The duke caught his eye, and Dietrich nodded, hoping the duke would understand he had a reason for sending her away. He wasn’t simply being petty—though if he could send off the other sister now, he would.
The duke relaxed at the reassurance and hurried to Ella, who was looking between Dietrich and her former stepsister with concern. The duke whispered something to Ella, who turned to look at Dietrich.
He could feel her gaze from across the room, which was both comforting and hurtful.
She trusted him, and yet he was going to leave her to face the crowd alone.
He couldn’t.
So instead of leaving like he’d planned, he spent the rest of the night circulating the room with the guards, searching for the last sister.
He couldn’t find her, which was both concerning and a relief. If he couldn’t find her, then perhaps she had left—or perhaps she was hiding, biding her time. It wasn’t clear which way it was going to go, but since he couldn’t find her, he simply watched as Ella danced with more men than he could count, each one making his stomach clench in frustration because she was dancing with someone other than him.
Even as he reminded himself that he had walked away and chosen to let her dance with others, it still stung.
He had no claim on her, and she could dance with as many men as she chose. She had no reason not to.
It was the way he wanted things to be…right?
Chapter twenty-two
Ella
Ella collapsed onto her bed, still wearing her ball gown, and stared up at the ceiling. This had been the longest day of her life, but she couldn’t fall asleep yet. “That was intense,” she said, as Beatrice collapsed on the bed next to her. “Thank you for being here.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Beatrice said with a smile. “Believe me, this was far better than I expected.”
Beatrice raised an eyebrow, and Ella glanced at her. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Beatrice said, waving a hand. “You just never know what will happen at these types of things. And I noticed that you have people taking care of you, which is very good.”
Ella wasn’t sure what she was talking about, so she just waited.
“Did you not notice the way Dietrich took care of your stepfamily?” Beatrice asked when she realized Ella was waiting for an explanation.
“I… I did,” Ella admitted. “I don’t know why Petra was taken away, though.”
“She was trying to do something, and Dietrich didn’t let that happen.”
Ella’s cheeks flushed.
“He was protecting you,” Beatrice continued, “which is as it should be.”
“I don’t need to be protected,” Ella protested.
“On the contrary,” Beatrice said cheerfully, “you do, and he did the right thing in taking care of you, whether you think it was important or not.”
“I didn’t ask to be protected,” Ella pointed out.
“With the right man,” Beatrice said sagely, “you don’t have to ask. The right man does it on their own because they care for you.”
Ella’s cheeks heated. “He doesn’t care for me,” she said. “I think you misread the situation.”
Beatrice cackled. “If you think he doesn’t care for you, you may be losing your vision.” She shook her head. “That boy can’t look away from you. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him like this, and I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying it.”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Ella said.
“It means more than you think,” Beatrice said. “And I think you should take advantage of that.”
