The days dragged on as the announcement of Andrew's top three drew nearer. My disastrous showing with the queen during my first lesson had apparently not been enough to put her off, for I was summoned back the very next day for a private session. She barraged me with more dilemmas, both ethical and social this time, her icy eyes never once betraying a single emotion. She'd clearly prepared herself to mind her temper as I blurted out answers that I hoped Andrew would be proud of. I made it no secret that I thought the nobility ought to focus a little more attention on the common folk rather than waste money on useless pastimes like erecting decorative fountains when a drought had ravaged the eastern farmlands. The queen had dismissed me once I'd answered all of her questions, giving me no more feedback than a purse of her lips.

If I'd hoped that queen lessons would be the worst of it, I was sorely mistaken. When Georgina had bounded into my room one morning, all dressed and ready for an early walk in the last of the glorious late autumn sun, Millie had appeared and dragged me off to sit in the stuffy gallery with the queen while the king's council met below. I yawned and daydreamed my way through the session, while Adelaide sat raptly, leaning forward as if she hung on every word. Ashley appeared just as bored as I did, but when the queen brought us back to her study for a debriefing, only Adelaide was able to answer any of her questions about the morning's events.

Dulciana kept reappearing at the most inopportune times, swooping in to monopolize Andrew, but only ever appearing at the major events. Andrew informed me that she was residing at the Ardalonian embassy, offended that they had even attempted to offer her a room at the palace.

"She seems to think that competing for the hand of a prince is beneath her," he'd said, toying with my stocking-toed feet as I nestled them beneath his leg, the two of us curled up on my love seat by the fire.

"Then perhaps you should tell her that your mind is made up," I said, wiggling my toes.

"Soon, my love, soon," he said, giving my foot a squeeze before he returned to whatever official papers he'd been poring over. On nights when he had work to do, he always brought me a book or two from the little library, though I found that watching him concentrate and puzzle over the realm's problems, his brows furrowed ever so slightly as he thought, was infinitely more pleasurable than reading.

Andrew visited me every evening that didn't involve a ball lasting long into the night. Having discovered my insatiable sweet tooth, he spoiled me with delicacies from the palace's pastry chef whenever he could. He also took it upon himself to ensure my chess skills improved all while sneakily probing me about my morals in a much more delicate way than his mother. We debated over the chessboard, his calm calculation a stark contrast to my apparently emotional approach. I discovered that he had an infuriating tendency to play devil's advocate, constantly siding against me in an attempt to coax forth my innermost thoughts.

"You could just ask me these things outright, you know!" I snapped one night, watching with a scowl as he cornered my king on the chessboard after having backed me into a corner with his words.

"I can read your face like a book when you get this worked up," he said, grinning at me, which only served to stoke my annoyance, "It's far more amusing than a simple conversation. Far more informative, too."

"I feel like you're interviewing me for a job position," I pouted, rising and throwing myself moodily onto the love seat. Andrew leaned back on his hands to survey me, still sitting in front of the fire with the chessboard gloating his victory before him. He'd removed his dinner jacket and loosened his tie, the ends hanging undone over his broad chest. It was hard to stay annoyed with him when he looked at me like that, patiently amused as he waited for my quick temper to calm itself.

"Perhaps I am," he said, watching, as ever, for my reaction to his words.

"Then this is the longest interview in the history of time and I don't know why I put up with it," I said, chucking a pillow at him.

"Because you love me?" he suggested, catching it deftly.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I should reconsider," I taunted, holding his gaze as that tug snapped taut between us. He lobbed the pillow my way, rising smoothly like a cat to prowl towards me, only for Miss Claridge to clear her throat from the corner. I sulked back against the couch, the spell broken as Andrew diverted his course and collapsed gracefully beside me, a rueful smile on his face as he glanced down towards my lips. I somehow always forgot that the world was wider than just the two of us, with Brenna or Miss Claridge always quick to curtail anything improper like good little chaperones.

