First at Last

Chapter Three

I pushed open the door leading into the foyer. The smell of dinner reached me and my stomach grumbled in response. When I walked into the dining room, the food was just being placed on the table by the kitchen staff.

There was so much food, always too much. We never ate even half of it. The sight of roast duck, lamb stew, fresh brown bread, pastries drizzled with honey and crushed almonds . . . the sight of it all made my mouth water.

The dinner bell was rung and I sat at the table and my family joined me moments later, taking their seats at the table. Father sat at the head of the table, as he always did. My mother sat at the other end of the table; Alice sat to my father's right, and I sat at his left, across from her.

Mother looked at me across the table, her eyes narrowed. "How was your trip to the market, Erika?" She asked pleasantly, but her eyes held a challenge.

"It was fine." I replied blandly, hoping that would end the discussion.

Though, of course it wasn't.

"What did you buy?" Her eyes glinted in the lamplight.

I swallowed hard. I hadn't really thought about that. My eyes searched around the room for something I could have possibly bought at the market. "A book." A predictable answer. Safe.

"Which book?"

I tamped down my irritation. I didn't like all of the attention. Father and Alice watched our little exchange wordlessly. "Don Quixote." I already owned the book, but she couldn't possibly know that.

"Oh really? Who's that by?" She asked.

"Miguel de Cervantes." I replied immediately.

She nodded her head slowly, keeping her eyes on me. "I see. Well, I'm glad you found what you were looking for." She sounded pleasant, and the words she'd spoken were nice enough, but I knew she didn't mean it. She'd been waiting for me to slip up, but I hadn't.

I ate my dinner in silence as my mother and father chatted about the politics of court and everything that was going on. Alice turned to me and asked in a low voice, "Did you really go to the market?"

"Yes, of course. Why would I lie about that?" I said.

She nodded slowly and turned back to her food. The way she'd asked me the question, almost with accusation, made me uneasy. I went back to eating my own food, but I found that I was no longer hungry.

The next day, I went through the same routine: dragging myself out of bed, breakfast, lessons . . . but all day, I was looking forward to when I would be able to go to the palace again.

Finally, around three o'clock, Walter drove me in the carriage to the palace gates. Once again, I paid him for his silence, and he informed me that he would be back around six o'clock.

Although I was there on time today, William was already waiting by the tree when I arrived. I felt a smile tug at my lips as I walked toward him.

"Good day, William," I greeted.

A smile played about his lips. "Hello, Miss Lovet."

"You may call me Erika, since you let me call you William."

He raised his eyes skyward as he thought. "Alright, Erika."

My heart did a little flip. I found that I liked the sound of my name on his lips. We sat under the tree and neither of us said something for a long moment.

I broke the silence. "What's it like being prince?" I asked him curiously.

He looked at me for a moment and then at the grass. "It's both good and bad. There's lots of work and training and it seems like I am never really done, but it is also rewarding. I get to meet many beautiful women, like yourself,"—my face warmed at his words—"and I am training for a job that I think I will be quite good at. Not to sound overly confident," he added sheepishly.