"Oh. My apologies."
Ulrich stopped.
The speaker had nearly crossed into his path.
When he turned his head, he found Princess Camellia standing only a few steps away, accompanied by two guards.
"Lord Rubenhart," Camellia called softly then.
Ulrich stared at her face.
There had been a change in her expression since he had last looked toward the dance floor. It was slight, contained beneath the poise expected of a royal princess, but present all the same. Her emerald eyes held a more searching light than before.
She had watched him dance with the sisters.
That much was obvious.
Esther's shy, trembling first steps. Hermione's embarrassed attempts to keep pace. And, finally, the dance with Airam, which had pulled the attention of half the hall away from their partners and toward the center of the floor.
Camellia had seen all of it.
Ulrich gave her a questioning look in return.
