Chapter 20

MAGNOLIA ENTERED THE DINING HALL, escorted by Henry. The room almost seemed to have a never-ending table. The plates and glasses glimmered under the light. The extravagant chandeliers hung from an intricately carved sealing.

Large, beautiful paintings decorated the walls. It was the most beautiful dining hall Magnolia had ever seen. Not that she had seen many.

Of course, Marquis Flock was sitting at the head of the table and to his right the princess, who was the most important guest of the night. The second most important guest was Daniel, who was seated to the princess' right.

Magnolia found herself facing her husband from the other side of the table. She was seated between the marquise on her right and Henry to her left.

"Oh, I am so delighted to have you sit next to me, dear." The marquise smiled sweetly at her.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady." Magnolia returned the smile.

Dinner seemed longer than normal, or maybe it was because Magnolia hated every minute Daniel was sitting next to the princess.

From her seat, she could not hear most of their conversation and it drove her crazy. It did seem that they were enjoying themselves. The princess laughed occasionally, which drew many eyes every time.

People would look in Magnolia's direction right after and probably spread more rumors than breakfast tables could handle the next morning. The whole situation was quite uncomfortable.

The food was delicious, at least the little bit she was able to eat. When his mother was not asking her dozens of questions at a time, Henry kept her company by making pleasantries and telling her about the other guests. Even the marquis engaged in conversation with her.

In normal circumstances, this would have been the best dinner party for the duchess. But all she wanted was for dinner to be over and to separate those two.

When it was finally done, Henry escorted Magnolia back to the hall. She lost Daniel and the princess in the crowd. Her eyes vainly searched, but there were just too many people.

"Do you see Daniel, Henry?"

He looked around, but he could not find him either. "How about you wait for me here? I will look for him and bring him, Your Grace."

"Thank you." Magnolia paused. "Actually, I will wait out on the balcony. I could use some fresh air."

"That sounds good." Henry was swallowed by the crowd and Magnolia took a few steps to the balcony.

The air was a bit chilly, but it felt good. She walked to the corner of the balcony to hide in the darkness.

She just needed some alone time to process her feelings. She had never felt that kind of jealousy before. It was intense and dangerous.

She took a refreshing deep breath.

'As expected, he does not have any feelings for me, it is just a contract. Was he lying when he talked about protecting me yesterday? Why would he, though? He did not have to say anything. And that kiss at the ball, it was probably for appearances. But what about the hug in his office?'

She groaned.

"Are you hiding here?" Magnolia twisted around and was instantly disappointed when she saw Henry alone. "I am sorry, I could not find him. But I brought some chilled champagne."

"Thank you." Magnolia took one of the glasses he had in his hands and sipped the cold liquid.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." She laughed nervously. "I just discovered that I know nothing about Daniel."

"He's a very reserved person, he has gone through a lot since he was young so it will take him some time to open up to you. But trust me, he has already changed so much after he met you."

"Is that really–"

"De Solange is not there, I am telling you," a male voice came from the other side of the balcony. Magnolia froze. "I looked through the archives myself."

"So are you saying, her son is." The woman lowered her voice. "A bastard?"

Henry turned abruptly but Magnolia grabbed his arm.

"Please do not make a scene at your parents' dinner." He wanted to argue with her, but he could not. "Balconies have become the official place of gossip about me." She smiled sheepishly. "Plus, there is no point in arguing with them when even the duke himself believes the same thing." She finished her drink in one unladylike gulp.

"What do you mean? I think even Daniel would…" Henry noticed Magnolia's body tensing up. "Are you alright? I think it is a bit too chilly. Shall we go back in?"

When she did not react to him, he looked in the direction where her eyes were fixated. It was a room, two windows away from the balcony. Daniel and the princess were there alone, having an intense conversation, from what it looked like.

He wanted to prevent Magnolia from seeing it, but he could not do anything. Her eyes were not even blinking.

Suddenly, Daniel grabbed the princess' arm.

'What the hell is he doing? What if someone else sees this?' Henry was fuming.

He started looking around to make sure that nobody else was witnessing their exchange.

When he looked back, the princess was in Daniel's arms with her face buried in his chest.

They walked away from the window and, unconsciously, Magnolia leaned over to see more. Henry grabbed her arm just in time.

"My lady, that's dangerous, you might fall."

Her reaction was slow, she looked at him with teary eyes then she stepped away from the edge.

"Could you please tell the duke that I am ready to leave? When he is done with his…meeting."

"Your Grace, there must be–" Henry tried to save his friend's face.

"Please, Henry, there is no need to say anything." She looked defeated.

"I will convey your message to His Grace right away, my lady."

'That idiot. She is obviously in love with him, is he blind?'