Rose and the Lost Princess

by Holly Webb

  Princess Charlotte, luckily, seemed rather pleased to have a secret, although she did keep dropping rather frightening hints, and Rose had to bribe her with sugared almonds, doled out one by one from a supply procured by Freddie. Her supposed sister had a particular weakness for the pink ones, and Rose rather liked them too, though not as much as her favorite chocolate satins. She had to eat them secretly though, as it was well-known that the princess did not have a sweet tooth.

  The accuracy of Rose’s glamour was thoroughly tested the next afternoon, when Jane’s dress for the banquet was brought for its final alterations. The princesses had their own seamstress, and she had clearly been working on this creation for a long while.

  “I can’t think what’s happened,” she muttered anxiously, as she slit a seam to let the bodice out, carefully unpicking the threads so as not to shred the crystal embroidery that covered the pale pink silk in flowery swirls. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I was sure it fitted perfectly last week. But there’s a good half an inch needed between those fastenings.”

  “Too many sugared almonds,” Gus murmured very quietly from behind the curtains, and Rose scowled at him over her shoulder while trying not to move for fear of being pinned. He was quite capable of speaking to her silently, but he liked to court discovery by whispering. Lady Alice kept almost catching him and giving him the most worried looks. He watched her meaningfully whenever she was in the same room, which meant she tried to stay away from him, which Rose found very useful.

  “Will you be able to finish it in time?” Rose asked.

  “Oh, yes, yes, of course, Princess Jane!” Miss Bullerby was on her knees anyway, tugging at the silk as though she thought it might have got caught up somewhere, and the missing half an inch was going to miraculously reappear. But the pose made her look remarkably like she was begging for mercy. It was horrid, and Rose had to resist putting out a hand and hauling her up.

  “I promise you, it will be perfect for tonight. I shall go and do it now. It will be perfect!” She stared up at Rose, her mouth full of pins, and her eyes wide with panic.

  “I didn’t mean…” Rose trailed off, realizing that Jane probably would have meant it that way. Her seamstress had made a mistake (one that was rather unflattering), and she would expect it to be sorted out at once. Rose had been feeling sorry for Miss Bullerby, as she knew quite well that she and Mr. Fountain and Freddie and Gus had just misremembered how plump Jane was around the ribs. She fell silent and sucked her stomach in as much as she could to be helpful.

  “Don’t do that,” Gus breathed. “You have to wear that dress for a three-hour banquet tonight. You need room.”

  Rose grimaced. Despite the fact that she was being fitted with a dress for the banquet, she was trying not to think about it. It was all very well spending the last two days reclining on the sofa, but she had to be a princess tonight. A princess who was the center of attention and, horror of horrors, actually had to make a speech.

  Miss Bullerby disappeared with an armful of pink silk and a haunted expression, leaving Rose to the mercy of the hairdresser. She had had to wear curling papers all day and was desperate to take them out, but the sight of a basketful of pink rosebuds and a tray of skewering hairpins was not exactly encouraging.

  Gus leaped into her lap as she sat down in front of the dressing table mirror, and Charlotte dragged up a pretty gilt stool, which looked as though it might not have been made by a sailor.

  “Are you going to put Ro…” Charlotte trailed off and giggled. “Jane’s hair up, Miss Trout?”

  “Half up, Princess Charlotte. Ringlets down the back and woven with rosebuds. Her Majesty thinks you’re still too young to wear it up all the way.”

  Rose nodded. It made the roots of her hair ache, and she shot a warning glare at Charlotte, who smirked knowingly. She knew her secret was important and mustn’t be told, but she adored having it, and she couldn’t help teasing about it every so often. Rose bit her lip, looking at herself—her temporary self—in the mirror. Charlotte was still only a four-year-old, even though she was an incredibly grown-up little girl. It would be so easy for her to forget and just blurt the secret out.

