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A soft knock sounds at the doors of the bridal suite, and Ilsa scampers over in her mother-of-the-bride outfit, her skirt swishing. She opens the door and leans out.
“What is it?” she asks impatiently. “Oh! Pardon my manners, Your Highness. Is the prince found?”
For a second, my heart is in my throat. Is it the king? The queen? Oh gods, is it the groom? I don’t want him to see me before the wedding, it’s bad luck!
Despite how I feel about today, I’m still a traditional girl. I need all the luck I can get.
“Yes, ma’am. He’s been found. He’s getting ready now.”
Ilsa clutches her chest. “Oh, thank goodness. Is he well?”
“May I come in?”
The older woman steps out of the way, and Princess Flora enters the room.
I swallow and curtsey. “Your Highness.”
“Please, none of that. We’re friends now. Sisters!” Something about Flora’s tone is overly bright, but I nod and tell her she’s very gracious.
She leans in. “May I have a word with you privately?”
“Of course, Your Highness. Flora,” I say with a smile, then turn to Ilsa.
Ilsa buffers between being left out of the loop and deferring to the princess.
“Of course. I’ll just go and…check on other things. Try not to wrinkle your dress,” she says, bowing out of the room.
I could not care less about a wrinkled dress under these circumstances.
Flora’s angelic face turns excited.
“I just wanted a minute of your time to say how excited I am that we’re going to be sisters. You’ve met Hailey, of course. She’s wonderful, and I think the three of us will be great friends,” she says.
I tell her I agree. “Hailey seems like a charming woman, and I look forward to getting to know her better.”
Flora gives me a knowing look. “Of course, that is, after the proper time. Your honeymoon with Etienne, I mean. I suspect the two of you will want plenty of time to get to know each other,” Flora says.
The poor girl has no idea, does she?
I take a deep breath and address the elephant in the room.
“I think we both know,” I say, “I’m marrying a man who doesn’t love me. He may be handsome, and I like him very much. But the fact remains, we barely know each other.”
I like him very much?You love him. You want to have all his babies.
Flora nods. “Then again, sometimes two people can love each other for years but still not be right for each other in marriage.”
I tilt my head, trying to suss out whether another layer of meaning exists. Could the princess be talking about someone else?
“Does the prince have feelings for someone?”
She sits back with wide eyes. “Oh! No, of course not. How could he, with you as his bride?”
Once again, I dare to speak the truth. “I doubt he even likes me. But I am looking forward to being your sister and Hailey’s. You might find I’ll lean on you heavily in the coming days. His…habits…might be overwhelming.”
Flora nods with a knowing look.
“Etienne is a dear once you get to know him. You make beer. He likes to drink beer. A match made in heaven, right?”
