Page 52 - RotalTutor

Alexander dart back into the shadows. Enraged, she flew up the stairs, leaving Elizabeth and Marina behind, only to find a flustered cleaning woman. The frightened woman said Alexander had asked her to retrieve something he had forgotten, and, when she returned, she found him gone and her water bucket empty. Louise was about to take her rage out on the poor woman when Alexander came to the woman’s rescue. Eyeing Louise’s dripping appearance, he smiled mischievously at her. “My, my,” he chided, “how a person won’t dress for a banquet when they want a little attention.” The confused servant was forgotten as Louise flew at Alexander, scratching and kicking, only to have Duke Reginald, Lady Margaret, and her own parents appear. She was so embarrassed that she wished the earth would just open up and swallow her. Her father, humiliated and enraged, commanded her to stand forth, and she did so, dripping and dirty. “Louise, you will go to your room, and stay there the whole evening. You can just forget about your banquet and royal ball.” It was then that Alexander’s actions shocked her. Knowing full well what punishment would surely befall him, he knelt and begged in Louise’s behalf. “Your Majesty, the fault is mine, not the princess’s. I provoked her and it is my fault she is wet. I beg you not to lay the blame on her, but the punishment should be mine 50