Break some rules

astating embarrassment. The welcome night air was crisp with the edge of spring as she rushed down the great marble steps, desperation shortening her footstep

he was worth little more to the ton than the sum total of her dowry and her ancestry-and eventhat total was not enough to garner a dance with a partner she might actually like. No, the truth was, Callie had spent the better part of the season overlooked by eligible, coveted, young bachelors. She sighed. Tonight had been the worst. As if it weren't enough that she was visible only to the boring and the elderly, tonight she'd felt the stares of the rest of the ton. "I never should have allowed my mother to pour me into this monstrosity," she muttered to herself, looking down at the gown in question, at its too-tight waistline and its too-small bodice, unable to contain her breasts, which were a good deal larger than fashion dictated. She was positive that no belle of the ball had ever been crowned in such a vibrant shade of mandarin sunset. Or in such a hideous frock, for that matter. The dress, her mother had assured her, was the very height of fashion. When Callie had suggested that the gown was not the most flattering to her figure, she had been informed by the countess that she was incorrect. Callie would look stunning, her moth

choices are rather limited." "How so?" "I seem able to have my pick of the impoverished, the aged, and the deadly dull," she said, ticking off the categories on her fingers as she spoke. He chuckled. "I find that difficult to believe." "Oh, it's true. I'm not the type of young lady who brings gentlemen to heel. Anyone with eyes can see that." "I have eyes. And I see no such thing." His voice lowered, soft and rich as velvet as he reached out to stroke her cheek. Her breath caught, and she wondered at the intense wave of awareness coursing through her. She leaned into his caress, unable to resist, as he moved his hand to grasp her chin. "What is your name?" he asked softly. She winced, knowing what was to come, "Calpurnia." She closed her eyes again, embarrassed by the extravagant name-a name with which no one but a hopelessly romantic mother with an unhealthy obsession with Shakespeare would have considered saddling a child. "Calpurnia." He tested the name on his tongue. "As in, Caesar's wife?" The blush flared higher as she nodded. He smiled. "I must make it a point to better acquaint myself with your parents. That is a bold name, to be sure." "It's a horrible name." "Nonsense. Calpurnia was Empress of Rome-strong and beautiful and smarter than the men who surrounded her. She saw the future, stood strong in the face of her husband's assassination. She is a marvelous namesake." He shook her chin firmly as he spoke. She was speechless in the wake of his frank lecture. Before she had a chance to reply, he continued. "Now, I must take my leave. And you, LadyCalpurnia, must return to the ballroom, head held high. Do you think you can do that?" He gave her chin a final tap and stood, leaving her cold in the wake of his departure. She stood with him and nodded, starry-eyed. "Yes, my lord." "Good girl." He leaned closer and whispered, his breath fanning the hair at her nape, warming her in the cool April night. "Remember, you are an empress. Behave as one, and they will have no choice but to see you as such. I already do..." He paused, and she held her breath, waiting for his words. "Your Highness." And with that, he was off, disappearing deeper into the maze and leaving Callie with a silly grin on her face. She did not think twice before following him, so keen was she to be near him. At that moment, she would have followed him anywhere, this prince among men who had noticed her, not her dowry, or her horrible dress, but her! If I am an empress, he is the only man worthy of being my emperor. She did not have to go far to catch him. Several yards in, the maze opened on a clearing that featured a large, gleaming fountain adorned with cherubs. There, bathed in a silvery glow was her prince, all broad shoulders and long legs. Callie caught her breath at the sight of him-exquisite, as though he himself had been carved from marble. And