♦YOU MUST HAVE READ THE PREQUEL, THE GOLDEN DUCHESS, TO READ THIS BOOK!♦
BEWARE--spoilers in this blurb, for those who have not read previous books! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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The world is upside down, and those you thought you knew... you no longer...
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Though her emotions calmed the next day, Prudence's pain and confusion from her mother's secrets didn't relent. She paced in her chambers, refused her usual cup of coffee, and panted out strained breaths as she unfastened her much-too-tight white and pink bodice.
Nothing worked—not the silence, or the breeze from the open window, or the cold floors under her bare feet.
She'd finally learned to trust her brother, but now she couldn't trust her mother. A woman could carry many secrets; but secrets such as these, relevant to other people, with such heavy implications, were dangerous. Pauline hoarded them with a smile.
"I must get her to talk." Prudence punched a fist into her palm, and cringed as she fell onto her bed. She sat, caught her breath, and remembered the letters under her mattress. "Before he gets here."
She had little room to judge; she had secrets, too. The King of Totresia was on his way, and she was likely the only one conscious of it, and hadn't warned anyone. Romain would have said something if he'd been privy to the news, she had no doubt.
Had Antoine replied to his proposal, accepted to give him Julia? Was that why he came—to deliver her, and nothing else? Or was there something more?
Did Antoine have any clue of her regret, her guilt? Would he plot to take her away from Giroma, unknowing that she already felt the impulse to leave? And if he tried to, would she let him?
Their potential confrontation made her stomach growl. Not from hunger, but from fear and worry. A deep-seated conflict raged in her mind. She had too many questions, too little answers, and no means to communicate with anyone without causing discord. Lying to her brother, thinking of attacking her mother with queries—were these acts of betrayal? Treason?
She groaned. She'd pushed him away, been horrible to him—nevertheless, Antoine was rushing to her.
"I must speak with Romain."
She ignored the pang in her pelvis as she meandered to her closet for stockings and shoes. Once decked in her fineries, she glimpsed her reflection—and frowned.
"No... it is Mother I must speak with, first." She squared her shoulders and glowered at herself. "Before Romain. She knows too much and shares too little."
As she exited her chambers, she considered enlisting Sarah's help—but earlier that morning, the girl had been distressed at being dismissed one time too many. She'd marched out grumbling about never being able to fulfill her lady-in-waiting duties, and hoping things would change.
"I will not bother her," said Prudence to herself, opting to shimmy past the woman's quarters and not make her aware of her intent to locate Pauline. She could have helped, with her vast knowledge of the castle and its hideouts, but Prudence needed to do this on her own.
