“So, shall we move on to the next step?”
Amira’s mouth dropped open.
“We.” She said “we.”
‘My lady included me in “we”!’
So moving was she that tears almost welled up in her eyes. Amira decided to designate today as her own celebration day. It was a historic moment.
Unaware of Amira’s feelings, Ariella pulled out a document with the names of the servants from her drawer.
“I think we need one more maid to start the plan. Have you ever talked to Courtney?”
“Uh, is just me not enough…?”
Courtney, I will kill her. Amira harbored murderous intent.
“Of course it’s enough. But this time, we need someone for a slightly different purpose.”
Ah, for that purpose. Amira nodded in relief. Thanks to that, the twenty-one-year-old maid Courtney was spared from the threat of death.
“It says here that she has a loose tongue and is easily swayed. She’s not firmly on Lizzy’s side yet, but she’s leaning that way. Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. The public opinion about you is good, so she’s been going back and forth, but if someone from the other side recruits her, she’ll definitely be an easy target. She’s the type that values profit over loyalty.”
“Then can you drop a hint to Courtney? I need at least one more maid to serve me.”
“Yes. The scope of work should be such that she isn’t right next to you, but in a position where she can overhear your actions or words.”
“Okay.”
Ariella smiled contentedly and nodded. It was nice and convenient that she understood right away.
Not only that, but Amira was also quick in her work.
The next morning, the gray-haired maid Courtney came to greet Ariella, saying she would now serve her.
Ariella was surprised by how smoothly everything was progressing and looked at Amira, who shrugged as if it were nothing.
If only everyone worked as well as she did.
Unfortunately, there were more slow people in the world than quick ones.
A prime example of that was Lord Wrexham.
‘With only two weeks left until the ball, he still hasn’t sent a gift. What is he doing?’
Could it be that he figured out my thoughts and decided not to send a gift?
No, that couldn’t be. Ariella had clearly seen the expectation that rose on his face. He was harboring the foolish hope that he could marry the Princess of Bedford.
Lord Wrexham was simply procrastinating. He was giving Lizzy time to choose, so that after prolonged contemplation, she wouldn’t make a rational decision.
He was acting all high and mighty, but it seemed he was secretly worried about being overshadowed by Aaron.
‘The contact I wasn’t waiting for comes so quickly.’
Ariella let out a small sigh as she stared at the letter lying on the table.
An envelope with no family crest or any decoration. The only thing written on it was the name of the recipient, Ariella, and the initial ‘A.’
There was no doubt about who ‘A’ referred to. Duke Ashbon. He was the one who had sent the letter.
It was fortunate that she had given Amira a heads-up; otherwise, it might have been mistaken for a suspicious letter and ended up in the hands of the Duke of Bedford.
‘Even if my father saw it, he probably wouldn’t have any particular suspicions.’
The content of Nobert’s letter was very simple. Without any greetings or embellishments, just one sentence was all it contained.
[Do you have any use for it?]
At first glance, it looked like a letter from a tailor eagerly waiting for a customer, which made her smile.
In return for making her smile, Ariella quickly wrote a reply.
[Yes, madam. I’m fine for now. I will contact you again when I need a dress.]
To turn the great Duke Ashbon into a tailor’s wife. It seemed a bit excessive, but it couldn’t be helped, especially to prevent any potential theft of the letter.
‘Now that I will be living with Courtney, I need to be more careful.’
So please refrain from contacting me as much as possible. Ariella murmured in her heart as she handed the neatly folded letter to Amira.
Little did she know that the moment she needed a dress would come so quickly.
The attitude of the servants towards Ariella noticeably became kinder after the counterfeit theft incident.
“Did you feel a twinge of conscience after hearing the young lady’s words?”
Amira seemed to think that the servants felt guilty after hearing about the hardships Ariella had endured, which led them to change their attitude. However, Ariella had a slightly different opinion.
Those who had been sneaking food away from her and deliberately bringing her cold bathwater would not suddenly develop a kind heart just because they heard such stories.
They had simply realized something.
