Page 83 of Slippers and Thorns
Maybe if she loved him, she should stop making things so hard for him. Maybe she should clear the way for him to be happy. She couldn’t stomach going back to her stepmother, though, and anywhere she went, she’d be alone. Even more alone than she was now.
“Ella?” Charlie’s voice was worried. Caring.
Maybe there was another option.
Before she could think better of it, she turned and impulsively blurted out, “Charlie, would you run away with me?”
CHAPTER 35
Michael
M
ichael strolled through the gardens with Helena on his arm. Most of the plants were brown and leafless, dormant for the winter or dead and not yet cleared by the gardeners. Nearby, an older man expertly operated his pruning shears, already preparing for spring.
“Let’s go this way,” Helena said, pulling his arm and pointing towards the hedge maze.
“We don’t want to be late for the ride,” Michael protested. He enjoyed his time with Helena, and her hand was as comfortable on his arm as it had ever been, but his better sense told him that wandering the winter gardens was only a good idea as long as they stayed in the open.
“Oh, come on, you’re already dressed for it, aren’t you?” Helena pressed. He nodded. “We’ll keep an eye on the time, and it will be fine.”
Michael let her drag him to the entrance. The hedges towered above them, blocking them from view of anyone not in the same lane.
They walked in silence until they passed the first bend. Then Helena leaned closer. “Michael, when are you going to do something about this?”
“About what?”
“You know what,” she glared. “Us. You’re my true love, but—”
He sighed. “Helena, I’m married.”
“I know,” she sniffed. “That’s the problem. So, I repeat:whenare you going to do something about it?”
Michael frowned and looked away. He understood why Helena wanted it, but as of yet, he hadn’t been able to convince himself that it was the right thing to do. True love was great and all, but…he’d promised. He’d given his word before the kingdom to love Ella and forsake all others.
“I don’t understand why you’re hesitating! It’s all over the castle that you were going to send her away so you could marry Lady Charlotte; why don’t you go ahead and follow through with it so you can marryme?”
His heart fell. All over the castle? Had he really been that indiscreet, that everyone thought he was planning to trade wives?
Maybe Ella had a good excuse for not wanting to kiss him.
“You don’t owe her anything. Isn’t she involved with that guard who’s always following her around?”
Michael stopped and stared at her. Where did she get her gossip from? Ella wasn’t—
Or was she?
She said she wasn’t. But she also said they were friends. And he was sure that sometimes when Charles looked at her…
Maybe Ella didn’t want to kiss him because he was no longer whom she desired.
Helena reached up and took his face in her hands. “Michael, please. I’ve heard all about the struggles you’ve had. It’s obvious the two of you aren’t close, no matter what you may have felt when you married her. Why condemn both of you to be miserable for the rest of your lives when you could fix it so easily?”
Was that true? Would sending her away fix things? Would they both be unhappy if he didn’t?
“You’d be happier with me, Michael,” Helena whispered, looking into his eyes. “You, me, Ella, her guard – we’d all be happier. Why can’t you just choose me?”
Then before he registered what she was doing, she pulled him down and pressed her lips against his.
