~ Seventeen - Season V ~

I stood and waited for them to speak their minds.

But instead of doing so, they remained silent. Bethilda’s ladies lowered their heads and their eyes never left the floor.

“I heard everything that was said,” I continued. “You shouldn’t be afraid to tell me your thoughts. I will listen and I will do whatever it is that I can do to help.”

One of the ladies stepped forward and curtsied quickly. She said, “With all due respect, Your Highness, we prefer to stay with our mistress. She has been our family for years. And should we return to our own families, we will be disgraced.”

“We much prefer to be imprisoned with the duchess than to be sent back home,” another added.

The rest of them spoke out of turn, talking over one another.

Bethilda cleared her throat as she turned to her ladies. They immediately stopped talking. She turned to face me. Her eyes, however, were still fixed on the floor. Bethilda began, “Since you already heard everything, I will not take so much of your time.” She lift