"I assume," said Antony, offering his hand to help Isabella from the carriage, "that exploring this massive place will be a sufficient distraction?"
Isabella did not say anything; she simply gazed around at the grounds, the pond, the trees, and the palace, her eyes alight.
"Thank you, Antony," she finally said. "It's...beautiful. Tell me, do they have a greenhouse here?"
"I believe so," he replied, after thinking for a few moments, and remembering his cousin's love for flowers. "Although, if I remember correctly, your father once said that it had fallen into disrepair during the reigns of the two Ruperts."
"Oh, but that's perfect! I will make it beautiful again, you'll see."
"I have no doubt you will, cousin. For now, however, let us go and speak to the butler."
They left the yard behind and walked the short distance to the massive front doors. Just as they reached the stairs leading to the entrance, the doors opened, and a man, looking a bit frazzled, stepped out to great them.
"Your majesties," he said, bowing to them each in turn. "We were not expecting you today. I'm afraid that we still have a great amount of preparation and cleaning to do..."
"Quite alright," interrupted Antony. "I did not expect that you would be finished, and I do apologize for any surprise or inconvenience we might have caused you by our early arrival."
"Thank you, sir," said Fulton, bowing slightly once more. "I am Fulton. If you will follow me, I will show you each to your suites. Or have you had luncheon yet?"
"We had a packed lunch that the kitchen staff at Mansfield sent along with us," said Isabella.
"Wonderful. This way then."
As they entered, Antony found himself observing his surroundings with interest. He had only once before been a guest at this palace, when his parents had presented him to his uncle, the King. However, he had been too young to remember. Now, he saw everything as though it were the first time.
The grand entrance hall had a ceiling that reached to the top floor of this central wing of the palace, three levels. A great marble staircase went up to the second level and split, making its way upward in a slight curve towards the third level on each side. A huge, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, the many faceted crystals catching its light and illuminating the vast hall.
As they made their way up the staircase, he found himself a bit daunted by the vast size of the castle, bigger, by far, than Mansfield. Fulton showed Isabella the location of her rooms first, and then proceeded to the King's Suite, the group of rooms- library, study, bedroom, parlor, bathroom- that would be Antony's.
Afterwards, Antony dismissed Fulton and assured him that if he or his cousin needed anything, they would call for him with the servants' bell. Fulton bowed and showed himself from the room.
The King's Library, which had been the final stop on their short tour with Fulton, was huge, bigger than the one at Mansfield. There were floor to ceiling bookshelves, lined with books, from new titles to ancient tomes bearing the history of the empire and the kingdoms before it. Comfortable chairs were placed before the window for reading and relaxation and the huge window let in natural light, basking the room in sunshine.
Isabella turned to look at Antony.
"I think," she said, "that we will all be very happy here." Then, after a few moments of silence, she added, "I think you'll be happy here, Antony, once you get used to it."
That evening, Meredith sat down again at the foot of the servants' dining table and waited for Evan. He came in, somewhat later than she had.
Grabbing a plate and serving himself some food from the sideboard, he came to sit down next to her.
"Hey Mer," he said, taking a huge bite of mashed potatoes.
"Hello, Evan," she responded. "You seem hungry."
"Well..." he swallowed the food. "When you work all day with the horses, you get tired and hungry. I'm starved."
They both ate in silence for a moment before he spoke again.
"Fulton told me: as of tomorrow, we'll have different meal breaks. Too many servants to have them all eat at the same time. They won't fit."
Meredith sighed. "But then how am I supposed to talk to you?"
Evan chewed his food slowly and looked as though he were deep in thought. Finally, he snapped his fingers.
"That's it!"
"What?" she said, impatiently. "What's it?"
"We should find a place...after dinner, since neither of us have any more work tonight...to leave letters for one another. Perhaps you know of a place that might work?"
She thought for a few moments. "It has to be somewhere that it would not look odd for either of us to go...but somewhere that can't be found by others."
"How about that old wall?" said Evan.
"Which one?"
"The one that runs down to the cellar right off the servants' entrance. Some of the stones are cracked and, if there's a loose one, I can put a letter behind it."
"That sounds perfect," said Meredith. "I'll leave you a letter there sometime and we'll see. I think it would do, however."
The next morning, Isabella awoke to the sound of nine chimes from the large grandfather clock in the massive entrance hall, the sound having traveled all the way to her rooms.
She yawned, and stretched, getting out of bed and going to her window, throwing it open, and looking out over the grounds. She leaned her elbows on the sill and propped her chin in her hands. The sun was shining over the lake, making sparkles where the water caught the light. She smiled. She couldn't wait to begin to explore the palace and its grounds.
A thought tugged at the back of her mind. Her mother had always told her that she acted too childish, with her desire to explore, to see, to do...to live life to the fullest. She was 'no longer a child' Therese would say. She must act with 'dignity' and 'appropriateness of manners' or 'no respectable man would ever dare to want her'.
Isabella gritted her teeth.
"Perhaps I don't want a man, Mother" she said softly, firmly. "Perhaps all I've ever wanted was some real freedom for myself, for someone to know the real me... and so this I seek."
She took off her lace nightdress and exchanged it for one of her simpler dresses. She then left her suite behind her and went to find her cousin, just as the clock chimed ten.
She checked his library, his study, and his parlor, but he was not there. Sighing, she opened his bedroom door softly, and peeked in. He was still fast asleep, his breathing soft, his blonde hair tousled against his pillow.
She smiled and shut the door. Let Antony sleep; he'd been having trouble doing so, lately, and she knew it, although she sensed he tried to hide it. She'd see the palace for herself.
She left the King's Suite behind and made her way down to the first level, where she found Fulton.
"Fulton," she said.
"Yes, Lady Princess?" He bowed slightly. She noticed that Fulton bowed a lot.
"I would like to have a maid to accompany me to the greenhouse."
At the look on Fulton's face, she wondered if Antony had indeed been wrong and there was no greenhouse on the palace grounds.
"Are you certain, Princess? The greenhouse is quite a mess at the moment..."
"Yes, Fulton," she said, authoritatively. "I would like tools provided as well; I plan on working in the greenhouse."
He seemed horrified at the idea of the Princess working in the dirt and she prepared herself for an argument, but he finally bowed and assured her he would fetch someone.