Chapter 35: The Subterfuge

The next morning, Millie did not appear. There were no summons and no letters from the queen. Instead, I was free to join Georgina and the rest of the debutantes playing games in one of the sitting rooms. I was well-aware of the whispers now that I was back among them while Ashley and Adelaide were once again absent, no doubt spending time with the queen. But the sensation that I could breathe again was an overdue relief.

"Did you ever manage to visit Xavier?" I asked Georgina, as we made our way to the dining room for a quick luncheon before preparations for that evening's ball.

"I did, but your parents arrived before we could have a proper conversation," she said. I froze in my tracks and she looked around at me, her eyebrows lifted.

"My parents?" I repeated.

"Yes, they've returned to Highcastle," she said, "I'm sorry, I thought you would have known. Your brother seemed sufficiently surprised as well. I thought he'd have sent you a note?"

Xavier had done no such thing, which cast an ominous shadow over what had otherwise been a relaxing, sanity-preserving day.

"I shall have to call on them," I said absently as my mind ran over all the potential reasons for their return. Obviously I was not going to be calling on them, especially since they had made no attempts to contact me since the letter Xavier and I had sent at the end of last Season. Whatever had compelled them to return would surely only translate into yet more excessive demands coupled with an earful for having dared defy them in the first place.

I did my very best to carry on polite conversation with the likes of Penelope and Sarah at lunch, the pair of them taking the seats beside Georgina and I solely so they could prod me about my reappearance.

"Have you fallen from favour?" Sarah leaned over to whisper conspiratorially. It was the third rephrased version of the same question they'd been asking every time the conversation lulled. My patience nearing its breaking point, I set my utensils down and fixed her with a glare.

"If I had fallen from favour, do you really think I'd still be sitting here, enduring questions?" I demanded, only for Georgina to give me a little kick under the table. She attempted to steer the conversation in another direction, but I'd had just about enough of this lunch of idleness and gossip. Taking my leave of them, I disregarded the stares as I fled to my suite.

So distracted in thinking about the meaning of my parents' arrival, I hadn't realized I had a guest before I flew past her towards my bedchamber. Seated demurely on the love seat, Princess Anne had to clear her throat to draw my attention, startling me so badly I stumbled into the doorframe.

"Goodness, Libby! Are you all right?" she asked, springing to her feet as I laughed at my own clumsiness.

"You startled me, that's all," I said, massaging the place where my elbow had banged the doorframe, "How can I help you, Anne?"

She squirmed a little, choosing her words carefully.

"I'm here for two reasons," she said, gesturing for me to take a seat with her. She settled herself back onto the love seat while I lowered myself into the armchair.

"The first is because my brother sent me," she said. I couldn't help but swallow. Andrew and I had parted ways in the winter garden, he to return to the ball while I retired to my bed, in no mood to face a room of mostly strangers with a clearly tear-stained face. I'd assumed that the absence of queenly reprisals for my shirked summary duty meant that he'd somehow negotiated for my freedom.

"You seem like an awfully official messenger when he could have simply sent a note," I said, forcing an easy smile onto my face as I wondered with a twinge of dread why he couldn't have come himself.

"He thought it would be safer for someone to tell you about his plan rather than commit it to paper," Anne said, casting a quick glance back towards my bedchamber, "And you'll have to forgive me, but I sent your maids away for a moment. The palace has ears everywhere and the fewer people that know about this, the better."

That ominous shadow grumbled from the corner of my mind to which I'd banished it.

"If his plan is to work, you're to act devastated because the two of you had a falling out," Anne said.

"A falling out?" I repeated, my brows crashing downward, "But-!"

The princess lifted a hand, a gentle, understanding smile on her face as she cut me off.

"You haven't, which he wanted me to make absolutely clear, but the rest of the palace must believe it," she said. I settled back in my chair, crossing my arms.

"So I'm to avoid him?" I asked, as I attempted to fit the pieces of Andrew's plan together.

"Unfortunately yes. He also said to tell you that if you try to speak to him, he won't allow it publicly...and that he'll play his part when others are watching," Anne said warily, "Though if you really do need to speak to him, you can communicate through me or Thomas."

"Well that seems a little roundabout," I said, feeling more than a little unsettled at being so cut off from Andrew, "Why couldn't I just send him a note?"

"Because the palace has eyes in addition to ears," Thomas said, his sudden appearance from my bedchamber making me jump in my seat once again.

