Madelaine blinked in surprise. “Are we to be friends?” Her cheeks immediately flamed again at the bluntness of her words.
Helen chuckled. “What’s the matter, dear? Are you not used to having friends?”
“Not at Court,” Madelaine answered truthfully.
“But we are now friends!” Lady Elizabeth exclaimed as she clutched Madelaine’s hand. “If you are to call my aunt ‘Helen,’ I insist you call me ‘Elizabeth’. I know I didn’t show myself to be worthy of friendship before, but I swear I can be a good friend.”
“What’s this about not being a worthy friend?” Helen fixed Elizabeth with a narrow-eyed look. “Your mother and I taught you better.”
Lady Elizabeth blushed. “Yes, I remember. However belatedly.”
“You two had better spit out what’s afoot. I’m to sit by the queen at dinner tonight, so I mustn’t be late.”
“The problemisthe queen.”
Helen’s eyes rounded and she waved a hand at her lady’s maid. “Make sure the door is shut tightly.”
“Yes, my lady.” The servant scurried to the door and a soft click filled the air.
“Niece, you must learn to make sure no one can overhear you before you ever speak negatively of the queen or king.”
“I know, Aunt. Grey already reminded me earlier.”
“Then do try to actually remember. Now, is Her Majesty causing you problems?”
“Not me.” Elizabeth glanced at Madelaine. “It’s her. The queen dislikes Madelaine for some reason and she takes every opportunity to belittle her. I thought if Madelaine knew why, she could work to earn the queen’s favor.”
Helen regarded Madelaine with probing eyes. “Do you want the queen’s favor?”
Madelaine shifted her feet. Why was she constantly being put in a position to either tell a truth that could hurt her or lie? A fool would speak plainly to someone she had just met, and she may not be accomplished at feminine pursuits, but that did not mean she was a fool. “I don’t want to be miserable at Court.”
“Take a lesson, Elizabeth,” Helen said. “This young lady has mastered the art of answering a question without really doing so. I predict you will rise to glorious heights in this Court.”
“I do not want to rise to glorious heights here,” Madelaine said.
“I’m pleased to hear that,” Helen said, surprising her. “I find women who want to rise to great heights often are the very ones who should not. So you don’t want to ascend to the top of the social heap, but what do you want?”
All she wanted was to find a husband she could love or learn to love, who if she was very lucky would be pleased, and not horrified, by a wife who enjoyed the same things he did. Then she would become betrothed and leave this wretched place of cattiness, debauchery and lying behind. Her mother would smile in her grave, her father would rest easier, and then she would feel as if she had somehow made amends for putting a rift between her parents.
Here she was again stuck in a position of truth or lies. Instinct told her only the truth might persuade this woman to help her. And she needed all the help she could get. “I want to find a good man to marry, so I can fulfill my mother’s dying wish to see me properly wed. I was not an easy daughter.”
Helen’s eyebrows raised high. “How so?”
Madelaine quickly told Helen about her affinity for all things her father loved and nothing her mother did. When she was finished, that same niggling guilt that had plagued her since her mother’s death coiled in her stomach.
Helen sighed. “You remind me of my much younger self. I was gloriously willful and my husband appreciated and adored it.” Helen patted Madelaine’s hand. “Take heart. There’s a man lurking beyond this door for you. One who will appreciate who you truly are.”
“Do you think you can do anything to help me?”
“Dearie, I canmorethan help you.” Helen linked her arm through Madelaine’s and moved toward the door.
“Aunt Helen is the keeper of the castle secrets,” Elizabeth said with a giggle. “She was one of Queen Charlotte’s very first confidants.”
Madelaine pulled back a bit. “I don’t want to put you in a position to betray a trust.”
“Nonsense.” Helen fairly shoved Madelaine into the hall and motioned for them to proceed. She took Madelaine’s arm and leaned close as they walked so their heads were side by side. “No one places me in any position. If I do something, it’s because I want to.”
That was exactly how Madelaine had lived her life thus far and a fat lot of good it had done her. But she refrained from sharing those specific thoughts. “Do you have any idea why the queen dislikes me?”
