Princess by Foley Gaelen

Author:Foley, Gaelen [Foley, Gaelen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780449002469
Publisher: Ivy Books
Published: 1999-06-28T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“My God, Pauline Bonaparte has had a nude statue made of herself!” cried Els, looking up from the scandal sheet.

Seated at the vanity as Madame worked on her coiffure, Serafina glanced dully at Els’s reflection behind her in the mirror.

The morning was bright and clear, but the day did not match her mood. She had a bit of a sore head from the wine last night. She had waited all night for Darius to make an appearance in the ballroom, but he never did. Then, here in her bedroom, she had waited for him come to her by the secret door, but of course he didn’t do that, either.

She took a sip of coffee, picked despondently at her breakfast tray, then fed her pet monkey another bit of melon.

“Did you hear what I said?” Els cried. “A naked statue!”

“Why do I care what Pauline Bonaparte does?”

“That tramp,” Madame muttered under her breath.

Serafina had never met Napoleon’s youngest sister. She had only seen a miniature of her once and heard, as did the rest of the world, the shocking tales of the famous beauty’s countless conquests. Pauline collected men the way her brother collected countries.

Unfortunately, the beautiful twenty-five-year-old had also declared unofficial war on Serafina ever since some of the newspapers had begun making a contest of which of the two princesses was more beautiful, Serafina or herself.

“But Cricket, it’s too delicious! You have to hear this,” Els protested.

“Well, go on,” she sighed in dejection.

Nearby, Els lay on her belly on Serafina’s canopy bed, reading to them from the scandal sheets, for she had despaired of drawing Serafina into conversation. “It says here Princess— ahem—Pauline—”

“Princess!” Madame snorted.

“Princess Pauline has posed for a new statue by Canova— Venus Victrix—practically nude!” Els laughed as she followed the story. “Poor Prince Camillo, her husband, is so obsessed with jealousy, he keeps the statue locked in an empty room in the Villa Borghese!”

“If he was smart, he would lock her up there with it,” Madame declared. “Such a fine young man, and he lets her make a pathetic cuckold of him before the whole world!”

Madame slanted a glance at Serafina. “You should have told him yes. And why not?” Madame went on as Serafina rolled her eyes. “He’s from an excellent family. He’s Italian, handsome, rich.”

But he’s not Darius, she thought, tears suddenly flooding her eyes. Abruptly, she shoved off Madame’s fussing, pulling fingers and dropped her face in both hands. Resting her elbows on the vanity, she held her throbbing head in both hands, raking her fingers into her half-coiffed hair. She could feel both women staring at her. The room was filled with a tense silence until Els murmured a dismissal to Madame. Serafina heard the door click, then Els was standing beside her, leaning down to peer into her face in gentle concern.

“Cricket, what on earth? Pauline Bonaparte is not worth this. What is going on? You haven’t been yourself since the night you left for the country.”

She did not know how to answer.

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