Ella tried not to consider the question, because the more she thought about it, the more Beatrice was right, and she didn’t want to think about what it meant if Beatrice was right. “I can’t decide this right now,” she said. “I still have to meet the man I’m betrothed to.”
“I know,” Beatrice said. “But I want you to think about it.”
“I will,” Ella said quietly. “Can you tell me one thing?”
“Of course,” Beatrice said.
“Do you think I should choose Dietrich? If you take away the fact that you know him and you know he’s a good man, do you think I should choose him over someone who I’ve been promised to for years?”
Beatrice frowned. “That’s not my decision to make,” she said. “Only you know whether your duty to your father is more important to you than your duty to your heart and yourself. I would hope that you would choose yourself, but it’s your life, not mine. And if you must decide differently than I would, I will love you nonetheless, and we shall be the best of friends either way.”
Beatrice smiled at Ella and gave her a hug. “I’m afraid I must go home. I’m sure my husband is wondering where I am.”
“I’m sure he is,” Ella said. “It must be very, very late.”
“I don’t want to think about how late it is,” Beatrice said with a laugh. “Because I fear that I will wake up at sunrise as I normally do, no matter how late I stayed up.” She sighed. “A curse, sometimes—and I know a thing or two about curses.”
Ella said goodbye to her friend and lay back down on her bed, her mind going wild.
Her first ball had been completely different than she’d expected, in both good and bad ways.
She hadn’t expected to see her stepsister being pulled out of the room by a guard. Well, perhaps that shouldn’t have surprised her. If they could try to ruin her moment, they would. Perhaps it was for the best that Dietrich seemed to have gotten rid of her, even if it gave her a funny feeling to think about.
What had happened to her? And where were Flora and Tabitha?
There was a knock on her door and her father said, “May I come in?”
“Of course,” Ella called.
Her father entered the room with a smile. “How was your first ball?” he asked.
“Very different than I expected,” Ella admitted.
“In what ways?” he asked, sitting down on her bed next to her.
“I expected there to be… I don’t know,” Ella admitted with a laugh. “I’m not sure what I expected, but I don’t think it was that.”
“Was it bad?” her father asked.
“No, not at all,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “It was lovely. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about your family,” he said. “The three of them were escorted from the premises and will not be allowed back.”
“It’s not your fault,” Ella said. “You couldn’t have known they would try to do something.”
“I should have considered it and just had them barred from entry,” her father said.
“I asked you not to,” Ella reminded him. “I am not concerned about it. It is wonderful that Dietrich was able to stop them.”
“He’s a good man,” her father said, looking at her as if to gauge her reaction.
“Yes, he is,” Ella said softly, everything Beatrice had said running through her mind. “I am very glad to have met him.”
Her father looked as if he might say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded his head.
“Was the man I am betrothed to at the ball tonight?” Ella asked quietly. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Yes,” her father said just as quietly.
