I took a step back and observed from outside the circle. I hadn’t expected many children at court, not given Lily and Sophie’s dislike of it, and I was surprised to see them surrounded by boys and girls their own age. I wondered why they never talked of any friends.
Only a few minutes observation served to enlighten me. Lily and Sophie never relaxed but maintained the formal masks they wore around strange adults. The other children, however, were trying much too hard. Straining to entertain and engage the princesses. It was clear from their behaviour that they were completing a disagreeable duty. I suspected they had been instructed by their parents to make a royal connection.
Lily and Sophie were polite but not effusive and the children quickly gave up, breaking into smaller groups. I could see that these children had their own complex social structure and that the princesses somehow stood outside it. Slowly, Lily and Sophie inched their way away from the other children and came over to stand next to me.
I looked down at them with slightly raised eyebrows.
“We hate fakeness,” said Lily, quietly but fiercely. “None of them wants to be friends with us for us.”
“And we don’t need them,” added Sophie, “we have each other.”
“They might not all be so bad,” I said. “You should give them a chance.”
“We already have,” said Lily. “We like you best.” She smiled up at me and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Although Georgiana isn’t so bad,” said Sophie fairly. “And Thomas is alright.”
“But not when their parents are watching,” said Lily.
“No,” sighed Sophie. “Normally they don’t make us come here,” she explained to me. “Most of the other kids are better when the adults aren’t around.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I guess all those other children know something about pressure, too.”
“I suppose so,” said Lily thoughtfully, “that’s what you meant earlier, about understanding people, isn’t it?”
“That’s part of it,” I said with a smile. “You should go back in there and talk to them. That’s the best way to observe.”
The girls exchanged a glance and then nodded their agreement. Slowly they drifted back over and were absorbed into one of the groups. I watched them, proud of their progress and sad to see them robbed of a normal childhood.
My eyes wandered away from the children and I noticed a young woman watching me intently. She was a tall, beautiful brunette and looked like she was in her early twenties. I couldn’t read her expression and wondered uneasily if I should go over and talk to her. Something about her bearing, and possibly the exquisite beauty of her dress, made her intimidating. I stood there debating with myself for so long that she turned away. I breathed a cowardly sigh of relief.
“Princess Companion?” The sharp voice behind me made me jump. “Alyssa? You will let me call you Alyssa, I hope.”
I turned around and found myself confronting a blonde girl about my own age. Her features were as sharp as her voice but she had a good figure and carried herself as if she was beautiful. After a few moments I found myself tricked into thinking of her that way.
“I’m Lady Marissa Edgewaring,” she said and held out her hand as if she expected me to curtsey over it.
I just stared at her in surprise and after a moment she let her hand drop.
While she had been talking a group of other young nobles had congregated behind her. A quick glance around told me that everyone below the age of twenty-one was now standing in this corner of the room. I spared a glance for the princesses and saw that they were still safely ensconced with the other children.
The group in front of me was mostly made up of girls and I was surprised at the gender imbalance until I remembered Max’s hunting trip. There were two young men left but neither looked like the hunting type. One, blond haired and boasting incredibly fine features, was more intricately dressed than any of the girls. He looked like he was in his element here, surrounded by a group of girls, many of whom kept throwing him admiring glances. The dark haired boy looked like his complete opposite. I was pretty sure the presence of so many girls was terrifying him and he kept shooting desperate glances at one of them. From the family resemblance, she was clearly his sister. In response to his anguished stare, she took a firm grip on his arm. I wondered how long it would be before he managed to escape our group altogether.
The girls were harder to classify. To begin with, there were more of them, and they stood grouped together in a way that said ‘we belong together and you do not’.
“We’re so delighted to have you join us,” said Lady Marissa with a sweet smile. “But the herald seems to have made a mistake – he didn’t announce your full name – and we’re all dying to know what family you’re from. Aren’t we ladies?”
She glanced around the group for support. It was obvious from her tone and expression that she knew perfectly well what my background was.
This reception was so exactly what I’d been expecting that I would have laughed if I hadn’t felt so much like crying. I had worked so hard to find my place at the Winter Castle – it was frustrating to have to start all over again now. For a moment I felt angry at Max for going off and leaving me to face these girls alone. Then I remembered that he owed me nothing. This was my fight and if I couldn’t succeed on my own I didn’t deserve a place here.
“You wouldn’t know my parents,” I replied, “but you might have heard of my aunt, Corilyn. She runs the Blue Arrow.”
“Runs the Blue Arrow?” echoed Lady Marissa in feigned astonishment. “Your aunt runs an inn?”
“Not just an inn,” I said with a smile, “the biggest inn in Arcadie.” Let them see that I was proud of my aunt, not ashamed. “And it’s so nice to receive such a warm welcome,” I added.
I looked enquiringly at the girl standing closest to Lady Marissa. She reluctantly introduced herself as Clarisse Winters and the others took the cue and began to introduce themselves too. The peacock boy was called Rivers and the shy one was Allen.
Most of the girls blended together except for a redhead standing at the back of the group. She was so tiny that I hadn’t seen her at first but she pushed through to introduce herself as Lady Elizabeth.
