“Oh, well, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Beryl said.

“Oh, I’m not worried about it.”

Beryl cast her a suspicious glance. “Why not?”

“Because I have a plan.”

Beryl’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of plan?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

“Oh, good,” Beryl said with a sigh. “Something else to look forward to.”

It was impossible to avoid Nikolai for long, and Camille was dancing in his arms before she knew it.

“I am not a suspicious man, my dear Camille.” He smiled down at her. “Yet, I suspect you have been avoiding me.”

“Don’t be absurd.” She forced a light laugh. “Why would I avoid you?”

“I don’t know.” His gaze bored into hers. “Perhaps you are afraid?”

“What would I have to be afraid of?”

“Passion, my dear.” He pulled her closer against him. “The passion that simmers below the surface between the two of us.”

“Ah yes, well, there is that,” she said weakly.

“We shall speak later tonight.” A firm note sounded in his voice. “And I shall not take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Nor did she intend to say “no,” as she fully intended not to get to that point. But he grew more and more impatient with every passing minute. It was all she could do to evade his grasp. She wondered as well—aside from the fact that he was a prince and handsome and wealthy—what she had seen in him. Now she found him as irritating as she had once found him irresistible. What’s not to love, indeed!

Oddly enough, given the small number of their party, even as she steered clear of Nikolai, she did not manage a single dance with Grayson. One would think he was avoiding her. The heavy knot, which had settled in the pit of her stomach before dinner, continued to grow. It seemed imperative to talk to him, to settle everything between them once and for all. Something told her she had no time to waste. She had wasted too much already. Eleven years too much.

She needed to tell him how she felt, what she wanted. It was completely irrational, and made no sense at all, but she had to tell him now. Tonight. She had to know if this Christmas Eve was the first of many to come. And she had to ask about the ship’s passage. But given his manner today, did he feel the same?

If she could just avoid this blasted prince! And Grayson had disappeared once again. There was only one thing to be done about it. Beryl was approaching Nikolai, who was dancing with Miss Murdock. Camille grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hall, across the gallery, past the Christmas tree and into the small parlor.

“What is it now?” Impatience rang in Beryl’s voice.

“We are going to change clothes.” Camille closed the doors behind her.

“Why?”