Evangeline

Chapter 11

"And Papa said I can have a horse this year!" Ethan told me, so excited about his upcoming birthday. "He says when I'm six, I'll be big enough!"

"Really?" I asked with overdone interest. "A horse of your very own?"

Ethan nodded enthusiastically, looking proud.

"I don't think I was allowed to start riding until I turned eight," I exaggerated. Technically, I'd started by six too, but I wasn't allowed by myself until I was a little older. But Ethan looked very pleased to hear that he might be allowed more at a younger age.

Gwen came to sit beside me and Ethan turned his excited eyes on her. "Gwen, did you hear that Papa said-"

"About your horse?" she interrupted. "Yes, we all got horses for our sixth birthdays."

Ethan's smile dimmed and I frowned at Gwen for spoiling his moment.

"It's still a special gift," I said to him. "It means you're not a baby any more."

Gratified to hear that, he beamed again.

"Did you decide what color you want him to be?" I asked.

Ethan thought for a second. "Red," he pronounced. "Like Chloe."

I smiled. "That sounds nice. You should tell Papa."

Not wanting to wait another moment, he ran off to do just that.

"You couldn't play along?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Gwen.

She shrugged. "Like you said, he's not a baby any more. Besides, I'd rather hear about you."

"Me?"

She nodded. "You've been looking awfully pleased tonight. You didn't see that man again, did you?"

"Man?" I asked, startled. Had Gwen seen us together? Had someone else?

"The one you met at the ball," she prompted. "You said you'd tell."

Knowing that Gwen's exuberance often overpowered her common sense, I hadn't told her much about Jonathan. I only mentioned that I ran into him when Chloe got away from me, but I left out everything after that. As far as she knew, I'd only seen him twice, and the second time had only been for a few minutes.

"No," I lied. "I guess I'm just feeling happy this evening. Is that a crime?"

She wilted. "Really? Not at all?"

I shrugged. "What were you expecting?" You know that probably no one besides the princes will satisfy Grandfather anyway."

I frowned and looked across the room to where they were talking with different people. This was supposed to be one of the rare times my family was able to be together without other people around. But since the princes and dignitaries were visiting, our time had been canceled in favor of making them feel more welcome.

"Still," Gwen said. "You don't have to marry him to meet with him sometimes. I know you don't have fun with Sebastian or Julian."

It was so hard not to just tell her the truth, but I was afraid she'd accidentally say something to someone and ruin it. It was a very good thing that Lily wasn't here. I was so excited about tomorrow, I doubt I'd have been able to keep from telling her everything.

"Sorry." I shrugged again. "Maybe he had to go home. He said he was visiting an aunt."

Gwen frowned and I looked away, vowing to work on hiding my emotions better. I didn't want anyone thinking anything was going on with me. If they did, they might watch me a little too closely, and my plans might be ruined.

After a moment, I realized that I was watching Henry. Ethan was talking to him and, based on the excitement that was still radiating off of him, he was telling Henry all about his birthday. Unlike most of the times I'd noticed him in similar situations, Henry wasn't scowling. He actually looked interested in what my brother was saying. It wasn't genuine interest, of course, but he was humoring him.

I looked at Sebastian and Julian to see what they were doing. As usual, they were talking to "important" individuals, undoubtedly trying to impress them or get in their good graces. Granted, I hadn't really paid close attention to them when I wasn't forced to spend time with them, but I couldn't picture them playing along with just any child simply for the purpose of making the child happy. Maybe they'd attempt to make friends with Philip because he would have power one day, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they didn't even know Ethan's name.

Turning my attention on Henry again, I started wondering about him. Sweet was not one of the qualities I would have guessed he possessed, yet there he was, actually holding a conversation with a five-year-old boy who could offer virtually nothing of value to him. He wasn't simply listening to Ethan ramble either, he was actually talking to him. He was asking questions and prolonging the interaction. Thinking back, I tried to remember if I'd ever seen him trying to impress anyone. I hadn't. Again, I hadn't paid that much attention to him either, but somehow even with as little as I knew him, I couldn't picture him doing what the other two were. I didn't recall ever actually seeing him talk to Papa longer than it took to exchange pleasantries.

And I still didn't understand why he didn't even try to spend any time with me. I hadn't thought I wanted him to, but now I wasn't so sure. At the very least, I was curious about him. If he could be sweet to a little boy, he couldn't be all bad, right? Of course, he wasn't extraordinarily nice to me that day in the stables... But then, I had been pretty awful to him before. I suppose I'd earned it.

Gwen was rambling about something, but my mind was still on the enigma across the room. It was occurring to me, for the first time, that he might be very different from Sebastian and Julian. Which actually made me want to get to know him. But how was I going to do it now? I hadn't been very open to him before and it didn't seem likely that he'd go out of his way to try again. I couldn't very well go ask him to do something. Well, I could I suppose, but that would be extremely humiliating.

But wasn't a little humiliation preferable to getting stuck marrying someone entirely unlikable?

My mind went back and forth for a while. When I realized that I'd been staring at him for several minutes without him noticing, I decided that I needed to make it happen. Julian and Sebastian were constantly trying to catch my eye and flirt in some way. Henry barely even seemed to remember that I was in the room.

How would I do it though? I suppose I could always casually say something to Papa or Grandfather, but I really didn't want to do that. Grandfather would think that I'd decided on Henry for sure, and Papa would be a little too interested too.

No, I'd figure something else out. After tomorrow.

When Jonathan showed me whatever he planned to show me, I'd press him for a real answer about who he was. If, by some miracle, he met the qualifications, I could forget about the princes. If not, I'd find a way to get to know Henry.

Considering his purpose in being here, it really shouldn't be that difficult.