An Imperfect Princess (18 page)

“I have dreamed
of flying,” he corrected.  “Ever since that day on your ship.  I would like to
do it again sometime before you leave.  I’d also like to... ah, but that is
neither here or there.”

That was right,
she thought miserably.  She was still going to leave.

She had almost
forgotten that her time here was short.

She also got a
faint impression that he was referring to a different kind of flying
altogether.  But maybe that was only her own wishful thinking.

They presented
the debutante with the matching necklace and earrings that afternoon at tea. 
While at the jeweler’s in London, they had purchased a suitable presentation
case.  The jeweler had commented on the exquisite quality of the workmanship of
the gems, which had caused Eneria to smirk.  Apparently, women were not often
jewelers on this world, and her pride in her craft was the one thing upon when
she would not bend. 

“Clarissa, this
is a present for you, from Enny and me.”  James looked a little uncomfortable
handing her the box, Eneria noticed.  

Clarissa stared
at her brother-in-law and the bizarre young woman who had invaded their lives
so suddenly.  Eneria had made herself her own jewelry to wear, but she would
keep it hidden away until tomorrow.  She had chosen diamonds and platinum for a
tiara.  And then, of course, there was the pendant, which was too ostentatious
for English fashion but which she could get away with, being a “princess” from
the “Continent.”

The young girl
opened the case and gasped aloud when she saw the delicate necklace of a
sapphire flanked with diamonds, along with matching earrings in heavy gold. 
They were works of art and possibly worth more than her entire dowry.

“Oh my
goodness,” she said, blinking rapidly.  “They’re exquisite.”  She reached out
to touch one with shaking fingers.  “My mother’s jewels... when I was little,
she always promised me I would have this one necklace of hers that had
sapphires and diamonds.  I understand she had taken it with her to India.”

She got up to
hug her guardian and her new friend, each in turn.  James looked over her
shoulder at the windows as she embraced him fiercely, and Eneria grinned at his
discomfiture. 

“We obtained a
present for Marilyn as well,” James continued, nodding toward the large china
doll the girl was clutching in her arms.  Galileo had not traveled with them to
London, and the girl had remarked that she missed him greatly.   The doll was
going to have to be an adequate substitute.

“Her name is
Princess Enny,” Marilyn announced solemnly. 

She really has
calmed down a lot, Eneria thought.  Aijo was working wonders with her.  The
fairy had commented that she reminded her a lot of Vaz at that age; rebellious
merely for the sake of rebellion itself.

“It’s a very
pretty doll,” Clarissa said, and Marilyn nodded.  Someday, she would leave the
world of dolls behind and enter the mysterious world of womanhood, where she
too would appreciate a golden necklace more than a china doll.  But not yet. 
Each girl secretly thought they’d gotten the better gift that day.

“One more
thing,” Eneria said, holding her teacup as Aijo had impressed upon her as the
correct way.  “This is your debut, and as such I will do my best to fade into
the background.  I don’t want to be noticed.  But, I have promised James a
waltz.”

She looked at
him, and he held an unreadable expression.

“Oh, how
famous.” Clarissa clapped her hands together.  “I am perfectly jealous.  Of
course you may dance the waltz, since I cannot.”

That matter
settled, they headed upstairs to make final wardrobe decisions for the next
night.

“You’re in love
with Uncle James,” a young voice accused Eneria from behind.  Clarissa and
Eneria turned around to face Marilyn, who stood there, sans governess, of
course.  She had an uncanny ability to escape Mrs. Thomas whenever she wanted
to.

Mitsy and Anna
looked aghast at the little girl who had entered their sanctuary of feminine
adulthood.

“We have a
business relationship,” Eneria corrected gently.  However, that particular
phrase caused Clarissa to raise an eyebrow.

“Rescuing you
from a ship is a business relationship?”

That’s right,
Eneria remembered suddenly.  Clarissa didn’t know anything.  Certainly the
maids didn’t.

“Forgive me, I
believe I chose the wrong word.  English is not my first language, after all,”
Eneria laughed nervously, and Aijo whispered into her ear from where she was
hiding in her hair.  “Platonic, perhaps?”

“That phrase is
a bit more appropriate,” Clarissa conceded, and the women nodded together.

