The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye Read Free Book Online Page B

of excitement. It seemed that Queen Hedwig of Plumblossomburg was to pay a friendly visit to her nephew, Algernon of Ambergeldar, and great plans were made to receive and entertain her.
    “Friendly visit my foot!” said the thirteenth assistant kitchen maid, whose name was Ethelinda. She was sitting on the steps of the kitchen yard in the sun, helping the Ordinary Princess to shell peas.
    “You mark my words,” said the thirteenth assistant kitchen maid darkly, “it’s that there Persephone!”
    “What do you mean?” asked the Ordinary Princess. “And who is Persephone?”
    “The Princess Persephone, that’s who! Queen Hedwig’s daughter. You see, it’s this way,” explained Ethelinda, only too willing to stop shelling peas and gossip instead. “Queen Hedwig, who’s coming to visit here, is the King’s aunt. And her daughter, that there Persephone who is the King’s cousin, is coming with her. Now you mark my words,” repeated Ethelinda impressively, “she’s bringing that girl of hers along in ‘opes, as you might say.”
    “In what?” asked the Ordinary Princess, puzzled.
    “H-o-p-e-s, ‘opes,” said the thirteenth assistant kitchen maid, who tended to forget her aitches when excited. “She’d not ’arf like to see her daughter Queen of Ambergeldar.”
    “Oh, I see,” said the Ordinary Princess. “That kind of hopes. I know those!”

    “That’s it,” said Ethelinda, absentmindedly eating raw peas. “It’s policy. Or that’s what I think they call it. Something like that.” She smiled rather condescendingly at the Ordinary Princess and added, “Of course you wouldn’t understand. Not having been long in royal circles, as you might say. But let me tell you, dear, the Fuss there is over princes and kings and princesses and such-like getting married you wouldn’t ‘ardly believe.”
    The Ordinary Princess only just stopped herself from saying, “Oh, wouldn’t I!” She got as far as “Oh” and stopped there.
    “Fuss ain’t the word for it,” continued the thirteenth assistant kitchen maid, her mouth full of peas. “Why, the princesses that have come here on ‘friendly visits’ would fill this here yard twice over and still leave some outside. It’s them councillors if you ask me,” said Ethelinda wisely. “They’re always at him to get married. Badgering, I calls it. Plain badgering. That Prime Minister is always inviting princesses to stay at the castle. Gives us a lot of extra work it does. But he hasn’t fallen in love with any of ’em yet!—the King, I mean.”
    The thirteenth assistant kitchen maid gazed across the kitchen yard and sighed sentimentally. “I suppose he will one day,” she said sadly. “Not that no one would be good enough for ‘im. Coo!” sighed the thirteenth assistant kitchen maid, “don’t I just wish I was a princess!”
     
     
    On the first night of Queen Hedwig’s visit there was to be a magnificent ball in her honor, and the Ordinary Princess and all the other castle servants were hard at work before the sun rose that day.
    The Queen was bringing with her a retinue of more than a hundred knights and courtiers and ladies-in-waiting with their servants, pages, and men-at-arms. Every room in the castle was full, while the overflow camped in tents of damask in the castle gardens, so that the lawns looked like a gaily colored fairground.
    The Ordinary Princess had managed to escape from the kitchen for a few minutes when no one was looking, and from a corner of the castle battlements she had seen the royal visitors ride in procession through the great gateway. Soldiers presented arms, drums rattled, cannon boomed, and banners and pennants fluttered in the breeze.
    Queen Hedwig rode on a white horse with glittering trappings, and four knights in armor held a golden canopy over her head. The Ordinary Princess thought she looked very proud and bossy and disagreeable.
    Behind her, carried in a jeweled chair, came the Princess Persephone.