After making sure that Adeline didn't need anything else, Katherine and Judy left, leaving Adeline to admire the new room.
It was huge, with a small living room opening to a sleeping room where a huge bed faced a clean and tiled fireplace.
The sitting area had a couch and a small table, a dressing table at one corner and a small bookshelf at the other corner. There was a rocking chair near the fireplace and overall, the room was just exquisite. The covers were beige and white, the curtains and earthly brown and the carpet a dull grey. This was exactly Adeline's taste and she was no longer angry of the misplacement earlier.
****
Adeline woke up later in the evening when the final details of the night's event were being finalized and the guests were just starting to arrive.
No one had informed her about the event, so she slept like a baby, until someone tapped her gently to wake her up.
Still reluctant to get out of bed, Adeline slapped the hand away and turned her head to the other side to continue sleeping.
"My lady," she heard Judy's timid voice which sounded distant to her ears as the girl tapped her on the arm again. "My lady, please wake up," Judy pleaded persistently and Adeline woke up with a loud groan.
"What?" She snapped, making the girl step back subconsciously.
"My lady —"
"What is it?" Adeline asked again, her annoyance mounting from the disruption of her peaceful sleep.
"Madam Katherine asked me to help you get ready for the party. It's almost time," Judy informed, and Adeline's eyes cleared up a little bit.
Party? "What party?"
"The King is holding a party to celebrate your marriage to Prince Sylvan and welcome you to the kingdom. It is also a chance to introduce you to other nobles, my lady."
Adeline clawed a hand through her hair in frustration, throwing her head back. "Why didn't anyone inform me?" She groaned, feeling like crying but with no tears to shed.
She was tired. Exhausted. She hadn't been able to sleep more than three hours since she was informed of her arranged marriage. And she barely slept the day before her wedding, then the long journey to this kingdom followed and she was just drained!
"My lady," Judy called cautiously after hearing no response from her.
Without saying a word, Adeline pushed away the warm covers and swung her legs off the bed, just to sit there for about five seconds, as if gathering the strength to get up.
Judy waited patiently, and when she finally stood up, summoned the maids at the door to bring in the necessary materials for the bath.
Adeline leaned against the wall, silently watching the maids hurry in and out of the room. After they all left—except Judy—she lazily pushed her body from the wall and dragged her feet to the bathroom, which was huge enough to be a smaller bedroom.
Wait… "Where is Rosa?" She turned to Judy with the question, as if she'd finally woken up and realized that Judy was there to help her with her bath.
"My Lady?" Judy raised her head, surprised, then realized her mistake and quickly lowered her head.
"Go and get Rosa for me. I'll be more comfortable if she helped me with my bath," she said with finality, already turning around and proceeding to the wide bathtub.
"But—"
"—But nothing. Tell Katherine I want Rosa to help me get ready."
Too timid to refute the Prince's wife, Judy turned around with hesitant steps and walked out of the room to go find Katherine.
After she left, Adeline undressed and first dipped her hand in the water to test the temperature, before sinking her body in the warm, fragrant and soothing water.
It felt so good that a groan left her lips as she closed her eyes and submerged her whole body–upto her neck–inside the water.
After a few minutes, she heard soft footsteps approaching and she opened her eyes, turning towards the door where Rosa stood with a smile on her face.
Adeline smiled back, resuming her previous position as Rosa walked towards the tub, taking a small stool by the side of the tub.
"Where have you been?" Adeline asked.
Pouring water on her long hair, Rosa massaged her scalp before responding, "Out and about. Settling in."
Adeline moaned as Rosa worked her magic on her hair, making her much calmer and less agitated about her lack of sleep.
"How is that going?" She asked out of sheer curiousity, just wanting to know how the Lowell family would accommodate new servants.
Having slept the entire day, she didn't get the time to go and see the servant's quarters, which she had intended to do because Rosa was not just a servant but also a friend and a confidant, and she wanted to make sure she was comfortable.
