Page 38 of The Midnight Blizzard
“That isn’t a question I need an answer to. I won’t be competing.”
“I won’t make you wear them for long; it’s just to check and see that they fit.” Jack looked so proud of his creations and so eager for my help that I couldn’t say no.
I slipped off my shoes and left my stockings on. I went to reach for the slipper, but Jack pulled it back. “You have to have bare feet to see if they’re warm or cold.”
I eased off my stocking.I don’t love Stephen, I told myself firmly, praying that the shoe wouldn’t be warm the second time I touched it.I don’t love him; it will be cold.
To my dismay, the shoe instantly felt warm the second my toes came in contact with it. Jack looked up eagerly. “Warm or cold?”
I faked a shiver. “Very cold.” As quicky as I could, I removed the shoe and handed it back. “That will be the perfect test for all the girls.”
Jack looked confused. “It felt cold to you?”
My anxiety grew. Why would he be confused? He surely couldn’t think I had feelings for Stephen. “Extremely. Girls could get frostbite wearing shoes like that.”
Jack examined the shoe I’d handed him, his features twisted in suspicion. “It felt warm to me.”
“Ooh, maybe youarein love with Stephen,” I teased, desperate to move the conversation in any other direction. Had it turned warm simply because Stephen and I were friends? Was the coldness supposed to occur with anyone who had animosity toward the prince? Because I saw him as a friend, did that make my feelings more genuine than other girls? If Jack discovered that the slippers were warm for me…thank goodness I was going to withdraw, and the sooner the better at this rate.
Jack shook his head. “It felt warm. Maybe I did do the spell wrong.”
“I’m not in love with Stephen,” I assured him.
He continued to look suspicious, and I looked out to check the sun’s position, but it was still covered by the heavy grey clouds threatening a blizzard.
“I need to go; Valencia and I are planning to take the bill to the king soon and I know you have to head over to Fayrond. I’ll see you later when you get back. The slippers look beautiful. You did a wonderful job.”
“I’ll see you tonight at the ball, then,” Jack said, replacing the slippers on the shelf and locking the cabinet again. “I can’t wait to hear all about the bill signing. I wish I could be there for it.”
“I wish you could, too.”
A sudden crunching of footsteps and the scrape of the door latch made us spring away from each other. It was simply a page boy with a scroll, which he handed to Jack before promptly leaving again.
“Just a correspondence to the lord there that I need to deliver,” Jack said, tucking it into his inside coat pocket. “But this time of year, the village is only accessible by dog sled, so I was elected to take it.”
“If you wait until I withdraw, I could come with you,” I offered. I didn’t want there to be a doubt in Jack’s mind about where my affections were directed, not after he’d felt the slipper warm to my touch.
“I have to go now in order to make it back by the ball’s opening,” Jack apologized. He led his dogs to the barn door and pushed it open. “Good luck with the meeting!”
Valencia answered the door at my first knock. She was dressed so lavishly that I barely recognized her. Her auburn hair was piled on top of her head in an elegant braided updo and her cosmetics has been applied so carefully that she appeared fifteen years younger.
“Noelle, darling,” she said in her fawning voice, curling her lip back to reveal her teeth. “I was starting to wonder if you’d forgotten or if you weren’t as interested in your handsome advisor as I’d thought.”
I longed to throw back a retort but held my tongue. If she was telling the truth, then dealing with my stepmother for a short period of time would be worth it. Jack and I would be able to be together, and that was worth enduring anything.
I forced my face into a smile. “I’m glad we can agree on this. Shall we?” I gestured at the hallway.
Valencia called a farewell to her daughters, who were already in the early stages of preparing for the final ball, and trotted down the corridor next to me.
“The will is all ready to be handed over as soon as I hear that you’ve withdrawn,” she said, a cheery, singsong quality to her voice that still made chills run up and down my body.
“I’ll only withdraw if this is valid,” I reminded her, nodding at the document.
“Oh, it is. I told you that your father and I were working on it for years before he passed away, and I was finally able to secure the final signature besides ours just a few days ago. His Majesty the king will be so thrilled to hear we succeeded at last.”
I nodded, but my apprehension remained. I couldn’t think of anything else to say to Valencia as we wound our way through the castle. She must have wanted very badly for one of her daughters to win and really feared that Stephen would pick me if she was willing to give so much. I ought to be grateful.
The large double doors to the throne room were guarded by two soldiers in metal armor, crossing their spears to bar entry to any uninvited visitors. The chamberlain checked his list of appointments when he heard our names. “Yes, I have you here. The king and queen will see you now,” he said, turning to nod at the guards to open the doors, who uncrossed their spears and grabbed the handles.
