Disclaimer: I own none of these characters.
Char had been dancing with Lela all night. Unfortunately he had to socialize with the rest of his guests so at the moment he was dancing with the not so smart Olive. Though he was dancing with her, his mind was with Lela. Lela was so nice, caring, smart, and so could speak Athoryian. Even though she always wore her mask, he suspected she was beautiful. She reminded him so much of Ella.
'No don't think of her! You promised yourself that you would forget about her,' Char thought. 'I wonder since Lela is so much like Ella, if Lela is not who she really seems, if she only likes me because I am really rich, and the prince, like Ella did.' Thinking of Ella, he turned his attention back to Olive and asked, "How is your step-sister Ella?"
"What? Oh Ella. She's fine." Olive answered absentmindedly. "I hope she is still up to make a cake for when I get home."
"What do you mean?" Char asked suddenly curious.
"I just mean that I hope that when I get home Ella will be awake so that she can bake me a cake."
"Why is Ella here in Frell and not off with her husband?" Char asked with urgency in his voice.
"Ella isn't married." Olive laughed, "She's not even being courted. Mother won't let her until she Hattie is married." It was frowned upon if the eldest daughter was not married first.
"So Ella is not married or betrothed?" Char asked as the song ended and they finished dancing.
"Nope." And with that she curtsied and went over to the food table. Char would have left then and there and gone straight to Ella's manor had he promised not to sing tonight. It was also Lela's last night here and he wanted to be able to say goodbye.
He was so confused, why had the letters Hattie and Ella sent him say that she was married? He sighed until he heard a commotion on the far side of the ballroom.