Chapter Nine #2
I was highly looking forward to spending some time in your company at the ball and regret we were unable to converse more. If you’re agreeable, it would be my pleasure to invite you to the Crown Prince’s Palace this Friday at noon for tea.
I will patiently await your response.
Yours,
Crown Prince Torin Phillippe Henry Sada
I wrinkled up my nose. “I don’t know if this is polite or pushy.”
“What did he say, my lady?” Bella asked, her eyes sparkling.
I looked up, only to see Annie looking at me with the same excited, expectant look on her face. I motioned for them both to come closer, and when they leant in, I whispered, “He’s invited me to the palace for tea on Friday.”
They both squealed, and I winced as the sound threatened my poor eardrums.
“Bella, Annie, please!”
“What is that dreadful noise?” Sophia demanded from the doorway. “Can’t you control your maids, Alicia?”
I swiftly stuffed the letter and the envelope under my skirt. “We were just discussing Lady Vivian’s upcoming nuptials. I do apologise if they disturbed you at all.”
She sniffed. “Isn’t she marrying that viscount’s son?”
“She is.”
“Such a low-ranking gentleman for someone from such a highly regarded family.”
“Perhaps, but when Lord Ivan succeeds Duke Trelawney as the head of the Magic Tower, he will receive at least the title of marquess, per Imperial law,” I replied. “And he’s exceptionally talented in magic.”
Sophia’s lip curled. “It’s very convenient that Duke Trelawney chose the man his daughter fell for to succeed him, don’t you think?”
“Oh no, Lady Sophia,” Annie said. “Lord Ivan was chosen as the successor three years ago before he ever met Lady Vivian, according to my friend who works at the Trelawney estate.”
“There you have it, then.” I picked up my teacup and sipped.
Sophia glared at me. “Is it a habit of yours to allow your maids to be so impudent? I wasn’t speaking to her.”
With a sigh, I set my teacup back down. “Sophia, how I converse with my maids is my business. If you remember, you are the one who inserted yourself into our conversation. If you don’t like the freedom with which my maids are allowed to speak, you’re more than welcome to excuse yourself again.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, and her face flushed bright red.
Honestly, she looked like that little angry red guy from that Pixar movie.
She stormed off without saying another word to us, and I looked at Annie. “Make sure she’s actually gone, would you?”
Annie shuffled over there and stuck her head out of the door. “All clear, my lady.”
“What are you going to do about His Highness?” Bella asked quietly. “Are you going to attend?”
“I’m not sure I can,” I answered, pulling the letter back out. “Friday is five days after Sunday, isn’t it? My brain isn’t working.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I will have to decline. I have a prior engagement.” I scanned the letter again.
“Ooh, isn’t that the young master of the Alansia household coming to visit you?” Annie asked, clasping her hands together at her chest as she beamed at me. “Oh, my lady! You have quite the collection of suitors!”
Aw.
It was nice that someone was excited about the harem I seemed to be accidentally building.
If only I felt the same.
“Let’s calm ourselves down, Annie,” I said, flapping my hand at her. “Can you fetch me my stationery from my room so I can reply to His Highness?”
“Of course, my lady.” She zoomed out of the room as if I’d told her to get a tape measure to fit me for my wedding dress.
Bella watched her go, shaking her head. “She’s quite excitable, my lady. Are you sure you can trust her?”
“I wasn’t sure at first,” I admitted. “But the fact that she reached out to you instead of Mother or Sophia’s maids told me a lot. She could have easily tattled on me, but she chose to keep her actions a secret, even at a risk to herself.”
“That’s true. She seems like a sweet girl.”
“She does.” I smiled. “She’s eager to please and a hard worker. That’s why I wanted to protect her.”
“My lady! I have it here!” Annie burst back into the room with my stationery box.
“Goodness, Annie, did you fly there?” I asked, taking it from her and walking over to the bureau. It doubled as a desk, and I set up my writing station. “You may take your break now. Bella will handle this letter for me and go when you come back.”
She bowed her head before disappearing, and I set about writing my reply.
To Your Highness, the Crown Prince,
I was most surprised to receive a letter from Your Highness this morning, and I thank you for your kind get well wishes. I am feeling much better after resting.
I would also like to express my most sincere apologies for not being able to dance with you at the ball, as I was looking forward to doing so.
Perhaps we will have a chance at a future event to make up for it.
It is regrettable that I was not able to apologise or explain to you in person at the time.
I also hope that your mother, our most glorious Empress Eudocia, was not slighted by my actions, as I was grateful for her personal introduction.
Unfortunately, it is with regret that I must decline your invitation for tea this coming Friday as I have a prior engagement I cannot cancel. I thank you for thinking of me.
I pray that Your Highness is in good health.
Sincerely,
Lady Alicia Vermillion
I gave the ink a moment to dry before folding the letter and slipping it into the envelope. Bella, who’d been heating the wax while I wrote, dripped just enough on the back of the envelope, and I stamped it into place with the Vermillion seal.
I felt so fancy every time I did that.
Once it had cooled, I signed the back and wrote the address on the front, then handed it off to her.
“Please ask Caldwell to have this delivered as a matter of priority,” I told her. “It wouldn’t look good upon our household if this was delayed in any way.”
She nodded, putting it address-side down on the same silver tray she’d carried the prince’s letter in on. “As you wish, my lady. I will be back in a moment.”
“Thank you.” I sat back in the chair and peered over my shoulder until she disappeared.
I’d deliberately not asked Crown Prince Torin to set another time for us to have tea. While I had no qualms about changing the original story that had been set out in the book, that only applied to myself and my life.
He was the hero; the all-powerful, perfect male lead.
I had no desire to interfere in his happily ever after with the heroine, Lillia de Armand. She was more than welcome to live out her love triangle dreams to become the Crown Princess and eventually, the Empress, but she could do so on her own time. I had no intention of getting involved with it.
I merely wished to survive.
I turned my head to look out of the window at the gardens that were blooming with tulips.
With any luck, the Crown Prince would now turn his attention elsewhere.