Page 90 of Love & Letter Charms
“He’s utterly devoted to those things,” Lady Willow observed with a laugh, settling beside Aurelise. “One would think they were made of solid gold rather than custard and sugar.”
“I requested extra specifically for him,” Aurelise confided. “Though I’m beginning to think I should have asked for twice as many.”
Willow smiled, but there was something distant in her expression, her gaze unfocused as she stared past the festivities.
“Is everything well?” Aurelise asked gently.
Willow startled slightly, then sighed. “Oh, yes. That is—no, not entirely. I’m rather worried about my brother, if I’m being honest.”
“Lord Hadrian?” Aurelise’s concern sharpened.
“He offered for the lady he has been courting,” Willow said quietly. “She refused him. And naturally, those dreadful gossipbirds caught wind of it almost at once. By now, I daresay all of Bloomhaven knows.”
Pain bloomed in Aurelise’s chest. This sounded heartbreakingly similar to what Lord Hadrian had endured two Seasons ago with Iris—another public refusal, another round of humiliation. The poor man.
“Oh, Willow,” she breathed. “How devastating for him.”
“Indeed. I had such hopes for them.” Willow’s fingers worried at the edge of her napkin. “But it seems the lady in question has rather loftier ambitions. Apparently, a Blackbriar isn’t distinguished enough for her tastes.”
“But your family is one of the most respected in Bloomhaven!” Aurelise couldn’t keep the shock from her voice. “Your brother is—he’s wonderful! He’s kind and accomplished and—Well, that is to say, it sounds as though he’s well rid of her. Anyone who cannot see his worth clearly does not deserve him. There’s someone far better waiting for him, I’m certain of it.”
Willow’s smile was wan but grateful. “I do hope you’re right.”
Aurelise wanted to say more, to offer some greater comfort, but movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She’d been doing so well at avoiding Prince Ryden’s gaze, but her traitorous eyes seemed drawn to him like flowers to sunlight. Sure enough, when she glanced his way, he was already watching her. The corner of his mouth quirked up in that private half-smile that made her insides melt like warm honey.
She tore her gaze away, but the damage was done. Her cheeks burned, and she could feel his attention like a physical touch even when she wasn’t looking at him.
The tea was beginning to wind down, conversations growing softer, when Thimble suddenly zipped over to land on Aurelise’s shoulder. The little mouse nuzzled against her cheek with such affection that Aurelise’s heart squeezed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!Thimble squeaked in her mind.This was the most wonderful thing anyone’s done in ages! You made us all feel so special and valued and loved and—oh, I could cry!
Aurelise reached up to gently stroke Thimble’s soft fur. “You’ll have me crying next,” she said with a soft laugh. “And that would be dreadfully improper at my own tea.”
Well, my lady, you have acquired an impressive talent for conducting the most improper of deeds with perfect grace, Thimble observed, whiskers twitching.I’m sure no one would even notice.
Aurelise chuckled at that. Then, keeping her voice so low that only the mouse could hear, she whispered, “Thimble, dear one, I need you to take a message to Prince Ryden.”
The mouse practically vibrated with excitement.Of course! Anything! Are you going to confess your feelings? Please say you’re going to confess your feelings!
“We need to speak privately. Tonight, after dinner.”
Ooh, where shall I suggest? The music room? The sky garden? Beside the lake?
“The sky garden,” Aurelise said quickly. The music room held too many dangerous temptations—she could not trust herself there, not with the memory of his hands in her hair and his lips against her neck—and the risk of discovery was greater if she had to walk all the way to the lake.
The sky garden!Thimble sighed dreamily.Where it all began! How romantic! Things are coming full circle! This is like something out of a story! You’re going to tell him you love him where you first?—
Aurelise gently cupped the excited mouse in her palm, unable to bear correcting those delighted assumptions. She could not bring herself to explain that tonight, she would beending this … whatever it was that existed between herself and the prince.
Instead, she simply whispered, “Thank you, dear one,” and watched as Thimble zoomed off toward the prince, pink wings glittering in the afternoon light.
Tonight, she would set things right. Tonight, she would make sure Prince Ryden understood there could be nothing between the two of them. Even if the very thought made her heart feel as though it were cracking like glass.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The sky gardenlay hushed beneath a wash of moonlight, but Aurelise could not seem to match its calm. She paced between the flowering arches again and again, her heart thudding in counterpoint to the soft rustle of the night breeze through the vines.
A tangle of emotions writhed through her chest. Giddiness from her earlier triumph at tea, where even the High Lady had graced her with an approving nod before departing. The memory of it still sparkled through her veins like champagne bubbles, that heady sense of achievement at having not merely survived but genuinely succeeded at something so far outside her usual sphere.
