The Betrothed by Kiera Cass

Author:Kiera Cass [Cass, Kiera]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2020-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR Valentina to tire, which worked out just fine for me, as I had business of my own to attend to. The parcel was light, and, thanks to the painting outside their rooms that Lady Eastoffe had told me about, I knew where I was heading.

I was technically there to see Scarlet, but there were butterflies plotting a riot in my stomach. I felt too many things at once to know what they truly were. Would Silas be there? Would he try to talk to me? Did I want him to?

The kiss had been a surprise. No, not a surprise, a mistake. Certainly, Silas was easy to talk to, easy to understand. There was an undercurrent of goodness to everything he did, and the way his family so clearly valued each other made me want to be closer to not just him but all of them. And he was his own kind of handsome, with those blue eyes and that angelic smile. Yes, there was something very charming about Silas Eastoffe.

But seeing as he was not Jameson Barclay, it really didn’t matter. Charm wouldn’t give me a crown or bring hope to a kingdom. Charm was nice, not necessary.

I squared myself in front of the door, bracing myself for whatever—and whoever—might be on the other side, and I knocked.

“Lady Hollis! How nice to see you!” Scarlet greeted me, opening the door wide.

“Just the person I was looking for,” I said, ignoring the pang in my heart. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all. Please, come in.” She motioned that I should enter, and I walked in, taking in the space.

There was a small fireplace and a table that was maybe big enough for four with six chairs crammed around it. There wasn’t much for decoration, but they did have some flowers on the set of drawers beneath the window. Two doors led to where their sleeping quarters must have been. I felt a little bad for Scarlet, as she must have been sharing a room with her brothers, with no space to herself.

The only thing that saved the apartment was that one window. It was large, matching the size of all the others down that particular outside wall, so that every chamber in the palace, regardless of size, had a wide pane of domed glass letting light in. I stared at it, thinking her view was so very different from mine.

“You see that building over there?” she asked, pointing to a small stone structure with a thatch roof and a large chimney that was expelling smoke even now. “That’s where Silas and Sullivan are working.”

“Really?” I asked, coming close to the window to inspect.

“Yes. And if Sullivan needs my tiny fingers to finish off a piece of jewelry or Silas needs me to polish a sword, they put a blue handkerchief in the window. I’m always keeping my eye out for it.”

“That’s such a remarkable skill they have,” I commented in awe. “I can sew, but that’s where my talents end.

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