand at her waist and felt her through the fabric of her dress. She lifted her other hand to his shoulder. Around them, other couples moved into place. Louis barely noticed them.

"Relax," Angelique said quietly.

"You don't have to be so careful with me." He looked into her eyes.

"I'm just trying to be polite."

"You're trying not to make a mistake," she said.

"I'm not going to break." He let out a breath and eased his grip. She came closer against him, and he found the step. She let him guide her into the next turn. The second measure came easier than the first. The third was easier still. He was not brilliant, but not disastrous either. After the first few movements, the dance stopped feeling like a test. His body settled into the rhythm.

"Better," Angelique said. Her eyes stayed on his as they turned.

"Now you look like someone who's danced before." She smiled.

"Though your feet still don't know what to do with themselves."

"I thought you were here to help me."

"I'm here to make sure you don't embarrass me." Her hand pressed firmly against his shoulder.

"Keep your frame up." He did as she said. The adjustment brought them closer and put him back into the rhythm. She followed without looking down.

"There," she said.

"Now you're dancing properly." They turned together through the last measure. The room kept watching, but it mattered less. He let her correct him where she needed to, and took the lead when she allowed it. The last note came before he was ready for it. Angelique's hand remained in his for several seconds. Then she drew it back smoothly.

"See?" she said.

"Not so hard. Now we go back to smiling at everyone and pretending we came here for the speeches." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Louis smiled down at her.

"You might have made the entire evening bearable." She lifted her chin.

"Don't exaggerate. We'll see if you still think that in an hour." She glanced toward the edge of the ballroom. Constantine and Philip stood watching them with faint smiles.

"I think we're being summoned." Before he could answer, Erin Hobbes, his father's secretary, approached with an apologetic smile.

"Miss Bourbon. Mr. Collins." She gave them both a small bow of the head.

"The Supreme President would like the families photographed together before the reception ends."

"Naturally," Angelique said. She turned to Louis.

"Shall we?" They crossed the ballroom together. Guests made room for them in small steps. By the time they reached the center, Judith and Serana were already there. Maria Bourbon, Philip's wife, stood just to one side with Charles, her younger son. Jacques, the older son, lingered closer to Philip. Constantine stepped into place first, already facing the cameras. Philip moved beside him. Judith took Constantine's left. Maria took the other side. Serana was placed slightly forward.

Louis found himself next to Angelique.

"Perfect," the photographer said.

"Just there." Flash.

"Closer, Louis." He shifted half a step. Angelique's arm brushed his sleeve. Flash. The photographer lowered his camera.

"Perfect. Thank you." The arrangement broke at once. Guests moved in. A general reached for Philip's hand. Someone from the Ministry of Culture caught Judith's attention. Serana was claimed by an ambassador's wife, who bent close and spoke with delighted seriousness. The room had paused for the photograph. Now it moved again. Louis turned to Angelique. For a second, she was still beside him, close enough that the sleeve of her dress brushed his jacket as she stepped back. Then Malcolm appeared at her side.

He took her hand and introduced her to a diplomat she had clearly already met. She smiled and turned with him. The crowd closed between her and Louis. Maria Bourbon came to his side before he could take a step after Angelique.

"Louis," she said with a courteous smile.

"It has been a long time."

"Your Majesty." Louis bowed his head slightly.

"It has."

"Maria, please," she said.

"At least while no one is pointing a camera at us."

"Of course." Louis smiled.

"How have you been?"

"Busier than I would like," Maria said.

"Your father has made my husband front-page material again."

"I can imagine." Louis nodded.

"I'll ask my father to put VOP on a shorter leash." Maria's smile did not change.

"A shorter leash often makes them pull harder. But I appreciate the thought." A server appeared with a silver tray of champagne flutes. Maria took one with a small nod. Louis took another. Across the room, Constantine lifted two fingers, and the room obeyed. Conversations softened. His father was taking the evening back. Louis glanced once more toward Angelique. She was talking with Malcolm, the sound muted by the crowd. Constantine stepped forward to give the closing remarks. His smile was already there.

Philip stood a little behind and to his right, calm under the lights, already comfortable in his new place. The applause came easily. So did the laughter. Louis barely heard the words. Camera flashes went off around the room. Through it all, he kept looking for Angelique between shoulders, champagne glasses, and moving bodies. When Constantine finished, the room broke apart again. This time people began leaving. Goodbyes started. Security shifted. Staff moved toward the doors to prepare for the departure of cars.

Louis tried once more to cross the room toward the Bourbons. He got halfway before a donor stopped him to say how handsome he had looked in the family photograph. By the time he was free again, Angelique had stepped away from the last group. Malcolm was beside her, leading her toward the entrance hall. He said something. She listened, her face angled toward him. As she reached the door, Angelique turned. She looked across the half-empty ballroom and found him. Her hand lifted once in a small wave. She smiled once.

Then she was gone. Judith declared the evening a success. Serana said little. Constantine took Philip into the study to talk policy. Louis returned to his room alone. He loosened his tie and stood by the window. Outside, the trees shifted in the dark. His phone lit with a message from Serana. You know they're already calling her your future wife, right? He stared at the message, then laughed to himself. He didn't answer. He set the phone on the nightstand, peeled off his clothes, and climbed into bed.

He lay awake in the dark for a long time.