Crossed Hearts | h.s

Twenty Six

"Your grace."

Geneva was pulled out of her dreams by the gentle voice. Every muscle in her body ached from the festivities of her coronation the day before. She rubbed her eyes groggily and propped herself up on her elbows, blinking until her eyes adjusted to the light and made out Emilia standing at the foot of her bed. "What time is it?" she asked through a yawn.

"Nearly eight thirty," Emilia replied as she pulled the curtains back further to allow more light into the room.

Geneva winced, blocking her eyes with her hands. "So early," she mumbled. "Did you at least bring me some tea?" The sound of footsteps to her right nearly caused her to have a heart attack. She snapped her head in their direction to find a young girl standing with a salver in her hands containing a pot of tea and a cup. "Oh," she said.

"This is Mistress Estelle, daughter of Sir Hugh Franklin. Your mother took the liberty of assigning her as your lady-in-waiting," Emilia explained.

Geneva had never been fond of ladies-in-waiting and she never had a need for one with Emilia by her side. "But–" she started to object, but then sighed and looked at the young woman, who couldn't have been more than sixteen. "Good morning, Estelle."

"Good morning, your majesty." She tried to curtsy, but began to wobble and almost dropped the salver in her hands. After she recovered, she gave an awkward smile. "Tea?"

"Please," she said, leaning back against her pillows with an exasperated breath.

❁ ❁ ❁

Geneva joined her sister and mother in the dining room for breakfast after Estelle and Emilia dressed her in a gown and combed through her hair for the day. When she entered the room, the two women were already eating pieces of toast and on their second cup of tea. Geneva took her seat and reached for the bread, spreading butter onto it before taking a bite.

"Did you enjoy the party?" Geneva asked Caris, who had yawned almost four times since she had entered the room.

Caris nodded. "Oh, it was so grand. It makes me excited for my engagement party. Speaking of which, have you thought of a date yet, sister?"

"Ten days from now," Geneva said before taking a sip of tea.

Caris wasn't expecting her to actually have thought about it, let alone decide on a date. "Oh," she said in a surprised tone. "Well, we must begin planning. I want every noble in the land to attend and a huge feast and dancing all evening!" she gushed excitedly.

"I have already written to the King and Queen of Nydale, so hopefully they will be in attendance as well," Geneva added.

Caris rolled her eyes. "Aren't they old?"

"I believe the eldest son was crowned earlier this year, so I imagine not too much older than myself," Geneva said.

"Mother, can we start planning today? Ten days isn't much time! Everything needs to be perfect. My ladies can help, too," Caris said in one breath, too excited to speak at a normal pace.

"Speaking of ladies," Geneva said spitefully. "Why have you employed a lady-in-waiting without consulting me first? You know I don't need one, let alone want one."

Anna, who was now to be referred to as the queen mother, glanced to the empty seat at the head of the table out of habit. When she realized she had done that to look for her late husband, she sighed and her face softened. Geneva never noticed how tired she looked until that moment; her hair was graying, eyes dull, wrinkles prominent. She nodded loosely to Caris and then gave Geneva a weak glare. "I thought that, as queen, it would be helpful to have another ally. Estelle is a sweet girl. If you don't want her, though, I can send her off."