He took a seat behind his desk, barely glanced at the piles of papers there, and instead thought about Genevieve and their upcoming picnic.
eight
I wish I didn’t like him as much as I hate the life he lives. ~ from Gen’s diary
GENEVIEVE
Sam grabbed the dress from Genevieve’s hand and tossed it on the bed. “Not this one.”
“What was wrong with it? I love that dress.”
“Exactly. You’ve worn it a hundred times already.”
Gen sighed. “Not in front ofthem. They won’t know. It’s still in good shape.”
“You need to look your best. You know your mother will not let you out of the house in that anyway. It’s not fancy enough.”
Gen clenched the clothes in her hands. “It’s a picnic! It’s not supposed to be fancy.”
“Stop deluding yourself. Do you want my dress?” Sam gestured to the elegant soft blue sundress that featured small white flowers.
“You look amazing in that but you know it won’t look as good on me.” They were different ‘seasons’ color-wise. While some shades may overlap, the light blue was not one of them.
“Then do this one.” Sam reached in and pulled out a lilac sundress. It fell just below her knees, tied around her neck, and featured just a little too much cleavage in the front and had a low back.
“I won’t be able to wear a bra with it.”
Sam grinned. “I bethewill like that.”
“I betIwon’t like it when I lean over to get something and my boobs fall out. This is a date dress, but not a royal date dress. I’m wearing a bra.”
Sam stuck out her tongue. “You’re no fun. Then this one.” She pulled out a similar style dress that featured less cleavage and would allow her to wear a strapless bra, which was better than nothing. The print was swirls of pale pinks, yellows, and oranges.
“Genevieve! Where are you? Why aren’t you ready yet?” her mother’s screaming voice drew closer and closer.
Sam shoved the dress at her and whispered. “Hurry! Put it on.”
Gen nodded then gave Sam a wave as she quickly hurried out of the window. Her mother hated Sam and never approved of her coming over, so she usually snuck in.
Gen had just finished slipping the dress on when her mother burst into her room.
Gen immediately put her hands up, as if she were covering her body. “Mother! You must knock.”
As usual, her mother ignored her wishes and peered her critical eye at her. “Is that what you’re wearing? Tut-tut-tut. Whatever will the prince think? You are so useless. You can’t do anything right. You’re lucky you’ve gotten the prince in your clutches, because?—”
The tirade only stopped because the doorbell rang.
Gen walked over to her little desk where she usually put on her makeup. “You should go welcome him, Mother, while I finish getting ready. Or do you want to keep the prince waiting?”
“If you had bothered to keep track of the time, you would already be ready. You don’t keep royalty waiting!” She whirled and stomped out of the room, not bothering to shut the door. Thankfully, both her sisters were not at home or she definitely would be hearing something angry from Henrietta, and something suggestive from Diana.
She put on some makeup to complement the dress, picked a simple pearl earring and necklace set that her father had given her years ago, and a pair of pale pink t-strap heeled shoes. They wouldn’t be the most comfortable for walking around a ruined castle, but she couldn’t show up in something like flats or tennis shoes.
She quickly filled her simple purse, grabbed a moderately-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and started for the stairs. She could hear her mother’s grating voice mixed with Gabriel’s deeper, resonant tones. She had not thought of his voice as soothing before, but she realized now that she did like it and she did feel calmer now after hearing it.
“Oh there you are. You see? I told you my daughter wouldn’t keep you waiting for long. Again we do apologize for the inconvenience.”
Gabriel stood as she approached. “Not at all. I can see the effort was well worth the wait.”