“She has a pet
fairy!” Marilyn shouted, angry at being dismissed so easily.  Mitsy’s face
paled at the reminder that the princess from the continent talked to herself,
or fairies, or both, and was probably barking mad.

“Have you seen
this fairy?” Clarissa said, exasperated.  “Marilyn, dear child, if you are only
trying to get attention, it is distracting to us.  I am going to fetch Mrs.
Thomas if you do not leave us alone.”

“Lady Enny, tell
her,” Marilyn pleaded, standing her ground.

Unable to lie,
Eneria bit her lip and said in a noncommittal voice, “She’s right, I do have a
pet fairy.”  A wink at Clarissa was all it took to make the younger woman
believe they were merely indulging the child.

“I am not a
pet!” Aijo hissed from Eneria’s hair in Lathlian.

“I’d be
delighted to meet your fairy sometime then,” Clarissa said, playing along. 
Mitsy looked the most nervous of them all, but it was not her place to call
both her mistress and a princess insane.

“Perhaps I shall
introduce you later on then,” Eneria said.  “Now go on, Marilyn. And disabuse
yourself of any notion that I have fallen in love with your uncle.  James has
been a saint to me, but he would have done the same for anyone who washed up
from a shipwreck.  You should know as much yourself.

Marilyn petulantly
stomped her foot and left the room.  With a sigh, Aijo silently flew after her
to calm her down.

“What an odd
child,” Anna remarked.  “They said you were… odd, Your Highness, but that girl
seems to be even odder than you.”

“She blames
herself for her parent’s deaths,” Eneria said, and Clarissa blinked at that
explanation.

“Did she come
out and say that?  She had nothing to do with the accident.  Our family was
lost at sea.” 

Eneria shook her
head.  “Children do not think logically.  Her parents died, and somehow she has
determined that she is to blame for it, even if she was not involved.  It has
altered her thinking, however, and until she can resolve it herself, she will continue
to behave oddly.  She has a lot of anger built up inside.”  She drummed her
fingers on the bed cover.  “Perhaps that is why she is so protective of Ja–Lord
Holding.” She caught herself just in time.  They were not supposed to be on a
first name basis.  “He is all she has left now.”

Clarissa looked
sorrowfully at the door.  “I’m grateful I had the love of my parents as a
child.  It was hard to lose them at fifteen, but it must be harder still to
lose them at seven.”

Eneria squeezed
her hand.  “It is just as hard to lose them at eighteen.”

“How old are
you, Your Highness?” Anna asked curiously, then remembered her manners.  “Oh, I’m
sorry, forget I asked,” she said sheepishly.

“No no, it’s all
right,” Eneria giggled.  “I’m not that long in the tooth.  I’m only twenty.”

Clarissa leaned
forward, a mysterious glint in her eyes.  “James is only twenty five himself.”

“Poor dear! I
thought him older.  So he was only twenty three when he found himself the guardian
of two young girls.”

“And a titled
peer,” Clarissa added.  “He’s quite eligible, actually.”  She elbowed Eneria. 
“Maybe you
should
fall in love with him.”

Eneria shook her
head. She wasn’t in love with him.  She
couldn’t
be. “It is as I told
Marilyn.  It’s platonic.”

“That doesn’t
mean it has to stay that way! I’d love to have you in the family,” Clarissa
said, her eyes sparkling.

“And his
lordship is quite handsome,” Mitsy added, and blushed suddenly.  It was not a
proper thing for a maid to say about her employer.

“Stop trying to
play matchmaker!” Enny protested, and the four young women dissolved into a
heap of giggles on the counterpane.

Oh, it was so
wonderful to be in the company of women again!  Eneria missed Vaz dreadfully
sometimes.  The long, lonely nights hiding in hyperspace had been essential for
survival, but she’d been deprived of the companionship of fellow humanoids.

The thought of
returning to that lifestyle made her chest hurt.

The Duke of
Wessex and his duchess were not hosting the first ball of the season; that
honor had gone to someone else a week before they arrived, but theirs was the
first grand event.  Dinner was served promptly at seven.  Dancing would
continue afterward until dawn.