“But most people just call me Beth,” she said with a tentative smile.
I gave her a big smile back and resolved to find a chance to talk to her without the other girls around.
Unfortunately Beth was the only glimmer of hope I received the whole afternoon. Some of the group wandered away but Lady Marissa stuck by my side and continued to gently interrogate me. All her comments were made with the same sweet smile and fake tone and I found myself biting back my temper more than once.
I was determined not to let her see me crack so I was relieved when Lily caught my eye and gestured that they were ready to leave. I excused myself to the young nobles and the three of us made our escape.
“Well, how did you go?” I asked the girls.
“It was alright,” sighed Sophie, “but tiring.”
“Do you think we could go up to our tower room now,” asked Lily. “The one where no one is allowed to disturb us?”
“Absolutely!” I said with a smile. “And after the efforts you made today, I think some cushions will be magically appearing in your empty tower.”
Both girls smiled and Lily began to hint that her favourite colour was blue.
Chapter 16
I encountered Lady Marissa again the next morning on our way down to breakfast.
“Good morning,” I said in response to her greeting. “You’re here early.”
“Here early?” she repeated blankly. Then she gave a little trill of laughter. “Oh Alyssa, you didn’t think we all spent the summer with our families did you? Believe me, the winter is quite long enough for that. My family does have a town house in the Nobles’ Circle, of course. All our families do. Oh, except for your family, I do beg your pardon.” She smiled brightly at me. “But most
of us young ones would rather stay up at the palace. This is where all the excitement is happening and their majesties are so kind about letting us each have a suite of rooms.”
I remembered Max’s comments about Nate and Felix having rooms at the palace and kicked myself for my forgetfulness. Knowing I would be tripping over Lady Marissa for the next eight months did nothing to improve my mood but I forced a smile anyway.
Before I could think of a suitable reply, Lily piped up.
“You seem familiar,” she said and then paused to look at Sophie who squinted in concentration.
“One of the Edgerton girls, I think,” she prompted her sister.
“Oh that’s right,” said Lily, “Lady Marissa, isn’t it?” She smiled at her brightly and held out her hand.
Lady Marissa smiled with less enthusiasm than usual and dropped her hand as soon as she had finished her quick curtsey.
“We must be going, though,” said Sophie. “Mother and Father are waiting for us. Come on Alyssa.” And grabbing my hand she led me away.
I threw a smile and a quick wave over my shoulder at Lady Marissa. As soon as we rounded a corner I gave both girls a quick squeeze.
“Thanks for that,” I said, “but I can take care of myself, you know.”
“We saw the way she was treating you yesterday,” said Lily darkly, “and Max told us to look after you, remember.”
“It’s very sweet of you but I don’t want you two making enemies for my sake.”
“But it’s not just for your sake, Alyssa,” said Lily. “My family chose you, my Father asked you to be Princess Companion. If they disrespect you, they disrespect us. It’s not enough just to be liked. We have to be strong too.”
I stared at her in considerable surprise. “That sounds very wise,” I said. “Where did you learn that?”
Both girls rolled their eyes at me. “We are princesses, you know,” said Sophie. “We’ve had a whole lifetime of listening to royal conversations at meals. We do pay attention sometimes.”
Lily laughed at my expression and then they both ran ahead into the breakfast room. I was left standing in the hallway, shaking my head in astonishment.
After three days, I was convinced that Lady Marissa spent all her time lying in wait for me. I could barely step out of the princesses’ tower without running into her. Sometimes she was alone, sometimes Clarisse or one of the other girls was with her. I concluded she must have begun a sort of guerrilla campaign to get rid of me.
Striding through the palace on the fourth afternoon since the court opening, I was ready to scream. Lady Marissa, Clarisse and two of the other girls had turned up in the large park behind the palace where the princesses and I had our daily ride. Before her appearance, the rides had been a much-appreciated escape from the restrictions of palace life. The necessity of pulling Starfire into a sedate walk and making insincere chitchat had made me want to throw something.
“Princess Companion?” The quiet voice behind me pulled me to a stop.
“What!?” I snapped, wheeling around.
To my surprise it was the tall brunette I had noticed at the court opening.
I flushed. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I was expecting someone else. Can I help you?”
I held out my hand in a friendly way and she came over to me and shook it warmly.
“I can imagine who you were expecting,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “I’m Lady Helena, Baroness of Lilton by the way.”
I looked at her with surprise. So this was Gretchen’s sister-in-law.
“I just wanted to apologise to you,” she continued.
“Apologise to me, Lady Helena?” I asked. “Whatever for?”
“For Gretchen,” she said. “This whole situation with Lady Marissa is her fault. She spread all sorts of stories about you when she got back to Arcadie. She made you sound like an arrogant social-climber who had somehow got her hooks into the royal family.” Lady Helena smiled apologetically. “Even I believed her at first. But I’ve been watching you since you arrived and you don’t seem to fit that description to me.”
“Gretchen!” I exclaimed, “I should have known.”
