Page 12 of Always a Princess

“It is I who must ask for your forgiveness. Are you all right?”

He held her by the shoulders, steadying her on her feet, yet Thea felt decidedly unsteady.

“You are Miss Theodosia Templebourne,” he said. “I apologize for lacking a formal introduction. It is not my intention to breach protocol, but I cannot pretend I do not know who you are.”

Thea looked up into a familiar pair of dark eyes. Carlton. That’s who he is.

“I am,” she replied.

He let go of her shoulders, yet she could still feel where he had touched her.

Thea nodded, but said nothing. She didn’t know what to say. It was outside her experience to first be asked to dance by a prince and then run face-first into a duke.

While she was searching for words, he continued, “Forgive me. This is why we have formal introductions, and one does not ignore such etiquette. Peregrine Edmund Worth, Eighth Duke of Carlton.”

“Forgive me, Your Grace. Of course you are. I knew that. Please forgive me, for all of it.”

“All is forgiven. But may I ask again, are you all right? You seem … unsettled.”

A flush creeped up her neck and heated her face. Etiquette demanded she admit nothing of the sort, but honesty burst forth instead.

“I am not quite sure what I am right now, Your Grace. Confused, I suppose. Excuse me. I must go. My charges await my return.”

“Confused by what, Miss Templebourne?”

Again, Thea knew how she should reply, but tonight wasn’t a typical evening. She looked up and met his dark gaze. “Why all of a sudden men seem to notice I exist.”

The Duke of Carlton smiled. “Perhaps my honesty is unwelcome, but I assure you, it is not all of a sudden.” With that, he bowed. “I shall leave you to your errand. Good evening, Miss Templebourne.”

CHAPTER 8

As Thea lay in bed, two men’s words swirled in her mind.

“Let me know you, Thea. Get to know me. Perhaps it may lead somewhere beyond your wildest dreams.”

“I assure you, it is not all of a sudden.”

“I wish to know you.”

“You fit me. Your bearing … it is unmistakably royal.”

First a prince. Then a duke.

What is happening? Thea had no idea, but she knew attention from any man, especially them, was playing with fire.

The prince was truly hazardous to her. There was something about him that had made her wish to throw caution to the wind and let her heart lead the way. She had danced with him. Recklessly. Foolishly.

She could still imagine where he had held her as they waltzed across the floor. She hadn’t wanted the song to end.

“You feel the same pull I do.”

His words echoed in her mind, and she could admit to herself that he was right. She did feel it. She’d only felt it once before in her life.

That was how she knew Prince Alexander Karalovy was dangerous. The kind of pull she felt toward him was the sort that took one over the edge of reason and into a completely new dimension, where love made all things possible.

Am I willing to take such a risk again?

She had the girls. Her duty to them. Her love for them. Her uncle would never approve of her stepping outside the role he had insisted she play. She would never act in a way that would harm the girls’ chances. She was not selfish.