Free How to Propose to a Prince by Kathryn Caskie Page A

pleasantry,but took a step closer and another, until the space between felt too confined. “Rumor has it that you are in London to request the hand of Princess Charlotte,” the old man brashly stated. “True?”
    “Lord Lotharian!” Miss Royle gasped. For an instant Sumner thought he detected something more in Miss Royle’s shocked response to her guardian’s words. Anger, was it? Certainly not embarrassment, which was what he might have expected her reaction to be.
    Lord Lotharian did not abandon his stubborn gaze. It remained fixed on Sumner as he awaited a reply.
    And so, he decided to tell the truth. “This night my only thought was to beseech Miss Royle for a dance. Nothing more.” Lord Lotharian was tall, nearly as large as himself, and so when Sumner addressed the gray-haired gentleman, he looked him directly in the eye.
    Lord Lotharian did not say a word, but for some moments Sumner had the distinct impression that he was studying him. But a time came when he could no longer endure the earl’s earnestness. He turned back to Miss Royle, who now appeared somewhat shaken at the intense exchange of attention between him and Lord Lotharian.
    Sumner smiled agreeably, hoping to calm her. “I would have wished to request a dance…” He glanced down at her bodice, then returned his gaze to her stunningly beautiful green eyes. “…but since I have soaked your gown, Miss Royle, I wonder if you would do me the honor of leaving Almack’s for a short while for a stroll in the night air. Your gown will dry and the relative quiet of the street at night is far more conducive to conversation than this crowd of merrymakers.” He looked to Lord Lotharian momentarily. “That is, if you will permit it, my lord.” His gaze fell upon Miss Royle again.
    She was blinking up at him as if she could not quite believe what he was asking of her. She turned, appearing wrapped in her nerves, looked to Lord Lotharian and waited silently for him to give her permission to leave the ball for a short while.
    The old man glanced once more at Sumner, and then at Miss Royle. “Very well, my dear. But do not tarry overlong. Lady Upperton will wish to speak with you.”
    “Thank you, my lord.” Miss Royle excitedly bounced on her toes for an instant, but quickly renewed her ladylike composure.
    Sumner lifted his arm to her, and as she tookit, a great smile brightened her face. Together, as they strolled arm in arm through the crowd, she seemed no longer aware of the wine blooming across her bodice. Instead, she appeared extraordinarily happy. And this pleased Sumner immensely. Somehow, he had been redeemed.
     
    They had just descended the stairs and a liveried footman had opened the doors for them to depart the assembly rooms when it occurred to Elizabeth to look over her shoulder. “There are no guards?”
    The prince shook his head. “No need this evening. Besides, I am a trained soldier. I know precisely what to do in the event of an attack. So I warn you, do not try anything. I have been schooled in the defensive arts.”
    She laughed and, quite unexpectedly, he felt her tighten her hold around his biceps. “I do not doubt that you have been,” she said, looking up through her lush lashes at him.
    “Thankfully, unless you are secretly planning an attack, I do not believe there will be any need to call my military training into use this fine evening.” He felt the softness of her breast pressing against his arm, and even in the relative coolness of the evening became aware of the heat growing below.
    She cocked her head and glanced up at him as they walked. “Why did you introduce yourself as Lord Whitevale when we first met?”
    “I told you I was incognito.” He turned his head and smiled back at her, before looking ahead again. “I did not wish to draw unwanted attention.”
    “Of course not,” she conceded. “As I told you, you can rest your faith in me.”
    His legs were long, and for the first time in her life she