Chapter 130

The evening of the fundraising gala, Elva and I changed into our glistening golden dresses and waited in the parlor with the other candidates for Nathan to come and bring us to the event.

We stood near Susie for a while, but she was distracted. She had prepared notecards for her pitch, as well as some responses to questions she might be asked. She read through them aloud, over and over.

“I’ll hide them up my sleeve if I have to,” she said, when I asked her about them.

Elva twisted and turned, catching light on her puffy shirts. Then she tried to catch it with her hands. She giggled at her own antics. “So pretty…” she whispered to herself.

“Piper. Speak with us.”

I glanced up to see Veronica approaching, with Tiffany close behind.

My nerves spiked, and I worried they had seen Jane again. But when I looked closer at Tiffany, she wasn’t carrying her tension in quite the same way she had the previous two times she approached me.

This time, she seemed more excited than anxious.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, forcing myself calm.

“How we should split Julian’s time during the gala,” Tiffany said. The two came to stand before Elva and me. Tiffany waved at Elva, smiling. Elva blinked up at her and shyly waved back.

“Splitting his time evenly would be the most logical,” Veronica said. “We will already be competing with each other in our pitches to the benefactors. It would be fruitless to compete for Julian’s attention as well.”

“Plus, bickering amongst ourselves won’t look good to the benefactors,” Tiffany added. “Not to mention, the uncomfortable position it would put Julian in.”

Veronica gave a quick, curt nod. “Julian shouldn’t need to trouble himself with that.”

I stared at them both in disbelief. Compared to Linda, Lilliana, Olivia, and almost every other candidate I had dealt with, aside from Susie, these two genuinely seemed to have Julian’s best intentions at heart, even more than their own.

I couldn’t help but be in awe of them, as well as incredibly grateful that they were the ones I was working with now. At least, in part.

Across the room, Lilliana and Olivia were in a conversation of their own, all fake smiles and dagger-edged glances.

I doubted this same conversation with them would go half so well.

“Piper, you take the first hour with Julian,” Veronica said. “Then Tiffany. Then me.”

Tiffany and I both agreed.

“May the best candidate win,” Tiffany said.

Veronica looked at her. “I intend to,” she said, deadpan. A tense moment passed, but then the edge of her lip curled up into a smile. She’d been joking.

Tiffany immediately burst into a laugh.

I smiled too, just a little. One of my few real smiles since Jane held a knife to my throat. I knew I would have to smile a lot tonight, to win over the benefactors, so I had been practicing in the mirror, trying to find the smile that looked the most convincing.

It was nice not to have to fake it, even if only for a passing moment.

Not long after, Nathan came into the room to collect us, and we were being herded to the ballroom.

As with each of the previous balls, each candidate was announced and led down the stairs. When it was our turn, I lifted Elva into my arms and carried her. As soon as she reached the bottom, she squirmed to be let down. I complied but made her hold my hand instead.

“I don’t want to hold hands.”

“You have to,” I said. “Those are the rules.”

“What rules?”

She seemed cranky tonight. I wondered if she was getting enough sleep.

“We talked about this, Elva. It’s unsafe to let go of Mommy’s hand.”

Elva pouted but didn’t argue. She hung her arm like a wet noodle, perhaps her last line of defiance. I could hold her hand even if she didn’t put any effort in, so I didn’t mind.

As per the agreement with the other candidates selected by Julian, I began to search him out in the ballroom. He found me first, suddenly appearing at my side.

Elva immediately perked upon seeing him. “Jul-an! Teach me the trick again.”

“She’s been practicing,” I said softly to Julian, like a secret.

“Then maybe you should show me.” Julian withdrew a quarter from his pocket and handed it to Elva.

I let go of her hand so she could move, though I placed my hand on the top of her head instead. I wasn’t going to let Elva out of my sight tonight, or likely any other night. Not until Jane was caught and the organization brought down.

“Okay. Watch!” Elva held out the coin like Nicholas had taught her. Then with a flick of her wrist, the coin clattered down onto the floor. “Oh!” Elva bent and picked it up.

“An excellent attempt!” Julian said and clapped. “You’ll be a little thief—ah, that is, a little magician in now time.”

I scowled at him for the slip of the tongue.

Elva beamed at the praise. She held out the quarter to give back to him.

“You keep it, Elva. Keep practicing, okay?”

“Okay.” And she did just that, pausing only when I made her hold my hand again. Still, she persisted, trying to learn the trick one-handed instead.

Julian smiled at me. “Well. Ready for the main event?”

“Yes.” I was ready to earn that money for charity.

Each candidate and benefactor was assigned their own servant, who would keep track of who spoke with who, to avoid any overlap. They worked as something like handlers, leading the candidates or the benefactors to the correct spots to speak with each other. Then they moved us away when our time was up.

Julian was charming when he wanted to be, disarming many of the sterner-faced benefactors with an unexpected joke and an easy smile. Elva won the hearts of the rest. She insisted on showing her coin trick, with limited success, to everyone we encountered.

“How darling,” said an older benefactor to her husband.

Julian leaned close to my ear and whispered, “See, she’s saving lives already.”

I didn’t roll my eyes, since I was being watched, but it was a near thing.

By the end of my hour with Julian, I had one confirmed commitment to my cause, and a half dozen maybes. It felt like a victory.

“Well, Piper, I’m afraid this is where we must part.” Julian took my hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

He was teasing. He had to be teasing. But his lips lingered at my skin for a half-second longer than needed. When he pulled away, he didn’t look at me, instead his gaze shifted to Elva.

He patted her lightly on the head. “Keep practicing.”

“Thanks, Jul-an!”

Julian’s help had been immeasurable for the hour I had him, though I knew eventually I would have to go it alone. I didn’t mind all that much. I was determined to garner as much money for the orphanage as I could.

Yet, I couldn’t keep my gaze from looking across the ballroom, searching for Nicholas. I frowned when I finally spotted him.

He stood directly between Olivia and Lilliana. Each was speaking to their own benefactor. They occasionally would turn to Nicholas and try to include him, but as soon as one of them did, the other would start up, stealing him away.

Nicholas’s face was a mix of confusion and discomfort. I doubted he could follow either conversation when being constantly tugged between them.

Pity rose in my weary heart. I wished he could be free from this contest, and find love on his own terms. A foolish notion, perhaps, given who he was.

Yes, he was a prince, but he was also a man. A good man, worthy of the most passionate love.

As if he could hear my thoughts, his gaze suddenly lifted, finding mine instantly. His eyes held me prisoner, and I was willing.

I wanted little more than to move closer to him. To rescue him as he so often rescued me.

But there was a great length of space between us, bigger even than this room.

So my feet stayed still on the ground.