Chapter 99: Planning a ball.
"Oh-oh!" Mauve exclaimed and closed her eyes for a moment, she had heard that tone and those words many times before. Rarely did a reminder from Mrs. Elsworth end in a hug and happy tears, for her it usually ended in a punishment like the confiscation of her cooking tools.
Mrs. Elsworth was direct, with her head held upright. "Crown princess you have been wed for three months and you have not thrown a ball. You and the crown prince are already whispered about as a couple with an uneasy relationship. You have not been seen together for more than an hour at a time in public.
The crown prince however has been seen in miss Emmah’s company, he has carried her...."
"She had fainted." Roland lashed out loudly in frustration, defending his actions.
Sigrid put her hand on his bicep, "Calm down, my love."
Roland’s knights and servants were expecting him to do something else, break the table at least but none of that happened. Instead, he took a deep breath and calmed down easily.
Mrs. Elsworth meanwhile was unperturbed by the outburst and she went on with her words, "he was seen draping his cloak over her, her gave her his gloves and touched her cheek."
Sigrid pulled her hand away and pinched him. "You touched her cheek!" she exclaimed.
She did not know about the public cheek touching, it was a rather unwelcome surprise. Even though she knew that it was the doing of the halo, she couldn’t help being angry with him in that moment.