Page 19 of Love & Letter Charms
Aurelise raised her head a little higher, narrowing her eyes as she focused on Mariselle’s forearm. There, where a detailed silvery mark had once shimmered, there remained a faint trace, like a delicate scar, still following the same intricate pattern.
“It faded,” Mariselle said, turning her wrist to catch the afternoon light. “From that brilliant silver to this. Almost like a memory of itself. Evryn’s did the same.”
“That’s … interesting,” Rosavyn said. “I don’t believe that’s how contract marks are supposed to work. They either exist or they don’t.”
“Indeed. And didn’t we always think it strange that the contract mark took the shape of a soulbond? My grandmother said she and your grandfather never specified that in the contract. Yet this isn’t how true soulbonds behave either. Those never fade. So what is this?”
“Strange indeed,” Iris murmured.
Mariselle traced the faint marking with one finger. “Whatever it is, I’m glad it’s still there. I had grown to like the marking.”
“It is rather beautiful,” Aurelise said softly, letting her head drop back to the carpet as she resumed her contemplation of the ceiling roses.
Rosavyn flopped back onto the carpet with a dramatic sigh. “Beautiful and mysterious. The gossip birds would have been beside themselves trying to explain it.”
“Exactly,” Mariselle laughed. “Can you imagine? But thanks to the Crown Court announcement, no one’s going to notice our peculiar little mystery. Every gossip bird in Bloomhaven has far more exciting things to screech about.”
Aurelise groaned again. “‘Exciting’ is the furthest thing from the truth. This ishorrifying. What if, by some catastrophic lapse in royal judgment, he actuallychooses me? Can you imagine me as a princess? AsHigh Lady? The very idea is laughable!”
“You goose,” Mariselle said, giving her arm a nudge. “You wouldn’t be High Lady. You’d be Crown Consort to the High Lord.”
“And I’d have to leave the United Fae Isles! Travel through some sort of … magical portal and live in the the Shaded Lands for most of the year. I would never see any of you!” The panic in her chest swelled like an uncontrolled crescendo as the faint sounds of frantic woodwinds began to flutter around them. “I’d be dreadfully homesick and?—”
“Relax,” Rosavyn cut in, reaching for Aurelise’s free hand and squeezing it. The music faded. “He isn’t going to choose you. He’ll realize soon enough that you’re not interested in him. You’ll make it abundantly clear through your complete lack of enthusiasm, and he’ll naturally gravitate toward the other ladies who actually want to compete for his attention.”
“I imagine the other ladies are absolutelythrilled,” Iris commented. “They’re probably already planning their strategies, deciding which accomplishments to display, practicing their eyelash batting in mirrors?—”
“Selecting their most revealing gowns,” Mariselle added. “The sorts that make gentlemen walk into pillars and—Oof!” Her words disappeared beneath a muffled splutter as a satin cushion collided with her face
“Don’t fluster poor Aurelise more than necessary,” Iris said through her laugher.
Mariselle hugged the cushion to her chest. “It isn’t so very shocking to know that the prince appreciates a woman with?—”
“Stop!” Rosavyn said through her giggles. “You really will make her faint away!”
With another moan, Aurelise dropped her fan and pressed both hands over her burning face. “I cannot believe we’re having this conversation. About the prince! Who I’m now supposed to … to … spend time with. In proximity. Where he might … look at me.”
“Oh no,” Rosavyn gasped dramatically. “He might look at you. With his eyes. The absolute scandal.”
“You know what I mean,” Aurelise mumbled through her fingers. “I shall spend the entire time blushing and stuttering.”
“Actually,” Mariselle said, her tone shifting to something slightly more serious, though amusement still colored her words, “I suspect Ryden isn’t quite as terrible as he appears. There must be something of substance beneath all that tiresome swagger and incessant flirtation. Surely Evryn wouldn’t maintain such a close friendship with someone who was entirely composed of superficial charm and practiced carelessness. At least, one hopes.” She sighed contentedly. “Though naturally, he couldn’t possibly compare to Evryn, who is absolutely extraordinary when it comes to?—”
“Ibegyou not to complete that thought,” Rosavyn interrupted with considerable alarm.
“I was merely going to observe his exceptional talent for the management of a household!” Mariselle protested, though her tone suggested otherwise entirely.
“You most certainly were not,” Rosavyn said around another laugh. “And poor Aurelise has endured quite enough mortification for one afternoon without adding whatever improper observation you were about to share about?—”
The sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway cut through their conversation. Aurelise scrambled to her feet so quickly that the room tilted alarmingly, forcing her to catch herself against the nearest chair. Mariselle rose more gracefully, though she was clearly suppressing laughter at Aurelise’s panic. Iris pushed herself up from the settee with visible effort, one hand braced against the arm for support. Only Rosavyn remained on the floor.
The drawing room door opened, revealing Lord Hadrian Blackbriar. He took in the scene—three young ladies standing with varying degrees of composure, and one still sprawled across the carpet—with an expression that suggested nothing about this tableau surprised him in the least.
“Hadrian,” Rosavyn greeted with a serene smile, observing him upside down.
“Rosavyn,” he replied, his expression showing only the mildest bewilderment mixed with what appeared to be fond resignation—clearly the product of years of exposure to Rosavyn’s complete disregard for convention.
He turned to the others with a proper bow. “Ladies. I apologize for the intrusion.” His gaze found Iris, concern immediately creasing his features. “Iris, please, sit. I didn’t mean to disturb your rest.”
