Ella struggled not to think of insults to hurl at the sheikh when she saw the other girl’s face start to crumble. The letter fell from Aurora’s hands as she choked something incoherent, and Ella felt painfully helpless as she watched Aurora excuse herself before disappearing into the en-suite.
Oh, Michael, you cold, heart—oh, wait a minute.
An idea sparkedt o life when her gaze accidentally fell on Aurora’s writing desk by the window, and she didn’t give herself a chance to think things through. She crossed the room in quick strides, swiped the letter off the floor, and grabbed a pen from the desk to scribble a reply to a certain clueless sheikh.
If he couldn’t find the words, then she would find them for him, andoooh.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the embossed sealer mixed in with the other pens.
Perfect!
She worked quickly, folding the letter with care and pressing the seal into place just as the bathroom door began to creak open. By the time Aurora emerged, eyes red and face damp, Ella was already at the door, her expression innocent as a fairy godmother who had absolutely not just meddled in someone else’s love story.
“I’ll let myself out,” Ella said gently. “Take care of yourself, Aurora.”
And then she was gone, the letter tucked safely in her pocket, and telling herself piously that it wasnota bad thing to write letters on other people’s behalf...even if said other person wasn’t aware of it. A proper happily-ever-after justified the means, right?
****
“THANK YOU FOR THIS, milady.” Lord Barton bowed respectfully before taking the letter from Ella’s outstretched hand.
“Please make sure it reaches him,” Ella said.
“Of course.”
Barton tucked the letter into his coat, climbed into his waiting carriage, and watched through the window as Lady Ella’s figure grew smaller in the distance.
As soon as he was alone in the backseat, on his way back to Layla, curiosity got the better of him, and he started turning the letter this way and that. The embossed seal on the folded lines of the letter prevented him from breaking it open, but as he turned it over, tilting it toward the fading light from the carriage window, he could see the edge of the paper inside. Could make out fragments of words through the gap.
...destined...
...another man...
...thanks to you...
Aha!
So this was a letter about the feelings of the prince towards Lady Ella.
A slow smile spread across Barton’s face. Lady Dezza would absolutely need to know about this, and he was already rubbing his hands gleefully as he considered how the princess would reward him for such delicious information.
Every fairy tale needed a villain, after all.
And Barton was more than happy to play the part.
But in the meantime...
He would deliver the letter as promised.
And wait.
****
THE LETTER ARRIVEDat Sheikh Mik’hail’s study just before sunset, the last rays of light slanting through the tall windows and casting long shadows across his desk like fingers reaching for something just out of grasp.
Mik’hail’s lips tightened when he saw Aurora’s embossed seal pressed into the paper. He himself was the one who had gifted her with it, after hearing her admire the seal he used for his own correspondence. He could still remember the way her face had lit up, the way she had thrown her arms around him in thanks before remembering herself and pulling away with flushed cheeks.
Such a simple gift. Such a simple moment.
