The next two weeks passed in a haze of bridal lessons, tea with Mariela, bridal lessons, entertaining Al, and more bridal lessons. In all that time we only managed to sneak over to the kitchens once and Marcy hadn't even been there!
Such a waste. At this rate, I would never be able to convince them that they were meant for each other.
In all that time I still hadn't memorized the layout of the palace. It was so huge that I typically followed whoever I was with at the time; Madame Chalaise supervised me like a hawk during our lessons so I was never truly alone. That was how I stumbled into the wolves' den completely by accident.
Madame Chalaise had gone to the ladies' room and instructed me to go down the hall and to the left to meet with the dressmaker for a fitting but I somehow wandered much farther than I was supposed to.
"Lady Catherine?" a flat voice asked with a hint of astonishment. "What brings you here?"