Those nights with Andrew were the only bright spots in what was slowly turning into a dismal routine. As much as it was comforting to know I would always have his first dance or the spot of honour beside him at ballets and royal dinners, the glares and the whispers from the other debutantes were ever-present and growing worse. Ashley was edging towards desperation, her jibes growing crueler with each passing day. Georgina did her best to stay by my side whenever Ashley was around, finally confessing that she'd overheard the blonde go on a tirade in the ladies' room at the most recent ball.

"She said she'd trade her family's fortune to see you lying with a broken neck on the marble of the entrance hall floor," Georgina had whispered during breakfast one morning. I started to wonder what was wrong with me when I discovered that I wasn't at all surprised. In fact, some sick part of me was itching for Ashley to move from taunts to actions, if only to break the monotony that was my life now that the queen had me under her thumb.

But the debutantes and their simmering jealousy was nothing compared to the real thorn in my side: the queen. Millie seemed to be everywhere, flitting around me like an annoying, overeager gnat. I had no say in my clothes any more, the queen dressing me like her own personal doll. The gowns she'd commissioned were regal, but my decidedly untrained eye couldn't tell much of a difference from the wardrobe Andrew had commissioned from Paris.

Despite my best attempts at finding out what had become of my favourite seamstress, I had no idea if Andrew had managed to talk his mother around when it came to Audra. Every time I summoned her, the head seamstress appeared in her place, all to eager to ensure that I was pleased with "her" creations. I'd tried to sneak down to Audra's workshop three times, but I was waylaid by either Millie or the head seamstress as soon as I set foot anywhere near the servants' quarters. I'd determined that I needed to be stealthier in my escapes as there were clearly unseen eyes on me at all times now, a sentiment I realized I very much resented.

I finally snapped under the queen's pressure when the first, gentle snow of winter fell. I was eating breakfast in my room, bemoaning the fact that the queen had sent me a note requesting my presence at yet another mind-numbing "council observation" session while the rest of the debutantes had been scheduled for a painting and sketching session in the gardens. Brenna was awaiting Millie's arrival before she dressed me, instead helping Elspeth tidy the room and change the linens, when there was a knock at the door.

Georgina flew in as soon as they'd opened it, attired in her riding clothes with a glow on her face.

"They've cancelled the art session because of the snow," she said bouncing in the seat across from me, "So I've decided to go for a ride and I'd very much like for you to join me."

My heart ached with longing as I looked across the breakfast table at my bright-eyed friend. I'd grown lethargic thanks to my incessant routine of forcing polite smiles, the days blurring as my sleep grew troubled. The promise of a morning outside, riding Juniper and laughing with Georgina was so gut-wrenchingly desirable that it was enough to snap me out of the daze that had settled over me, a daze that had so far only been punctuated by my time with Andrew.

"I have council with the queen," I said, dropping my voice to a whisper while I made sure Brenna and Elspeth were preoccupied.

"Oh," Georgina said, her face falling just as it usually did when I had to bow out of some activity because of the queen.

"Can you play along?" I whispered, hoping the plea in my eyes was obvious enough.

"I can try..." she replied hesitantly. I gave her a quick nod, before taking a sip of tea and forcing it down the wrong way. I coughed and choked, my bronchi vibrating with dramatic effect as I dabbed at my nose with my napkin.

"My lady, are you well?" Brenna demanded, emerging urgently from the bedroom. I sniffled, forcing one last cough as I shook my head, forcing my eyes to glaze over.

"I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment," I said, blowing my nose, "Perhaps you could pull the drapes? The light is giving me a dreadful headache."

"You should return to bed," Brenna said, casting a concerned gaze over my breakfast to search for anything amiss. I extended a shaky hand for her to help me rise, darting a wide-eyed look at Georgina to clue her in to my acting. She'd been watching me with wide-eyed concern the whole time, her face finally relaxing when she realized I wasn't intentionally attempting to choke myself on tea.

"Miss Courtenay I'm afraid you'll have to show yourself out," Brenna said, shooting me a concerned look when I forced another cough, "This came on rather suddenly..."

