Jane had never been more excited to see the estate gates. She welcomed being home with her brothers and Eloise.

"You must promise to never send me to be with Aunt Camille again. She is a lovely lady with plenty of wisdom, but I have to say she doesn’t have control of our dear cousins. Do you think I will be that way? For me to not know how to be a mother since I didn’t know my own?" Jane asked, wary.

"You are not Camille, and as long as you spend time with your children, you will be a good mother. For now, you are too young to be concerned about children," said Damien.

"Right now, I think I do not want any at all. I suppose I will need to surround myself with other children. When are you-"

"Don’t question me about my private affairs," Damien said, silencing Jane.

"Fine. Then answer me this. Do you think your children will be fine? Not spoiled or wreak havoc like our cousins. If it helps, your younger siblings have turned out well. Well, Quinn and I did. There is no helping Kyle," Jane said, confident that Kyle was doomed.

"I do not think of how my children will be because they are not here. It is a thought I will have later in life. If you behave at dinner, then I will allow you to visit a friend, but you will need to be accompanied by a guard," Damien offered.

"Dinner will go smoothly. I will go inside and apologise to Eloise right away. Oh!" Jane gasped, surprised to see Eloise be the one to open the front door. "Did you plan this? Did you make her wait by the door?"

"I didn’t," Damien answered.

When the carriage came to a stop, Damien stepped out, leaving Jane to fend for herself as he walked to the front door to greet Eloise.

"Is there trouble?" Damien asked, inspecting the letter in Eloise’s hands. He noticed the royal seal.

"I have been invited to the palace for a ball. There is one with your name," Eloise said, handing Damien the envelope. Eloise was stunned to see her name on an envelope sent from the palace.

Eloise knew being Damien’s wife would open new doors for her, but it hadn’t crossed her mind that she would get to see the inside of the palace. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Damien took the envelope from Eloise, but didn’t open it.

Eloise sensed there was reason not to be excited. "Do you not like it? Is it bad to receive an invitation?"

"It is good, but I assure you there will be trouble at the ball," said Damien.

"Ball?" Jane’s voice came from behind Damien. "What ball? Are those invitations to the palace ball? You must go. Brother, she must go."

"If there will be unwarranted drama and trouble, then I will not go. It has never been in my plans to attend a ball at the palace," Eloise said, losing interest.

Jane’s mouth hung open as she could not believe her ears. "It is not easy for even the most influential families in town to receive an invitation. You have only just stepped out into the town. It wouldn’t be wise of you to reject an invitation from the palace."

"Brother," Jane said, turning to Damien. "I know you hate the palace, but you cannot deny that there will be gossip if she is not present, and it is known she received an invitation. At the very least, you must show your face, greet the royals, and leave if you wish."

Eloise looked at Damien for him to decide. "If you have enemies in the palace, I am not eager to attend. I prefer the comfort of the estate."

Jane smacked her face.

How was she to get along with Eloise when Eloise didn’t know the importance of attending a ball in the palace?

"I don’t like to go, but it would work in your favour to attend. Besides, the king and queen will trouble us until they get to see your face. We may attend," Damien decided with a groan. "But we won’t stay for long."

"Finally," Jane said, thrilled the palace would not be against the Hawthornes. "You will need to find the perfect dress. You cannot go to the palace in simple attire. It is the most grand event of the season. If you are fortunate, you will be welcomed back to sit with the queen."

"Perhaps you should attend in my stead," Eloise suggested. Jane was the only one excited.

"If I could, I would. I will do you a good deed and write descriptions of the most admired dresses worn to the palace. You will need to go to the finest dressmakers in town. Excuse me," Jane said, pushing by Eloise to go inside.

"She is quite excited," Eloise noticed.

"She was meant to be apologising to you," said Damien.

"It can happen when I see her later. For now, we should let her be excited. Did she share why she asked you to come for her so soon?"

"I knew our cousins would make her appreciate home. I have changed my mind. I do not want you visiting Camille’s home until her children become more well-behaved. I happen to like you being in one piece and sane," Damien said, unwilling to support Eloise this time.

"Then I will write to your aunt and let her know that I cannot go to her home," Eloise replied, not wanting to start a disagreement. "She will have to come here, and alone it seems. Are your cousins truly so awful?"

"They are. Even their parents don’t know how to keep a good hold of them. It was a nice gesture for you to want to sit with them. It is the thought that counts, but I’m not sending you there to be ripped to shreds," Damien said.

"I will send a gift as well to make up for not going. How bad is the palace? I don’t have the faintest idea what occurs there," Eloise said, more worried than she was before.

"As long as you stay close to me, you will be safe. I am not thrilled about you sitting with the queen. If she asks you to meet with her, I will turn down the invitation and be the one to bear her anger. You’re better off making friends around the town and staying out of the palace," Damien advised Eloise.

"To know that you don’t like going there, I am a bit wary of the palace. I will think positively about being able to see what it looks like. I’m satisfied with this lone achievement," Eloise said.

"Brother! There you are," Kyle’s voice spoiled the moment. "I want to have a word with you."