A Grimm Legacy (Grimm Tales) (21 page)

"We're going to have to ask around. I'd concentrate on the servants. Cynthia seemed to be closest to them. See if they were at the last feast and if they remember Cynthia, anyone she talked to, or places she went,” Andi said.

"Sounds good. We should divide up the guests. I'll take all the attractive females, twenty and under. Fredrick, you can take all the other ones,
” Dylan said.

Andi's laugh drifted over them and she saw Quinn roll her eyes at Dylan, finally smiling a little.

They broke free of the faint shadows of the moonlight and faced a castle fit for a fairy tale. Its turrets and battlements were lit up like a candle, light dripping down the wide sweeping staircase. Two footmen stood at intense attention like the Queen’s Guards at Buckingham Palace, not acknowledging anyone in any way.

"Now what?" Andi asked.

"Now, you take this,” Quinn said, a hint of frostiness in her voice as she handed over the intercepted invitation. “And away you go.”

“
What about you three?” Andi asked.

Quinn fanned out identical invitations and waved them at the boys.
“I really should stop complaining about my
daadi
. I may have a future as a forger.”

“
I’m sure she’d be
so
proud,” Dylan said wryly.

"Do I have to go in alone?" Andi
’s squeaked.

"I think you'll draw more attention that way," Quinn said. "Don't worry, we'll be right behind you."

Andi puffed out her cheeks and exhaled her breath in a rush. She’d never been one to run from a fight. Squaring her shoulders, she marched to the stairs as though advancing toward an enemy.

Hiding her nervousness, Andi handed her invitation to the guard blocking the staircase. He didn
’t even glance at it, but gave an elegant bow and waved her on.

Andi concentrated on balancing in her grandmother's shoes as she ascended the stairs, taking in the gold and flowers that dripped from every surface of the room. Tumbling head over heels would be a spectacular entrance, and one she hoped to avoid.

Rows of arches ran the perimeter of the space, and through the openings she glimpsed more rooms and crowds of people extending on and on. The centerpiece of the tableau was the orchestra, set high on a stage where big band music wafted down to her. She crested the last step and found herself in a massive ballroom bubbling with music and color. Couples flitted and shimmied, dancing to the frantic rhythm.

The band stuttered to a ragged halt as the musicians caught sight of her. Couples followed their gaze in the sudden silence, all turning to stare at Andi.

"I see, not as impudent as you put on."

Andi’s tongue stuck to the roof of her dry mouth, and her new found poise and courage completely evaporated. She straightened to her full height, nodding and smiling as she went, not really sure where she was headed.

She was saved from having no destination as a young man entered from an adjacent room. He quickened his steps
and Andi paused in her trek across the room, waiting for him.

This had to be the prince
, dressed impeccably in a tux with a sash of royal purple across his chest and a mother of pearl handled revolver strapped low across his hips.

He was
several years older, with broad shoulders and legs so long Andi only came up to his chest. Without a doubt, he the most handsome young man Andi had ever seen. His tousled black hair brushed over his serious dark eyes which lit up as he approached her. Andi felt her heart give a little stutter and her palms grow sweaty. Without breaking out of his headlong rush, he grabbed Andi around the waist, lifting her in the air and spinning her around in a heady rush.

Andi gasped. Seeing him beaming at her, she felt her heart continue
its gallop. She grinned back at him, laughing when he finally set her down. The room still spun and she clutched at his arms to keep from staggering. He gripped her waist even tighter.

The prince snapped his fingers in the direction of the band, and without taking his eyes from hers, unclasped her cloak and tossed it to a waiting servant. He pulled her close and waltzed her around the room to the time of the music.

“Cynthia…" He was so close to her, his breath tickled her neck and made her shiver
.
“Where have you been?"

Andi assumed the prince would know she wasn't Cynthia.
Everyone was surprised she looked so much like her grandmother, but they knew she wasn't. Even the Wellingtons—who tried so hard to pretend she was Cindy—knew.

Andi returned his intense gaze, searching for a sign of recognition, but saw only blind adoration in his eyes.

"I needed to get away awhile," she said, trying to be as vague as possible.

"I know how overwhelming that crazy family of yours is. You were gone for so long, I didn
’t know what to think." The prince wrapped one of her stray curls around his finger. "I missed you."

Andi
was having a hard time concentrating. Her eyes slid from his and she caught a glimpse of Quinn's vivid dress waltzing the opposite direction with an unknown man. Looking over Prince Wilhelm's shoulder as she twirled by, she also spotted Dylan slouched against the wall with his hands deep in his pockets. He seemed to be trying to give her his usual lazy grin, but it had an unfamiliar edge to it that was decidedly unfriendly. Fredrick paced on Quinn’s side of the room.

Gazing up at Wilhelm through her lashes, Andi said in a light tone, "I missed you too. While we were apart I would dream of you waiting for me in our corner.
” She had no idea if Wilhelm and Cynthia had a special place, but figured it was worth a shot.

“
It’s been so long, I can’t remember where that is.” The look he gave her was no less adoring than before, only mildly more intense. “I am available now though, if you care to remind me?”

Andi shifted
, not able to quite meet his eyes.

The last bars of the waltz drew themselves out and Wilhelm held her for a second after the music stopped, and then drew back a respectable distance while still maintaining a hold on her hand. The band began a quick step and the prince tilted his head and gave her a look clearly say
ing, "Your move."

Her stomach gave a quick flip before she reined it in sternly. "Would you mind, actually, if I got a quick bite to eat? I'm afraid I missed dinner."

