Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The four following months, Louis and I got a lot closer than I had anticipated. I did my best to stay on my guard around him, while also seeming relaxed.

I had a feeling that if Lord Rutherford got any more suspicious, he would make a thorough research of me and my history, if he hadn't already done that. I didn't know if he informed his eldest nephew about his possible discoveries about me, because Louis didn't seem to mind at all if he was aware. In fact, he often came to find me after lunch so we could go on walks and have discussion about almost anything that passed through our minds.

I had interesting conversations with him about our society mostly, and he often surprised me with his point of views and reflections. They either went totally in the favor of our society's conventions, or were completely against. I didn't always agree with him, although I stayed quiet about it to avoid any suspicion.

But he seemed to enjoy these walks with me a lot, so I didn't want to deny it to him. I often caught him staring at me with a small smile when I voiced my opinions, but I shrugged it off, not wanting to cause any discomfort.

On the numerous balls that took place during this time, he would ask me for at least a dance on all of them. Lord Rutherford, Lady Amelia, Jacob and Joséphine, Daphnée and Désirée ignored me most of the time. But I didn't miss Lord Rutherford's occasional, seemingly inquiring glances, or his three daughters' venomous glares when I talked to Louis or Thomas. I also had a few conversations with Dahlia, who seemed nicer and less scheming than her female cousins. John and I got to know each other better, and we often hung out with Elisa and sometimes Michelle. John's courtship to Elisa seemed to be going well, as they befriended each other properly during the past weeks.

When a lady was courted by a gentleman, they would often go on walks in the garden or the parc, sometimes riding. In the garden, every action and interaction were out in the open and public, so there wasn't any privacy for whoever went on a walk there. That was why couples often went in the parc instead, where it was more private. But they would need a chaperone to preserve the reputation of the lady. So, I always ended up accompanying Elisa and John on their walks in the parc to chaperone her, even though I often let them get a bit closer than what was considered decent.

Elisa, Gaby, Thomas and I continued to meet up regularly at the library after lunch, although it became a bit difficult with the princes' hectic schedules. We tried to do a meeting every three days, when it worked well. I often saw Lily and Chris to tell them stories and to relieve me from the stress of the Court's etiquette and my constant acting in front of my enemies.

I also continued to play the pianoforte and the harp, which seemed to please most of the people of the Court. I trained in the mornings and the late afternoons, since the early afternoon was already busy, either with walks with Louis or the meeting with the royal children. After that, I went on the afternoon walk, the afternoon tea sometimes, when I didn't have to train.

Regarding Fabian, I had noticed that he seemed a bit more relaxed after what happened in the hallway of Thomas' room. I often wondered if it meant that Lord Rutherford had left him alone. Thomas had become a bit distant towards him after I had explained what happened to him. But I had insisted on the fact that it wasn't really Fabian's fault, so Thomas seemed to have half-forgiven him.

I found myself very busy with everything that was going on, so I didn't hesitate to go galloping with Belle alone when the opportunity arose. It was a late afternoon, where I didn't have to train any of my pieces because I didn't have to play at dinner that day.

I had trotted into the forest and until the hills where Thomas had taken me before our trip. There, I had galloped for a little more than an hour, which Belle seemed to have enjoyed a lot. Now I was back to the stables, jumping from my normal saddle onto the ground.