The Royal Entanglement - Not A Fairytale

CH 17: EVERY NOBLE HAS A SECRET

It was House Orkwood’s turn to host the next event of the social season. House Orkwood organised a grand ball. Philip was busy ensuring all the preparations of the ball were up to the mark. All the nobles gathered at the Orkwood manor. All the nobles were busy either dancing, chatting or drinking. Henry and Laura entered the Orkwood manor, walking hand in hand.
“Cheers to the young couple soon to be wed. Let the young couple lead the dance”, said Philip.


Henry and Laura looked into each others eyes.
“May I have this dance, my Lady?”, said Henry as he bowed.
“Of course, my Lord”, said Laura as she extended her hand.
The music started playing as Laura and Henry started to dance. Everyone gathered to watch their lovely dance.
“As graceful as always”, said Henry as she smiled, admiring Laura.
“With an excellent lead like yourself, I ought to be graceful my Lord”, said Laura.
Henry twirled Laura under his arm as she spun effortlessly. He gently lifted Laura into the air and Laura completed the move as she landed on her feet gracefully. All the nobles were watching in awe as the young couple put on an elegant show. Soon more people joined as Henry and Laura led the dance.
Mary sipped her wine as she saw their dance. As much as she was happy for them, it stung her. She turned away hoping nobody noticed her tear filled eyes. As she made her way through the ballroom stance, she ran into Lady Hannah.
“Oh please to see you Mary”, said Hannah as she exclaimed.
“Please to see you as well Hannah”, said Mary.
“Do you like the arrangements? Brother wanted everything to be perfect. He ordered for these statues all the way from Arenia. He seems to be smitten with Arenia’s crafts and souvenirs.”, said Hannah.
Mary was staring at a distance. She could not process what Hannah was saying no matter how hard she tried. Her mind was completely occupied with the thought for Laura and Henry’s union.
“Mary? Are you alright. You seem to be lost.”, said  Hannah.
“I-I am sorry. It’s just...”, Mary struggled to put her words together. Tears started rushing down her eyes.
“Mary! What happened? Please tell me what happened”, asked Hannah.
Mary told Hannah what happened. Hannah comforted Mary as she offered her some water.
“Oh Mary, I am so sorry for what happened to you. I promise, I will be at your side, if you were to need me. As difficult as it may seem, you have to be strong Mary. There could be a perfect suitor who is yet to enter your life.”, said Hannah as she placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder. Mary buried her face in Hannah’s shoulder as she cried her heart out.
Laura eyes searched for Mary across the ballroom.
“Are you okay my dear? Is anything troubling you”, asked Henry.
“Oh nothing, I was looking for Mary”, said Laura.
“Oh I am sure she is having a good time. You don’t have to worry about her”, said Henry.
“I just hope she is okay”, said Laura.

Mary did not want anyone else to know what happened. She decided to leave. She wanted to talk to Philip before she left. As she was looking for Philip she bumped into Richard.
“Lady Mary! Pleasure seeing you”, said Richard.
“Pleasure seeing you Sir Richard” said Mary.
“ I see you are looking for someone”, said Richard.
“Yes, I was looking for Philip. I just wanted to talk to him before I left”, said Mary.
“You’re leaving so soon?”, asked Richard.
“Yes, I was feeling a bit lonely here and Laura is caught up with all the guests congratulating her.”, said Mary.
“Well, I was looking for some company. Care to join me?”, asked Richard.
“If you insist.”, said Mary.
Richard extended his hand. Mary looped her hand through his and they continued to walk.
“You seem a bit off is everything alright”, asked Richard.
“It’s just, I shared my secret with Lady Hannah today. I’m afraid if this goes on my secret will no longer be a secret and Laura can never know about this”, said Mary.
“Lady Mary, you know that you are not the only noble with a secret. Every noble, like yourself, has a secret. Nobles aren’t known for speaking their intentions, but there are ways to get the truth. Being a diplomat taught me one good skill. ”, said Richard.
“And what is that?”, asked Mary.
“Listening to nobles’ conversations”, said Richard.
“That is considered to be rude, you know.”, said Mary.
“I’m afraid that is a part of my job.”, said Richard as he smiled.
Richard and Mary made their way to the ballroom.
“Care to join me for a dance?”, asked Richard.
“Of course”, said Mary.

“As we dance, when we approach the nobles standing there spectating , I want you pay close attention to their words”, said Richard.
“Alright”, said Mary.
Richard and Mary began to dance. They approached two noble women chatting with each other.
“I cannot believe my maid ruined my expensive gown!”, said a woman.
“Servants are surely careless”, said the other woman.
“Did you listen?”, asked Richard.
“I cannot believe people could be so complaining “, said Mary.
As they continued to dance they approached a group of young nobles.
“ I suspect Lady Harper has a secret lover”, said  a woman.
“ Oh really?”,asked the others astonished.
“Yes, I swear I saw her writing letters to him. She keeps waiting for letters to arrive. She surely has a secret lover”, said the woman.
Mary covered her mouth with her hand as she heard their conversation.
“Lady Harper? I would never believe she has a lover”, Mary told herself.
“You look surprised”, said Richard.
“Y-Yes. It’s just I heard something about a friend if mine”, said Mary.
Richard smiled. Mary and Richard bowed to each other as the dance came to an end.
“Thank you Richard”, said Mary.
“I should thank you for keeping me company, Lady Mary.”, said Richard.
Just then Mary came across Philip.
“Oh Philip, finally, I’ve been looking for you since I reached”, said Mary.
“I have been busy with all the preparations. ”,said Philip.
“The ball was lovely, but I am afraid I have to leave”, said Mary.
“Of course”, said Philip.
“And Mary- take care of yourself and Laura”, said Philip.
“Of course”, said Mary as she left.
Laura and Henry were approached by many guests congratulating them. Laura was beginning to feel exhausted.
She saw Mary approaching her.
“Oh Mary. I’ve been wondering where you have been.”, said Laura.
“Sir Richard has been keeping me company.”, said Mary.
“I see you have been spending a lot of time with Sir Richard”, said Laura as she smirked.
“Oh it’s nothing”, said Mary as she brushed it off.
“Our carriage is here. I am leaving. Do you want to join me?”,asked Mary.
“Oh no it’s fine. Henry said he would drop me back at the castle”, said Laura.
“Very well”, said Mary as she left.

A/N : Thank you to my lovely readers for your support ☺️
The next chapters might take some time to update because of my exams😅, but I'll surely get back with some amazing plot twists and new characters😁
Thank you🥰