Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn

Author:Connie Glynn
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141379906
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2017-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

26

‘WRONG!’

Lady Priscilla smacked her cane on the table next to Lottie. She had done this three times already but it never failed to make Lottie jump.

They were sitting at the large oak table that had been laid out with a full formal place setting for every student. There was a wide gap between Lottie and the two students on either side of her, as if they didn’t want to catch the wrath of Lady Priscilla. They were practising the order of cutlery and the correct way to hold each item, but apparently Lottie was doing everything wrong.

The worst part was that she wasn’t doing it wrong. Lottie knew she was doing it right – she’d studied this over and over, but each time Lady Priscilla somehow managed to find one tiny detail that she was messing up, from moving slightly too fast to having her feet crossed improperly. Lottie quickly realized there was nothing she could do except drown her ego, nod along, and say, ‘Yes, ma’am.’

Anastacia and Raphael were adamantly avoiding eye contact with her, while Jamie remained completely unreadable with the rest of the left-wall ensemble. Lottie felt like a total outcast. It was all her worst nightmares come true: not only was she failing but she wasn’t even blending in. Lady Priscilla was determined to make an example of her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Ellie, what did you do to get this reputation? You’ve only ever met twenty people!

Lottie fought on. She didn’t think anything could get worse than the humiliating posture training, for which she was made to walk the hall twice in front of everyone while Lady Priscilla pointed out all her errors.

But she was wrong. It did get worse.

Lady Priscilla had them all stand in a line once more. Lottie was painfully aware of the large gap between her and the other students to her left and right.

‘It’s time for the most important lesson.’ Lady Priscilla tapped her fingernails along the side of her cane, her thin little smile creeping on to her lips. ‘You are going to practise the waltz.’

Lottie’s stomach sank. She’d been so excited about waltz practice but now all she felt was pure terror.

‘Everyone pair up. Chop-chop!’

Oh my God! Pair up?

No one was going to want to pair with her after she’d been singled out by Lady Priscilla so many times. The only thing that could make this worse was if she looked down and realized she was in her underwear. Lottie stood frozen in place as she watched all the other students find a dance partner.

‘Oh dear.’ The voice came harsh and cold behind her, not a hint of regret. ‘It seems no one wants to dance with the sad little princess.’ Lady Priscilla tapped her cane sharply. ‘And if you can’t do the waltz, then I’ll have no choice but to fail you.’ Lottie imagined a cruel smile on Lady Priscilla’s lips as she said this.

Lottie gulped. If she failed the class, she’d fail Ellie too – she had to do something.

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