The Beauties by Lauren Chater

Author:Lauren Chater
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Published: 2024-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

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The princess insisted that the best way to see Amsterdam was by barge, so we set off in this manner a week later, leaving our luggage behind for a coach. The other ladies-in-waiting huddled around the princess as the bargeman steered our vessel upstream. The women drew their cloaks tightly around their bodies, muttering about the chill off the misty water. I sat near the prow of the boat, taking in the view, embracing the cold. No growth without discomfort, I reminded myself. This is what you wanted. A grand adventure. Daring to lean forward, I watched my reflection drift alongside us in the water’s surface. I hardly recognised the girl I saw there. I had changed so much since leaving my family. And there was more change to come. My whole life lay ahead of me, like a stretch of river, so vast and deep. Who would I be next year and the year after that? What parts of me would remain the same and which would be discarded, no longer of use to the woman I was becoming? The more time I spent in the duke’s company, the more I felt my parent’s influence slipping away. I was neither my father nor my mother. They had made their choices. I must be allowed to make mine.

My fascination with the duke had begun to build in both intensity and momentum. Our paths had crossed daily since our meeting in the farmhouse kitchen and I’d begun to wonder if fate was determined to throw us together. Our mutual attraction was evident in the banter we exchanged in each other’s presence, but there were other things, too, which caused me to look forward to his sudden appearances, anticipating the small smiles or light touches he bestowed as we moved past each other in doorways and narrow corridors. Perhaps it was just camaraderie that caused his face to light up when he spied me coming. I knew he desired me in a physical sense, but he respected me too much to cross the boundary I’d set when I‘d insisted I could offer him only friendship. The complication lay in the fact that I had begun to doubt the wisdom of my choice. If he asked again now that I knew him better, would I answer differently? It seemed like only a matter of time before our growing affection led to some impasse. I could only hope that when the time came, I would be able to weigh up the prospects of our relationship a little more carefully. I did not want to damage our connection. I wanted to decide with both my heart and my head.

We spent the first few days in Amsterdam entertaining guests and visiting friends who wanted to see the princess and the duke while they were in town. The duke was kept busy with social engagements. When we did chance to meet, he was always in the company of others and greeted me formally, bowing low and wishing me a pleasant morning or afternoon.

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