The knocker clanged loudly against the door, and our footman, Howard, went to answer it. A messenger stood in the doorway, holding a folded piece of parchment, which he handed to Howard, before bowing and striding away.
The footman narrowed his eyes at the letter and then walked into the other room. I watched him go from where I'd been reading in the parlor room, which happened to be just off the foyer. I'd chosen the parlor to read in because it was too cold to read outside, but there was a large patch of sunlight coming from the window in the parlor. So, I'd curled up on the settee in the sunlight and had been reading my book.
It was two days after William had practically scared me to death by breaking into my room, and I had not been to meet him since. I was still working on how to get past Mother, since I knew she would be expecting me to sneak out again.
"Who was at the door, Howard?" I heard Mother ask from the drawing room up the stairs. Every morning at half-past ten, she would drink a cup of tea in the drawing room. It was a very familiar part of her routine. If she missed her midmorning tea, she was very grumpy and unpleasant—well, more so than usual.
I heard Howard reply, but it was too quiet for me to understand what he said. And then my mother answered much louder. "Really? Tonight? That's so soon! Thank you, Howard. Please tell Erika to come to the drawing room. You are dismissed." I heard the rattling of the tea cup hitting the saucer.
A moment later, Howard entered the parlor, where I was still sitting on the sofa. "Miss Lovet, your mother has requested your presence in the drawing room immediately."
"Thank you, Howard." I said, rolling off of the settee. I stretched, attempting to rid myself of the sluggishness that plagued me, before setting my book down and heading for the drawing room to meet Mother.
She was sitting in a chair by the fire, holding her cup of tea. I entered the room and stepped out of the way of the door. "Good morning, Mother." I greeted pleasantly.
She nodded her head to me in acknowledgment of the greeting.
A moment later, Alice entered the room, looking lovely as always, in a pale pink gown with sleeves that stopped just before reaching her forearms, and a full skirt. Her blond hair was curled tightly and draped over her shoulders, quite elegantly.
"Good morning, Alice," Mother said, smiling faintly.
Alice nodded her head. "Good morning, Mother." She replied.
I sighed and turned to Mother. "You called on us?"
She nodded, setting her tea cup down on an end table, her face turning severe. "His Majesty, the king, has invited our family to the palace to dine with them tonight."
"So soon," commented Alice, looking a little surprised.
"I know." Mother said. "But this will be good for you. You can have some time to chat with Prince William, and your father and I can talk to the king and queen about marriage arrangements."
Alice bounced up and down excitedly, somehow making it look graceful. "That sounds wonderful!"
"Yes, I knew it would, dear. Go start getting ready. Wear something that will blow the prince away." She grinned at her eldest daughter with something akin to adoration in her eyes as Alice flounced out of the room. Then she turned her eyes on me. "And you," she said, somewhat harshly. "You are not going to ruin this for her. You will be polite and well-behaved, and you will hardly speak. Understood?"
There were so many ways I wanted to reply. But all I said was, "Yes, Mother."
She nodded curtly. "Good. Now, go get ready to go. Dress nice, look presentable."
I nodded my head, suppressing my anger as I turned and left the room to go to my own chambers. I waited awhile before getting ready, because I did not think it would take me nearly as long as it may take Alice.
Agnes came in some time later, followed by the small group of girls that set the washtub in the bathing room and filled it with buckets of warm water. After I'd washed and dried off from the bath, Agnes dressed me, tying the laces on my bodice as tight as always for this sort of event. She curled my hair and pinned part of it up in a bun at the back of my head and let the rest fall loosely around my shoulders and down my back.
She stepped back, making sure I looked all right and then beamed at me. "Lovely, as always, Miss."
I blushed at her words and smiled. "Thank you, Agnes. You do such an amazing job putting me together."
She looked down at her feet, her face turning a bright shade of red. "Thank you, Miss. You are too kind."
I smiled at her and then turned and walked downstairs and outside to where the carriage was waiting.
Walter stood outside of it, waiting to help me into the carriage, which he did. Father was already sitting there and a moment later, Mother was sitting beside him. Alice took a little longer but then she stepped into the carriage, much more gracefully than I did, I noticed.
During the carriage ride, Mother went over some rules about etiquette and manners that we'd already learned, but she felt the need to emphasize.