  Rose hadn’t seen Mr. Fountain since the day before, when she’d left him inspecting her carpet. She supposed he wouldn’t usually meet Princess Jane, but she hated not knowing what was going on, whether he’d come any closer to finding her. Freddie had been no use at all when he crept into the suite that morning, trying to dodge the ladies-in-waiting, whom he said gave him the shivers.

  He’d shaken his head when Rose asked for news, shrugging helplessly. “It’s all tied in with the winter magic, he’s sure of that. And he thinks it’s more than one person, a lead magician with a gang of helpers. Very organized. But he hasn’t got any further than that yet. He’s exhausted, Rose. He’s been trying so hard.”

  Lady Alice had returned just then and glared disapprovingly at this boy in her princesses’ rooms. And a boy who was one of those untrustworthy magicians as well…Freddie had been forced to pretend to be teaching Rose to disappear an egg, and the egg had most unfortunately broken all over the sofa. Freddie had left in disgrace, and since then Rose and Gus had had no news at all.

  Now, in the middle of the hairdressing, Gus’s back stiffened suddenly, his whiskers trembled, and he turned on Rose’s lap to look up at her with deep excitement in his eyes and, disconcertingly, a tiny hint of fear. He’s found them! he told Rose, his thoughts humming with excitement and his paws kneading her skirt compulsively. They’re still in the palace. I don’t believe it. He doesn’t know who they are, but he can feel they’re here.

  Rose felt her fingers clench into little claws of panic. She hadn’t considered before what the kidnappers must be thinking. There was someone else who knew she was an impostor. What if they came back for her? Her heart thudded painfully and she looked from side to side, instinctively trying to guard herself.

  “Your Highness! Please don’t twitch like that!” No one would ever snap at Princess Jane, of course, but Miss Trout came awfully close, as Rose nearly ruined her hairstyle.

  “I’m sorry,” Rose muttered through her teeth, trying to breathe calmly, her fingers tangling in Gus’s fur until he hissed disapprovingly. Stop that! We will not let them hurt you. You’re safe.

  Rose looked down at him doubtfully, but his strange mixed eyes glowed with confidence and love. She stroked him gratefully, feeling the strong magic from his fur pulsing through her fingers and deep into her heart. She had never felt so clearly that Gus did love her, for he was a sarcastic, grumpy creature, with a wicked sense of humor, and he didn’t like to make his deeper feelings known.

  “There!” Miss Trout stood back proudly. Rose looked up at herself in the mirror and smiled to protect Miss Trout’s feelings. She didn’t feel like smiling; it was still too odd to look at her reflection and not be her. But Jane’s hair did look pretty. It had been almost worth the curl papers.

  Miss Trout and Lady Alice buttoned Rose into the complicated petticoats—edged with crystals to match the dress—and Miss Bullerby brought the dress back, looking worriedly at Rose in case she’d managed to grow another inch around since the last fitting. Oddly enough, it now seemed slightly too big, and Gus admitted silently to Rose that he had tried to adjust the glamour and might have exaggerated slightly. Still, the sash pulled it in, and only Miss Bullerby would notice. She kept staring at Rose’s waist and muttering to herself while Lady Alice arranged the princess’s magnificent rose pearls.

  “Your father was so clever to find you these for your birthday,” she murmured admiringly. “And to give them to you in advance so the dress could match them. Inspired.”

  Rose had never had a birthday present, as she didn’t know when her birthday was, but she couldn’t help feeling that she would have preferred a surprise on the actual day. Charlotte had been begging her to open the pile of presents in the drawing room
all day, but she was supposed to wait until after the banquet, which seemed to be her official birthday. It was all very grand and rather cold. But the pearls almost made her consider staying a princess. She had never seen anything so lustrous, and they felt alive against her skin. She was sure that her cheeks grew pinker when she put them on, and they didn’t feel magical.

