A bracelet made of alternating sapphires and diamonds went on my wrist, and more dangled from my ears, but I refused the matching ring. My rose ring was enough.
My maid stepped back and sighed. “You are beautiful, Your Highness.”
“That is all your doing, Anna. Thank you.”
My maid left, and I moved out to my sitting room, but didn’t leave my suite. Though guests would be arriving in droves, I still had time before I was expected to make my appearance.
A sudden knock on my door made me frown. I glanced at the clock once more. I was not late.
I opened the door and both Sam and Noel barged into my room without hesitation.
My heart beat faster.
“A servant just delivered this to me,” Sam announced, holding out a simple wooden box. He shoved it into my hands when I didn’t react fast enough. “It had a note asking me to make sure you got it before the ball started.”
I stared at the box, not quite daring to open it.
Noel bounced on the balls of his feet. “Come on, Mina.”
I slid the top of the box off. A simple piece of paper, folded in half, sat atop a bed of wood shavings. I unfolded the note and read.
Coming to Haiwella to make golden bonnets would be pointless if I couldn’t also see you. Besides, I decided after a bit more thought that you were right (of course). Golden slippers are a better trend to start.
There was no signature, but I didn’t need one. Alan had read my letters, in which I not only apologized and tried to explain myself, but had begged him not to let my mistake keep him from living the life he deserved. In the letter inviting him to the ball, I had specifically said that even if he never wanted to see me again, I wanted to see his golden bonnets—and whatever else he decided to make—take the capital by storm.
I refolded the paper and tucked it against the side of the box. Smiling so wide my cheeks hurt, I brushed aside the wooden shavings. I pushed the box into Noel’s hands and lifted out the two slippers.
Sam and my brother gasped.
I turned one slipper this way and that, taking it all in. In place of silk, a thin sheet of gold molded over the leather sole to create the shape of a shoe. The heel was made of dark wood polished to a glossy finish, and I remembered what Alan had said about gold being too soft. Just as well; I couldn’t imagine how Alan had afforded the materials for the slipper even without a solid gold heel.
Flattened bits of gold wire twisted together in an intricate, elongated knot, forming a strap to secure the slipper at the ankle, with a matching strap farther down as well. A chain of gold and rose gold, reminding me of the necklace I had given Sam’s mother, dangled between the two straps and between the lower strap and the toe of the shoe. Tiny roses made from the pink gold and exactly matching my ring made buttons where the straps attached to the rest of the shoe.
I ran a finger along the cool metal. Alan hadn’t stopped there. Incredibly thin pieces of wire embossed the surface of the shoe at random intervals in the shape of more roses, and nearly invisible swirls ran in between in imitations of vines.
Noel whistled. “That is quite the slipper.”
Sam took one of the shoes from me. “I have never heard of golden slippers as a betrothal gift.”
I blushed. “It’s not a betrothal gift. It is a reference to a conversation Alan and I had early on.”
Noel clucked his tongue. “If these aren’t his betrothal gift, then I’m not sure I want to see what is.”
“It’s not . . . he didn’t . . .”
Both men shook their heads, the motion eerily alike. Sam handed back the slipper he had taken. “He might not have written the words in his letter, but I think his intentions are clear.”
Noel cocked his head to the side. “Do you think they are wearable?”
I dropped both slippers in the box my brother still held and rested one hand on Sam for balance, kicking back my left foot until I could reach my silk slipper. Pulling it off, I took one golden slipper from the box and slipped it on. The bit of chain that secured the ends of the straps to the rose buttons dangled loose, but the slipper fit perfectly.
I grabbed the other one and hurried over to the settee. Sitting carefully, I secured the straps on the first slipper and donned the second. When I looked up, Noel stood in front of me, holding out a hand. I accepted his help and stood.
Now I was ready for the ball.
Thirty-Two
Alan
