I chuckled.

“Listen,” he began, “I had a thought about tonight, but I couldn’t say it in front of Father. I know he wouldn’t approve.”

“What?” I squinted, trying to imagine what Etan would be willing to do in spite of his father.

“If you find yourself unable to get to Valentina at the banquet, if Quinten or anyone else seems to be watching too closely, I can cause a distraction.”

“Thank you,” I breathed. “That has been my biggest . . . Wait, cause a distraction how?”

He shrugged as if it were nothing. “There were a handful of other competitors today who were more than a little bitter about losing to me. It would only take two or three well-placed remarks to get someone to throw a punch my way.”

“Etan!”

“I told you, it’s only if you’ve run out of options. I don’t want to make a scene, but it’s far more important to get Valentina on our side than for me to uphold my reputation, even though I know that’s a big concern of Father’s right now. If I’m not beside you, I’ll be watching. Simply nod at me or something, all right?”

“Very well.”

I knew Etan. He was proud. He didn’t like people taking his work or positions or sacrifice lightly. In a way, his reputation was the prize of his life. To see that he would willingly sacrifice it for now to help me . . . I felt like I saw a glimpse of the person Silas had told me about.

In a way, I felt obligated to change his mind, but in another, I was proud to know him.

Nineteen

I BRUSHED MY HAIR OUT, braiding the front pieces to hold it out of my face the way Delia Grace used to. The moment her name crossed my mind, I wondered what she was doing now. Had she been moved into the queen’s apartments? Did she have a gaggle of ladies serving her? Was she happy with her place at Jameson’s side?

I hoped she was. She had been through enough; it was time for her to have some level of ease in her life. I wondered if I ought to write her, or maybe respond to Nora. I’d feel so much better if there was a way to know that Delia Grace had something formal with Jameson.

“What are you thinking about?” Scarlet asked. “You get this look on your face sometimes like you’ve gone back to Coroa in your head.”

If my stare didn’t give me away, my guilty smile certainly did. She was far too observant. “I was thinking about those girls today, asking if I was engaged. I remembered how the holy men had to force Jameson to keep my name off the peace treaty with Quinten. If they hadn’t . . . I don’t think I could have left.”

“What? Why not?”

“I think it would have been as good as being married on paper, or at least practically engaged. Those things are all but unbreakable in Coroa.” I turned away from the mirror to face her. “I knew a girl whose parents made a marriage contract with another family when she and her intended were two years old. Contracts like that are dated. So once the date rolls around, you’re legally married.”