Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 72146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Although her eyes widen with surprise, Isabel nods and pulls me to my feet. “Then we shall talk. But first, we must make you presentable.”
She insists on washing my face again. I change my dress, which has stains down the front from my tears. When I come out of the washroom, there are several servants in my chamber, setting out dishes for dinner.
“Oh,” I breathe. “Has so much time passed?”
“It has,” Isabel says with a smile. “I am told Prince Jasper is dining with your father in the great hall. The king has told everyone that you will dine in your chamber tonight.”
My heart skips a beat and the tips of my fingers go numb. “Did he announce—”
“No announcement other than you will eat here, Cora. The court does not need any other explanation.” She eyes me curiously. “Although it is odd, it is not uncommon for the king to dine with his potential son-in-law outside of the presence of his daughter, no?”
I nod slightly, although the court will want an explanation, especially if the princes leave tonight. If they go without a formal final meal with me, then rumors will fly through the palace. Saying nothing will not be an option once people have made up their minds about what they think happened.
I don’t fear what my own servants might say. Blanche and Alice have kept my confidences for years. They will not gossip about me, nor share their opinions with the other servants.
But there are others who have served the princes while they are here. Who knows what they might have heard? In the end, it might not matter if what the servants say is the truth. If the court comes to believe that I have driven off the princes—
If I have driven off the princes, and there is no more to be decided between us—
Isabel takes my hand. “I have had word that the princes are not to leave until any matters between you have been settled.”
“From whom?”
“From a reliable source.” Isabel smiles at me. “Prince Jasper will dine with your father, and they will speak when the meal is over. You do not need to worry about anything tonight.”
This should comfort me, but I doubt anything will, until I know what’s to come.
“You need to eat,” Isabel insists, and ushers me to the small table in my chamber. “You’ve been in a state all day, and food will lift your spirits. We can talk while we eat.”
I don’t realize how hungry I am until I’m seated at the table and a servant uncovers one of the dishes. For most of today I thought I might never be hungry again. It is almost a relief that my body has recovered, even slightly. But is it also a betrayal?
I concentrate on spearing salted ham with my fork. Isabel compliments the dishes and comments on the flowers in the garden. She talks about a painting she might work on while the light is good this season. The servants come and go around us until we have finished eating, then leave us with tea and a chocolate torte.
Isabel leans back in her seat with a cup of tea in her hands. She waits until I have prepared my own.
“What happened, Cora?” she asks eventually.
“It began the night of the ball,” I begin, and after that, the story rushes out of me. The desires I whispered when I thought I was alone. The man who gave me what I wanted while I was blindfolded, so his identity was kept secret. The feelings that grew for him.
And then…Jasper. The handsome prince who set my heart alight in other ways.
To Isabel’s credit, she does not gasp at the things I reveal. Her eyebrows go up in surprise, but she merely nods for me to continue. At first, my face burns and I struggle to find the words to describe what I shared with both princes without making it seem sordid. But the more I speak, the more I realize that what I shared with Casen and Jasper was much more than physical. The pleasure they gave me also made me feel a form of…freedom. When I was with them, I felt that I had power over my own body and my own life.
Was that because they desired me so? Or was it because I was finally finding my own confidence?
Perhaps it was both.
Yet now my confidence is gone. It feels shaken, at least.
“I did not know…” My voice trails off as I reach the final revelation. “I did not know that Prince Casen was Prince Jasper’s brother until I saw Casen in the sunroom.”
Isabel sits up straight in her chair as if she had forgotten that fact about them.
“Yes, of course,” she says. “That was why his presence was such a shock to you.” She touches her forehead. “And I thought—I am sorry, Cora. I thought his appearance—”