  She was still admiring them when the page boy scratched at the door to ask if he could admit Freddie and Bella. Lady Alice tried to say no, but Rose ran into the drawing room without listening and threw her arms round Freddie.

  “Don’t!” he muttered, wriggling away. “Jane would never do that. Rose, let go!”

  “What are you doing here? Have you got news? Gus says Mr. Fountain’s found them!” Rose asked, leading them to the window seat and beckoning Charlotte to come too. Lady Alice hovered by the door with her lips pursed.

  Freddie cast a doubtful glance at Charlotte, and Rose put an arm around her little sister. “She worked it out.”

  “She’s kept the secret,” Gus agreed in a purring whisper, rubbing his head against Charlotte’s stockings. “She should be allowed to hear what’s going on.”

  Freddie nodded. “We don’t know anything more. We’re only here because Bella’s father said we should come and help you keep up the glamour. He thinks with everyone staring at you tonight, it will wear down faster and you’ll need us to stop it slipping.”

  “Slipping?” Rose asked in a sharp voice, imagining Jane’s features sliding down her face and leaving her own nose bare underneath. “What does that mean?”

  Freddie shrugged and looked at Bella. “You’d just start to look more like you. Your hair would get dark again to start with, probably.”

  “In the middle of the banquet!” Rose moaned faintly.

  “No, silly, because we won’t let it,” Bella told her in a no-nonsense voice that Rose suspected she’d learned from Miss Bridges. “Papa is starting to suspect that I can use my magic after all, and so—”

  “Starting to suspect!” Freddie scoffed. “He knows, Bella. Miss Bridges told him you levitated Susan!”

  “Oh, well done!” Rose said gratefully.

  Bella stared at the ceiling with a saintly expression on her face. “Susan tripped and most unfortunately fell down the stairs,” she recited, as though she had said it several times before. Then she glanced wickedly at Rose. “Strangely, just after she’d called me a spoiled little princess. Sorry…” she added, looking at Charlotte.

  Charlotte only giggled. “I wish you could teach me to do that.”

  “She wasn’t hurt, was she?” Rose asked, feeling a little guilty.

  “No, but the tea service is coming out of her wages, and it was the Meissen,” Bella gloated.

  “Oh, Bella!” Rose protested. “It’s so pretty, and it was a complete set!”

  “It isn’t now.” Bella sniggered. “Oh, come on, Rose, Susan’s horrid to you. Why are you fussing?”

  “It just doesn’t seem fair,” Rose muttered. “She’s scared of magic, that’s why she’s so mean.”

  Bella sniffed. “So she should be. Stop being feeble. Are you ready for tonight? We can’t sit very near you, but Papa says you should at least be able to see us.” She sighed. “There wasn’t time to have a new dress made, and this velvet is old.”

  Bella was wearing a wonderful green and gold dress that Rose had never seen before. It was almost as rich as her own, with its seed pearl collar.

  “You need to be going down to the Cascade Hall now, Your Highness.” Lady Alice bustled over importantly.

  Rose gave Freddie a panicked look and jumped as something tiny ran up her sleeve. She thought for a moment of horror that it was a mouse, but then Gus spoke in her mind. Don’t hit me! I’m hiding in your sleeve. You’ll need me there, and I don’t think even Princess Jane could get away with taking me to a state banquet.

  Rose peeped up her sleeve under the guise of checking for her handkerchief and smiled at the tiny, finger-length white cat clinging to her deep lace cuff. I didn’t know you could do that.

  The world is full of things you don’t know, dear Rose. Good luck. And don’t wave at anyone.

  Fourteen

  The Cascade Hall was a new addition of the king’s, which Freddie and Bella had told Rose about. She had a vague idea of what it would be like, but even the grandeur of the public corridors hadn’t been anything like this. Rose could understand why Mr. Fountain made rude remarks about the palace being gaudy and tasteless, but this room full of sparkling light and water took the breath out of her mouth, and for half a second she forgot she was an artificial princess and simply stared.

