Page 109 of Enchanted Kingdom
He bowed and gave me a slight smile. “Fair point. I shall return shortly.”
Not knowing what else to do, I headed in the direction of my window. It was a crutch of sorts now, but I didn’t care. A girl had to do what a girl had to do in this damned castle.
“Hello.”
An older man with a white beard and a walking cane was standing before me. He didn’t exactly look friendly, but he was clearly speaking to me.
I smiled nicely at him. “Good evening.”
He took my hand and brought it up for a kiss, tapping gently with his middle finger underneath my hand.
Now I knew exactly what that meant. I tried not to let my breath catch or gasp with surprise. “Nice to meet you,” I finally managed.
He gave me a nod. “Likewise. My name is Hatcher Ellsworth. I serve on parliament for Wylan.”
So we had a disloyal in parliament? I did my best to not outright laugh. “Oh. That is most respectable, Mr. Ellsworth.”
He shook his head. “Oh no, darling. You must call me Hatchet instead of Hatcher. Everyone else does.”
I gave my head a shake. “I cannot, Mr. Ellsworth. Not when you do something so important andvaliantfor our country.”
Was there a double meaning in what I had just said? Hell yes there was.
He tipped his drink toward me. “I adore you already, clever girl. Welcome.”
Did he mean welcome to the ball or to the disloyal? I wasn’t sure but I found I was smiling all the same. “Have a good evening, Mr. Ellsworth.”
He snorted in disgust. “At this ball? As pompous and peacocky a thing such as this?” He leaned in to whisper, “I’d rather be reading.”
I wrinkled my nose and leaned in just like he did. “I rather agree.”
Then we both laughed.
“I have a lot of questions about parliament,” I said honestly. “You’ll have to humor a simple Nerede girl some day and answer a few for me. If you’d be so kind.”
He reached out and patted my hand. “Darling, I think we will be seeing each other more often now.”
I didn’t miss his double meaning either.
I smiled. “You have been a pleasant surprise, Mr. Ellsworth.”
“You as well.” He gave his head a shake. “You as well.”
I continued to my window and found Rinaldi there waiting with my water.
“Unbelievable,” I heard muttered just as I took a look out the window.
I spun to find Keir behind me.
“What?”
He tipped his head to the side. “Well the way you look tonight, firstly.” He stopped to press his lips together. “Secondly, you had Hatchet laughing with you in five minutes or less?”
“Well was I not supposed to?”
He shook his head and let out a laugh. “No. He’s an old grump.”
Now I was shaking my head. “No he’s not. Don’t be rude.”
