“You know, Ira has never been very possessive, but I don’t think he cares in the least that Lucien is falling at her feet. Isn’t that odd?”
If there was one thing Lucinda Blackthorn knew, it was that commenting on any of this was a recipe for disaster. While she agreed with everything the princess was saying, she was not prepared to say it out loud.
“I suppose if everyone is happy, then that’s good.” Luci ventured.
“Is it?” Gladys countered.
Goodness, let this conversation end. If there truly was a fairy godmother out there, perhaps she could take a moment to rescue Luci from this encounter.
“Your highness!”
Apparently, fairy godmothers had a sense of humor.
Gladys’ face fell for only a second before she plastered a wide smile onto her face that most certainly did not reach her eyes. Interesting.
“Lady Annabeth.” She said. “What a surprise.”
If Lucien Vencia was reformed, the lady of Dorden certainly wasn’t. She took one glance at Luci and dismissed her entirely, not even bothering to greet her. Instead, she blinked her dark blue eyes at Gladys and dipped into a slight curtsy.
“Don’t be silly. Of course, Father and I couldn’t turn down such a generous invitation to tonight’s gathering,” she said.
Though the words were plenty nice, her tight-lipped smile was a testament to her feelings on being passed over for the future queen.
“Of course,” Gladys said. “Have you met Lucinda Blackthorn yet? She is Brielle Treveon’s friend.”
If Prince Ira’s happiness was permanently evident on his face, Annabeth’s too-tight cheeks and squinted eyes were damning evidence of her perpetual unhappiness. She ran her gaze up and down Luci, and a more wanting creature was never seen before as much as Luci was in that moment.
“Oh yes, her servant she takes everywhere with her,” Annabeth said.
“Well– “ Gladys began.
“I am very fortunate to serve Lady Brielle. She is as kind as she is beautiful.” Luci said.
This woman didn’t deserve a courteous greeting. After all, she was just as terrible as she was the first time Luci met her.
Annabeth shifted on her feet, noticing the slight.
“I imagine now that she is set to be queen, she will have to learn to do without you.”
Goodness, it must have hurt to bite out those words, given how hard she vied for Prince Ira’s hand. If there was any satisfaction in Brielle’s engagement, it was this.
“I will serve her as long as she asks me to. How are you adjusting to the disappointment at being passed over by the Prince? I’ve heard it was quite a hard blow.” Luci asked sweetly.
Gladys coughed beside her, covering her mouth with her hand, but Luci’s attention was all for Annabeth, whose cheeks were as red as a turnip, and her plump mouth opened and closed several times as her mind fought to catch up to the slight.
Luci ever endeavored to be helpful, so she made a show of gasping and placing her hand over her mouth.
“Oh dear, was that impolite. You’ll have to forgive me, after all, I’m just a servant.” Luci said.
Smoothing out her dress, Annabeth cleared her throat.
“Yes, well, Brielle would do to educate you if she insists on keeping you on,” she said.
Luci smiled and dipped her head to Gladys.
“How right you are. I’ll leave you both to consider the ramifications of my ineptitudes. Good day, your highness.”
She was not above using terrible people as a means of escape. Only a small trace of guilt followed her down the hall at abandoning the princess to the displeasure of Annabeth’s company. Judging from the way she grew guarded at Annabeth’s approach, it was probably safe to say Gladys didn’t care for her. It endeared the princess just a little bit more.