And she continued to mention that I was to stay quiet during the dinner, unless I was spoken to, that is. That this night was for Alice, not me. And I continued to agree to her terms, if just to appease her and make her leave me alone. I had brought a book, after all. I probably would not interact much anyway.
I knew we were going to meet the king, but I had been told to stay out of the way. So, I would do just that.
When we reached the palace, we were escorted by guards to the king's formal dining room. It was larger and more ostentatious than I liked. A beautiful rug sat beneath the oak table. Tapestries lined the walls, illustrating stories from thousands of years ago. From the ceiling hung an ornate silver chandelier, wrapped in strings of diamond. The chair that King Henry sat in was entirely made of gold, designs etched into the surface.
On the dining table was a very extravagant feast, much too large for seven people. Braised lamb, stuffed turkey, roast boar, beef stew, loaves of bread, platters of sugared plumbs and pears and peaches, pastries drizzled with honey or coconut oil and powdered with sugar . . . there was so much food. We couldn't possibly even eat half of it all.
The king was already sitting at the head of the table, Queen Alexia sat on his left, and William sat on his right. I entered the room, but William did not look at me as I entered. He was looking at my sister, his eyes alight.
My heart twisted inside of me at the sight of him looking at her so. My sister, Mother, and I curtsied before King Henry, as my father bowed low until we were told to rise and to sit. Alice took a seat beside William, and I sat across from her, next to Queen Alexia. Mother sat beside my sister and my father sat at the other end of the table, directly across from the king.
King Henry served himself, which was permission for each of us to serve ourselves also. Slowly, gradually, conversation started up. Across the table, Father and the king began talking about marriage arrangements, while Mother listened. Alice and William began speaking to each other across from me.
I stared down at my plate, picking at my food in silence.
"Why are you so quiet, dear?" a gentle voice said from my right.
Surprised, I turned to find Queen Alexia watching me with curious sapphire eyes, the same as William's. "Mother told me to be." I answered honestly.
She raised a perfect, dark eyebrow at my response. "Oh? And I am guessing that you are Lady Erika Lovet, the second daughter of Lord Lovet?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, that would be me." I smiled timidly at her.
She smiled back and I noticed how absolutely beautiful she was. She had long, dark hair, that was plaited, and intelligent blue eyes that seemed to see everything. Her fair skin was completely flawless, without any blemishes or marks. She was petite, with small hands and a small figure, but she sat straight, holding herself with all the power and authority that was owed her, as queen.
"Well, you are very beautiful, Lady Erika." She commented, making my face heat up.
I bowed my head, humbled by her kind words. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your kind words humble me."
She laughed softly: a delicate sound. "I can see why my son would be taken with you."
My eyes widened slightly at her words. "I do not think Will—His Highness—is taken with me at all." I said respectfully, glancing over at William and Alice, who were deep in conversation. He laughed at something Alice had said, and my heart twisted again.
"I know my son, Lady Erika. I would say he is taken with you. I do not think he would go out late at night to meet just anyone." She said, her blue eyes watching me for my reaction.
Surprised, I looked up and met her eyes. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, how did you know about that?"
She laughed again. "I know everything, dear. We have informants that keep tabs on people. They've kept me informed, telling me about his midnight walks with a mysterious girl, how he's brought her to his room . . ." this one made me blush a deep shade of crimson. "Apparently, they've been spotted in the library together, too. I discovered recently that her name is Lady Erika Lovet of Locksley." She raised a delicate eyebrow at me.
I smiled sheepishly up at her. "You are not wrong, Your Majesty."
"I know I am not wrong." Her eyes sparkled with that same mischief that I spotted in William's eyes on occasion. "However, I am pleased that he has found someone like you and not a prostitute on the street to take company with."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am pleased with that, as well." I replied.
"Good, then we are in agreement. But, whether you marry William, or your sister does, we will be family." She said. This thought made me feel a little bit miserable, knowing it would probably be Alice that would marry him and I would still have to see him on holidays.
And then she added: "Personally, I hope he ends up marrying you." The words were so quiet, that I barely heard them. She may not have even spoken them at all, but then, she winked at me, smiling faintly. And I knew that she had spoken, and her words gave me a little spark of hope, that maybe things would turn out for me, after all.
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This was the end of chapter nine. I hope you like the story so far! If you see anything that is a mistake or grammatical error, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what needs to change.
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P.S. Just a reminder: I know I've published this on the website, but I am still going to edit it just as I go, because I am still working on it. I haven't even finished writing it yet :P