Estelle

Chapter Eight

The sunlight was harsh on my eyes when they fluttered open.  I was immediately hit with a wall of stiff pain when the events of my fall came rushing back.  As I was trying to sit up, a pair of hands came out of nowhere to push me back down.

"I'm glad to see you awake, but you're not getting up yet," said Julianne as her face came into my line of sight.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, my voice dry and cracking.

"It's been two days.  The queen has excused you from activities and events until you are up to it."

"Do you know what exactly happened?"

"The story is that a Lord Cole Walton, Earl of Aldermoore, wasn't looking as he went to lead one of the other girls to the center," she paused and looked around the room even though nobody else was there.  When she continued, her voice was just above a whisper, "The force you were struck with and the timing is what concerns me.  You were getting more attention from the prince than the others, but I can't imagine these girls going as far as to have a man knock you over.  I do think, however, there could be one girl who has the potential to do so."

Julienne didn't have to say her name as I knew who she was referring to:  Lady Katherine.  She had been the most confident, up until this point, that she could win the prince.  Her arguments with Lady Isabelle could easily show she was capable of any form of sabotage as well.

"Let's forget I ever brought this up," said Julienne, bringing her voice back up to a normal level.  "After your dance with the prince, you said that there was something you needed to tell us, but you couldn't talk about it there.  I know the other girls aren't here, but do you happen to remember what it was?"

I was quiet for a moment, trying to recall that conversation.  The image of dancing with the prince flashed in my mind, and brought with it the need to tell Julienne and the others about who he was.

"It's about the prince."

"I figured that much.  What about him?"

I was silent for a moment.  "He's Will."

Julienne looked at me before bursting out in laughter.  "Of course, I mean his name is William."  She obviously didn't understand what I meant, and the glare I sent her silenced her laughter.

"What I mean is, he's Will from my summers at Stagbury."

A look of shock came across Julienne's face, her brown eyes going wide.  "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, but it's not just an assumption.  He admitted it to me."

"I can't believe it.  Do you want to tell the others about it?  Honestly, I believe that the less people who know, the better."

"Right.  I don't need this to get out to Lady Katherine and her followers."

"My lips are sealed." 

*     *     *

I was ordered to remain in bed for three more days after I awoke to make sure there were no hidden injuries to my head.  The days passed by in a blur, with Alira visiting frequently, and the constant prattle from Rosaline and Gabrielle on the gossip from the other debutantes and their ladies.

Eventually, I was given the release from my bed with permission to join the other ladies.  As Sophie helped me from bed to wash away the grime in order to look presentable, Gabrielle joined us to fill me in on the gossip pertaining to today.

"The other debutantes are feverishly gossiping about your return," Gabrielle stated as Sophie helped me into the bath and began to wash my hair.  "So much so, that they believe your fall combined with their fuss will bring the prince to join us on our walk today."

The dull ache in my head that had started to fade with Sophie's gentle hands on my head, came back at the mention of the prince.  Even with my bedrest, I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had unknowingly spent my summers with the crown prince.  How naive I was to never inquire about his family, not that he would have answered me truthfully, though.  But what happens if he does join us?  I can't let the other girls realize that we have some kind of history.  The last thing I need to deal with is another bout of guilt-inducing, scandalous rumors, this time pertaining directly to me and not mother.

Gabrielle didn't seem to notice my silence as she continued to prattle on about the other gossip that had been going around.  

"Well I think that should do it.  Let's go get you dressed now," Sophie said as she helped me up out of the tub and began to dry me.

Julienne had laid out a demure gray day dress with simple silver embroidery and lace trimming the neckline.  After Adeline helped me into the dress, she adorned my neck with a simple diamond necklace Rosaline had selected for the outfit.  Adeline and Sophie worked together on arranging my natural loose curls in a half up fashion, with the rest cascading over my shoulders and down my back in bright auburn waves.

Once satisfied with my appearance, my ladies finished getting themselves ready.  I made my way into the sitting room and plopped myself down on the sofa, a breakfast tray sitting on the table beside me.  The scent of fresh bread tickled my nose, and I reached for a piece, deciding that I didn't need to wait for the others.  As I raised the piece of bread to my mouth, a knock sounded at the door.  Adeline materialized from the other room, and opened the door to reveal Alira dressed in a sunny yellow gown.

"Oh Stelle, it's so good to see you out of that bed!  I take it that you will be joining us today on the walk then?" she asked, making her way over to sit beside me.

"Well I heard the gossiping was getting quite intense with the other debutantes, so I decided to make an appearance,"  I humorously responded, earning a small laugh from her.

"Then I suppose you've heard the rumors that the prince may be joining us as well?"

"Yes, that was brought to my attention this morning."

"I would also assume that you'll both be the center of the gossip with the debutantes if he does in fact show himself today."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

Gabrielle, Julienne, and Rosaline joined us in the sitting room, and we all quietly tucked into the breakfast tray.  After a few minutes, the soft hum of voices began to drift through the thin walls and into the room.

"I'm going to go find my ladies, but we will find you shortly," Alira said, rising from her seat and making her way towards the door.

"We will look for you all as well," I reply, also standing up.

After a few moments of arranging ourselves to make sure we looked presentable, I braced myself as we exited the security of the suite to joint the others.  As I stepped across the threshold, the voices that had grown louder over time quieted to a few shared whispers between debutantes and their ladies.  I could feel the unwanted heat rising to my cheeks as all the gazes burned into me as my ladies pushed me out of the doorway to join the group.  Finally, after some agonizing moments of staring, the other girls began to make their way down to the gardens.  Once the crowd had dissipated, Alira appeared before us with her ladies.  She gave me a knowing, yet sympathetic glance before we began to follow the others in silence.

A/N:  Hello everyone!  Sorry this update has taken so long and nothing really happened in this chapter, but I've hit a bit a block with this story.  Because of that, I'm going to be working on editing the current chapters to take my mind off of the spot I'm stuck at.  So if you notice (or have noticed) any errors or inconsistencies let me know and I'll be sure to fix them!  Anyways, please keep voting/commenting because I greatly appreciate it, and I'll work on being more active here :)