Page 94 of Idaho

"Positive," I sighed.

"That explains why you haven't been eating much," Ketti mused.

"And the sulking," Amelia added with a teasing smile.

She wasn't wrong. Mother and Father were the recipients of my cold shoulder, and I wasn't planning on changing that any time soon. I could never hate them, but I was very, very angry with them. They had ruined everything. Idaho had been right there and they took him away from me.

"I'm going to miss you," Amelia said, squeezing my hand.

"Me too," Ketti added.

"Miss me?" I asked, confused.

"Mama and Papa will have to listen to reason if it's love," Olivia said, plopping down on the floor at my feet. A sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead.

"That's a beautiful sentiment, Liv, but I've tried talking to them. Nothing is going to change. They're going to imprison me at home until Papa finds a suitable man for me to marry."

Amelia frowned. "That's not right. You're the third sister. Even if Charlie couldn't take over as Papa's heir, my William would. Or my little Stefan, if William couldn't. You're not in the line of succession. You should be allowed to marry whoever you like."

I gave her a sad smile. "But Papa will never allow me to marry an American."

"Because he'll take you away and we'd never see you again," Ketti said with a small nod.

"I'd come to visit," I insisted.

My sisters shared determined looks.

"You should be able to move here and live with the man you love," Olivia insisted.

"We'll help any way we can," Ketti added.

"I have an idea," Amelia said with a devious smile. She looked around at us as it grew bigger. "Here's what we're going to do."

My whole body was trembling and it was taking all my willpower to keep calm. Amelia's plan was probably dangerous, but I didn't care. I needed to know the truth. Did Idaho really want me to stay with him? I had to find out.

A hand grabbed mine and I smiled over at Ketti. I really did have the best sisters. They would love the old ladies at the club, whenever they had the chance to meet them. I was determined to make it happen one day. But to do that, I needed to talk to Idaho. Needed to make sure he wasn't content with me being gone and out of his hair.

"You look beautiful," Ketti told me as we stepped out of the car. People were milling around outside the building, but my eye was caught by the men in formal black suits. They looked much like our bodyguards, with that dangerous air surrounding them.

Only some of these men had tattoos showing on their necks and knuckles. In some ways they didn't resemble the usual security teams who we were used to. I frowned as Amelia grabbed my hand and dragged me into the ballroom. It was filled with people, some of whom I recognized from other events we'd attended in Luxembourg, others were new faces.

"How long should I wait?" I whispered to my sister.

"At least thirty minutes," she replied. "You know Papa's going to come check on us every ten minutes until things are well underway and he's relaxed enough."

People were already drinking, eating, and beginning to dance. The party was under way. I nodded at Amelia and she gave me a quick smile, then turned away to greet someone who was calling her name.

Olivia and I watched as Ketti was swept across the dancefloor by her husband, Henry. We were all in jewel toned gowns. Not the huge poofy things women used to wear back in the day. Mine was an emerald green and the thin material hugged all my curves. It left my back completely exposed almost down to my butt.

"Ladies."

We turned and found our father scowling at us. His eyes dropped down and his face reddened as he realized Olivia's dress dipped down between her breasts, ending just above her navel. Amelia and Ketti's dresses, a satiny white and deep sapphire blue, were a little less revealing but they still clung to them like a second skin. Father was not pleased.

"I see I'll have to start approving your wardrobe choices from now on," he told us in a frigid tone. "You look like prostitutes."

Olivia gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth, but I wasn't going to stand for him treating us like that. "Papa," I snapped. "You can't speak to us that way."

His brows shot up in surprise that I was back talking him. "Your time in America has made you forget your manners, Tatiana."