Page 55 of To Protect

“Here in the tower?”

“Nay, in a nearby village. I was brought here to serve . . . ”

She stopped.

The girl looked to her companion.

“Empress Matilda?” Amalia guessed.

“Nay,” the girl said finally. “To serve the queen.”

She did not mean the one who would be queen, but who was queen already.

“The sentiment?” Amalia tried again, knowing she could not ask again.

“Matters not,” she said quietly. “We will have a new queen. ’Tis not for me to determine the course of such things.”

Amalia leaned up to see if the girl’s companion agreed. It seemed she too was resigned. But neither were they pleased.

Knowing she would get no more from them, Amalia stopped asking and instead finished her bath. When she stepped from the tub and used the drying cloth on herself, finally getting a glimpse of the gown they’d brought, Amalia gasped.

A long-sleeved silk underdress lay next to a velvet surcoat with wide, flowing sleeves. The front was cut low, to reveal the underdress. Both dyed to matching shades of deep green, they were as luxurious as anything she had ever seen, Evelina’s gowns included.

Next to them lay a belt adorned with jewels and a simple veil. She stared at the pieces, unable to imagine herself in such an ensemble.

“Shall we dress you, my lady?” the young serving girl who’d spoken to her asked.

“Aye,” Amalia said, hoping Roland would be present at the banquet. Imagining his expression when he saw her, putting aside any unease at the conversation about the empress, Amalia allowed herself, for the first time in her life, to be served as if she truly were a lady.

Even if it was not real.