On my way to the front of the house, I turned a corner around some well-trimmed bushes, and crashed into a couple of patrolling guards.
For a second I worried I would have a problem. Would I be able to fend off two trained guards the same way I'd fought off a handful of frightened maids? But the two of them hesitated nervously when they realised who they'd run into. The older one stared, mouth hanging open, and the younger - a gangly teenager in too-big armour - gave me a flickering, nervous grin.
"I guess my reputation precedes me," I sighed, brushing off their half-hearted bows, and continuing towards the carriageway. I was grateful they hadn't attacked me, but instead of going back to patrol the two of them fell in alongside me.
"Young Miss..." the older, middle aged man, muttered nervously, "We - we were informed you were in the rose gardens...you shouldn't be wandering around the estate alone, it's -"
"I live here, can't I go where I want?" I asked dismissively, knowing very well what the answer was, "I'm just heading back inside, so don't worry. Are you sweating? I'm not a rabid animal, you know," I huffed.
"Oh, it's not that -!" The younger guard insisted with a tittering laugh, easily keeping step with me, "-we just have important guests today, so his Lordship said we shouldn't let you -"
The older guard shushed him so quickly, and was sweating so badly now, that I thought he might have an aneurysm. Did I really make him that nervous? What could Evra have possibly done to the guards in the past to frighten them so much? And what did he mean 'important guests'?
"Shouldn't let me what?" I asked.
Before he could explain, we came up to the front carriageway, and my question was answered.
Just inside the wrought-iron main gates was a beautiful carriage with a couple of handsome blond horses attached. On the door was a golden crest that I recognised. A four-pointed star encircled by a halo of light.
The symbol of the Imperial family.
Oh.
So the Duke hadn't let me into the garden for good behaviour, he wanted me out of the house in a secluded place to make sure I couldn't cause a scene in front of polite company.
I turned to the two guards who had followed me; only the older one had the good sense to look panicked. Based on my father's treatment of the kitchen staff, I knew that he would blame them for not enforcing his rules before he blamed me for disobeying and showing up in the house when I shouldn't have. If the Duke found out they were the ones who didn't stop me after I escaped from the gardens...
"Don't worry," I said with a frustrated sigh, digging in my pocket and producing one of my handkerchiefs, "you never saw me. I must have gotten out before you two started your rounds, otherwise you most definitely would have stopped me from going into the house, right?"
I offered the handkerchief to the older man. I was annoyed, but it's not like it was his fault. He, at least, hadn't tried to restrain me and drag me away like I'm sure the Duke wanted him to.
It was the bare minimum of decency, but I should at least afford them the same.
"...Thank you, Young Miss..." he mumbled, an indiscernible confusion pulling at his features. He took the handkerchief and mopped his face tiredly.
"You should get back to your patrol."
The two of them gave me a salute, exchanged a brief glance, and then headed off quickly.
When I got to the front doors, it was the head butler who opened them for me. One of the Duke's personal servants, an clean-shaven old man with long golden chains hanging from his half-moon glasses. I searched Evra's memories for a name and found 'Samuel'. Since he was one of my father's men, I decided I should be polite but firm.
"Young Miss."
"Samuel."
He hesitated in the doorway.
"I was informed you would be...enjoying the rose gardens this afternoon," he said.
"I must have gotten lost. All of the sudden I found myself at the front of the house."
"...I see." Samuel gave me a brief once-over, a frown creating even more wrinkles on his face, "Shall I have your maid draw you a bath?"
"No thanks. I'm going to see my father," I said briefly, and pushed past him into the main hall.
He didn't try to stop me, he even gave me a courteous bow at the waist, but I heard him muttering to a couple of servants as I left. They would tell the Duke before I could get to him. But that didn't matter. No one could stop me now.
Not even the Crown Prince of the Empire.
I saw him as he descended the stairs into the entry hall, followed by his attendant knight. He was the official love interest and male lead of the novel, so of course I remembered very well what had been written about him:
'He presented just as grandly as the high arching marble ceilings and the long, rich carpet of deep crimson. His long hair - pulled away from his face in a ribbon - shone as golden as the sconces that flickered and danced with light. Handsome and striking in his royal garb: braided epaulettes with silken ties, and a long royal blue cloak hung with cords and pinned in place with a jewelled clasp. The golden star of the Empire, the Crown Prince.'
That's how the author introduced him, but from what I had read of him afterwards, he was fantastically average in pretty much every way. A decently skilled swordsman, but not the best. An adequately handsome guy, average intelligence, polite and charming enough. The only thing he managed to surpass everyone else in was the sheer size of his ego.
I paused halfway down the front hall and dipped into a deep curtsy; head bowed, elbow tucked in at the waist - just like my book had taught me. My dress was scruffy and dirty and my hair was probably a mess, but I knew that the greeting I'd been practising was perfectly executed.
"Oh my," the prince murmured in a teasing lilt, raising an ivory-gloved hand to his chin, "And just what do we have here? It seems an errant wildflower has fluttered in from the garden."
"It is my honour to greet His Royal Highness, Prince Orion Roswald," I answered.
Comments (0)
See all