Empire of Dreams

*20*

The spring cheer spread through the kingdom like magic. Though I always preferred the silent subtlety of winters, Mary was absolutely elated for her upcoming birthday.

Elizabeth remained in a foul mood for the whole of the next week, always shooting poisonous looks at her elder sister and seeking respite by coming to me. Mary followed somewhat the same pattern.

While I was worried where this would lead the family, knowing that both Elizabeth and Mary had dangerous tempers, my mother seemed to be rejoicing my close proximity with them.

"I taught you right, see, talking with the right people" she would whisper under her breath while embroidering in my room or when bidding me good night. It was safe to say Kathyrn was not at all happy with this new development.

I spent most of my day walking in the garden while reading books from the royal library or helping Edward with the workload. With Libitina's help, he seemed to have recovered a bit and was now able to sit at his desk to supervise me.

I found myself loving the facts and numbers about my kingdom and almost everyone in the court was on good terms with me whereas Edward had developed a snappish behaviour which made everyone want to steer clear of him.

On the 12th day of February, the king had declared a day of festivities for his warriors and knights but only on the 9th did we discover that no arrangements had been made. We acted quickly and were able to plan out an event that was the level of grandiose as had been promised.

On the eve of the event, however, I received a letter from Archduke Leonard. It read:

With my deepest regards and respect to you, Lady Jane, I am pleased to inform you that my nephew would be meeting with you today afternoon by the lake behind the palace. Please send your confirmation and approval with the butler.

Yours loyally,
Archduke Leonard

Sending a confirmation back, I informed Edward about the meeting and rushed to Mary. I asked her to suggest what to wear to such a meeting.

"I am surprised you are not with Elizabeth. After all, she is much closer to your age" Mary said.

"Well, you should know that care and pray for you both equally and I would never pick sides if my life depended on it, that's a promise. I came to you because you are wiser than me"

"You mean I have met more men?"

"I mean that you know well enough to make a suggestion" I calmly ended the conversation and though Mary looked like she wanted to say more, she was silent.

She picked out one of Queen Anne's gowns to my surprise. I looked at her curiously and casually shaking her head, she muttered something like "she did always manage to steal hearts".

When I smiled, she added rather sourly, "Mind you, she stole hearts, never won them" with that she left and a few moments later, Elizabeth walked in.

"Oh I had been waiting for her to-- wait, Jane, are you going somewhere?" Elizabeth asked

"Yes, to meet Archduke Leonard's nephew"

"You didn't tell me!"

"I was going to"

"You told Mary, didn't you? I should've known. You are the sisters now, are you?" Elizabeth was fuming with anger now.

"I did tell Mary and in fact, I asked her to pick out my gown. Look what she liked"

Elizabeth looked more closely now and realised what I meant. She was shocked for a moment.

"This..." She whispered.

"Is your mother's, I know. Mary knew too" I finished the sentence for her.

She looked at me and I could see the tears in her eyes. Then she wished me luck and left before I could ask her anything more.

I put on the gown myself as I couldn't find Sia anywhere. As a matter of fact, I hadn't seen her around these days. We barely spoke and had not spent any time together. I decided to take out some time later and went over to the mirror.

The royal purple dress was lined with rich silver and though I wore the gown, it was fit for a queen. I had my hair in a braid with purple flowers tucked in it and a hairnet to go with the dress.

As I put on my usual pearl necklace and earrings, Sia arrived.

"I have news for you, my lady. The King has approved your request. We can go settle at Westhanger for some time now" she said breathlessly.

"I'll talk to him later about this. Let us go now"

Sia joined me quietly, not enquiring where we were going or why. We reached the lake early and I took in a deep breath, bracing myself for whoever or whatever was to come. I had no idea who or what this person was like, I wondered if he was a nice person. There was also a very major possibility that he would be an oppressive or problematic husband which would be a con whether I was the Queen of England or not. I wondered on and on until Sia suddenly pointed somewhere excitedly.

"Look! It's him!"