Chapter 13 - The Presentation (2/2)

When we arrived, my palms were damp inside my gloves with nervousness. Ugh, the sweat made the fabric stick weirdly! I wanted to take them off but the countess was watching me like a hawk.

There were only three girls ahead of me. The daughter of the Duke of Renaya, the daughter of the Marquis of Carrabaas, and the daughter of the Earl of Candleton. All beautiful. All poised. All perfectly trained puppets.

I wondered if their mothers were as cunning as mine. Probably, since they managed to snare positions as the wives of such high ranking nobles.

”Lady Catherine Arabella du Pont, daughter of Lord Havisham Brann du Pont, the Earl of du Pont, your majesties,” the announcer said solemnly.

Now all I had to do was gracefully glide forward, make my deepest curtsy, then look up and smile at the king, queen, and crown prince.

Thankfully, I managed to do it to perfection. Well, I had practiced enough. I could probably do this asleep.

”It is an honor to be in your presence, your majesties,” I said in my sweetest, most deferential voice.

”Rise, Lady Catherine. The court is pleased to have you,” the king said kindly.

I was relieved. This was the standard response—meaning I did okay.

I put on my most dazzling smile before gliding back to my family. The countess looked fit to burst with pride.

Honestly, this was all that mattered to her? How sad. For both her and her daughters. And all the other daughters of nobility.

What a terrible custom—parading nervous young girls out in front of the whole world, waiting for them to screw up.

My stomach growled and I thought longingly of the feast. Unfortunately, there were still about twenty girls left to be presented before we broke for lunch.

My itchy palms and heavy cage were driving me crazy. No matter how hungry I was…being so tightly laced into this thing, would I even be able to eat?

I got my answer an hour later. No, I would not.

Though everything smelled amazing, I could hardly take more than two bites per course because I could barely breathe. My stomach was completely flattened by the corset and corresponding cage, leaving no room for food.

I wanted to cry but the countess might actually murder me for doing so in public. So I promised myself that I would stop by that bakery again the next day and order one of everything to make up for it.

Dear Percy, seated at my right, seemed to sense my distress.

”Do you want me to hide some miniature pies in my pocket for you to have later?”

I nearly cried anyway at the gesture. ”You would smell like meat though.”

His lips quirked slightly. ”It would keep people away from me.”

Wow. A win-win. I accepted his offer graciously. In the unofficial race for the title of 'favorite brother,' Percy was definitely winning.