"Why are you here?" Anne demanded, leaping to her feet, "Andrew sent me, not you! He told you to-!"

"I know what he told me, love," Thomas said, taking Anne's shoulders to push her back down onto the love seat so he could drape himself into the spot beside her, "And I took the liberty of inviting myself to be sure you delivered the message properly."

Anne harrumphed, crossing her arms with an angry look at her brother. I looked at the pair of them, one scowling, one grinning, and decided that Andrew had recruited a pair of formidable soldiers for our subterfuge.

"I don't need you watching over my shoulder all the time!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Need I remind you who helped you woo your own Lord Charming?" Thomas teased. Anne's eyes widened as she glanced at me, her cheeks flaming before she stared down into her lap.

"The part my gentle-hearted sister left out, however," Thomas said, fixing his blue eyes on me, "Is that Andrew won't be giving you his first dance tonight, or any other night until his announcement. In fact, you shouldn't count on dancing with him at all, but you must ensure that you're seen at every social event. No hiding in your room, understood?"

The walls seemed to close in on me as my lungs squeezed shut.

"So what am I supposed to do? Wander aimlessly around the ballroom, pretending to sulk?" I asked. Thomas tilted his head, unimpressed.

"You're the one who asked for freedom," he said, a flash of his mother in his eyes, "So you'll do what the rest of the debutantes do: dance and gossip."

The younger prince rose, stretching, before something else occurred to him.

"And mind you stay away from Dorian Fletcher. Apparently he's searching for a new Lady Fletcher to replace his late mother," he said,

"Yes, I'm already perfectly clear on that count," I snapped, annoyed that everyone was so worried about Dorian. Thomas glanced me with a frown, apparently deciding that I still hadn't been warned sufficiently.

"You do know what happened to his mother, don't you?" he asked, "I wouldn't wish that madness on anyone. They say she pitched herself off the stern of a ship to escape her hell of a marriage."

"Thomas!" Anne scolded, "Don't be so vulgar!"

"She deserves to know if she's considering leaving Andrew for him," Thomas said. He was watching for my reaction with the cold, unreadable eyes of his mother, but my utter lack of the courtly skill to shield my emotions meant that he probably saw exactly what I was thinking as I thought it.

"I'd pitch myself over the side of a ship before I married an arrogant bastard like Dorian!" I snapped, leaping to my feet, "How dare you suggest I'd leave Andrew?"

"At least I'm saying it to your face," Thomas countered evenly, but the ice was gone now, thawing after his apparent satisfaction with my answer, "You should hear the amount of whispers featuring your name..."

"That is quite enough!" Anne said, jumping up to put herself between me and her brother. I hadn't realized that my hands had curled into fists, nor that I'd taken a step towards him. Thomas, however, had a supremely amused grin on his face.

"Now go on Annie, tell her whatever else it is you came here to say," he said, shooting a mischievous wink at his sister. Anne's cheeks flushed as she charged her brother from the room, closing the suite door behind him.

"I'm sorry, he shouldn't have followed me here," she said, leaning back against the door as she watched me. My fingers were unclenching, but my stomach was still furled in a tight little coil. I knew without a doubt that Thomas' words about Dorian had been a test, which only unsettled me further. How much had Andrew told him? Did he really think my demand for freedom was because I was interested in Dorian? And what, exactly, was being said about me behind my back?

"What's the other thing you wanted to tell me?" I asked, if only so I could banish all the thoughts I needed to work through to the back of my mind for a little while longer. The princess tucked her chin down, dropping her eyes as she studiously avoided my gaze.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said, the fingers of her left hand worrying at a corner of the embroidery of her skirts.

"Sorry about what?" I asked gently, wondering what on Earth the princess had to apologize to me for.

"About James," she said. It seemed to take all of her willpower for her to meet my eyes. There was such fear there that I wondered whether she was expecting me to fly into a rage or strike her.

"Why are you sorry about James?" I asked. Her big blue eyes darted around the room as she searched for her words, clearly not expecting more questions.

"I...well...about Ella," she managed, "He was...they were..."

"Ella is a spoiled rotten little brat," I said dismissively, "Though I'm not especially fond of James, if you see something special in him then hopefully that means I'm mistaken."

Anne's eyes welled up with tears as she lunged towards me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered, "I thought you'd never speak to me again."

