Page 39 of Slippers and Thorns
She wanted to return to the castle to store her purchase. But Justin…she watched him as he looked at Lady Lucinda with a small smile on his face. Saw the expression in Lady Lucinda’s eyes as she peered back at him through her eyelashes. Many court ladies cultivated such mannerisms to attract the men around them, but Ella had hopes that wasn’t the case here.
She could haul them back to the castle, or she could let them have a little more time to feel like they were a normal young couple. A little bit longer to be away from the pressure of being a prince and the noble lady he fancied.
“I’m glad to hear Anne is not alone,” Ella finally said. “I am returning to the castle, but I cannot leave you alone, Justin. Charlie?” She looked over her shoulder. “Would it be permissible for you and Jake to split up?”
Charlie’s eyes darted between Jake, herself, and the young couple. “Yes,” he decided. “I will remain with the prince; Jacob, you will return directly to the castle with the princess. You will only detour if you cross paths with Harrison so that you may notify him of my location.”
“Anne should be easy to spot – she’s wearing her red cloak like usual,” Justin volunteered.
“But Commander,” Jake protested, “if there is to be only of us with the princess, shouldn’t it be you?”
“The one who remains will have two charges,” Charlie briskly replied, “so I will stay. The castle is not far.”
“Yes, sir,” Jake acknowledged with a salute. “Are you ready, Princess?”
She nodded. “Yes. Farewell, Justin, Lady Lucinda. I will see you later.”
“Thanks, Arabella,” Justin grinned. “You’re the best.”
As she walked away, she heard Lady Lucinda say, “The young ladies currently in town will be gathering at my grandmother’s house tomorrow for lunch. I expect we will be there through at least mid-afternoon.”
“Will the harpy be there?” Justin asked.
“Your Highness! You really shouldn’t call her that. What if she finds out?”
“What’s she going to do to me?” Justin drawled. “Flash me a pouty glare?”
She passed out of hearing range about that time. She idly wondered which lady was the “harpy”, and what said lady had done to warrant such a nickname from the easygoing younger prince.
Ella paced nervously outside the closed meeting room door. Michael’s current meeting wasn’t actually running late yet; she was simply early so she could be certain that she wouldn’t miss him.
Besides, the mix of excited anticipation and near-crippling fear of rejection wouldn’t let her sit still. She may as well be a bottle of nerves at her destination as in her room.
She could feel Henry’s eyes on her as she clutched the package to her chest and pivoted once again. He knew in general why she was there, of course; by now, all of her guards were familiar with her new habit of haunting Michael’s steps. They had even assisted her with ferreting out the details of his schedule each day and keeping tabs on Lady Charlotte so Ella could avoid her.
The package and the nerves were new, though. She had decided not to advise her shadow regarding the differences. It was bad enough that he had witnessed her dismissal so many times and that he would be present for whatever Michael’s reaction was this time; she saw no point in giving him advance notice of her hopes.
While they had helped her with her efforts, the downside to her guards being aware of what she was up to was that they knewwhy. Not that it was exactly a secret with Michael parading Lady Charlotte around all the time.
Ella fought down the wave of humiliation as her mind followed the familiar track. She could understand him being angry. But why, instead oftalkingto her, did he insist on showing his displeasure by passively – but very publicly – replacing her?
Maybe she should be thankful that he hadn’t publicly denounced her. Even if he was wrong about what he thought he saw at the archery field, once made, it would be difficult to recover from his accusations.
She turned when she heard the door finally open. The attendees poured out, most heading down the hall while a few lingered to chat. Michael stood just inside the door, deep in discussion with one of his advisors.
“Michael,” Ella greeted him, stepping forward as he and the other man exited. Apparently reluctant to openly snub her in front of the advisor, Michael actually looked at her. He wore a very polite court smile, but at least he waslookingat her this time!
“Arabella,” he returned. “How are you?”
In all her anxiety, she hadn’t thought to prepare what she was going to say. Why hadn’t she thought it out first? “Um…” she began. “I was looking for you. I—I was in the market the other day to get boots. And I—”
“I have another meeting to get to,” Michael cut her off. “Perhaps later would be a better time to tell me about your boots?”
“But you won’t listen later!” Ella protested desperately, forgetting that the boots were not the point. “You haven’t talked to me in days!”
Michael’s eyes were cold. “And why might that be? You may not have yourfavoriteguard with you right now, but I know how often you do,” he hissed. “You spend far more time with him than you do with me. I willnotbe a consolation prize.”
“Do you think I don’twantto spend time with you?” Ella spat back, taking care to keep her voice down, as well. The hall was blessedly empty at the moment, but she didn’t want their raised voices to attract attention. “Why do you think I’m here?”
