Page 59 of Love & Letter Charms
Did my shy, careful, ever-proper L really just write something so deliciously bold? About honey? And fingers? And a reference to my ever so improper offer to …
Has someone perhaps stolen your letter box? Are you writing under duress? Is this an elaborate prank orchestrated by those judgmental roses of yours?
But no, it has to be you. Only you would consider a kitchen, a music room, and a garden the triumphant spoils of exploration. Only you would befriend the kitchen staff as a strategic social escape route.
I am inordinately proud of you, L. You explored! You ventured into the unfamiliar and discovered that it wasn’t quite as terrifying as you feared. Though I notice you’ve essentially found three new places to hide, which is both progress and perfectly, wonderfully you.
Nevertheless, I am unspeakably glad you have found small corners in which to breathe in this new and ‘absurdly vast’ setting you find yourself in. And as for your hosts’ imagined horror, you might be pleasantly surprised to discover that they understand more than you think.
But L—and this is crucial—a beloved pianoforte? You’ve been holding out on me! All this time we’ve been corresponding and you’ve never once mentioned this apparently significant instrument in your life. I do hope you’ve at least told this pianoforte about me. Introduced us properly in conversation.“Dearest pianoforte, allow me to tell you about my mysterious correspondent who sends me outrageous dares …”
When you break the news about your torrid affair with the elderfae instrument, please convey my sympathies to your pianoforte. I suspect I understand its forthcoming jealousy all too well.
Thoroughly enchanted by your newfound boldness,
R
P.S. You more than succeeded with that comment. I am blushing. Everywhere.
P.P.S. Are you telling me that if I WERE there, you would you have let me?
Chapter Sixteen
“So,”Mariselle said, leaning forward with the particular gleam in her eyes that always preceded an inquiry of the most inappropriate variety, “has Prince Ryden attempted to kiss you yet?”
Aurelise nearly choked on her tea—sugarplum whimsy, her childhood favorite, which the tea house had decided was precisely the blend she needed today—before setting the delicate porcelain cup down on its saucer. “Mariselle!”
“What?” Her sister-in-law’s expression was all innocence, though the effect was somewhat undermined by the mischievous curl at the corner of her lips. “It’s a perfectly reasonable question, given that he selected you for the opening dance at the Crown Court Ball.”
“An entirely reasonable inquiry,” Rosavyn agreed, regarding Aurelise with avid curiosity. “One might even say essential to our understanding of current events.”
If only they knew how alarmingly close their teasing strayed to the truth. The prince had, after all, offered his assistance with dare number twelve.
The three of them were seated at one of the coveted window tables at The Charmed Leaf Tea House, afternoon sunlightfiltering through the vines that framed the glass, casting dancing shadows across their tea service. The scents of exotic teas, warm scones and delicate pastries wrapped around Aurelise like a cherished memory made tangible.
She had specifically requested they come here today. This was her first Season properly out in society, her first opportunity to sit at these elegant tables as a lady in her own right rather than merely Lady Rivenna’s granddaughter permitted to lurk in the kitchen or scurry through the garden and the rooms upstairs. Previously, she had only been allowed to visit as a true patron when she was seated demurely beside her mother on quiet afternoons when the tea house was nearly empty.
How ironically fitting that she, despite her new title, should feel like somewhat of an imposter in these elegant surroundings, while Rosavyn—who had yet to make her formal debut—sat beside her as comfortably as though she’d been taking tea at The Charmed Leaf for years.
“It’s all the gossip birds have been squawking about since the Crown Court Ball,” Rosavyn continued. “He choseyouto dance with first, after all.”
“The gossip birds are full of nonsense,” Aurelise said, “as you well know. And I’ve already explained to you—and Evryn, who seemed for some reason to be particularly upset about it—why he selected me first.”
“Oh yes, that remarkably contradictory explanation about him having absolutely no interest in you whatsoever, yet finding you so utterly fascinating that he craves genuine conversation with you instead of the pretense he allegedly maintains with everyone else.”
Aurelise sighed. She did not feel comfortable revealing the true reason, which she’d overheard whispered between her mother and grandmother upon her return home. That the prince’s choice had been a calculated kindness, meant tofurther soften the rumors clinging to the Rowanwood name and improve how society regarded her sister.
“You’re clearly doing a terrible job of convincing him you’re boring, Lise,” Rosavyn added.
“Indeed, your grandmother is quite convinced he’s plotting to lure you into some shadowed alcove and make off with your virtue before the Season is out,” Mariselle added.
“Mariselle!” Aurelise exclaimed yet again, her face burning now, though she could hardly claim to be surprised by her grandmother’s opinion. Not after the interrogation she had endured on the matter the previous evening.
She had sought her grandmother’s advice about her upcoming tea at Solstice Hall. After all, who better to help her organize her thoughts and create a practical list of everything that needed to be accomplished than the woman who’d been masterfully running the renowned and cherished Charmed Leaf Tea House for decades? But apparently, that discussion could only beginaftera full inquest into her interactions with the prince.
“He has not made you feel uncomfortable, I hope?”
Only to the point of near cardiac arrest when I fell into a flowerbed in front of him.