"I was feeling ill last night," I lied, thankful that it had been Elspeth and not Brenna who had helped me undress after the ball. I'd been positively giddy, having stayed out with Andrew until the very last dance. He'd snuck a kiss as he escorted me back to my room and my lips still tingled from the memory of the bridled passion he'd unleashed for those few seconds when he'd tugged me into a darkened corner.

"Well, rest is the cure for all ills," Brenna said, hustling me back into the newly made bed. I could tell that she wasn't convinced, so I coughed again.

"I'll bring up some broth and fresh tea," Brenna said.

"I couldn't possibly have anything more to drink, not with my head pounding so," I said, squinting dramatically, "I think I should just sleep. I'll call for you when-"

"Good morning!" Millie said from the doorway, surveying the scene before her. I shrank back into my pillows, forcing myself to look every bit as miserable as I was pretending to be.

"Lady Marks-Whelan isn't well," Brenna said.

"So it seems," Millie said, running a critical eye over me. I forced another chest-rattling cough, closing my eyes in feigned fatigue.

"She needs her rest," Brenna said, closing the door behind her while she and Millie whispered words just outside. I waited for them to stop talking, not moving for a few more minutes even after their hissed words had stopped. Unsurprisingly, Millie poked her head back in, clucking her tongue in disapproval before the door closed and the suite grew silent once again.

When I was sure I was alone, I sprang out of bed and dug through my trunk for my maid's uniform. Using a trick I'd learned from Xavier, I rearranged the pillows in my bed, folding and squishing them into something that resembled my sleeping form. I threw the sheets overtop, crowning the decoy with the brunette wig. I tugged the drapes closed to further darken the room and help it seem like I was still sleeping, buried in the bed.

Double checking that I was still alone, I slipped into the maid uniform, twisting my hair into a tight bun and hiding it under the lace cap Andrew had so thoughtfully furnished as a part of my disguise. I bundled my riding clothes into a warm cloak, balling the whole thing up to carry in my arms like a load of laundry.

I listened carefully outside the service door before I made my escape. I kept my head down, walking with the quick pace Brenna always used as I made my way through the service corridors. I knew my minutes were precious, but I hoped that Georgina would find it in her heart to wait for me while I attended to something long-overdue.

Audra nearly jumped out of her skin when I slid into her workshop using the same secret door I'd grown familiar with last Season.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, taking in my attire with wide eyes as I dumped the cloak and riding clothes on her table and started to strip out of my maid's attire.

"They reassigned you, didn't they?" I asked as I shook out my leather riding leggings.

"They did," she said flatly. I looked up at her, recognizing that same defensive hurt on her face as before.

"I tried to see you," I said, "And they kept sending that blithering idiot of a head seamstress. Is she as insufferable to work for as she is to speak to?"

Audra cracked a small smile as I desperately tried to repair the damage I knew had already been done to our friendship.

"She is," she said, "Why are you here?"

"First because I need to apologize," I said, ducking behind the screen to switch dresses, "I thought Andrew would have more success talking the queen around than I would, but clearly I'll have to tell her myself that you and you alone are my seamstress."

"Libby, you-" Audra started, but I cut her off as I emerged.

"I have yet to discover what is more important than friendship," I said, giving her a significant look, "And until then, I intend to right this wrong."

Audra swallowed, but a small smile had crept onto her face as she watched me.

"What's the other reason you're here?" she asked, eyeing the maid uniform as I laid it on her worktable.

"I need to escape this damned suffocating place," I said, "And I was hoping you would help me."

That tiny smile was still on her face as she reached across the table, sweeping the maid's uniform under the table and out of sight.

"As far as I'm concerned, I've been working on this hem all morning," she said, picking up the piece of work she'd abandoned upon my entry. I darted around the table, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

"You're my friend and you always will be, no matter what that damned queen throws in my way," I whispered, before releasing her and hurrying from the room.

Audra's chuckle followed me out.