Mystery at the Midnight Ball: A Cinderella Fairy Tale by Kristen Niedfeldt

Author:Kristen Niedfeldt [Niedfeldt, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2021-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After the final course came to an end, Ellie daintily dabbed her napkin to her mouth while the servants cleared everything from the table. The rest of the meal had been delicious. The meat and vegetables had been followed by another course of warm, crusty bread and roasted pumpkin soup—Ellie’s very favorite fall soup. The soup had been so flavorful, she had been tempted to ask the king if she could have the recipe, but then she had thought better of it. She couldn’t risk the cook coming to the dining hall to deliver the recipe herself. The princes would have had a hard time explaining things if the woman appeared and started calling the Camolinian ambassador, Drizella.

The soup bowls and leftover bread were eventually taken away and replaced with a massive platter of dried fruit drizzled with honey. The stickiness of the honey had made it slightly challenging to eat the crunchy strips of fruit in a perfectly ladylike fashion, but the sweetness had been heavenly.

When everyone finally set their forks down in defeat, their appetites completely satiated, the king beckoned to the waiting servants to clear the table. The work was completed with remarkable efficiency, and then another servant appeared from the hall with a tray bearing six silver goblets of water.

Ellie accepted a goblet and took a sip from her cup, subtly studying her companions while everyone waited for the servants to finish their tasks and retreat from the room.

The king and chief minister eyed her warily—a familiar expression now since she had seen the same look cross their faces several times during the meal. They were clearly still displeased with her, but she couldn’t say she was sorry for making them eat the snails. Let them remember that even though she had arrived on her own, she was prepared to stand up for herself and Camolin.

Her eyes shifted to Prince Alexander, who smiled an easy smile at her, buoying her spirits, and she reluctantly dragged her gaze to the duke, catching him staring at her with an unnerving expression of admiration. Her stunt with the snails had seemed to have had the opposite effect on him than it had with the older dignitaries at the table. Even though the duke had despised the snails, the event had oddly only seemed to improve his estimation of her. Perhaps he thought he could relate to a kindred schemer and manipulator.

The doors to the dining hall shut as the last servant left the room, and King Gerald eyed the scroll at Ellie’s side as if it might be contaminated with the plague. “I suppose that scroll contains your demands?”

“And proposed concessions, Your Majesty,” she respectfully replied.

The duke leaned toward her in his seat. “I’m surprised you are already proposing concessions. To me, that implies an awareness of a certain degree of liability. Are you also ready to admit that Camolin is at fault for all the struggles at the border?”

“Fritz!” Prince Deidrick exclaimed angrily.

The king hushed him. “The duchess can speak for herself.

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