15. Whose Favorite?

What a fine day it was. Aurora had not been this happy in days. After so long, she finally felt like she belonged somewhere, and was accepted. And of all people, it was the Empress Dowager that made her feel like that, the family matriarch.

Tesarius will be so happy once he finds out!

"Tesarius will be delighted to know the Empress Dowager likes me, won't he, Anne!?" Aurora asked enthusiastically, but all the girl could offer was a thin-lipped smile. She wanted to believe so, but a nagging voice in the back of her head said otherwise. That something was definitely amiss. Meanwhile Amy held back a laugh, not wanting to catch unwanted attention, for she already knew Anne was catching onto them.