No, and serves him right too.
Agnes KeatonWell, all is well that ends well it is said. I am much pleased to say that Ella was adopted as a ward by the King and Queen.
I am unsure how much was genuine kindness and how much was a distraction from the embarrassment of the entire court being made look foolish by one from the lower orders.
The subterfuge didn't seem so bad now that she could be claimed as the new discovered daughter of the King's third cousin.
Sarah would be happy with the result, I am sure, though I wonder if Ella’s new life is to be envied or regretted. Only time will tell this.
The Prince. Well the Prince was ordered to assist the stable boy for half a year.
The King thought it would be a good opportunity for him to experience life as a servant and therefore broaden his character.
I believe it has worked. The Prince seems a calmer, kinder young man these days. I have hopes that he has inherited the good sense and compassion of his mother's line to temper the arrogance and vanity he has oft times displayed.
As for Ella, well she is the proper young lady now.
She is still the same lovely, smiling girl she ever was and it is no trouble for her to drop in to see her old work friends when she has a moment or two to spare.
She promoted both Sally and Molly to be her personal maids though I doubt that hopeless pair could be much use to anyone.
Still, they are loyal to her and that is the most important attribute of a good servant.
EllaFairy tales can come true and I am living proof.
My life has been very different this past year. I no longer rise at dawn to clean the fireplaces and scrub the floors. I have my own servants to do that now.
When I open my wardrobe I find it is brimming with fine gowns of silk and lace and soft velvet.
I no longer wear sturdy work boots which squeeze my toes and rub my heels tender. Instead my feet are encased in dainty slippers as soft as down with sparkling buckles and pretty bows.
A servant, Sally or Molly, brushes my hair at night and turns down my bed and sees to it that my clothes are laid out for the next day.
I attend dinner parties and flutter my eyelashes at silly old men and silly young ones and I laugh softly at their jokes.
It delights me that I can charm them so easily.
The Prince is different now. Perhaps all those months of mucking out the stables helped to humble him but I believe he just needed the time to grow up.
At first he was resentful of my acceptance into the Court. It took him many weeks to treat me with anything but disdain but, little by little, the ice between us has melted and slowly we are building a true friendship.
We spend a lot of our days together laughing or talking but never more than that.
I am a lady now and will not disgrace my position nor the trust of the King and Queen and he respects that.
Sometimes, I see the raw desire in his eyes but then the shutters come down and we both quickly talk of other things.
Has he forgiven me? I do not know.
I think it will take longer than a year to heal the wound to his pride but we are both young and time is on our side.
Have I forgiven him? That I cannot answer either.
Easier to ask myself if I could trust him with my heart and that answer is simple.
My heart made its own choice the night of the day I turned sixteen.
The End
Thanks to all my readers but a very special thank you to the amazing Brooke who never missed a day. Thank you Brooke. I looked forward to your comments and think I would have gone into a depression if you missed a day
Take care and I hope to meet you again on the forum here.