"Whose party is this?" Ian asked, looking on as the well-decorated home came into view.

"You’re attending a party and do not know who the host is?" Alana asked, finding Ian to be funny. "Did Scarlet just tell you there is a party she wants to attend and you said yes?"

"Something like that," Ian answered.

How many parties did Scarlet attend regularly? Whoever was hosting this one had to be someone that she liked.

"It is Lady Patterson. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to the Pattersons. They are good people but their guests might not be. You will find that only those with titles or wealth have been invited. She is a distant relative of your queen," Alana explained. She had come here with Luke and Madilyn once before.

"My queen? When did I ever say that?" Ian replied.

"You must say it unless you want to be arrested for disrespecting the queen. Believe me, there are other names I want to call Queen Madilyn but I don’t want to ever see what the palace dungeons are like. I hear there are rats there," Alana said, disgusted just by the thought of it.

Scarlet looked to Dawson who had to be thinking the same thing as her.

There was an old dungeon in the Collins estate and rats were once used for torture. If Alana wasn’t careful, she might stumble upon the dungeon.

"Does that mean the king and queen might be attending tonight? Wonderful," Ian muttered after Alana nodded her head. "Is it possible for you to find a husband within two hours?"

"It is not," Scarlet answered in place of Alana. "This is not something you can rush. If you want to leave before us, you can. I will remain with Dawson and Alana."

"As if I would let that happen," Ian replied. He still had to worry about Scarlet’s crazy ex-husband. Either Luke or Jack might try to make a scene tonight.

Ian helped Scarlet out of the carriage when it came to a stop while Dawon helped Alana out. Already there was a lot of attention on them but it was mostly going to him. Some people standing outside looked surprised to see him with Scarlet. There was still the old rumour that he had been using Scarlet to get his father’s title.

If not for Scarlet wanting to help Alana with her finding a husband, Ian would prefer to be at home hiding until it was announced that Victor was the new lord Kingsley.

Ian wasn’t interested in the people present who were all of a sudden smiling at him so sweetly. Most of them had once referred to him as a bastard when they were certain that Hank was placing Victor to be his heir.

"Mr. Kingsley-"

"I have only just arrived. Have you no manners to let me enter the party first before you come to me?" Ian asked, stopping the man he had never seen before.

Scarlet lowered her head to hide her smile. This was only the beginning for Ian. He might as well come out now and declare that Victor would be the one inheriting the title and all the land. No one would be able to find Victor now that he was getting ready to leave.

"You are scaring them, Ian. Any other night I wouldn’t mind but we must be a little approachable for suitors to come to Alana. Tonight is about her," Scarlet reminded Ian.

"Oh, he doesn’t have to hold his tongue. I think that any suitors who cannot approach me while Ian looks so angry are not deserving of my time. Unfortunately, my future husband has to put up with Luke so they must not be so easy to scare," said Alana.

Alana desperately wanted to find a man who not only loved her but could stand his ground against Luke and at times, Madilyn. It was unfortunate that any man who married her would immediately have a bad relationship with the king but Alana planned to be honest about not having the king’s favour.

"Your suitors will all be afraid. I just need Ian to not scare the entire party. Let us find a quiet corner first and then search for good choices for you," Scarlet said, looking around the room for a good space to stand.

If it was the home of a relative, Scarlet would have had her own little space to stand where no one could disturb her. She had to make do with the space she found here.

"Are you worried about seeing the king here?" Ian asked since Scarlet was so quick to find a space to hide.

"I do not think of Luke and before you find out through someone else, I spoke to Jack today. He has apologised for his ways. I don’t know if it is genuine and he will give up in trying to court me or if he said it at the moment to please me. Time will tell if he has moved on. That was all we spoke about," Scarlet said, hoping to not deal with Ian’s jealousy.

It was her first normal talk with Jack since the divorce and though she had to wait to see if Jack would leave her alone, Scarlet felt like a little weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was the calmest they had ever spoken and Jack heard that she did not love him.

"If he doesn’t stay away I will just take pleasure in making him disappear. I hope you weren’t worrying that I would be angry with you for speaking to him. I am more amazed that you spoke to him and did not kill him for burning your estate," said Ian.

"That is because I intend to set something of his on fire. Besides, I respect Dorothy too much to kill her son in her home. If he stays away, I have no one to watch out for other than my relatives who are still trying to get the estate. How about you make those people disappear?" Scarlet asked as she didn’t want to waste her time doing it.

"Peter and his wife? I have seen them for a long time," Ian said, now remembering the pair.

Scarlet sighed as Ian’s way of mistaking names continued. "It is Preston and Naomi. If you decide to make them disappear, please remember their names and not have the wrong person taken. You are starting to make me believe that Peter is his name."

"It is better suited for him than Preston. I should go into the business of helping people with awful names pick a better name." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Scarlet knew that as long as someone important made changing names a trend everyone in town would want to do it. Most of the town didn’t like to be left out of trends so even though they might have a pretty name already, they would change it.

Behind Scarlet and Ian, Alana acknowledged the people who bowed or curtsied as she walked by. She was doing well until she spotted the uniform of the palace guards and knew they had to be here with the queen and king.