Anne was true to her word, allowing me to clean myself up and borrow a blue paisley dress. It was terribly ill-fitting thanks to my extra height and the blue was much more flattering for her brown hair and blue eyes, but it was better than my sodden riding dress.
I didn't dally in the royal quarters and neither did Anne, rushing off with Miss Claridge to meet her mother for tea. I didn't dare attend for fear that my hemline in the too-short dress would further spark the queen's ire, so I made my way back to Ella's suite, bypassing as many main corridors as I dared. When I found the rooms empty, I was sorely tempted to sneak down to the library, settling instead for changing into one of my own properly tailored dresses and reading one of the few books I'd brought with me from Hargrove. A maid stopped in while I was reading, dropping off a few letters addressed to Ella. When she'd left, I'd inspected them, but they were all sealed and I didn't dare break them open. I had a dreadful feeling that my leaving with the princess would not sit well with my cousin.
The return of the debutantes from tea was heralded by the echoes of conversation and laughter down the hallway. I'd nearly fallen asleep from boredom, shaking myself awake as the suite door opened.
"...off to, for you know she-" Emily was saying, holding the door open for Ella, only to cut herself off as she spotted me.
"You're back," Ella said, looking me over. I'd had the forethought to change back into the dress I'd worn to the queen's salon in an effort to dissuade too much questioning about my morning.
"I do hope I didn't offend by leaving, but the princess was adamant," I said, standing. Ella looked at me thoughtfully.
"Of course not," she said finally, Emily waiting with bated breath only to huff in disappointment.
"If anything, Libby's being friendly with Anne will only help our cause," Rosanna said, leading Ella into her room, "But we mustn't waste any time preparing for dinner. I'll go check the dresses,"
Rosanna had made it a habit of checking Ella's closet every time she returned to the room, especially following the rumors of Ashley's ruined wardrobe.
"Letters have arrived," Emily said, sifting through them before she brought them to Ella. She barely looked at me, clearly annoyed that my cousin had so easily let me off the hook. I swallowed, wondering if this reprieve from disappointing my cousin would last.
"Oh excellent," Ella said, as Emily set the letters down in front of her. She made quick work of them, breaking open their seals and devouring their contents as Emily brushed out her hair. Rosanna was fretting over which dress to put Ella in for dinner.
"It seems that your brothers will be attending tomorrow's ball," Ella said, looking up at me in the mirror. Emily paused in brushing her hair, reading over Ella's shoulder. Her face soured when she'd read it, resuming her brushing with more gusto.
"I haven't seen them in months," I said, hope bubbling in my chest at the chance to see Xavier again so soon. His last visit had been for Christmas the year before at the house in Highcastle, his studies at Oxford keeping him away from us for most of the year. I missed him, especially since our correspondence hadn't picked up since I'd left Hargrove. No doubt there was a pile of letters there waiting for me, if Miss Halpern hadn't already burned them out of spite.
Xavier was the middle child in my family, a bookish, studious boy. He hadn't taken to court life the way my elder brother Edward had. Edward had spent no more than a few months last summer finding and marrying a suitably rich young woman by the name of Vile Edith. The vile part, of course, was my own addition, simply because her face seemed to be stuck in a perpetual sneer. Edith was an American heiress and the only daughter of a steel tycoon, having been shipped to Highcastle to catch a husband.
As a result, she was extremely proper in everything she did, almost too well-versed in the rules of etiquette for her own good. It didn't help matters that her worldview was one of disdain, but it did explain why my brother took to her so quickly. They were both cut from the same cloth, much like Xavier and I.
"I think it only right that you attend tomorrow then," Ella said, folding the letter and picking up another, "And tonight as well, provided your dresses have arrived from the seamstress,"
At this, Emily promptly dropped the hairbrush with a clatter.
"Ella, you can't!" she protested.
"I think she's been punished enough," Ella said, "And besides, as Rosanna said, having Libby befriend the princess will only work towards heightening me in the prince's esteem,"
Emily visibly restrained herself from saying anything, gnashing her teeth as she bent to retrieve the brush. Just then, Rosanna staggered out of the closet with a mountain of formal dinner dresses. I rushed to help her, whispering a grateful "Thank you!" to Ella as I dashed past her.
***
Dinner with the royal family was even more delicious than breakfast. I wondered if all the evenings I'd been locked in Ella's suite had been just as scrumptious, fighting with every ounce of my willpower not to lick my plate clean.
We were seated in a different dining room than the breakfast room, this one with rich hanging tapestries, thick red velvet curtains and glittering chandeliers reflecting off the marble floors. It was located on the same level as the grand ballroom, down a hallway that seemed to lead even deeper into the old palace. I had made sure to study the hallways as I'd followed Ella and the rest of the debutantes and ladies in waiting to dinner, attempting to spot any hidden service doors that could come in useful if I ever needed to sneak to the old palace.
"Have they been starving you?" Georgina whispered when I'd attempted to scrape the last dregs of gravy onto my fork. We'd been seated with Emmie Townsend and her ladies in waiting, Georgina almost immediately taking the seat to my right while Rosanna sat on the left.
"No, but what I've been eating is slop compared to this," I said, eyeing the remaining vegetables she'd left on her plate.
"Don't even dream of it," she said, setting down her fork and knife so the servants would clear her plate, "Especially since you seem to have an audience,"
When I tore my eyes from her departing plate, Georgina was nodding towards the head table up on the dais. There were, in fact, two pairs of eyes on me, one welcome and one not quite. Andrew's mouth lifted into a small half-smile as I looked up at him, nodding as he listened to Thomas beside him. A few seats down, the queen was also watching me with that same cold, calculating look she'd worn earlier that afternoon. Next to her, the princess was pushing her food around on her plate looking thoroughly miserable.
"I very much doubt it," I said, dropping my eyes to my empty plate if only to escape the queen's gaze. Georgina snorted a laugh.
"Well the prince has never stared at our table nearly as much as he is tonight," she said, dabbing her lips with her napkin, "Which means you must not have heeded my warning,"
"Georgina, I've been locked away in Ella's suite for nearly every event since the museum opening! How could I possibly have heeded or disregarded your advice if I haven't been to a single function!" I protested. Georgina pursed her lips, shrugging.
"I'm only trying to help you, you know," she said, "Especially since Ashley seems to think you were behind her ruined dresses,"
"That's preposterous!" I lied, trying my best to look utterly affronted. Georgina watched me, shrugging again.
"Well I have it on good authority that the seamstress who ruined Ella's dress was the one who did all of Ashley's fittings and that she's been let go," she said, "But it still puzzles me as to why she'd ruin her own debutante's dresses,"
"Ashley isn't exactly pleasant, least of all to those beneath her," I offered, wondering if Georgina was fishing for gossip or genuinely concerned for me where Ashley was concerned.
"I wholeheartedly agree, but I still find it suspicious," Georgina said, "Besides, I'm starting to get lonely when you're not in attendance. These events are dreadfully boring when one is forced to listen to the debutantes talk,"
She nodded her head towards where Emmie was dramatically describing the dress she'd ordered for the Royal Ascot race the following week.
"...with feathers, but real ones, from real peacocks!" Emmie was saying, "And the gown is the newest thing from Paris, I'm sure you've never seen the likes of it..."
Georgina and I exchanged a glance and I could barely contain my guffaw.
"So please, behave yourself so I can have some company!" Georgina whispered, stifling her own giggles. I nodded, my lips clamped shut to keep my laughter at bay. Without meaning to, my gaze turned back to the head table, where there was just one pair of eyes watching me now. The queen did not seem pleased.