Dancing with Deception

Dancing with Deception (10)

Chapter 10

“It’s appalling what he gets away with,” I muttered over breakfast, watching Prince Alexander hold court on the opposite side of the mess hall.

  

Tilting my head to the side I tried to see in him what the other girls saw to captivate them so. I could grudgingly admit he was in possession of darkly handsome features, broad shouldered and muscled in a way that would make any woman feel delicate by comparison, but was that, coupled with his sly smile reason enough for those girls to throw themselves at his feet? For I’d realized, over the last week, that Prince Alexander’s nighttime trysts were a common occurrence with many and varied companions.

Simply put, I couldn’t understand it. Didn’t they see arrogance that colored every action he conveyed? The boastful conceit that shone through his eyes and the gloating smugness of his every smile?

And yet, despite such obvious faults, he captured the attention of all those around him with a seemingly unintentional ease.

Even the girls, who, judging from the snorts of laughter and derisive sneers were currently being ridiculed, couldn’t keep their eyes from darting towards him. 

It was in complete contrast to Prince Nicholas sitting just one table away. With his sun touched hair and large blue eyes the heir to the throne was the very picture of innocence. He had the lithe graceful body like that of a cat poised to spring, and despite the subtle softness of his features, there was no chance of mistaking his lean frame as weak.

He was a man born to stand out, but acted to the contrary, shying away from attention and content to be overlooked. If they could see his eyes sparkle with mischief as I had, his smile bright with amusement and his face lit up in laughter I had no doubt the girls would fawn over him as they did his brother. Perhaps it was an inherent shyness, but I couldn’t help but feel, not for the first time, that without his brother present Prince Nicholas would simply shine.

“What’s he done this time?” Clara asked with a grin, heaping a generous amount of jam onto her scone.

“Really Clara, the more I come to know him the more I abhor him,” I shuddered in disgust recounting my glimpses of Prince Alexander’s late night revels the past week.

“Surely they only care about his title,” Ella remarked, barely concealing her amusement at my obvious ire.

“Nicholas holds the same title,” She replied, waving off the argument, “You don’t see girls panting over him like dogs in heat.”

“Well, I suppose Alexander does pose a certain temptation…” Ella remarked casually, tilting her head in the same manner I had to examine him.

It was several moments before she noticed our looks of incredulity at the suggestion and blushed fiercely as if only just realizing what she’d said.

“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him too!” Clara said with a laugh.