“She wasn’t so bad when we were little,” said Lady Helena. “But ever since I married Gregory she’s just gotten worse and worse.”
I looked enquiringly at her and she explained.
“Our family is barely part of the gentry. It was a very unequal match but we were in love,” she smiled reminiscently, “and the nobles have come to accept me. Whatever I was before, I’m a baroness now.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately they don’t extend the same entree to Gretchen. And she just can’t accept that.”
So she was Gretchen’s sister, not sister-in-law. That explained a lot. I had been wondering why a baron’s sister was excluded from the nobles’ social circle and left to be a governess.
“Whatever Gretchen’s done, it’s not your fault, Lady Helena,” I replied. “In fact, I’m grateful to you for keeping an open mind.”
“Please, call me Helena,” she replied.
“And please call me Alyssa,” I responded.
“Well, Alyssa, I wanted to invite you to a small gathering at my home tonight,” said Helena. “There won’t be too many of us, and Lady Marissa will not be there,” she added with a smile.
“That’s very kind,” I said. “I’d love to come but it will depend on whether I’m needed for the princesses.”
“Oh, just come along whenever they’re in bed,” said Helena. “Direct the coachman to the Baron of Lilton’s town house. They all know where we are.”
“Thank you,” I said, “I’ll definitely be there, then.”
It turned out to be as easy to find her townhouse as Helena had indicated. When I had asked the queen for permission to go out in the evening she had insisted that I not only take the entire night off but that I take one of the many carriages kept at the palace for royal excursions. And the coachman had indeed known the directions to the house.
When the carriage pulled into the large circular driveway of Helena’s home, I took several steadying breaths. The house was one of the more beautiful I had seen in the Nobles’ Circle and was made of a soft red stone. It was surrounded by extensive gardens but I couldn’t see any details in the darkness.
I quickly made my way to the front door which was opened by a somber butler. A footman sprang forward at once to take my cloak and the butler then ushered me into a bright sitting room. He announced me and then fell back and I got my first glimpse of the other occupants of the room.
I was instantly glad I had decided to wear the light blue court dress again. The rest of my new wardrobe was still being adjusted and the blue dress was the only nice one I owned. Even so I was the most simply dressed person in the room.
I recognised the exquisite Rivers and Lady Elizabeth, who once again pressed me to call her Beth, but the others were unknown to me. Helena introduced me to them, starting with her husband Gregory, Baron of Lilton. He was some years older than her, in his late twenties or early thirties and I realised that all the other guests were older than the young nobles I had met at the court opening.
Fortunately for me, they all seemed more inclined to follow Helena’s lead than Lady Marissa’s and treated me with friendly ease. After only a few minutes I began to relax and to turn my attention to the conversation being led by Gregory. He was discussing some of the issues facing the kingdom and I noticed that both the failed harvests and the bandits were hot topics. Their comments made me think of the drunken men in the Blue Arrow and I listened to their various suggestions with interest. After half an hour, I was even participating and making suggestions of my own. It felt like I was back in the library at the Winter Castle, discussing foreign relations with the king, except that I knew almost nothing about farming or keeping the peace. I resolved to get back to my studies as soon as possible.
When refreshments were brought in and the conversation broke up, Rivers wandered over to me. Thankfully, I was now so com
fortable that I was able to answer his exaggerated compliments with a laugh.
“You really can’t be serious,” I said. “My hair has as much copper in it as gold.”
“Pure gold, I absolutely insist,” he said seriously, and I laughed again. “Beth, come and back me up. I’m assuring our newcomer that she is the most gorgeous vision of femininity that I have ever encountered. Such green eyes! Such golden hair! Such wondrous grace!”
Beth skipped over to us but rolled her eyes at him. “Rivers, you are eternally ridiculous. I’m sure you were telling me only yesterday that a serving girl you met in a tavern was ‘the most gorgeous vision of femininity you ever encountered’. You really need to get some new lines.”
She smiled up at me, inviting me to share her friendly disdain.
“I can see Alyssa has already worked out she shouldn’t believe a word you say.”
“Alas,” sighed Rivers, “no one appreciates me.”
“You know better than to come to one of Helena’s gatherings looking for appreciation. You want Clarisse and Mildred for that,” said Beth scornfully.
“Ah, but I want appreciation and intelligence,” said Rivers.
Beth laughed. “I’m afraid that’s a combination you’re not likely to find anywhere.”
Rivers reached forward to whack her but she danced out of his reach.
“You see how maligned I am, Alyssa,” said Rivers mournfully, “I’m off to find the divine Helena. Perhaps she will treat me with more kindness.”
And with an airy wave, he drifted away.
I watched him go in mild astonishment. “Is he always like that?” I asked Beth.
“Absolutely,” she replied. “But it’s all a game to him. He likes to admire women and he likes to be admired by them even more. There’s no real harm in him, though.”
“I was a little surprised to see him here,” I said tentatively.
“Oh, he’s much more intelligent than you’d expect,” she replied. “You just have to get past his vanity. Helena only ever invites the good ones. Which means you mustn’t be anything like Gretchen said.”
The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea (The Four Kingdoms Book 1) Page 15
