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“I hear you, Papa. Truly. But I cannot accept him.”
“Well, the hour is now upon you to tell him,” he said as we caught sight of Tristian and his family, a smile appearing on his face.
It left me feeling quite ill. “I wish Mama had let me stay home.”
“And disappoint your other admirers? The world would come to an end first.”
“What other admirers?”
He nodded to the right of me, where I saw the queen sitting upon her throne with her ladies and dogs, watching me rather intensely.
I glanced away quickly. “I am always at a loss as to why she stares at me so.”
“Is it not admiration?”
“For what reason would a queen admire me? I have done not a thing and have said only a few words before her.”
“Who can know the mind of the monarchy,” he said, letting go of my hand. “Our duty is to be respectful and loyal. Thus, we shall greet her, and you will go to your fate.”
I did not wish to let go of him, but he had to go stand beside Mama as we followed the line to greet the queen.
“She will surely comment on me today,” Hathor whispered, fixing her gloves. “I have worn her favorite color and refined my curtsy. Mama said it was the most splendid she had ever seen.”
“Let it please happen as you wish,” I whispered back, for I would have much preferred her to have the attention.
“Lady Monthermer,” the queen stated when we rose from our curtsies. “I have asked all the young ladies here a question. I wish to ask your daughters as well.”
“It would be their honor.” My mother smiled and then glanced at us with a look of pure warning.
“My question is simple. How do you like my garden?”
The simplicity of the question startled me.
“It is the most splendid, Your Majesty,” Hathor spoke up first. “A beauty only you can maintain, for not only does it house the most glorious flowers but birds and swans and other creatures of the earth in perfect harmony.”
How lyrical.
I did not think it to be an inadequate answer, but the queen merely nodded and then shifted her gaze to me.
“Well, Lady Aphrodite,” she spoke my name with the same soft and drawn stretch of the letters as always. “Do you not like the garden?”
“I do not see myself fit to judge Her Majesty’s garden,” I said.
The queen narrowed her eyes, and I felt ready to change my response when she spoke again. “Lady Monthermer.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Do not allow this one to go to waste. I have not seen one of her makings in many years,” she said, causing mouths to flutter behind us, my mother to smile as though she had been crowned herself, and Hathor’s shoulders to drop.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” My mother curtsied, as we all did.
The queen waved us off, turning her attention to the next party.
“My darling girl.” Mother all but beamed. “How blessed you are to be given such favor.”
“Yes, Mama, and I’m beginning to wonder if she did not steal all the blessing with birth,” Hathor said before she marched away.
“Do not pay her any mind. One day, she will realize how lucky she is for her elevated standing as well,” my mother said.
