A Peasant and A Princess

Chapter Eight: Rain

Sorry about going so long without updating. I was in New York, and had some really bad writer's block when I got back, but that isn't really a very good excuse. Sorry.

I visited Mallory again the next day after my lessons. I had a couple hours of free time in between lessons and dinner, and I used to read or walk in the gardens using that time, but it was the perfect time to visit Mallory.

It took me about 45 minutes to walk to Mallory's. Usually, I would hate being on my feet for that long, but in general, I didn't mind the walk to Mallory's. The people there would only recognize me from the parade, so as long as I didn't dress too nicely, I didn't have any problems. I could pass the little shops, and the cute little houses of the shopkeepers with flowers in the front. I didn't like walking down streets like Mallory's quite as much, as it stunk and the pavement was cracked and uneven, making it hard to walk.

Today, however, I didn't really enjoy the walk. I had been practicing walking in heels all morning (apparently that's the consequence of falling when you try to skip in heels) and my ankle ached from falling on my way to dinner last night. To top it off, the day was dreary and cold. The sky was gray, and it looked like it was about to rain.

Around the time I reached 56th street, it was raining. Nearly half of the road was mud, and the numerous potholes were filled with water. My boots were cold and wet, and made a sloshing noise with each step. I was freezing. Obviously, I hadn't dressed for the weather, and I felt as if my fingers could snap off under my silk gloves. My coat was made out of thin wool, and the water was getting through to my dress. The skirt of my dress was muddy, and had a rip in it. I had no idea how I would explain this to Jane.

I got to Mallory's house cold, wet, and angry at myself for walking somewhere when it was obviously going to rain.

I knocked on the door, and almost immediately, Catherine answered the door. She seemed surprised to see me there, but not as much as she had the first time I had visited. I suppose Mallory had told them about my previous visits.

"Please, Your Highness, come in," She muttered.

I stepped into the house. I felt surprisingly warm. Mrs. Huntson began to unbutton my coat, and then slipped it off of my shoulders and placed it on a chair.

"Your Highness, are you okay? Can I get you some tea? Some dry clothes?" She seemed weirdly worried about me. However, I was soaked to the bone and freezing. I wasn't about to turn her down.

"If it isn't too much trouble, that'd be lovely, thank you ma'am," I wasn't required to call anyone ma'am, but somehow it felt right. I was speaking to Mallory's mother.

She ordered Catherine and Mallory to go find some clothes that would fit me, and Alice to make some tea. I had only ever had tea here once, but I already loved the smell of the simple mint tea brewing. It was lovely, and the scent filled the small front room.

I sat down at the small table, feeling out of place. Everyone seemed to be working, and I was just sitting there waiting for people to do things for me. I tried to think of what I could do. I could make toast, but I didn't know if they had any bread to spare. I could embroider, and so I could probably stitch whatever Alice had been working on before she had begun to make tea.

Just as I was about to ask if I could do anything, Mallory emerged with a plain brown tunic like dress that would probably come to my knees. I recognized the dress as what Mallory had been wearing underneath her coat the first night we met.

"Sorry, the nightgown was all we had,' She said, handing the dress to me.

Almost immediately after she shut her mouth, Catherine grabbed her wrist, and slapped it. Hard.

"The princess is your highness to you! Your highness!" She snapped. I wondered if Catherine was on edge today, or if it was completely normal to freak out about something like.

The room was still. Nobody wanted to say a word, nobody seemed to dare. The only sound was the tea bubbling on the stove.

"It's fine. I told her she could drop the honorifics," I said.

Everyone in the room seemed to relax, but no one said anything just yet.

"Ma, the tea's ready," chirped Alice. I realized it was the first time I had ever heard her speak apart from the time when she had been yelling for Matthew. Despite looking exactly how I would imagine Catherine looking as a little girl, she sounded exactly like Mallory.

**********

After all the tea was gone, nobody really wanted to go back to work, or in my case, back to the palace. Alice went to put on another pot of tea.

"We should play cards," Matthew suggested after a moment of silence.

Mallory immediately got up from her chair. She dashed to the back of the room, opened up the chest, and began searching.

Catherine also got up, and began looking in one on the cupboards next to the stove.

Mallory ran back with a deck of cards.

"Are we playing bridge?" I asked. I didn't really like bridge that much, but I was pretty good at it. Mainly because everyone else chatted their way through it, while I paid attention and strategized.

Mallory and Catherine laughed in response.

"We don't play bridge here. We play blackjack," Said Mallory with a smirk.