The Heiress Queen (Season Series Prequel)

Chapter 23

It had been the first Isabelle had seen of Graham for almost a week. As he stood with his parents before their thrones, surveying the ballroom, she could see an edge of strain on the faces of both the king and the prince. Whatever was transpiring in their council meetings had clearly exhausted the pair of them.

The room remained bowing as the prince's steps echoed down the stairs. Isabelle didn't dare look up, grudgingly waiting for him to stand before her. As she waited, however, skirts rustled and conversations resumed as the rest of the guests straightened. Fighting a frown, Isabelle rose as well, only to find herself staring directly at Prince Graham over Anna Hindersley's shoulder.

The prince held her gaze for a moment, his arrogant half-smile in place before he turned his attention to Anna. He smiled down at her, the two of them conversing as the rest of the ballroom floor filled with pairs of dancers. Blinking away her stupor, Isabelle regained her composure and made her way towards the edge of the floor, searching for a friendly face.

Her eyes, however, were traitors.

When the music began, Isabelle found herself constantly glancing towards Anna's pink dress, that same little knot twisting in her stomach as she said something to make the prince laugh.

You can't allow him inside your head so easily, Izzie...

Sam's cautionary words rose to the forefront of her mind, followed swiftly by Byron's insulting assertion about Graham's wants. Of course he'd asked Anna when Isabelle was in plain sight. It was the same reason he'd asked for the foolish girl's ribbon when he knew Isabelle would notice. He was trying to bait her once again.

Two could play at his game.

Biding her time with a plate of food, Isabelle tucked herself into a corner and observed. She watched as the prince danced with Anna Hindersley, then bowed before Henrietta Barclay. Between each dance, the debutantes flocked towards the prince like bees towards honey, the prince relishing the attention a little too much for Isabelle's liking. Each time, he looked over the lot of them before selecting his next partner with that same, arrogant grin. Isabelle discarded her plate when he chose Cora for his third dance.

He was baiting her, she knew that he was. But how to bait him back? Cora's smile sparkled as they twirled, her once-friend resplendent in a shimmering green silk gown. Isabelle couldn't help but think that green was very much Cora's colour, before mentally chiding herself. She hadn't come to the ball to sulk in a corner and judge the other debutantes. Forcing her thoughts back to the task at hand, she chewed her cheek as she watched the dancing prince.

Graham had purposefully chosen to dance with the others. Earlier that week, he had taken Anna's ribbon. Earlier that week, he had also told Isabelle that he wouldn't stop pursuing her until she removed her ring.

When the music wound down, Isabelle decided that she needed to discover just how determined a prince she was up against.

Emerging from her hiding place, Isabelle joined the wave of debutantes surging towards where Cora had curtseyed to the prince. While the rest of them tilted their chins and threw back their shoulders in a bid to catch his attention, Isabelle remained immobile, folding her hands demurely at her waist as she watched him.

Even though she was near the edge of the group, standing there completely still while the other women dimpled and batted their lashes drew Graham's attention almost immediately. Their gazes met through the throng and a potent mix of pleasure and dismay warred within Isabelle's chest.

It had worked. Or perhaps she'd only done exactly what he'd expected she would do. Either way, she was about to have the prince's undivided attention for an entire dance. As he strode towards her, she tried to focus her thoughts to best make use of her time. She wanted to know where Byron was getting his information. If she felt brave enough, she'd ask the prince outright whether he was telling people that he wanted her as his queen. But as he stalked towards her, the many questions she'd been queueing in her head vanished.