Somehow, even locked away in the dungeons, Mother got exactly what she wanted.
7
The ride back passedin a blur. Lady Vanessa and Maddox asked frantic questions which Father answered. I said nothing, and I said nothing even until the next morning as Tizzy tended to my toilette.
She, on the other hand, was more talkative than usual.
“Which gown would you like to wear on Monday, milady?” she asked as she braided my hair back.
Monday was the day Father and King Maximus settled on to meet again. It seemed that in a span of a night, news had spread all over the household about the crown prince’s proposal.
I met Tizzy’s gaze in the vanity mirror, deciding to throw the girl a bone. “Whatever you deem fit for a newly engaged.”
“So you accepted?” she exclaimed. Her eyes widened with a million questions. Whether I was in love with the crown prince was surely one of them. Little did Tizzy know, I was not a romantic. Mother had crushed the dreams and silliness right out of me at the age I started finding boys handsome.
“It is a royal arrangement. I hardly think my acceptance matters,” I said drily.
Tizzy fastened my braids in place with pearl-tipped pins. “Oh.” After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Does that mean milady does not want to marry the crown prince?”
I didn’t speak. Tizzy finished attending me and left with a pout, clearly disappointed at my lack of response.
But I had answered her question. King Maximus, who rarely yielded on his decisions, seemed set on the arrangement. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Bennett’s emotionless proposal made it clear he would avoid me like the plague once we were wed. Neither he nor the king could possibly trust me to take part in royal affairs after what happened last summer. I would be a figurehead to show off at public events, nothing more.
The situation must be dire indeed for the king to choose you, Misty said as she jumped off from her perch on the window seat.
“He wouldn’t be able to find another gentrified witch with a competent bloodline,” I murmured. I looked at my hands. “Do you think she did it?” Now that I was alone, I finally voiced my fears.
Who, darling, your mother?Misty curled herself around my chair.You think she schemed all this up so you can become the crown princess?
I gazed at my reflection. My cheeks looked paler and hollower than I remembered. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
I suppose it all seems quite convenient,Misty reasoned.Still. You must be paranoid. You’re in shock.
“I am not. I am being cautious.”
Misty meowed.Why don’t you go ask her then?
