The Reluctant Princess - a Novella

Chapter 14 - The Standoff

"Why won't she come out?" her mother muttered, as if to herself, pacing the hallway, "We need to resolve this quickly or we will rouse suspicions!"

She and Lavinia had been attempting to convince Elzabeth to unlock the door and let them in for several hours, but to no avail.

"She is heartbroken, mother," her eldest daughter explained, "Can you try to at least sound like you care more about your daughter's feelings that what people will think?"

Her mother blanched and stopped pacing; her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, don't give me that look, mother, you know it's true. You know she has been fighting this tooth and nail for years. She only went along with it for our family's sake, only to be fooled by that... swine!"

"You are absolutely positive about this?" her mother continued in a loud whisper "You are quite sure this is not just some malevolent rumour? Started by that trollop, Lady Ross, no doubt..."

"I am sure, mother. There were several eyewitnesses, on several different occasions, one of which was Mildred herself. I may not trust the palace servants, but I trust Mildred blindly. If she said she saw the prince with another woman the night of the ball, it must be true. And if that is true, all the other rumors must also be true. She would have no reason to lie."

Her mother sighed deeply and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Surely, there must be something that can be done to stop these rumors from spreading?"

Lavinia growled and stomped her foot glaring at her mother.

"Well!" her mother countered, "Are you so naïve as to think we can call the whole thing off a mere handful of days before the wedding? The entire kingdom is waiting with bated breath for the royal wedding. There is nothing we can do to stop it. The best we can do is find a way to help smooth things over between Lizzie and Henry."

"Mother!" Lavinia cried out, having lost the last of her patience, "Please, Stop! You are not helping at all!"

"I am helping, you silly girl!" her mother hissed, looking around feverishly, checking for servants down the hallway, "You on the other hand are making a scene. Keep your voice down, for the love of God!"

"What in the devil is going on here?" Henry's voice startled them both and the swiveled to face his approaching figure from around the corner.

Lady Crawley cleared her throat and smoothed her coiffure nervously.

"Your highness! Good afternoon... are you all ready for the rehearsal?" She chirped in a too-shrill voice.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Lavinia who had murder in her eyes and looked so much like Elizabeth that he almost smiled.

"What is the matter?" he inquired, addressing the younger of the two with a discernable hint of worry in his voice, "Is Elizabeth not feeling well? Have you called for the doctor?"

"Oh, that's rich! Now you care about how she is feeling?" Lavinia exclaimed with a snarl, and crossed her arms over her bosom, blatantly ignoring her mother's silent pleas for decorum in the presence of the heir to the throne.

Henry blinked, looking genuinely confused and Lavinia faltered for a beat, but soon regained her bravery and leaned in menacingly to hiss through gritted teeth.

"I suggest you leave this minute. Your presence here will only make things worse. This is all your fault, you... you..." she struggled to find the right word to describe a man of questionable morals, but she must have pretended to be pious for entirely too long, because in the end she came up short and simply seethed, standing there between Henry and the door.