Adeline was standing in front of her dressing table and Hawisa and Osanna were helping her to get ready for the day.
Osanna was carrying a couple of gowns in her arms and Hawisa was helping the Princess to check which one looked good on her.
Hawisa offered a light green colored gown that had a boat neck and layered sleeves. Adeline pressed that gown over her body and checked herself in the mirror. She hummed for a while and then shook her head. "This gown looks a bit dull. Give me something that will help me create a great first impression."
Hawisa raised one of her brows and glanced at Adeline's reflection with a teasing smile on her face. "Mhmm… so you want to make a great first impression on someone?" She gently nudged Adeline with her shoulder and asked, "Who is the lucky man? Are you going to meet your suitor today?"
Adeline scoffed at Hawisa and denied. "No! I am not meeting any suitor. I am just…" She paused and dabbed her hot cheeks with her cold palms. She was going to meet her niece and nephew in secret and she couldn't tell them who she needed to impress. And as she was caught off-guard, she couldn't even come up with an excuse fast enough.
And the maids thought that she was actually going to meet a suitor so they began to tease Adeline even more.
"Whoa! Our Princess is really going to meet a suitor, isn't she?" Osanna hopped closer to Adeline and gave a wide grin to her.
"No! I am not." Adeline had told her father that she was going to the outer village with Theodore to inspect the situation there and also show Theodore around the place.
But she couldn't use the same excuse to her maids, not just because of Theodore but also because of the slip-up of her tongue saying that she wanted to make a great first impression. They were already thinking that she was going to meet a suitor and she didn't want to give them more reasons to doubt her.
Adeline didn't want the rumors about her marriage to fly around the Palace. Not that she didn't trust her maids to keep her secret, but she just didn't want to risk it for now.
So she tried to come up with something that would be more believable to the maids. But she ended up making the lamest excuse, "I am just going to have a meeting with an old friend of mine. Actually, I am going to meet her babies. So I want to have a good first impression on the kids."
It was true in some way but the problem was that it was not believable.
And Hawisa furrowed her brows and casually pointed out, "But you don't have any old friends. So, whose babies are you going to meet?"
Adeline's heart began to race because of the fear that her maids were going to figure out her lies. So she tried to mask her nervousness with an equally nervous chuckle and she stuttered, "D-did I say an old friend? I th-think you heard me wrong. I meant a new friend that I made not too long ago. I'm going to meet her babies."
Osanna was gullible enough and she instantly believed the Princess. "Ah! Is that so? Then let me select something nice and refreshing for you."
Hawisa, on the other hand, was still giving Adeline a suspicious look. She could tell that Adeline was lying to them and that she was going to meet someone in secret. But she chose not to say anything because once Adeline set her mind on something, it was highly unlikely that they could do anything to change it.
Osanna handed out a baby pink gown that was made out of the softest silk. There were no excessive designs or embroidery on that gown but it looked very simple yet elegant. "Adeline, try this on. This dress won't irritate the skin of the babies if you want to hold them."
Adeline took that gown and then ran her palm over it. It indeed was soft and also looked comfortable to wear. She had a bright smile on her face as she was already imagining carrying the twins in her arms.
"Okay, help me out of this dress," she turned her back towards Hawisa so that she could help her untie the lace of the dress that she was wearing at the moment.
Adeline then changed into the pink gown and sat down to get her hair and makeup done.
As usual, Osanna helped her with her hair and Hawisa helped with her makeup.
"All done, Princess. Do you like the look?" Osanna asked after tying up Adeline's hair into a neat bun.
Adeline flashed a sweet smile at Osanna and then nodded her head. "Yes, I like it. Thank you both of you for your hard work."
Adeline then headed to the King's Court and went to her own workroom. She instructed Bennett not to disturb her for the whole day and not to let anyone inside her room. "I need to go through some important documents today so I want to be left undisturbed."
Bennett bowed to the Princess and smiled, "I will make sure to do as you say. If you need anything then-"
"Then I will make sure to give you a shout," Adeline gave an appreciative smile to her assistant and went inside her room.
Bennett kept on standing outside the Princess's locked door for a while and then sighed. He did not want the Princess to overwork herself and that also without eating for the whole day. But there was nothing he could do now. So he walked back to his own room, hoping that the Princess would call him if she felt hungry.
Adeline glanced at the sundial to see what time it was. It was just 10 in the morning. "I still have to wait two more hours? Oh god! How am I going to kill two full hours? I want to meet them now!"
Adeline pursed her lips and paced around for a while. She was more interested to meet the twins than to meet her brother and talk about the serious stuff with him. But it was good for her in a way. She had something to look forward to. Her mind was filled with happiness rather than tension because of the vampires.
She looked at the sundial again after what felt like an hour. However, the shadow had not even moved a little from where it was before.
"Argh! Did the time stop or something?" Adeline heaved a sigh and then sat down on her chair to look at some of the documents that were on her table.
She wanted to distract herself but no matter how much she tried, she was unable to focus on the documents. Her mind would automatically float to Aberdeen. After a while, she gave up trying to focus on her work and just kept on standing by the window, in front of the sundial.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was finally noon.
"Yes!" Adeline clapped her hands and smiled. "Now we can go."
She had agreed with Theodore that she would summon him in the noon. So she turned around and then took a deep breath. Then she brought her knuckles closer to her lips and was about to kiss her ring.
However, before she could kiss the ring, Theodore appeared in front of her with a warm smile on his face. It was as though he was also waiting for the sundial to strike twelve.
Adeline trotted towards Theodore and hugged him. "You're here." She looked up at his gorgeous face and whispered, "Let's go.. I am dying to meet everyone, especially the kids."
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