Suddenly, an idea occurred to her, giving her the encouragement needed. She hurried and entered the room before she changed her mind.
When all three ladies looked at her, Clarissa grinned. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind if I make a request.”
All three curtsied. The oldest cook, Beatrice, scratched her neck with her flour-dusted fingers. “What kind of request, Princess?”
“I’ll be going on an outing today with some friends, and I would like you to pack me an assortment of fruits and vegetables, a loaf of bread, and some cheese.”
“Yes, Princess,” they mumbled with a smile.
“Splendid. I shall return in a few minutes to collect it.”
“As you wish.” They curtsied again.
Clarissa left the room before she sighed with relief. She didn’t exactly lie. She was going on an outing...and she’d be with friends. Well, at least one friend.
Although she had locked Ryder in the tower, she still considered him a dear friend. In fact, this morning while she dressed, guilt weighed heavily on her chest. Her heart argued with her mind, urging her to return and release the poor man. But then she remembered Ryder needed to be locked away so he couldn’t stop her from marrying Ormond.
And for certain, Ryder would stop her. She’d seen his determined expression before, and he wouldn’t quit pushing her until she had doubts about Ormond. Truly, it was best to keep Ryder away. All she could do was hope he’d still forgive her after she was married.
Unfortunately, she still held a segment of doubt in her mind. Shehadbeen very attracted to Ryder the other day. She had enjoyed kissing him very much. For heaven’s sake, she’d even considered marrying him before Prince Ormond arrived. And then everything had changed.
Most of her confusion stemmed from knowing she’d never been like this before. When she made up her mind, she stuck to it. Yet, ever since returning from her cousin’s house, Clarissa had not been able to think straight.
She quickly found the footman and asked him to prepare her horse. She still had a few minutes before returning to the kitchen to collect the food, so she cautiously walked back up the stairs to her bed-chamber to fetch her cloak instead of having the maid do it. Clarissa realized the less people who knew about her activities today, the better.
The floor was quiet as she carefully moved toward her room. She couldn’t even hear the chatter from the maids. Then again, lately her mother had been scolding them so often, perhaps the servants were too afraid to even whisper.
As she placed her hand on the doorknob, a creak sounded on the floor behind her. She jumped and swung around. Her mother stood not too far from her, with her arms folded. The arch of her mother’s eyebrow and the way the woman glared let Clarissa know the words that would soon come from her mother wouldn’t be a pleasant at all.
“Good morning, Mother. You are looking pretty today.” Clarissa forced herself to smile, trying to smooth things over before the situation became worse.
One side of her mother’s mouth lifted higher than the other in a smirk. “You don’t say.”
“Indeed, I do say, Mother.” Clarissa tried to keep a faux pleasant expression on her face.
“May I ask what you are doing awake so early? Usually you don’t awaken until mid-morning.”
“Well, you see,” Clarissa wrung her hands against her middle, “I’ll be meeting some friends this morning for a ride through the countryside.”
The look on the queen’s face didn’t change. “Who are you going with?”
She shrugged. “Just some friends.”
“Won’t you need one of your father’s guards to accompany you? After all, you know your father won’t allow you to go out unescorted.”
“Not to worry, Mother. Ryder Grey is one of Father’s guards, and I went to school with him. Don’t you remember? He was one of my best friends. He’ll be with me.”
The queen’s tight face relaxed, and she nodded. “Indeed, I do remember Ryder. What a nice boy. From what I’ve heard, he’s also one of your father’s best guards.”
Clarissa didn’t dare breathe a sigh of relief just yet, even though her mother didn’t appear as angry. “Yes. Father says he’s very impressed with Ryder’s abilities.”
“Well, have a pleasant outing.” The queen smiled before turning and strolling up the hallway.
Finally, Clarissa let out a relieved sigh and hurried into her room to retrieve her cloak. By the time she entered the kitchen again, her heart was thumping with anticipation. The sooner she could get this to Ryder, the sooner she could return and have a normal day.
Thankfully, the cooks had her basket ready, so Clarissa took it and headed out to her horse. A guard stood nearby, looking straight at her. She groaned. Had her mother assigned a guard to her anyway?
“Princess,” he bowed as she approached. “I assume you need an escort this morning.”
