A Heart of Thorns by Tessonja Odette

Author:Tessonja Odette [Odette, Tessonja]
Language: eng
Format: epub

6

Several hours later, Mareleau was slouched on her divan, fingers weaving through a lock of pale hair. Nearly every last strand had been wound into messy braids by now, and she was running out of loose tendrils to fidget with. Though she often braided her hair out of anxiety, she knew she was being excessive. Yet she had to do something to occupy her mind, otherwise it would return to Frederick. She’d been so flustered by her meeting with him that she’d refused to attend dinner and instead took her meal in her room with her ladies.

With the meal complete, Breah, Ann, and Sera were gossiping over needlework near the hearth while Mareleau remained separate from the group. She may have been desperate for a distraction, but not enough to involve herself in their persistent chatter.

“I’m used to the fidgeting,” Katra said, settling in on the divan beside Mareleau and making the princess jump. Mareleau hadn’t noticed her friend’s return from taking their dinner plates away. “But you’re being uncharacteristically quiet. What happened with your date with Frederick today?”

She pursed her lips, unsure she had it in her to confess the ordeal. But this was Katra. Mareleau always told the girl everything. Yet…this seemed different. She was embarrassed by the situation, for reasons she didn’t understand.

“Come on,” Katra said, an open smile on her face. “You can tell me.

Mareleau released a sigh. Perhaps she’d feel a little better if she unburdened herself. After a long stretch of silence, she admitted the truth. “He…proposed.”

“He did?” Though Katra’s voice was pitched like a question, she revealed no surprise on her face. Maybe she’d already suspected as much. She nibbled a corner of her lip before asking, “What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Katra wrinkled her brow. “You’re considering it though?”

That strange sense of embarrassment deepened. Where was it coming from? Was she simply ashamed to admit to her dearest friend—after all her posturing—that she was giving a proposal serious thought for once? Mareleau lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know what I’m doing with it. He leaves for home tomorrow. I have until morning to give him my final answer.”

Katra shifted to face her fully. There was something tense in the set of her shoulders, the closed fists she held in her lap. “Tell me you’re taking it seriously. Tell me you’ll at least consider it.”

Mareleau frowned. She’d expected teasing or perhaps an I told you so. She didn’t expect such intense-yet-somber interest. “Why do you care so much about whether I accept his proposal?”

Katra blinked at her a few times, face going a shade paler. Then her shoulders relaxed and the warm smile returned to her lips. “Because I care about you and want to see you happy.”

“And you think Prince Frederick will make me happy?” Mareleau scoffed, mostly out of habit. The fact was…he did make her happy. In a comforting sort of way.

Katra’s jaw shifted side to side, her smile growing more forced. Mareleau recognized this as her refraining from speech.

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