Rosa went ahead to fill her in on the smallest of details, with some complains here and there.
She was sharing a room with two other maids, Lucy and Celine.
Celine was the gossipy one, who had told her things about the royal family, who to be careful with and who to avoid at all costs, and also about other servants and guards around the palace.
Lucy was more uptight and didn't talk much, except to inform her of the rules that servants should observe while working for the royal family.
By the time the bath was done, Adeline had almost forgotten about the party she was to attend while they chatted away happily.
Rosa held out a towel for her, wrapping another one over her head as they walked to the sitting area where a dress was already brought in by one of the maids.
Judy was still standing at the door, her stance giving away her anxiousness as her eyes darted here and there uneasily.
Deciding to ignore her, Rosa dried and combed Adeline's hair in silence, then twisted it up and styled it, such that it cascaded down her back without worrying about stray strands falling on her face while she was enjoying the party.
Adeline then put on her undergarments by herself, because that's how she preferred it and Rosa had to turn her back to her.
Just when she was done putting on her chemise, the door burst open, almost pushing Judy off balance but she regained her footing in time. Katherine walked in leisurely, all eyes turning to her as she caught all the attention in the room.
For a moment, Adeline had to blink her gaze away from the stunning woman, who was dressed in a long, shiny, sleeveless, forest green dress that seemed to glitter under the candlelight, her black hair held up in a simple but elegant bun, and a shawl draped over her shoulders.
Was she really a servant? Adeline asked herself again, mesmerized by everything about this woman.
She seemed to suck up all air in a room, her natural air of elegance garnering attention from whoever was watching. She looked incredible!
As if oblivious to the reactions she could evoke with just her appearance, Katherine flashed her a sweet smile, then turned to Rosa with the same smile on her lips, but haughtily blank eyes.
"I thought I told you to be fast, Rosa," she drawled, snapping Rosa's mind back to the present.
Rosa shook her head, blinking furiously to clear her mind as she fumbled for a response. "I—I…"
Without waiting for her response, Katherine picked up the ivory dress on the couch and carefully helped Adeline into it, even straightening the imaginary wrinkles on the skirt.
She then stepped back and gave her a once-over look, her smile widening. She nodded to herself, as if appreciating her own work because she had handpicked the dress herself.
The bodice of the dress was made of beaded lace, the sleeves falling off her shoulders, and a deep V-cut to show cleavage, which made Adeline a little uncomfortable because she wasn't used to showing too much skin. The skirt was long enough to sweep the floor, small leaves embroidered on the front, climbing up to the waist where the dress pinched inwards, pressing Adeline's ribs like an invisible corset.
It gave her a royal look, more so with the golden necklace placed around her neck and matching earrings. It was just perfect for the occasion.
"Good," said Katherine. "Let me walk you to the party, Lady Adeline," she added, not giving Adeline the chance to admire herself on the mirror and already hooking her arm with hers.
Taken aback, Adeline glanced back at Rosa subconsciously, only to find the latter's eyes gleaming with… excitement? But for what? She wondered as Katherine practically dragged her out of the room.
They walked hand in hand across the hallway, Adeline taking the time to mentally prepare herself, when they passed the paintings on the wall and something crossed her mind.
She cleared her throat then turned her attention to Katherine."I need to ask you something, Katherine," she started, somewhat hesitatingly, but her voice didn't betray her and sounded very serious.
Katherine turned to her, her eyes narrowing subtly. "And what would that be?" She asked, the gentle smile returning on her face.
Adeline opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, another voice cut in and they both turned to the other side of the hallway where the flight of stairs started.
"Adeline, my dear. You look lovely!" Roderick exclaimed, his lips curled up into the same welcoming smile he had when welcoming Adeline and Sylvan to the palace when they arrived from Havenbridge.
"Your Majesty," Adeline curtseyed, smiling at the King's compliment.
She lifted her gaze, her eyes subconsciously searching past the King, to where the Prince stood with his hands folded across his chest, and her brows shot up in surprise.