  “Her Royal Highness, Princess Jane!” a liveried butler roared, and Lady Alice nudged her forward.

  Gulping down her fear, which had returned with a rush, Rose fixed on a royal sort of smile and walked slowly toward the top table, where Gus had warned her she would be sitting.

  Luckily there was some excuse for her wide-eyed look. The centerpiece of the room, now arranged with a horseshoe of tables surrounding it, was a miniature waterfall, cascading into a mother-of-pearl pool, surrounded by tiny, jeweled trees. And in honor of the princess’s birthday, the water had been dyed a delicate pink.

  The king and queen were waiting for her, and her three older sisters. Rose hoped she didn’t have to talk to them. They were so similar, she was sure she would call them by the wrong names. The king smiled fixedly at Rose and led her toward a small, rather plump man, with amazingly white teeth and a scarlet silk waistcoat adorned with hummingbirds. Across the waistcoat ran a blue sash covered in sparkling medals and orders. He was talking animatedly to the gang of courtiers around him, but when Rose approached, he bowed to her deeply.

  “Your Highness. My country is most sensible of the honor you do us with this kind invitation to your—little party.” He waved a delicate hand, somehow managing to include the cascade and the throng of glittering guests in this strange description.

  “Jane, this is Lord Venn, the Talish envoy.” The king’s voice was tense and low.

  Rose curtseyed back, looking at him under her eyelashes and noting how he in turn was watching the king, trying to see whether he’d succeeded in upsetting the man he was supposed to be courting for the emperor. Rose began to feel that the Talish envoy might not actually be as keen on a peace agreement as everyone thought.

  Lord Venn took her hand and lifted it to his lips. Rose repressed a shudder of distaste but couldn’t stop a sharp intake of breath as he touched her skin. She could feel the magic running around him, a sour fizzing that made her hand sting. She forced herself to smile, instead of snatching back her hand. Could he tell that she too was a magician? No one had mentioned to her that he was. Did they not know?

  Rose tried to look around for Freddie and Bella as she listened politely to the stream of flowery compliments that the Talish envoy was addressing to her. She spotted them at last, standing together halfway down the room, but she couldn’t catch their eyes.

  Gus, did you know he was a magician? she asked anxiously.

  No, and neither did the master, Gus snapped back. You need to concentrate.

  Lord Venn was looking at her rather oddly, and Rose smiled sweetly at him. He had been speaking in English, but his accent was strong and she hadn’t understood it all. Smiling seemed the safest thing to do. She made herself listen more carefully now, desperate not to insult him by accident. This banquet was so important. She’d gone through this whole charade for the sake of the next few hours. She felt as though she owed it to Jane to do it properly. Politely, she asked Lord Venn if he had any children. She knew quite well that he did; Lady Alice had told her so she could use them in conversation.

  As the envoy enthused to her about the beauty of his little girls, the king and queen decided to sit down, so of course everyone else did too. Lord Venn and his entourage sat opposite Rose a
nd her parents, but luckily the king and queen didn’t seem to expect her to do more than smile.

  He keeps staring at me! Rose thought urgently to Gus. Don’t you think so?

  The tiny cat was now hiding in the little arrangement of pink flowers next to Rose’s plate, and he peered cautiously around a rose.

  Yes. And you haven’t done anything wrong, wonder of wonders. Yet.

  Can he see the glamour if he’s a magician? Rose asked.

  He shouldn’t be able to. Not unless…

  What?

  Unless he already had some reason to suspect you…

  He knows, Rose told him, crumpling her napkin.

  You could be right, Gus conceded.

  A page served her a portion of salmon—which had Gus leaning most incautiously out of the roses—and Rose was hidden from Lord Venn for a moment. She seemed able to think better without those strange sparkling medals filling her eyes and distracting her from looking at him properly. He was definitely suspicious, and if Gus, ever critical, said she hadn’t betrayed herself, then she believed him.