Read Online Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl - Free Book Online

you shall remember to pull just so hard and no harder.” Her lips pinched together as tightly as her corset laces. “Now, my gown.”
    The gown was hanging with a dozen somber dresses in an armoire in the corner. Pulling the Baroness’s stockings up around her flabby legs carried its own humiliation. But finally, it was done: the Baroness was fully dressed.
    “It is time to wake Victoria. The Duchess will still be sleeping, so be quiet.”
    “Why doesn’t the Princess have her own room?” Liza asked. She wanted to see if the Baroness’s story matched the one she had heard in the servant’s hall. “After all, she’s nearly seventeen.”
    “Victoria is our most precious jewel,” Lehzen said. “She is never alone.”
    If the Princess was never alone, how was Liza to become her confidant? But at the moment she had a more urgent consideration: what was the proper distance for a lady’s maid to walk behind her employer?

6
In Which Liza Tries to Win the Affection of the Princess

    Liza followed the Baroness through several antechambers until they entered a large bedroom with high ceilings and a beautiful marble fireplace. The room was warm and heavy with the cloying scent of flowers: Liza felt as though she was walking into a greenhouse. Although the room’s proportions were generous, it felt cramped. Glancing about, Liza understood why: there were two complete sets of furniture. Two writing desks. Two crystal jars of bonbons. Two wardrobes. Two ornate mahogany beds: one narrow and the other impossibly wide. Both were occupied. In her tiny bed, the Princess turned onto her stomach and groaned. The Duchess, a mask over her eyes, snored in hers.
    A noise behind her made Liza whirl around. Dash, the Princess’s dog, slept in a miniature bed identical to the Princess’s. He too, was lying on his stomach, snoring.
    “Prinzessin, it is time to rise,” the Baroness said.
    “Not yet, Lehzen, just a few more minutes.”
    The Princess burrowed into her thick feather pillow. Liza sighed as she remembered begging her mother for a little more time to sleep.
    The Baroness would not be denied. “The future Queen must not be indolent.”
    “‘Fie, you slugabed,’” Liza quoted.
    The Baroness glared at Liza. “Did you just call the Princess a slug?”
    “No, no…it’s from Romeo and Juliet,” Liza stammered. “The nurse says it to the heroine.”
    From the bed came a muffled giggle. “At that point in the play, Liza, I do believe Juliet was dead. It’s not a very auspicious way to begin the day.”
    Keeping her voice light, Liza replied, “O lamentable day!”
    “Maybe not so much, now you are here,” Princess Victoria replied, a smile in her voice.
    Her face creased with ill-temper, the Baroness scolded the Princess, “Victoria, a Princess does not joke with her maid.”
    “Oh, Lehzen, don’t be tiresome.” The Princess sat up and stretched her arms wide.
    “Liza, the lavender dressing gown from that wardrobe.” The Baroness pointed. The Princess had at least six dressing gowns in various colors, all exquisitely trimmed with ribbons, bows, and lace. The Baroness went to another closet to find matching embroidered slippers.
    As soon as the Baroness’ back was turned, the Princess gave Liza a little wave. “I’m glad you stayed,” she said. “I’ve been very bored.”
    Liza curtsied, feeling very daring. “I’ll do my best to amuse you, Your Highness.”
    Dressed all in lavender, the Princess sat on a cushioned stool in front of her vanity table. The Baroness began to brush Victoria’s long fair hair with a tortoiseshell brush. “Eins, zwei, drei,” the Baroness counted.
    Liza stood by, idle, except to wonder how many strokes the Baroness could possibly manage.
    “Lehzen, surely fifty would be enough,” the Princess said, grimacing at her governess. “One hundred strokes every morning seems excessive.”
    “Don’t be foolish, Vickelchen. Your hair is your best feature.”
    Liza suspected this