Prince Charming Read Online Free PDF

change of clothing. He should be back in an hour or so. That gives us sufficient time. Your grandmother’s guests are in the parlor adjacent to her chambers. She suggested I usher them up the back stairs so no one would see them. Your uncle Malcolm won’t have an inkling what’s going on until it’s too late.”
    â€œThen Madam is still insistent we carry through with that plan too?”
    â€œYes, of course,” Thomas answered. “My dear, a word of caution if I may. It will upset your grandmother if she sees tears in your eyes.”
    â€œShe won’t see me cry,” Taylor promised.
    Lady Esther’s suite of rooms was located at the end of the hallway. Taylor didn’t hesitate at the threshold to her bedroom. As soon as Thomas opened the door for her, she hurried through the entrance.
    It was as dark as midnight inside. Taylor squinted against the darkness while she tried to get her bearings.
    The bedroom was gigantic. Taylor used to believe it was at least half the size of Hyde Park. The square platform with the four-poster bed was on one side of the long chamber. On the opposite side were three wing-backed chairs and two small end tables, placed at an angle in front of the heavily draped windows. Taylor had always loved this room. When she was a little girl, she would jump on the bed, do endless somersaults across the thick Oriental carpets, and make enough noise to wake the dead, or so her grandmother often remarked.
    There weren’t any restrictions inside the chamber. When her grandmother was in an accommodating mood, Taylor was allowed to play dress-up in Lady Esther’s wonderful silk gowns and satin covered shoes. She would put on a wide brimmed hat with clumps of flowers and feathers perched on top, drape mounds and mounds of precious jewels around her neck, and don white gloves that came all the way up to her shoulders. Once she was all dressed up in her finery, she would serve tea to her grandmother and make up outrageous stories about the pretend parties she had attended. Grandmother never laughed at her. She went right along with the game. She would diligently wave her painted fan in front of her face, whisper, “I declare” at the appropriate moments, and even gasp with mock dismay over the scandals Taylor would conjure up. Most involved a Gypsy or two and Ladies in Waiting. Occasionally Madam would even make up a few outrageous stories of her own.
    Taylor cherished this room and all the wonderful memories, almost as much as she cherished the old woman who lived here.
    â€œYou took entirely too long to get here, young lady. You will now give me your apology because you made me wait for you.”
    Her grandmother’s raspy voice echoed throughout the chamber. Taylor turned and started forward. She almost tripped over a footstool. She caught herself before she was pitched to her knees, then cautiously edged her way around the obstacle.
    â€œI apologize, Madam,” she called out.
    â€œQuit dawdling, Taylor. Sit down. We have much to discuss.”
    â€œI cannot seem to find the chairs, Madam.”
    â€œStrike light to a single candle, Janet. That is all I will allow,” Lady Esther instructed her maid. “Then leave the chamber. I wish to be alone with my granddaughter.”
    Taylor finally located the chairs. She sat down in the center seat, straightened the folds in her dress, and then folded her hands together in her lap. She couldn’t see her grandmother. The distance and the darkness made it impossible to see much of anything. She still kept her posture ramrod straight. Her spine was as stiff as a starched petticoat. Grandmother hated to see anyone slump, and since she happened to have the vision of a cat, or so Taylor believed, she didn’t dare relax.
    The light from the candle on her grandmother’s bedside table became a beacon in the darkness. Taylor felt rather than saw the lady’s maid cross in front of her.