"What are you two whispering about? Is it a secret that I can’t know?" Scarlet asked after finding Dawson and Alana standing together. "You two are getting along well. You’ve stolen one of my best guards from me."

"You can take him back," Alana replied.

Dawson was once again offended since he had been protecting Alana so well yet she was quick to send him back to Scarlet. He kept his mouth shut since Scarlet was present.

Though he should bite his tongue around a princess more than Scarlet, it was mainly Scarlet that scared him. Alana didn’t know how to use her power over others as yet. He only agreed to do whatever Alana wanted when she was a little stern so she would get used to her power.

Scarlet didn’t miss Dawon’s reaction to Alana sending him away. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Having to see one of them look so pitiful. "No, he’s better at your side. Stay close to him all night and no matter what anyone says, do not go off with any man alone. They are so desperate to start a scandal about the two of you being alone."

"Right," Alana said, worried now. She was going to this party without a scandal to her name and wanted to return without one. "Don’t worry. I won’t have you needing to clean up any mess I make. If you and Ian decide to leave early, please inform me. I would like to return to the estate if you are not there."

"After an hour or so, I might leave. Ian might only get one dance out of me. If I stay over an hour, then tens will approach me," Scarlet said and then started to make her way down the stairs.

"Then, can I use your code for annoying people? That way I won’t offend anyone when I call them annoying. Surely, they won’t know what the numbers stand for," Alana said, following Scarlet down the stairs.

"Some of them do catch on while others think it makes them special. While you can ask for my opinion tonight, as the one looking for a husband, it is up to you to make the final judgement. I don’t want to meddle too much in who you pick," Scarlet said as Alana might later regret taking her advice.

"I would only step in if I knew it to be a man with debt, mistresses, or with some secret child. It is not hard to believe that there are quite a few men like this searching for a wife as you are searching for a husband. You are quite the ticket to raising their status," Scarlet said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs as the doors opened.

She continued, "Regardless of what anyone in the palace has told you, you are still Princess Alana Castro. It is a title worth more than what any of the men at the party could offer you. You are quite the prize, Alana. Don’t let anyone make you feel less than that."

"W-Well," Alana stuttered, taken aback by Scarlet’s words. "I will not."

"Good. Now excuse me while I question the man I have not seen for a day. Dawson, take Alana to the carriage and be a gentleman to help her inside," said Scarlet.

Alana didn’t like Dawson having to help her solely because she wanted to stand back to watch Scarlet speak to Ian. Everyone knew that Hank Kingsley was dead and now it was a guessing game for which son was left to become the next lord.

It would not only be Alana surrounded tonight. Many who believed Ian would be the new lord would turn from calling him a bastard to treating him with respect.

"Princess, it is rude to stop and stare at a couple. I must keep my eyes on you to make sure you don’t find yourself in the gardens. The couples fooling around there will not like your stares," Dawson spoke softly.

"What couples? You," Alana said, finding him to be indecent to mention that to her. "Were you not taught how to act around a lady? You do not mention such a thing to a woman and worse, to a princess. For such a big head, is there nothing in it? Oh," Alana covered her mouth.

"And the insults come out. I think that I have a quite regular head. It’s bold of you to say when I find the recent Castro’s heads to be so big that they must lean to enter carriages. Come now princess, I must help you lean," said Dawson.

"It is not our heads. It is the ridiculous hair they add to our own sometimes."

"Those two are quite energetic. A rose for a pretty woman?" Ian asked, holding out a single rose to Scarlet. "I am back in one piece. If you do not believe me, I welcome you to strip me naked and search for yourself."

Scarlet accepted the rose from Ian. "I can tell just by how annoying you are now that you are fine. And Victor?"

"He’s packing to leave with your grandmother. He wants to leave before it is announced that I will not be the new lord. He’s excited to travel with Ryan to learn how to lead. Then he will return to find a wife," Ian replied.

"Or he might return with one. The women at the border are quite something so he might come across a woman to have him not wanting to return. You might end up having to be the new lord or another relative would have to take the title. I don’t know if I want to be with a man named Lord Kingsley," Scarlet said, walking around Ian to go to the carriage.

Scarlet wasn’t ready to leave her estate nor did she want Layla’s old position. "Hopefully, should Victor find a woman at the border, Ryan can convince him to return. I would like to see the lord that Victor would become."

"He has already decided to take the title. He will return," Ian said as Victor wanted to take the challenge.

"I can see him wanting to return just so you wouldn’t need to worry about the title. My grandmother plans to leave tomorrow morning a little after we leave. Should we stay a little longer to say goodbye to Victor?" Scarlet suggested.

"I was planning on leaving tonight. The sooner we get out of Lockwood, the better. There is a good reason why it took me so many years to return. It is in everyone’s blood to gossip or be a pain in the ass," Ian said, predicting this party would be a headache but he looked forward to dancing with Scarlet. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Stick close to me and I will send the annoying people away. I will be your guard tonight and maybe if the party doesn’t go well, I might let you spend the night here so the day doesn’t end too bad," Scarlet offered.

Hearing this, Ian started to wish the party would be awful.