Evangeline

Chapter 7

My maids had just finished helping me change out of my gown and were cleaning up when Gwen burst into my bedroom.

"Tell me about the ball." She ran over and bounced down onto the bed. "What did you think of the princes?"

Since Gwen was barely thirteen, she wasn't allowed to attend certain events yet. Sometimes there were other less formal balls and things that children were allowed to attend, but for the rest, she had to wait until next year to be included.

I tried explaining to her that the balls weren't nearly as exciting as she thought, but she still held the idealized belief that they were magical evenings filled with interesting discussions and fascinating people. I envied her naivete, but I was also sad that she would be cured of it too soon. After her first few adult events, she would understand.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" I asked, joining her on the bed and waving the maids from the room.

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "Come on, tell me."

"It really wasn't anything special," I said. "And the princes are arrogant and completely unlikable."

Gwen frowned. "You're so negative, Evie. You don't want to like them."

"No, I just know what they're like. Believe me, Gwen, I've watched them before and I spent plenty of time with them this evening. All they want to do is talk about themselves. All but Henry, at least. He doesn't want to talk about anything. He doesn't even want to be here."

"Maybe he would if you were nicer to him. You weren't very nice, were you?"

Naive as Gwen was, sometimes her intuition surprised me.

I laughed. "Actually, I appeared to be very friendly to Henry."

She seemed confused and I sighed.

"This isn't an enviable situation, Gwen. They're interested in me because of what I will gain for them. Nothing more. I'm being treated like cattle. I just happen to be the most advantageous girl in the country. That's the only reason they're here."

Gwen scowled at the floor for a minute. She hadn't realized those details before and she didn't like them.

"Papa wouldn't... sell you off like that."

"Papa only has so much say in it. He isn't the king and he probably won't be for a long time. I'm going to have to marry and it's going to have to be to a particular type of person. The princes are the most obvious choices."

Gwen almost looked like she would cry and I was reminded of how childlike she still was. I know it wasn't that long ago that I was her age, but I didn't remember being so sensitive or so...young when I was.

I put my arm around her and she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"It's alright," I said. "It's not a nice thing to think about, but it's not the end of the world. And I'm certainly not the first one to be put in this position."

"But it's not fair," she complained and I wondered if she was thinking about when she would be in my place.

"No, it's not," I agreed. "But it could be worse. Most girls - even regular ones - don't have fathers like we do. Papa wants me to have a say. He even said he wouldn't make me marry any of them if I really don't like them."

"He did?" She raised her head to look at me.

I nodded. "It won't be any different for you. You'll have a choice too."

She smiled a little and rested her head on my shoulder again.

"Do you ever wish we were just regular people?" she wondered. "That nobody cared about these things?"

I laughed. "All the time."

We sat for a few minutes and Gwen still seemed sad.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked in an effort to cheer her up.

Sitting up, she smiled and nodded.

"I did meet someone nice tonight," I said.

"Who?" She looked excited, those more troublesome thoughts momentarily banished.

"I don't know exactly. He wouldn't tell me."

"He wouldn't?" she asked, surprised and delighted.

Smiling, I shook my head. "He was very silly. He said he wanted me to guess. I never did though."

"Will you see him again?"

"He said I would...though I'm not sure when."

"Maybe you could marry him," she said.

I laughed, feeling silly that I'd grasped at the same idea.

"Maybe, but I don't know. It's not too likely that he's elevated enough to satisfy Grandfather."

"But maybe he is," she said, optimistically.

"Maybe," I agreed. "But for now, you can't say anything to anyone, alright?"

"Will you tell me if you see him again?" she asked.

"I will if you'll keep it to yourself."

"Okay!" she agreed happily.

"Alright," I said. "You should go back to bed now."

Gwen pursed her lips, clearly not liking the idea.

"You may not want to sleep, but I had a very long night and I do want to sleep."

"Couldn't I stay?"

"Only if you promise not to kick me this time," I teased.

She laughed and kicked off her shoes before wriggling under the covers.

Standing, I went around the room to put out the candles before I joined Gwen under the covers. Chloe hopped up on the mattress and burrowed down, right in the middle of the large bed. When she sighed contentedly, I smiled and touched her cold little nose.

After a minute, I found myself feeling as if I wanted to cry. All too soon, these simple joys wouldn't be possible any longer. After I was married, Gwen wouldn't have such easy access to my private rooms. Even if we lived in the same place. I didn't even know if I'd see her very often at all. I doubted that I'd be able to keep Chloe with me either. Whoever my husband would be probably wouldn't want a dog around all the time.

Why couldn't things stay like this forever?