The Queen and the Quisling

Chapter Nine: The Visitation

"Excuse me Princess, but a visitor has just approached the castle gates. Are we to let them in?" A palace guard asks me the following morning while my maids are fussing over me. 

"Ah yes, let them pass through, I'll be down shortly" I reply, a glint of mischief sparkling in my eye as I stand up to start towards the door. 

"Princess, your hair isn't finished yet!" Caroline exclaims as I stand up from my vanity chair and start towards the door. I turn my head towards my maids, catching a glimpse of my unruly hair in the mirror, then I switch my gaze to look at Caroline. 

"No need for that" I reply curtly, turning back around and starting towards the door of my room. 

I can feel the shocked gazes of my maids drilling into my back as I exit my room and I smile, beginning my descent down the staircase. I make my way through the gardens to the front gates of the castle, where a sleek black carriage is being pulled through the gates by two black horses who's coats look just as shiny as the carriage they pull behind them. 

I stand at the entrance to the gardens, patiently waiting for the carriage to come around the roundabout and park right across from the path I stand in. The coachman steps down from his roost, tying the reins of the horses tightly to the carriage, then proceeding to open the door of the carriage to reveal my visitor.

 As she steps out gracefully, the tails of the skirt attached to her corset are picked up with the brisk breeze and her hair being tousled by the wind doesn't seem to bother her. She wears tight black leather pants along with her cropped skirt and shiny black heels that accentuate her high arched feet. Her gaze wanders as she takes in her surroundings and stops abruptly on me as we lock eyes. 

"Duchess" I say, greeting her with a soft nod. 

"So we meet again" She responds, slowly sliding her gaze up and down my body to take in my figure. 

"You clean up nicely" She adds. 

"I should hope so. But let's skip the pleasantries. Follow me this way" I respond, starting down the garden path to the castle. 

The Duchess and I walk side by side as we enter the castle, drawing the attention of everyone around us as we ascend the staircase and enter the drawing room which has been set up for tea. My maids await us as we enter the room. 

"Girls, you remember The Duchess?" I ask them. 

"Yes ma'am. Milady." Meredith says as we enter the room, curtsying to the Duchess. 

"A pleasure" The Duchess says formally. 

Meredith pauses briefly, shocked to be addressed by The Duchess herself, but she quickly snaps out of it. 

"Ah. Your seat Milady" Meredith says, pulling a chair out for The Duchess to sit in.

 The Duchess nods thankfully and sits down, crossing her hands politely in her lap. I sit in my own seat across from her. 

"Thank you for the help girls, we'll take it from here" I say, dismissing my maids. 

They all curtsy and leave, starting to close the door behind them. 

"Ah, don't bother with the door." I tell them. 

They all glance at each other in a brief moment of confusion but don't further question my orders and dismiss themselves. 

"So" The Duchess starts, taking a sip from her tea cup daintily. 

"How exactly do you plan on taking down your father?" She asks. 

"I was hoping you'd ask that" I smirk, sliding a piece of paper with my plan on it over to her across the table. 

She sets down her tea cup and picks up the paper, her expression instantly changing as she reads the paper. She looks up at me with a surprised expression once she's done.