Her Every Pleasure

England, 1818 Thick woods crowded the lonely road as the royal carriage and its phalanx of armed outriders pounded on through the black autumn night. Inside the coach, seated across from her lady-in-waiting, the raven-haired Princess Sophia of Kavros stared out the window at the dark tangle of gnarled tree trunks and scraggly branches whizzing by. The tiny candle sconces inside the carriage cast her reflection on the window glassa face of exotic beauty, with an expression of brooding intensity, lost in her thoughts. Not much longer now. In another few hours, they would reach the castle for tonight's secret meeting with the British diplomats. The rhythmic jouncing of the coach set the beat as Sophia continued mentally rehearsing the impassioned speech she meant to give the Foreign Office lords. On this, the very eve of her destiny, they could no longer deny her, for at the stroke of midnight, she would turn twenty-one, attaining her legal majority; then they could not brush her off anymore with their excuses and protestations that she was too young to rule. The time had come for the British government to keep its promise and restore Sophia to her family's throne. Her people would have it no other way, and God knew, they had suffered enough. Restlessly, she glanced at her attendant. "What is the hour, Alexa?" The striking blonde jumped when Sophia addressed her. Of course, they both were nervous about this night, so long in the planning. There was so much at stake. Alexa checked her locket-watch. "A quarter past nine, Your Highness. Ten whole minutes since the last time you asked," she added, with a taut smile. Sophia knitted her eyebrows and flicked an impatient scowl toward the carriage window, but took no offense at her companion's irreverent tone. Alexa had been with her too long to stand on ceremony; her ancestors had been courtiers to the royal family for generations, and had even followed them into exile here in England when the kingdom had fallen to Napoleon. Alexa had been assigned as Sophia's lady-in-waiting when both girls were barely fifteen. Besides, Alexa always made cheeky jokes when she was on edge. "Must you look so glum?" her friend attempted again with an air of vague distress, though striving for levity. Not every girl gets a crown and scepter for her birthday, you know." "We're not there yet," Sophia answered matter-of-factly. When one had survived as many shocking twists of fate as she had in her brief years, one learned to take nothing for granted. The cooperation of the English, for example. She did not think at this point that they would refuse her outright, now that conditions on Kavros had deteriorated to such a degree. But no doubt the English government would try to keep her on a leash, and for a time, Sophia supposed, she could go along with that, at least until her power was secure. But then, eventually, they would learn that she had bigger plans in mind than to serve their convenience as a mere royal figurehead. Her people desperately needed true leadership. Though she had never expected to rule, now, with her father and both elder brothers deadassassinatedthe duties of the royal house fell to her. Obviously, the task ahead was dangerous. Her family had many enemies, and her entry into public life would bring her to their attention. But no matter. Big, burly Leon, her chief bodyguard since childhood and current head of security, had prepared her well for all eventualities. He chose that moment to guide his horse up alongside the carriage, ducking his shaved head down to glance in the window. "How are our ladies doing?" he asked in a jaunty tonFoley, Gaelen is the author of 'Her Every Pleasure', published 2008 under ISBN 9780345496690 and ISBN 0345496698.