The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1) - Kiera Cass Page 0,70

hoping you will find time to write to me. Of all the things I’ve said goodbye to recently, you are the one I miss the most.

Please write to me as soon as you’re able and tell me all your news. You will always have a trusted friend in me, and I hope that I shall always have one in you. Send all letters to my family’s manor: Varinger Hall, Dahere County, Coroa.

Your dear friend,

Hollis

“Who are you writing to?” Silas asked as I pulled out a new sheet of paper.

“Friends, family. My parents are next on the list so they’ll know to come home.”

He shook his head, looking around the empty, dusty manor that his family was going to make new. “You left a palace for this. . . . I’d be lying if I didn’t say I felt a little embarrassed. I want to give you more, Hollis.”

I stood, walking over to him in my mud-stained ball gown from the night before. “I would live in a shack if it meant you would be there with me, Silas Eastoffe. I don’t want that life, not in the least.”

“All the same,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. “When I said I didn’t want you to worry about your reputation, I didn’t know exactly how bad this could be.”

“It’s not as if I eloped,” I protested.

“No. You simply left the castle with no chaperone to go with a man who is not your intended to live in the country while your would-be fiancé—who happens to be the king—deals with the aftermath of your humiliating departure.”

I grimaced. “It does sound rather bad when you say it like that, but I’ve lived in Keresken Castle for years. Trust me, within the week, there will be a new scandal so outrageous that I will be a whisper of a memory forgotten in time.”

“Do you really think so?”

I tilted my head up, thinking. “Hmm, maybe a week is too soon. Let’s start counting. This is day one. If something entirely new hasn’t swept up the attentions of court in, let’s say, fifty days, then you can choose your reward.”

“Deal.” He sealed the bargain with a kiss, and it was the most beautiful thing, to be free and alone with Silas.

We heard the unmistakable sound of horses in the distance and ran to the front of the manor to see. Coming down the weathered path, Lady Eastoffe poked her head out of the carriage, waving. Silas and I stood on the front steps, ready to welcome our family to their new home in Coroa.

Twenty-Eight

“LET ME DO THIS FINAL knot, and you’ll be ready.” Scarlet laced me into one of her dresses with slightly less extravagant sleeves so I could brave the trip to Varinger Hall. It had taken a day for my letter to reach the palace, another for a reply, and now it was time to face my dragons.

“Did you all intend to buy a home so close to mine?” I asked, still nervous about my mission.

“Not at all,” she answered with a laugh. “We had four replies for estates, and this was the least expensive one.”

I looked around at the ragged room we’d been sharing the last two days for the sole purpose of improving one room at a time. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Silas made me swear I’d never tell you where we were settling. He said you would be living at the castle forever now anyway, so you’d never know. Personally, I thought it was fate.”

She turned around so I could line up her laces, quite content with her assessment. “Fate, you say? I’ll ask you about that again when we’re sweeping cobwebs from the corners this afternoon,” I teased.

She giggled as I pulled her in tight, and I was pleased to see I hadn’t lost my talent for tying a gown.

“There. Pretty as a picture.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” she offered.

“No, I think your mother will suffice. Besides, I’m not sure how the staff will behave when I show up without my parents.”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” She kissed my cheek. “Come visit soon, all right?”

“I don’t think Silas would let me stay away too long anyway. You have my word. I’ll bring your dress back by the end of the week, at least,” I promised, going to find Lady Eastoffe.

She was waiting in the entryway, sliding her gloves on. It was a move remarkably reminiscent of my own mother, the final touch to make sure she looked