The King's Lover
Chapter 86: A Letter to the Crown

Chapter 86: A Letter to the Crown

The third day arrived faster than Rose wanted. She spent the first part of the day cleaning after the night before. Esme had been too tired, so she had done most of the cleaning by herself, along with Beth. Kali had gotten up to make breakfast, and as soon as she ate, she returned to bed.

By noon, Lady Delphine had woken up and had immediately started the lessons. This was her routine for the few days she had been in Lady Delphine’s manor. By the evening of the third day, she was with Lady Delphine in her room as usual, but instead of the usual lesson, she watched as Lady Delphine skillfully wrote a letter that would be sent to the crown prince.

Rose was sitting beside her as Lady Delphine dipped the quill in the tiny bowl of ink and scribbled on the sheet. However, not a single word made any sense to her. She did recognize a few letters, but everything else was pretty unfamiliar.

Rose could tell it would still take a while for her to read, and she was determined to learn. Pissing the crown prince off was not the way to go, and no matter what she did, he didn’t back off. Maybe it was time she did as he wanted, and maybe things might change.

She also needed to equip and prepare herself. Having someone like Martha, who wasn’t even royalty, pick on her with her and not being able to do anything about it was not something she could allow to go on any longer, especially when she was almost sold off because of this. She didn’t think it would change her status in the castle, but she didn’t want to be known as just a peasant whore.

She also knew that if she came back to the castle, the crown prince would be the least of her worries. The one who wanted her out would find ways to make sure she got rid of her. Rose was worried about that. If only the Queen disliked her less, surely they could have come to a decision.

She also wanted to leave the castle and have nothing to do with the crown prince, but unfortunately, her father’s life was still on the table, and she knew the crown prince would take back his pardon without hesitation.

Lady Delphine raised her head from the dining table to look at Rose, who sat next to her. "Is there anything you’d like me to add?" she asked, peering at Rose’s face.

Rose shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. "As long as ye tell the—"

"You," Lady Delphine corrected with a stern look on her face.

Rose nodded. She had been distracted and stressed by the fact that she was truly going home today, that she had forgotten the majority of her lessons over the past few days. It was a lot harder than she had thought it would be, but Lady Delphine would always say encouraging things to her, and she was able to pick some things up, but remembering to say them was a whole different story.

"I am sorry," she replied.

"You don’t have to apologize. It’s expected that you’d slip now and then. You have been speaking in that manner all your life. It is not easy to drop a habit. Go on then, what was it you wanted to say?"

Rose cleared her throat and started again. "As long as you tell the crown prince ’ow you found me, I am fine with that."

"You’re really worried about that?" Lady Delphine asked.

Rose nodded. How couldn’t she? She knew exactly what the crown prince was like. She was still on the castle grounds, and he had whipped her when she had disappeared from his room, not believing that she had slipped into the secret passageway. She couldn’t begin to imagine what he would do now that he thought she escaped.

"I have explained the entire situation, though I may have given a little too much detail than I needed to, but if it will make the situation a lot better for you, I do not mind."

Rose blinked. "I don’t think I could ever thank you enoug’," Rose started to say. "You ’ave no reason to ’elp me."

"On the contrary. I have every reason to. You’re in the castle, you’re close to the crown prince—it would be stupid of me to not take advantage of the situation," Delphine smiled.

Rose didn’t say anything to this. She simply nodded her head. She didn’t think Lady Delphine was helping her out of selfishness. She knew it didn’t matter who she was—Lady Delphine would have helped her if she could. .com

"Still," Rose replied, "I am grateful."

Lady Delphine narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze away. "Would you like me to read it out loud?" she asked.

Rose shook her head. Hearing the details would make it more real. She trusted Lady Delphine and knew she wouldn’t write anything that would sabotage her.

"Nay," she said. .com

"What did I say about that, Rose?" Delphine asked, jerking her head from the paper to Rose. fre ewebno(v)e\l.(c)om

"No," Rose said, correcting herself. "I forget sometimes." She looked away from Lady Delphine as she was a little embarrassed.

"And I said that wasn’t a problem, as long as you make sure to correct yourself. The only way you’ll speak better is if you try."

Rose nodded. She wasn’t anywhere near the goal, and three days certainly wasn’t enough to change, but at least she felt better and a little more confident.

"Well, if you have nothing to add, I better send this."

Rose nodded. Lady Delphine had decided to say the truth of when she bought her, even though Rose had been against it. But Delphine had insisted that if the crown prince found out they were lying, he would likely not believe anything else.

"Do you really think he would believe I was sick?" Rose asked. This was the excuse Lady Delphine gave for not informing the crown prince beforehand about Rose.

She didn’t approve of this and would have preferred if Lady Delphine told the crown prince she found her the night before, but Delphine was adamant about it, as she insisted the masked auction wasn’t a secret and the crown prince would find out if he asked around.