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Below, on the lawn, Princess Amelia held Birdie on her hip, and with her free hand, she was directing Maisie and Maren to stand back to back. As Lila watched with fascination, the two girls began to walk away from each other, taking ten large steps at the princess’s count before whirling around and pointing fingers at each other, makingpewsounds, and then both falling down.
They were playing at a duel. Aduel.
She glanced at Blythe from the corner of her eye. Blythe was staring at her daughters. “A lovely afternoon to be out in the sun,” Lila tried.
Blythe drew a slow breath, the sort one draws when having something dire to impart. Lila guessed it was along the lines of how she didn’t think it appropriate that young girls be taught how to duel. “There are some things I think you should know,” Blythe said gravely.
Lila had an inkling of what she was about to hear—she knew that Amelia presented as a bit too queenly at times. But she also understood that Amelia had a queen for a motheranda sister and was a royal princess herself. Sometimes commands rolled off the tongue a bit more freely than they ought. Moreover, Amelia had the delightful tendency to speak freely, sometimes without seeming to comprehend how her words would be received by others.
Blythe turned from the window to face her. “Lila... I would never say a word against our revered guest.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
“But she is prone to interfering.”
“Oh?” Lila made herself sound light and unconcerned, but sincerely hoped the princess hadn’t done something to get her sent home on the next train.Please, God, don’t let it be a footman.
“She’s wonderful to the girls.Wonderful.But she...” Blythe sighed wearily. “One afternoon, I happened upon her and my decorator. She had suggested different wallpaper than I had selected, and my decorator was considering it.”
“Oh dear,” Lila murmured. She sincerely hoped that was the worst of it.
“Suggestions that were not to my tastes,” Blythe added.
“Unforgiveable.”
“She does not endear herself to others, Lila. Just yesterday afternoon, at tea, before you arrived, she suggested to my husband and me that in her considered opinion, we ought to let Maisie wear trousers if she likes and insisted there was no harm in it.”
Lila winced. “Ah. Well, you know how these princesses can be.”
“Yes, Lila, you’ve said that they are raised to believe that everyone wants their opinion. You also said you had spoken to her.”
“I did, Blythe. And I will speak to her again.”
Blythe took Lila by the elbow and pulled her away from the window. “She is our honored guest, and naturally we are pleased to help you in your cause, you know that, but my husband and I have discussed it...” She paused.
Oh no.They’d discussed it.Nevera good sign.
“We’ve discussed it and we are in complete agreement that she seems restless. She went riding two days past and convinced one of the grooms to accompany her, and without her guards! They were gone for more than two hours! I don’t have to tell you how that might appear to some.”
“No indeed.” God above, Lila desperately hoped that the tales of what had happened in Wesloria had not reached Devonshire...yet. She had to intercept and block a chess move she felt was imminent. “You’re absolutely right, she seems restless, and the sooner she settles on a match, the sooner she will have the thing she needs to occupy her time and thoughts. We are so close, Blythe.”
“Yes. But until that happiest of days, my husband and I had an idea.”
Lila braced herself for the worst of ideas to come tumbling forth.
“We don’t want to insult her, of course.”
“Of course.” Lila’s sense of impending doom was growing by the second.
“She does seem to care so much for the children.”
“Adores them.”
“Do you think she might enjoy some time spent in Bibury with Beck’s sister?”
No, no, no, Lila couldn’t let that happen. “You want to send her to...where, again?”
“Bibury.”
