The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1) - Kiera Cass Page 0,21
different from me, not so difficult to see at home within these castle walls.
Eight
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, THE KNOCK came right on time.
“Which do you think it is?” Delia Grace wondered aloud. “Either gifts from His Majesty or another lord coming to seek your favor?’
I avoided her eyes, unsure how this would unfold. “Neither.”
“Lady Nora Littrell,” the maid announced as my guest rounded the corner.
“What’s she doing here?” Delia Grace asked under her breath.
“I invited her,” I clarified, standing to greet my guest. “Thank you for coming, Lady Nora.”
“Happy to be here. What can I do for you?”
I swallowed, knowing the following statement would shock Delia Grace. “I’ve asked you here to offer you a position in my household.”
Sure enough, Delia Grace looked positively aghast as she sputtered, “What? Why her?”
“Because she was lady enough to apologize when she did something foolish, and gracious enough not to hold my own foolishness against me.” I looked back at my dearest friend. “Our reach at court is limited. Lady Nora knows people we don’t, and she’s bright. As you’ve pointed out, I need all the help I can get.”
At that Delia Grace dropped her head, blushing, looking as if she were crushing her teeth together behind her lips.
“Granted, my place isn’t official yet,” I began again, looking back to Nora, “but if you want it, I’d like you both to be in my entourage. Delia Grace, of course you will be primary lady-in-waiting, and Nora, if you want to join us, you can be a lady-in-waiting as well. If things continue like they have been, and Jameson proposes, I will ask for your help in assembling the rest of my household, so that we can assure that it is the happiest it could possibly be. And, naturally, any favor that comes upon me, I will gladly share with you.”
Nora walked over, taking my hands. “I’d love to be your lady! Hollis, thank you!” Her smile was genuine, and any resentment she’d harbored toward me for winning Jameson’s heart was clearly gone. Maybe it had never even been there to begin with.
Delia Grace, however, was still fuming.
I stared evenly at her. “This will only work if the two of you can cooperate. You are very different ladies with different personalities and gifts, and I don’t know how I’m to get through this without you both. Please.”
Delia Grace’s arms were crossed, her expression unmistakably telling me I’d just betrayed her in the deepest way possible.
“I was always going to have to get other ladies. You suggested it yourself,” I reminded her.
“I know. I just didn’t think . . . She’ll answer to me, right?” Delia Grace asked.
“You’re the primary lady-in-waiting,” Nora said before I could reply. “Everyone would answer to you.”
“I expect you to be fair,” I cautioned her, “but, yes, you outrank everyone who comes after.”
She sighed. “Fine.” She looked at me, her eyes clearly disappointed. “If you’ll excuse me, my lady, I have a headache. And it seems you have someone else to tend you now.”
With that she stormed off, the slamming door echoing in her wake.
“I guess I couldn’t have expected that to go any better,” Nora admitted.
“It will take a lot to undo everything that’s passed between you two,” I replied.
“Yes. I have to say, with how . . . distant we’ve all been with her, I’m surprised you’re willing to give me a chance at all.”
I turned to her. “Well, I’m a big supporter of second chances. I’m hoping that Delia Grace will give you one as well. And that you’ll try to make a new start with her.”
Her discomfort was written across her face as she worked up the nerve to answer. “That might be nice. Sometimes . . . it’s easier being at court when all the negative attention is on someone else, if that make sense.”
I sighed. “Yes. Yes, it does.”
She gave a sad shrug. “My family has scandals of its own—almost all noble families do—but it made life here easier knowing there was someone to direct all the gossip at.”
“I understand. But that is all in the past. Sooner or later, you will have to offer her an apology. I need your help, but I cannot be without her.”
She nodded. “I won’t let you down, my lady. I’m pleased beyond words just to be a part of this. You’re going to be in the history books. Do you realize that?”
I took in a shaky breath through my smile. “I do. . . . I think that’s