The Golden Flower (#1 in the GOLDEN series) ✔

•T H R E E•

The girl, innocent though she was, recently caught on to how the courtiers of the Totresian royal court disliked her. She saw them turn their noses up in her presence, spin on their heels when she walked into a room with her chaperone or governess, utter falsely polite greetings while clenching their jaws in disgust. Clémentine reassured her more than once that they meant no true harm, but since the disastrous introductory Ball—where some called her low-born scum, and others fretted over her potential royal French origins—the bad aura surrounding the poor child never faded, and it became hard not to notice.

I am thankful she was too young to remember that Ball and how awful it was...

Discomforting tingles trickled down her neck. She had two boys already, and by how she carried this child, her ladies and staff assured her she'd have another. Marguerite filled the void she had no clue existed until a few months ago—her desire to have a girl, pamper and spoil her, teach her the ways of Totresian royalty. And Marguerite, so intelligent, following orders with such diligence, behaving as a proper growing lady should, charged her heart with unconditional love.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," said Alice, sinking into a brief curtsy, tearing her gaze away to rest it on the slumbering Marguerite instead. "What do you tell her when she becomes too inquisitive?"

Sweat clustered on Clémentine's forehead, concealed under her hair as it tumbled near her brows. "Ah, she does often plead for details. The older she gets, the more she wants to know."

She sensed her legs weakening beneath her heaps of heavy velvet skirts. She'd asked her seamstress to create lighter dresses for her pregnancies, but it seemed the woman couldn't help but coat each gown in intricate patterns and layers that weighed the Queen down.

As a good lady should, Alice detected her despair. She dragged a cushioned chair up behind her, and aided her to sit. "Thank you, Alice," the Queen said, tone strained as she fought to adjust her posture. Pregnant she was; but no one would catch her slouching. Her tutors had taught her as much the moment her engagement to Edouard became a reality. "Our stories differ. I usually tell her she is French, like me. That the accident was a tragic mistake, but we do not question the Lord's decisions."

"Does she sound French?" Alice kneeled by her Queen, focused on the girl's slow and subtle breaths.

"Oh, non, she was far too young to manifest accents or dialects when we discovered her." At last, Clémentine's spine settled against the chair-back in a way that allowed her comfort and poise. "She spoke a few garbled words, but nothing that might help us find her identity. She now speaks in perfect English, like all Totresians."

"And you..." Alice lowered her voice, as if wary Marguerite would hear, though feigning sleep. Clémentine knew when she faked; she'd giggle upon realizing someone watched her. The Queen almost laughed at the image. "You still have no clue where she hails from?"

Clémentine kept her irritation from the new lady-in-waiting. She harbored years of frustration and questions she never received answers to. It wouldn't be fair to force the young woman to endure her tantrums. "My husband told me little, I am afraid. We obtained no news on missing envoys or emissaries or nobles from any country near ours." She fought the urge to bite her lip to keep it from curling. "I suspect Edouard knows more than he lets on. But he keeps us in the dark for her safety. For our safety."

He ensures we remain ignorant.

She narrowed her gaze on the ornate nightstand beside Marguerite's canopy bed, where her vase of lilies and tulips and roses started to wilt.

Him and his secrets... but I always spot the truth.

"Who am I to question him? He brought her to court, ensured his nobles understood her position, made them sign paperwork to swear they would accept her as Totresian." A tiny kick in her stomach caused her back to arch, so she placed a palm over the spot and closed her eyes. "I tell you this for educational purposes, Alice, I hope you recognize that. All my ladies are privy to these details; do not think yourself more knowledgeable, all right?"