"It is no different than being surrounded by deadly animals. Is this what it was like when you started looking for a husband?" Ian asked.

He imagined it would have been ten times worse as many would like to have Scarlet as their wife. How Jake won was still a mystery.

"No. During that time I was at the border and though there were a few suitors there, it was still better than I would experience here. I returned when most of the parties were over and I never announced that I was looking for a husband," Scarlet replied.

Scarlet didn’t follow the old tradition of attending parties to find a husband. She did it to spread the word about her businesses and get guests to her hotel.

"If I were not on your arm, you would have many young ladies flocking to you. They already have plenty of feathers on their dresses for them to do it," Scarlet whispered, sneaking glances at a few peacocks.

Alana drew closer to Scarlet and said, "The king is here."

"Well, we kind of expected he would be here. Ignore him, Alana. His gaze might follow you everywhere you go but that doesn’t mean you need to stalk him as well. It would kill Luke inside, and I hope it does, to see that you don’t need him," said Scarlet.

If Alana spent all night looking nervous and looking Luke’s way then the king was bound to feel like he was still getting under her skin.

Scarlet was going to treat Luke as though he was a ghost. If he spoke too much, Luke might become one of the Castro ghosts he believed was haunting the palace. Maybe it was an old king not liking what he saw and was waiting for the opportunity to drag Luke’s soul out of him.

Scarlet found a quiet corner to stand and then surveyed the room. Men weren’t hiding their interest in Alana. She was the perfect way for them to have access to the palace and then because of their close relationship, they might think they had a way of being close to the Collins.

"Where do I start?" Alana asked.

"Look around for who catches your eye but do not let your gaze linger on them for too long. They will see it as an invitation to come to you before you are ready to speak. Is there anyone you have spoken to before? We should start with who you are familiar with," Scarlet said as someone Alana knew would make this a lot easier.

"I have only spoken to who Luke would let me approach. I don’t want anyone who is also close to Luke. Isn’t there anyone not used to being in Lockwood?" Alana wondered.

"Well, then you would be forcing yourself to fall in love with someone just so you can get out of Lockwood. Would you be happy then?" Ian asked as Alana seemed to be setting herself up for a life of misery.

"Well I," Alana started but stopped.

"Finding a man in such a short time to wed them without getting to know more about them seems like a bad idea. Have we learned nothing from the past with everyone getting married after one dance?" Ian asked. It was all nonsense.

"That is not the case for everyone. My great-grandparents thought of getting married within one day of meeting each other. Now I am here thanks to that union. It depends on who the couple is," Scarlet said, tapping Ian’s hand to get him to stop talking.

Ian was making Alana worry more than she needed to.

"We are not here for her to get proposed to tonight. Are we?" Scarlet asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.

"I do not expect to get engaged tonight and get married the next. I want to find a man to court. To slowly get to know more about him and if it feels right, then we will wed. I only want to get started now before all the good men have their eyes set on someone else. It would be so much easier if I felt something for Victor," said Alana.

Victor was kind and he had a title but she never felt anything for him. Alana could see their days being a bit boring because there wasn’t any excitement in their conversations. Victor would just make for a good friend.

Dawson stepped forward as a man of some good age started to approach the group. He knew it wasn’t to speak to Scarlet or Ian as his gaze was fixed on Alana.

Though everyone should get the chance to marry no matter how old, what did this old brute think the princess would want with him?

"Move," Dawson said, ready to toss the old fool.

There was a large difference between being confident and delusion. Alana was not desperate to look for men far older than her.

Alana sighed in relief seeing the man walk away. She would be laughed at by her peers if she conversed with such a man. She might not live in the palace anymore but her standards weren’t so low.

Only households short on money would allow their daughters to speak to such men.

"Is this how my parents felt? I have never been so angry. I finally understand him," Scarlet said, thinking back to when her father wanted to walk with a gun.

Scarlet wanted a gun to point at some of the people trying to approach Alana. While she was standing here and knew plenty of their grimy secrets, did they honestly think she would let them come to ask Alana for a dance?

Ian took back his earlier words as he enjoyed watching Scarlet be so protective of Alana. It was quite the show and the party was suddenly interesting. This was the first time he wanted a fool to approach them so he could see Scarlet in her element.

Ian’s wish was answered by someone as the crowd parted to let Luke and Madilyn through.

"Princess Alana," Madilyn said the first greeting.

With so much attention placed on them, Alana curtsied to return the greeting. Their father had always said that they should not let the kingdom know there was a conflict in the Castro family. "King Luke. Queen Madilyn. I hope you are both well."

"How can we be well when the princess is not in the palace? We are worried about you, Alana."

Alana smiled to put on an act just as Madilyn was doing. How was Madilyn worried when Alana had not received a single letter from her? "I am doing well whilst living with Scarlet. She has done so much for me."

"I see," Madilyn replied, side-eyeing Scarlet. At least tonight Scarlet knew not to wear the queen’s heart but Madilyn still wanted to know the name of the necklace Scarlet wore now.

As loyal subjects to the Castros, the Collins should gift their queen with plenty of the necklaces they had made for themselves. It was never a good look that Scarlet wore better jewellery than the queen herself.

"Is there something you wish to say, Queen Madilyn?" Scarlet asked as the stare was too much to ignore.

Madilyn realised her mistake and smiled. "Well, I want to thank you for looking after the princess but now you can send her back to us. It is time for Alana to wed and the suitor already picked out by the palace will be here soon. We shall reward you handsomely for all the time you have put into caring for her."

"I do not need to be paid for caring for my family. I took her in because I care for her and I have already taken it into my hands to help her find a husband-"

"Scarlet," Madilyn cut in.

"I think tonight I want to start using my title of duchess," Scarlet said. It was a bit dusty since she disowned it so it was time to clean it off and bring it back.

"You cannot decide when you want to make use of the title and when you want to ignore it," Luke said, wishing he could strip her of her title.

He didn’t have a good enough reason to take it from her. His only argument was Scarlet not making good use of it.

"I stopped using the title because you all tried to place me in a box of only being a duchess when I am also a businesswoman as well. I proved myself as the latter," Scarlet replied much to Luke’s dismay.

"The title was bestowed upon my great-grandfather by your great-grandfather. They must be rolling around in their graves knowing that I am not using it. When I am around royals, I will proudly be the duchess," Scarlet concluded.

Luke didn’t like it but he couldn’t object. He moved on from Scarlet to Ian. "Mr Kingsley, your return to Lockwood was all for nothing since you lost the title of Lord to your younger brother. Is that why Scarlet is interested in her old title?" He asked out loud.