Garden Princess Read Online Free Page A

waist in the kingdom. Nor would she ever have a small waist, Cecile made clear with a hard look, if she continued taking pieces of cake from the tea tray. “Besides,” added Cecile as Adela took a strawberry instead, “the color would wash out her complexion. No, I think as far as Adela goes, we’ll have to settle for blue. You know what I mean, Marguerite — a nice forget-me-not blue.”
    “Her Highness has a silk gown in forget-me-not blue!” Marguerite exclaimed.
    “Exactly! Though I do hope the silk won’t be too heavy,” Cecile commented. “Then again, our choices are limited, seeing as there isn’t time to make anything new. Let’s just hope it still fits her — Adela has grown so in the past year! But I suppose that’s what a corset is for, isn’t it?”
    It was daring bit of humor for the queen, mentioning underwear at tea. Marguerite tittered appreciatively, as did the other ladies-in-waiting sitting around the table. Adela forced a smile and helped herself to more cake after all.
    By Saturday morning, she was so tired of listening to Marguerite and Cecile, and so irritated by all the party preparations, that she almost wished she had never agreed to go.
    The blue silk gown did fit her, though just barely. Adela’s corset strings had to be pulled so tight, she could hardly breathe. Moreover, the skirt was too short, and there was no hem to let out. “You might try bending your knees a little,” Cecile advised when she came into Adela’s dressing room to view the results of their preparations.
    “I might try not wearing these high-heeled shoes,” Adela shot back. Her patience was wearing thin.
    “Yes, dear, I know they’re hard to walk in.” Cecile’s voice was indulgent. “But everyone looks at feet — they really do!”
    “I should think they would want to look at the garden,” Adela murmured.
    “What do you think of Her Highness’s hair, Cecile?” asked Marguerite, who had spent the last hour working with the hairdresser to achieve the creation that now topped Adela’s head.
    “I’m afraid to turn my neck,” said Adela. “What if the pins come out?”
    “I wonder if she should wear a tiara,” said Marguerite.
    “I am
not
wearing a tiara!”
    Thankfully, Cecile agreed. “A tiara is a bit too formal, but we might think about a necklace.”
    Marguerite was already pawing through the jewelry collection Adela had inherited from her mother. “What about this?” She held up a diamond necklace that sent rainbows of light spinning across the walls and ceiling.
    “Please, no!” said Adela. “I already look like a decorated cake!”
    “There are earrings that match!” Marguerite said in a coaxing voice.
    “
You
wear them.”
    “Why, Adela! What a thoughtful gesture!” said Cecile. “But you must wear
something.
”
    “What about sapphires?” said Marguerite, who was already fastening the diamond necklace around her own neck. “To go with her sapphire gown.”
    Over the past few days, Adela’s blue dress had been called
forget-me-not, cornflower, cerulean,
and
azure.
Now it was
sapphire.
Adela ducked her head and rolled her eyes. “I’ll wear this,” she said, fastening a pendant with a small blue stone around her neck.
    “Small as it is, I suppose it will do,” said Cecile. Then she stepped back to survey their appearance. She clasped her hands and exclaimed, “You are going to be the prettiest girls at the party!”
    Overdressed and uncomfortable as she might be, Adela could only imagine how Garth must be feeling. He was standing beside the carriage when they came outside. He was wearing a footman’s uniform: a dark-blue velvet jacket, crimson trousers made of satin, a white-ruffled shirt, and white silk stockings. His hair was combed and tied back with a red bow. He wore polished black shoes with shining silver buckles and heels almost as high as Adela’s. Were his shoes giving him blisters, too? Adela wondered as she hobbled toward him.
    “I’ve asked the