"It would take a lot more than offending Ella for me to never speak to you again," I chuckled, returning her hug. When the princess held onto me for a moment longer than was necessary, I pulled back to hold her at an arm's length only to see that she was still crying.

"Don't hurt him," she said, her watery eyes holding mine.

"Hurt who, James?" I asked, confused.

"Andrew," she clarified, "Please, don't hurt him. You've made him so happy and you're the closest I've ever come to having a sister, I couldn't stand to lose you."

"I'm not leaving, silly!" I said, tapping her on the nose, but it didn't earn me as much of a smile as I'd hoped.

"I know you're not...but don't do anything rash, promise? Mother is livid and Andrew wouldn't tell me what he had to do to force her to leave you alone," Anne said. I didn't like the way my stomach still turned at the thought of the queen's anger even though I knew she'd been compelled to leave me alone. The fact that she hadn't overruled her son and gone on with her punishment anyway also felt wrong, especially since I was now familiar with the queen's penchant for bargaining.

"I'm not planning on leaving him, Anne," I said, "I just needed a few days to breathe."

She nodded, but I didn't like the hesitation buried in her blue eyes.

"That's what Andrew said. But mind you don't let the rumours go to your head. Thomas and I are here if you need a friendly face," she said, that trademark lopsided grin so like her brothers' on her face, "I'll send for your maids so you can prepare for the ball."

"Thank you, Anne," I said, stopping her as she opened the door, "Though I do have a favour to ask of you."

"Of course, what is it?" she asked.

"Tell Andrew that if he gives his first dance to Ashley that I'll march right up to him and wrench the pair of them apart," I said, finally earning myself a grin.

"I like to think my brother has better taste than that," she smiled, but the sad look hadn't left her eyes.

***

Brenna was overjoyed to be able to choose my ballgown and hairstyle for the evening without Millie's interference. She still pursed her lips at me every so often, my stolen kiss with Andrew clearly on her mind, but she was outwardly thrilled about the absence of the queen's interfering maid.

I ensured that I was prepared early enough that I could sneak over to Georgina's room without running into any more debutantes. After Anne's revelation and apology, I had decided not to speak to James on Ella's behalf and her worrisome words were still stirring around that dark corner of my mind. But Ella had only ever wanted to use me for her own benefits, whereas Anne was currently conspiring on my behalf with her brothers. Between the two of them, it was clear that the more loyal friend was Anne and I wasn't going to betray her because of a self-absorbed blood relation.

Georgina was happy to have me as company while her own maids set her hair and helped her into her gown. We chattered and joked as I tried not to think about what was waiting for me in the ballroom downstairs. For the first time since my return to the palace, I was not eagerly anticipating the evening's activities. Usually they meant time spent with Andrew, but now that Thomas had made it clear what the price of my freedom would be, the ballroom held nothing of interest for me.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Georgina asked once her maids had retired to her bedroom and the two of us were headed out the door.

"Of course not," I said, forcing a smile onto my face. But my friend simply looked at me, clearly not believing my lie. She pulled the door to her suite closed, crossing her arms as she barred my path.

"As much as I loved having you all to myself today, I want to know what happened," she said, "Because you got awfully touchy at lunch, so I didn't want to bring it up again."

I looked at her, debating whether or not to include her in our little charade, only for me to mentally kick myself. Georgina was the first friend I'd made here and she'd stayed by my side even though I'd severely neglected our friendship for Andrew's sake. If anyone in the palace could be trusted, it was her. She was probably about to become my sister-in-law anyway, so I decided to unburden myself to her.

"I was with the other debutantes today because I told Andrew I wanted some time off from the queen and all her demands," I said, "But in order to do so, he and I have to pretend that we've had a falling out."

Georgina's eyes widened in shock, sending my stomach into a tailspin.

"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked, "He's making his announcement so soon, the others are bound to circle him like sharks!"

"I'm not worried about the others," I said, "They can say or do what they like, it won't change anything between us."

"That may be so, but he still has to choose three women before he can propose," she said, her delicate brow creased with worry, "If you're not spending time with him, the others will be. Are you sure that's a trade you're willing to make?"

"It's already been done," I shrugged, forcing down the demons in my head that were shrieking their agreement with Georgina, "If he truly feels the way he says he does, then a few days apart won't matter."

"I'm sure it won't," she said, a gentle smile on her face as she pulled the door open, the hallway filled with the chatter of the other debutantes. 

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