"I see, not as impudent as you put on." He gave a mock sigh. "I suppose I can't have you fainting on the dance floor." He gave her hand a squeeze and, turning his back to her, spoke quietly to a guard stationed by the door. Andi strained to eavesdrop but didn’t catch a single word. The guard nodded and immediately left his post. Wilhelm set his hand on her lower back and propelled her toward the buffet.

A tug on her stocking made her turn
. When she glanced back, nothing was there. A small cough sounded and Andi looked down. This time, she spotted a tiny man standing next to her shoe in a tux that would have fit a Ken doll.

He gave a low, elegant bow. "Madam, may I have this dance?"

Almost giggling at the absurdity of the situation, Andi managed to squash it into a wide smile.

In one smooth movement Wilhelm maneuvered himself between her and the miniature man. She stood on her tiptoes to peek over the prince's shoulder to see him.

"Lady Cynthia is dancing with me,” Prince Wilhelm said.

Irritation
at being spoken for wormed its way into Andi.

"That
’s not—” the tiny gentleman started to say.

"She is tired and needs a rest,
” the prince replied easily.

Two men with revolvers at their sides and the palace crest on their sleeves appeared beside them. Now nervous laughter threatened to bubble out of Andi. She bit her lip to control herself. He was eight inches tall! What were their guns for? To swat at him?

The tiny man's eyes swiveled between the two guards, and he slowly backed away, catching her eye and shaking his head slightly. "I was simply asking for a dance."

The tense muscles of Wilhelm's neck visibly relaxed as he placed
his hand on the small of her back again. The guards melted back into the crowd.

"That was a little harsh," Andi said, exasperation rapidly replacing smothered laughter.

"Did you want to dance with him?" Prince Wilhelm asked as he steered her to nearby table.

"I wouldn't have minded,
” Andi said.

"So you'd rather dance with him than me?" the prince pressed.

"I didn't say that.”

"If you didn't want to, then why should you?
” he asked.

"It should have been my choice to make!" Andi snapped at him,
remembering the small man’s cautionary shake of his head.

Wilhelm wrapped an arm around Andi
’s waist and pulled her exhilaratingly close and breathed into her ear, "I forgot how beautiful you are when you're angry at me."

Reason puddled into a delighted swoon and she couldn't remember why she
’d been mad a moment before. She glanced up to find Dylan staring at her from across the room as he danced with a giggly brunette. He turned quickly away and disappeared from view. Andi was suddenly aware of the goofy grin on her face and hastily wiped it off.

As Andi ate, she found herself wondering why her grandmother left. Prince Wilhelm had waved off the servants and waited on her himself. Never far from her side for more than a minute, he scrupulously made sure her g
lass was full and her food hot.

Every time she looked up
, she found Wilhelm’s gaze on her, drinking her in. It was flattering and unsettling at the same time. She would be drawn in by his eyes and have to repeatedly remind herself it was her grandmother he’d loved, not Andi. Not to mention he was over two hundred years old. But if he had really been in love with Cynthia, why couldn't he tell the difference between her and Andi?

The others
—Quinn, Dylan, and Fredrick—were also never far away from Andi, and she could see them slowly working the room, dancing and chatting up as many people possible.

Fredrick stayed within a few yards from Quinn whenever he could, trying to use his eyes to bore holes into any man
’s head that spoke with her. When someone asked her to dance, Andi thought he’d spontaneously combust.

Dylan was following through on his strategy of gathering information by flirting with the most attractive women at the feast. He danced with one right after the other
—a busty blonde wearing what looked like a slip made of fishnets, or a redhead with a slit in her dress so high she nearly flashed the entire ballroom when Dylan dipped her during a tango.

He could tango. What sixteen-year-old guy could tango?

He snuck away in the direction the food kept arriving from at one point during the evening. When he reappeared, she studiously avoided meeting his eyes and inching closer to the prince when she thought he might be looking.

While Wilhelm tried to draw her attention with funny stories of people he knew in court, her gaze wandered. Normally she would be more engaged, but her mind wouldn't stop churning. She thought
—no she
knew
—the way home was in this castle somewhere. But where? It had to be someplace out of the way so people wouldn't be stepping in and out of it every day.

There had to be hundreds of people between the main ballroom and the attached rooms she could see through the walls of arches. The wait staff was obvious in their livery, and she spotted more guards standing
unobtrusively around the rooms.

The guests, on the other hand, were really eye-catching. Every nationality Andi could image had a representative, and the clothing was so varied
—every fashion from the last 200 years in every country seemed acceptable dress. She felt like she was at a costume party as women in flapper dresses spoke with gentleman in WWI aviator caps, and hoop skirts straight from the civil war gossiped alongside a cocktail dress made entirely of peacock feathers. Andi swore she even saw a dress featured on the red carpet at the last awards show.

As her gaze strayed over the room
, one woman kept catching her eye. She stood alone, drink in hand, surveying the crowd with a cold, detached look. She was young, very beautiful with a thick mane of golden hair, woven through with flowers, falling to her waist. She wore a flowing green evening gown, sleeves trailing to the floor, decorated with the same flowers adorning her hair. The longer Andi observed her, the more convinced she became that the woman wasn’t just watching the crowd, but one person in particular.

Quinn was
down on one knee chatting with the minuscule man Wilhelm so rudely dismissed, Fredrick hovering close by. When Quinn left him to dance with the man in the aviator’s cap, the mysterious woman's gaze followed.

"The look on his face was priceless, he had no idea how we knew he was consortin
g with the Earl of Devonshire."