Clarissa had
chosen a pale blue watered silk gown with ribbons and bows.  Eneria had matched
it with an emerald green gown that brought out the reddish tones in her henna
stained hair.  She missed the blue a little, although it did amuse her to think
what people would say of her mother and Vaz’s sky blue tresses. 

Her hair was
piled up into a high coif this time, with no room for a tiny fairy to lurk. 
Aijo would be hidden in her clutch handbag, to be released shortly after they
arrived to act as a lookout.  Once again, Eneria was grateful to have the fairy
around, even if she was a bit of a nuisance where her love life was concerned.

As they swept
down the stairs, Clarissa first with Eneria in her full chaperone role right
behind her, Eneria felt happier than she had in a long time.  She could get
used to this lifestyle.  Even when she was a princess on Lathlor, she had never
been allowed to go to fancy balls with dancing, only the occasional boring
state dinner and luncheon with visitors from other worlds.  Vaz had rebelled
against that life early on, venturing out into the city, but Eneria had been
content to stay locked away until her father used her as a bargaining chip in
interplanetary politics.

And then she saw
James.

He was wearing a
dark coat of superfine wool, with pale trousers and boots so glossy she would
not have been surprised if she could see her reflection in them. His unruly
hair had been mostly tamed with pomade, and she again marveled at that one
defiant wave, which looked as if it might spring up at any moment.  He looked
so aristocratic and handsome that her mouth went dry.

Ah, there go the
toes tingling again. No man on her home world had
ever
done that.

“Clarissa, my
dear, if you do not have half the men at the dance tonight at your feet by
tomorrow, I shall be astonished,” he said, bowing politely.  He then raised an
eyebrow at Eneria.  “Although Enny may take a few away from you.”

“Oh dear, I knew
I should have toned it down,” Eneria said, concerned.  “Is the tiara too much? 
I never had a tiara on Lestonia.”  She touched her hair, ready to take the
offending crown off her head. 

“
In
Lestonia,” Clarissa corrected, patting her friend on the arm.  “Sometimes I
forget that English is not your native language, but do be cautious.”

Eneria and James
exchanged a look.  The slip of the tongue had been noticed, for the wrong
reason, but she would have to be careful.

“Of course, my
mistake,” Eneria agreed. “Perhaps your English gentlemen will find my accent
charming, anyway.”

“We’ll both find
ourselves husbands this season!” Clarissa said with a laugh.  She was in high
spirits today, brimming over with hope and excitement at her debut to society.

He escorted the
girls to the waiting carriage outside.  Eneria was nervous on behalf of
Clarissa. 

They chattered
lightly as the carriage took them through the crowded streets and before long
they were at the town house of the Duke of Wessex.

The two women
composed themselves and put aside their smiles for a more serious demeanor. 
Eneria had been coached by the earl to appear as haughty as she could; her
normal friendly disposition was unsuitable for a princess in this world. 

They stood in
line to be announced.  Clarissa went in first, her head held high, and her new
jewels on display.

“Lady Clarissa
Brookfield,” the doorman announced, and every head in the room simultaneously turned
at the new name.  Glancing around, Eneria decided that Clarissa was probably
the most striking woman in the room, but that was perhaps a biased opinion. 
She would certainly be talked about all night.

“Princess Elinor
of Lestonia,” she said sheepishly to the doorman. They had decided that using a
fake name was best, since she was still a wanted criminal in the rest of the
galaxy.  It was another lie, but one for her own protection, so she would have
to deal with it.  If she ever saw her mother again, she would ask for
forgiveness, for both the lying and crying.

Sorry,
mother, I’m not as strong as you are.

“Excuse me?” he
said, looking at her in disbelief.

“She is the
Princess Elinor of Lestonia,” James confirmed behind her, and she felt
relieved.  She was in fact a little taller than the doorman and she looked down
on him, summoning every ounce of courage she possessed. 

“I am Lady
Clarissa’s chaperone this evening.”  Her accent was distinctive, but her
hauteur was unmistakable.

The doorman
bowed deeply.  “My apologies, Your Highness.  I have not heard of that country
before.  Princess Elinor of Lestonia!” he called loudly.

If all the heads
had turned at Clarissa, then everyone was quite stunned at the announcement
that a princess was in attendance.  It was not unheard of, but usually the
gossip would reach the
ton
long before a soiree that royalty from the
Continent was in town.