The Runaway Princess

Chapter 5

 "Worse than telling a lie is spending your whole life staying true to a lie." Robert Brault

---

Chapter Five

The next day at breakfast, Mr Clarke announced the identity of the mystery guests that the senior servants, being Mrs Johnson, Mrs Weston and Mr Clarke himself, were preparing for.

“In three weeks, Ascot is to receive the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark,” Mr Clarke informed them all. The anxiousness was etched on his face. He was clearly thinking over everything that needed to be done in order to prepare for the imminent arrival of Christian … and Elena’s sister, Gabriela.

The servants all excitedly muttered things to their neighbours.

“Everything must be pristine. I shall not expect anything less.” Mr Clarke went on to list all of the chores that needed to be done before the royals arrived. They were to reside in a private wing of the estate and Sarah was informed that she was to attend the Crown Princess if she did not have an attendant with her. Sarah was quite excited at the prospect of attending a princess.

Elena felt ill the entire time. Marisol knew why. The night before, Elena had told Marisol that the Danish Crown Prince and Princess were journeying to Ascot. It had taken Marisol a few moments to remember that Gabriela had been betrothed to the Crown Prince. Marisol had begun to panic. After all that they had planned, their ruse was to be ruined by the mere coincidence that their new master was a school friend of Gabriela’s new husband. 

After an hour of fretting, Elena and Marisol concocted yet another plan. They would rise earlier, well before dawn. They would complete their chores quickly and efficiently and remain concealed within the walls. They would feign fatigue if ever they were needed anywhere near the bedchamber of the visiting royals and would instead pick up the slack elsewhere.

Elena dreaded seeing Gabriela again. Gabriela had always hated Elena and she did not know why. As royal children, they were raised by niñeras and were presented to their parents for a few minutes every evening. Gabriela had always pinched or poked Elena to make her cry, to ensure that their parents would not touch her.

Elena had been happy when her sister’s eighteenth birthday had come. It would mean that Gabriela would leave the palace and Elena would no longer be subjected to her harassment. But she and her husband were married by proxy as he was unable to bring her to Denmark until recently. Gabriela had never looked at Elena with anything but hatred and disdain.

“Elena, Marisol,” Mr Clarke called down the dining table.

Elena’s head snapped up immediately. “Yes, Mr Clarke?” both she and Marisol said at the same time.

“I know you both were born in Britain but is there a chance that either one of you speaks Spanish? The Duke informs me that the Crown Princess is Spanish. On the off chance that Her Royal Highness requires a translator, will either one of you be able act as one?”

Elena knew her accented English told anyone that she spoke to that English was not her mother tongue. Marisol’s accent was very subtle. If she lied and said ‘no’, it would be obvious that she was being deceitful. If she told the truth and said ‘yes’, then she would most definitely be required to act as translator for Gabriela.

Elena knew that her sister did not speak English. She certainly did not speak Danish. She wondered how she and her new husband were communicating.

“We speak Spanish, Mr Clarke,” replied Marisol truthfully, squeezing Elena’s hand underneath the table. “If Her Royal Highness requires a translator, I will be happy to help.”