I opened the box. It was a sparkling tiara that looked incredibly old and unbelievably valuable, with seven cabochon aldrites balanced between diamond-studded triquetras. I gasped as I wilted back into a chair. She sat next to me. “This was commissioned by King Riordan for his daughter Eliza, Duchess of Iver, and as such, the new Duchess of Iver should wear it on her wedding day, and every day thereafter she rules. Wear it with pride, Lady McPhee.”
My eyes widened as I looked back up at this powerful woman who would now become my grandmother by marriage. I didn’t even ask for a hug. I just went for it. She allowed it for a moment before she collected herself. “Now, I must go. Tomorrow is going to be a historic day.”
As she collected her things, I asked, “Maeve?” She turned to face me. “How’s Auggie?”
She hesitated only a moment. “Desperately looking forward to tomorrow,” she said at last.
She left me with that, and the tiara I now held in my hands, a tiara worn by someone I had grown to deeply admire. I clutched the tiara and the handkerchief to my heart.
They would all be with me tomorrow… when I finally walked down the aisle to my prince.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter Four
I was awake a half-hour before the alarm went off the following morning. I hadn’t even gotten four solid hours of sleep, but I was a wreck thinking about the day ahead.
There was getting to see Auggie again, sure. Marrying the man of my dreams, of course. But sandwiched on either side of that was a lot of royal performance theater, as I had begun to call it in my head. I was expected to go through each hoop with a smile on my face and a delicate wave of my hand. No longer would I be simply Peaches McPhee. To the people of Aldayne, to whom I would belong, I would be Her Royal Highness.
No longer would I write articles for entertainment magazines or post pictures to an Instagram account people may or may not even see.
No longer would I go to the supermarket for some milk or stand in line to get tickets for the latest movie.
No longer would I get to make my own clothes, or shop discount outlets or second-hand stores. Never again would I get total autonomy over how I looked, what I wore, how I spoke. Everything would be watched, studied, and judged by an entire country… and entire world.
I woke up sick to my stomach, which was reminiscent of the first day I met my prince. It would have been funny if I hadn’t felt so shitty.
When I went downstairs to the kitchen, Mom was already there, prepping some tea to go along with some auberry muffins she had convinced the staff to bake for me.
They hadn’t planned a big breakfast for our motley crew, but we needed enough fuel to get us from Greystone to Crystal Skye, where I was due to marry my betrothed at noon. After what promised to be at least an hour-long ceremony, we would all ride back to Shimmering Falls for the reception, both public and private. It would be there I could eat again, so I knew to get through everything I had to do that morning, I’d need sustenance.
Mom greeted me with a hug. “Good morning, honey,” she said, pulling me close. “Or should I say Lady McPhee?”
I laughed. “You’re Lady McPhee,” I reminded. “I’m about to be something else entirely.”
She held me by the shoulders and studied my face. “Cold feet?”
I shrugged. “Not about Auggie. Just about everything else. I just feel like this new life is trying to gobble me whole.”
She hugged me again. “It’s a good thing I raised you to be so strong, then. You can be the wife and the partner that Auggie deserves.”
My eyes met hers. “You really think so?”
She caressed my face. “Have I ever lied to you before?”
I shook my head. That wasn’t the kind of relationship we had ever had. She sat me down and poured me a cup of tea. I munched on a muffin while the chef prepared an omelet for me as the rest of the house began to rouse.
By six o’clock, I was in my royal suite, under the artful hands of Jorge and Clementine as they began the transformation from simple farm girl to fairy tale princess.
The makeup had to be dramatic since every minute of the ceremony would be broadcast worldwide. The news channels were already on Wedding Watch, going over the history of Aldayne and how politically important this wedding would prove to be.
Of course, the bigger news was how unbelievably shocked they all were that someone so ill-suited for a royal romance had won the heart of a prince. Jorge tried more than once to mute the news, but I insisted he leave it on. “I’m going to have to get used to it eventually.”
“Nobody should have to get used to that,” he muttered as he styled my hair.
“Occupational hazard,” I tried to shrug, but it still stung to hear the comments. Reporters were already on the ground in Aldayne, interviewing citizens on their opinions. Some were enthusiastic, others were not. American news made sure to highlight the latter, particularly those comments where my American citizenship sparked so much ire.
“Controversy sells,” Clem had said as she finished my eye makeup.
Maybe, I thought, but I drew the line when they started digging around my family. That was my hard limit and I turned off the television completely.
Darcy helped me into the A-line dress made of layers of soft white chiffon, which felt like I was being enveloped in a cloud. She secured a silver satin sash at the empire waist, which she tied into an elegant bow at the small of my back, making sure that the ribbon floated gracefully along the back seam all the way to the floor.
Next was the cathedral-length cape veil, scalloped with lace on the edges and clasped together across my breastbone in a dramatic scattering of Aldaynean crystals. With that presentation, other jewelry was redundant. I wore cabochon aldrite earring studs that were surrounded by diamonds and the tiara and that was it.
I stepped into crystal and satin pumps with a lower heal to help protect my back with all the walking I was sure to do that day, and with that, my look was complete.
Well, almost. I grabbed Roan’s and Sofie’s handkerchief and placed it carefully in my jeweled clutch, which housed my cell phone and some makeup essentials to touch up before we reached the church.
When I reached the spiral staircase leading to the floor below, I noticed everyone waited there for me to make my appearance. My legs shook as I held onto the railing, stepping slow but sure as I glided down the stairs. Both Fern and Mom burst immediately into tears. Even Dad and Archer got a little misty. Dash stood tall and proud in his page uniform complete with an Aldaynean kilt to match the one Gav wore and likely Auggie would wear. He looked every inch the nobleman he now was. Gav was in his uniform, standing straight and proud next to my sister Fern, who wore a black chiffon off-the-shoulder dress that faded out to purple at the bottom.
Audra’s dress matched the same ombre pattern, but she wore a halter neckline that highlighted her strong, satiny shoulders and toned arms, looking like a goddess sculpture come to life.
Giz looked likewise beautiful in her ombre dress, with its sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. How Dashie held her hand as he stood next to her touched my heart.
Everyone looked amazing, including Jorge, Clementine, and Darcy, who would be taking one of the first cars towards the church. With hugs and last looks and stern instruction not to cry and destroy their hard work, they were out the door as the clock ticked over to the top of the hour.