By Any Other Name

Eight

More blushing.

"Thank you, dear," he said with a smile. "Please, enjoy the refreshments. I'm afraid I must excuse myself for a word with my sister."

Then he was pushing past the smiling girl in the yellow dress and through a sea of curious onlookers. Women smiled his way and men nodded in greeting. He did his best to get through all of it with grace and civility until he was finally approaching his sister. She was laughing with the two women she had been speaking to when he arrived at her side. She turned and smiled at him.

"There you are! Sterling, I would like to introduce you to Miss Ella Bennett and Miss Violet Carter," Cora said kindly, placing her arm through his as she did. He smiled at the guests.

"Bennett?" he asked. "As in the logging Bennetts?"

"You remember," she said, face lighting up at the prospect. "My father still talks about the day you came to the plot. He still can't believe a lord would debase himself with such backbreaking manual labor."

Sterling smiled. "Your father needed the help. He was always willing to loan my father funds and support for whatever Northbrook was in need of. I figured I may as well work off some of that debt."

"Logging is hard work," Miss Carter put in. "You must be very strong."

Cora looked down at her feet, the corners of her mouth twitching up in a smile indicating her barely restrained laughter. He couldn't help but smile at the obvious ploy either.

"No more than any other man," he assured her. Then, he caught a glimpse of the man standing over her shoulder. Sir Alfred Hughes stood a few feet away speaking with the Duke Gilbert of Afton, a man who, as Steling well knew, had a daughter around his age. He turned to Cora and whispered to her. "Sir Alfred is still here?"

"He decided to stay this morning last minute," she whispered back.

He nodded, excused himself, and strode over to Sir Alfred and Duke Gilbert, both of whom smiled at his arrival.

"Sir Alfred, I wasn't expecting to see you here," Sterling said kindly.

"Ah, yes," Sir Alfred answered. "Well, I thought on your kind invitation and remembered the King's orders to meet with as much of the nobility as I could along my way. I thought there could be no better occasion to do so, what with them all gathered in such a way."

Sterling nodded but watched the man as he did. He had no reason to suspect Sir Alfred of anything at all but the advisor had seemed so set on leaving before the ball last night. He could not help but wonder what had so drastically changed his mind.

"Sir Hughes was just keeping me updated on all of the goings on in the capital," Duke Gilbert said then and Sterling's attention turned to him. "Tell me, how is that princess of ours getting along?"

"She is marvelous," Sir Hughes beamed. "A true ray of light in these bleak times. She fears for her uncle of course, remains at his side."

"Ah yes, a beautiful girl," the Duke spoke. Sir Hughes' head snapped in his direction. "Or so I am told."

"Yes, she's a lovely girl," Sir Hughes said, for some reason visibly relaxing. "I do believe we will be having a ball like this of our own quite soon."

"To find the princess a husband?" the Duke asked, eyes sparkling at the prospect, no doubt thinking of his wild and reckless unwed son. "But I thought the princess was betrothed to Prince Lucien of Baliene."

"Not officially. Not yet. It may be a better political move for her to marry one of her own countrymen, to show her patriotism and honor her subjects."

And garner support to avoid a rebellion, Sterling thought but he did not dare say that aloud. Sir Hughes seemed to be avoiding the topic of the rebellion at all costs and Sterling was not going to be the one to bring it up to him.