One Good Knight Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t think she could bear to be laced into the things her mother wore as a matter of course.
    â€œYour six current Guards will be retired,” Solon continued. This time, it was a surge of dismay that Andie suppressed. Not that she hadn’t been expecting just this for some time, but it was horrible to hear it voiced aloud, and so casually.
    â€œThey are good and faithful servants, and long overdue for retirement. They were fine for a child, but you will need young, strong warriors who will actually provide a visual deterrent to attack. You will have new Guards appointed, signaling your newimportance to Her Majesty, and they will wear your own colors of—” He looked at Lady Charis.
    â€œSilver and green,” Charis said promptly.
    Another relief. Those were colors she could live with. The Queen nodded her approval; her own colors were wine and silver.
    â€œYes. Silver and green. Your household servants will be augmented, and you will have your own household Steward appointed so that you need no longer concern yourself with the day-to-day trivia of your household.” He smiled, his expression not actually reaching his eyes—but then, it never did. “You will no longer need to go anywhere that you do not wish to if you are busy. From now on, whatever you want or need can and should be brought to you, whether it be a pen, or a person.”
    â€œAs is appropriate to an adult Princess,” the Queen said approvingly. “Which leads me to Lady Thalia, who will be your household Steward.”
    The third lady nodded. Unlike the other two, she was gowned less for fashion and more for practicality. She did not appear to have been sewn into her gown like the others.
    The Queen continued. “She has served us as the Steward of one of our estates for many years now, and I am very satisfied with her competence.”
    â€œThe Queen is too kind,” the lady murmured.
    Andie didn’t see anything in the woman’s expression to cause misgivings, and her next words, and faint smile, reassured the Princess.
    â€œAs the Princess is not the sort given to extravagance, nor is she spendthrift and frivolous, I anticipate no difficulty in managing her household.”
    â€œYou are more likely to have to join with me in urging the Princess to acquire a wardrobe commensurate with her rank and status than to have to curb her passion for gowns and jewels!” Lady Charis laughed. “I fear I have been present at one or two discussions with her dressmaker, if you will recall, Majesty.”
    The Queen sighed. “‘But, Mother, linen is so much more practical than silk. Stains bleach right out and it wears so much longer!’” she quoted with a faint air of mockery, and Andie winced.
    â€œShe has a point, Majesty,” Solon said unexpectedly, with a glance down at his own linen robes. Not that his elegant clothing had much in common with Andie’s… “Especially for a—uh—young person who is hard on her clothing. As a young student myself, I chose black linen exclusively, not as an affectation, but because ink did not show.”
    Andie felt an unexpected surge of sympathy at that revelation, and she cast a quick, grateful smile at him.
    â€œIndeed, she does, when it comes to everyday wear, particularly for someone who will be digging about among dusty books for most of the day,” Lady Charis agreed. “Tunics and divided skirts of linen are quite suitable for such a duty, and practical, although I must insist that you are more than old enough to refrain from bare-legged scrambles about from here on, Princess.”
    Again, Andie flushed what she knew must be crimson. Her stomach kept turning over and over, the longer this interview went on. Pleasure that was half pain, followed by embarrassment that made her want to sink into the floor. Good things were followed by blows, so quickly she hadn’t the time to recover before another hit