One Look

Chapter 45

When I played the last note on the piano, the doors opened and Nathaniel entered, followed by Charlotte who had a huge smile on her face. Nathaniel's eyes met mine and his widened in surprise. I bit the inside of my cheek when I realised he had brought another girl into our special room.

"Sorry we did not know anyone would be in here", Nathaniel apologised quickly. Charlotte tried to hide her smile, but the girl was literally beaming and there was no possible way she could make that disappear.

"It is fine", I said softly. "I was just about to leave anyway". I stood up quickly and wiped my palms off my dress before I made my way out of the room. I could hear Charlottes giggles as I closed the door, and the sound of the keys of the piano being pressed. It was weird seeing Nathaniel with another girl without a chaperone. When I had seen him with Ruth, she had her ladies in waiting a few steps back. What could he possibly be doing with Charlotte that they couldn't have a chaperone around to see? I cut of my spiralling thoughts quickly, as I reminded myself the majority of time, I had spent with Nathaniel had been unaccompanied by anyone.

I rushed away from that room and made my way to the end of the palace which housed the royal quarters. I made my way to Oscars and the guards eyed me wearily when I stopped outside his door.

"Excuse me", I said, my chin raised to make myself look taller. Or at least I believed it gave the illusion that I was tall. The guards narrowed their eyes at me but as I had gotten their attention I continued. "If his highness is in there, would you mind asking him if he would like to accompany me for a walk?"

The guard on the left let out a puff of air and looked at his partner. "One minute". He then knocked on the door and swung it open before he disappeared inside. A second later the guard exited again and nodded his head at me. "His highness said he will be out in a moment".

I smiled and nodded my head, as I waited for Oscar to exit his chambers. I eyed the fraying wallpaper in the royal quarters and decided that this hallway needed a major upgrade. It looked like nothing had changed within the last two hundred years, what with the fraying wallpaper (that had some patches throughout), furniture that was definitely out of style, and a lack of colour. The only good thing about it was the hard wood floor, that still looked sturdy and as polished as one's floor could. The door opened and Oscar met me in the hallway. He grinned when he saw me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Why do you look as if you have something to ask me?" he asked, as he held his arm out for me. I took a hold of it, and we walked away from the guards who had been wearily watching me for far too long. "This better have nothing to do with the duke of Kensington".

"No nothing about him", I laughed. "I have decided to leave that situation alone for the time being. I will wait until I see my grandmother again and talk to her about it all".

"I am glad to hear there will be no more breaking into anyone's room", he chuckled, and I shrugged.

"I don't think I said I would not be attempting any more break ins". I laughed as Oscar looked at me worriedly. He narrowed his eyes at me as we made our descent down the stairs that ended in the main foyer.

"Well then, why have you ripped me from my engagements?" he questioned.

"I am sorry, were you entertaining someone in their?" A sly smile spread across my face, and I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Eloise", he scolded. "If you must know she was a delight".

"Oscar", I hissed and snatched my hand away from him. He laughed before I held onto his arm again. I would never understand how Oscar could get away with everything he got up to. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk with my best friend".

"Oh, did you? Well, I think I saw Mary-Anne back there", he said nudging his head in the direction over his shoulder.

"Oscar, I wanted to talk to you, okay?" I sighed. "Can you stop with the jokes for a minute?"

"I apologise if my behaviour has offended you", he said sincerely.

"Oscar", I muttered, and hit his shoulder. Sometimes he could be quite exhausting.

"Okay I will stop now", he chuckled. "You look as if you wish to murder me". I laughed as he led me out into the garden. My eyes squinted as they tried to adjust to the change in brightness. The sun was high in the sky today, and not a cloud was in sight.

"I wanted to know if there had been any update on Charles?" I asked, and Oscar smiled at me.

"I was out on the horses with him yesterday. He told me that his sister is getting married this weekend, so as it turns out the ball on Sunday is cancelled as we shall be attending a wedding", Oscar announced, and my mouth fell open.

"A wedding? I don't remember the last time I was a guest at a wedding", I said excitedly. "Wait I am invited?"

"Yes, as the guests of the Royal family, whatever we are invited to you are also invited to".

"Does that mean Charlotte, Ruth and Isabella will be attending too?" I pouted, and Oscar nodded. "I wasn't expecting a wedding so soon. The last time I talked to Charles, he had told me a proposal was on the horizons".

"I asked him the same thing. He said his parents were afraid that Leonard would try to advance on his sister and propose. The wedding is a sure thing of keeping her safe from his clutches".

"I am glad she is marrying someone whom she will be happy with", I said gently. "At least I hope she will be happy. Though I believe anyone is better than Leonard". Oscar laughed and nodded in agreement. We continued our walk-in silence for a moment and when I couldn't bare it a second longer, I turned to him and blurted out, "I saw Nathaniel with Charlotte and they were alone".

Oscar stared at me with a strange expression on his face. "Eloise, he has to get to know the other girls. He confessed to what he has told you, and he is worried that you do not feel the same way about him".

"What?" I spluttered.

"Eloise, he loves you, which you already know. He believes that you don't share the same feelings and he wants to see does he have a connection with anyone else, in case you back out", Oscar explained carefully.

"Back out?" I snapped. "What do you mean by back out?"

"Listen you should have this conversation with him, but he is afraid that you might leave the palace and return home before he makes his decision".

"I am not going to leave", I whispered.

"Tell him that", he said cautiously. "I don't want to get in the middle of this".

"He asked me once if I have feelings for him or am I just afraid of losing him? I assured him that it was the former, is he still worried about that?" I asked.

Oscar ran his hand through his hair and stopped walking. He turned to face me and gently grabbed my shoulders. "Have you really thought about that question?" He asked, and I shrugged him off me, taking a step back.

"Of course, I have", I snapped. "I thought I lost you both before and I survived. So, no I am not afraid of losing him. If anything, I am afraid of giving my heart to him, because what if I do and suddenly it's not enough. What if he doesn't choose me? What if I hate being a member of the royal family? What if---?"

"Stop", Oscar said gently and wrapped his arms around me. I clung onto him tight and he rubbed my back softly. "You need to speak with him".

"He is always occupied with the other girls now", I whispered.

"There you are", a voice scolded from behind me. I let go of Oscar and turned around to meet my ladies in waiting and their glares. "We have been looking for you everywhere since lunch ended".

"Sorry", I apologised quickly.

"I will see you later Lady Eloise". Oscar excused himself, and I begged him with my eyes not to leave me to the wrath of my ladies. He only shrugged in response.

"Goodbye your highness", I smiled. 

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