The Royal Entanglement - Not A Fairytale

CH 21: AN OLD FRIEND?

At the castle.....

Mary was in her chambers when she heard a knock on the door.

"Lady Mary, you have a letter", told Martha from the other end.

"Come in Martha.", told Mary.

Martha handed the letter in her hands to Mary.

"Thank you Martha", told Mary as she took a seat at her desk. She was curious as to who sent her a letter during the plague. She opened the letter to find....

Dear Mary,

Lady Mary, it's been a while since I met you. Our last countenance did not end on good terms. I was hoping you would be interested to learn about my travels. Although things did not end well in the past, I really miss having you as my dear friend. I really hope you will consider this and write back to me.

From,

George Ashworth.

Mary stared at the letter, considering her choice. She and George were good friends in the past. Lord Ashworth was made fun of by others at court because of his onset fluency disorder. Mary was the only person whom he could talk to without being humiliated for the way he spoke. Mary enjoyed his company as they both shared the same interests. They would always talk about traveling and exploring the world. George promised Mary that if he were ever to travel he would surely write to her about his adventures. Until one day, everything changed.

At the Oakwood Manor...

Laura could not stop thinking about Henry. It had been a week since he left. He wrote to her once that he was safe and sound, but the thought of never receiving a letter from Henry again haunted Laura. She remained strong and hoped for his safe arrival. Although she kept herself occupied, she could not help but wonder what was it that was so important which made Henry leave in a hurry during a plague. She knew deep in her heart that she and Henry loved each other more than anything and whatever he was doing it was for their own good. Laura was skeptical about accepting Lord Henry's proposal at first. She always feared she would end up realizing that she did not love him, but after courting Henry she realized how much Henry loved her. She was showered with all the love and care she never hoped she would find in a court full of betrayals. Laura felt her heart yearning for Henry every second she spent with him. After two months of courting Henry, Laura was deeply in love with him. Her heart told her that he was the one. She found herself falling hard for Henry. She was very glad that she took a chance of accepting Henry's proposal. Everything felt perfect as they were about to get married in a week until the plague started. Laura walked through the corridors and sighed as she saw the green-coloured tapestries hanging from the walls.