I was eventually let out of hospital and returned to the Palace which was in full panic with the wedding now mere days away. I was still sore and I tired easily, but Bianca had stepped up her game and along with her, Dom and Louis, the final preparations came together smoothly.

It was now common knowledge that Dom and I were an item, not that we were overly affectionate in public, but we did garner smug, sideways glances from the Ladies in Waiting and some of the more presumptuous servants. I didn’t mind it too much, although I did have to suffer a lecture from Jeanette on her being my best friend and me failing to disclose the details to her before it became common knowledge. Luckily the media coverage of our relationship was practically nothing. With the imminence of the royal wedding, the press was full of all things Will and Alyssa, which suited Dom and I just fine.

Dom and I managed to escape the scrutiny of all those that watched us on occasion and the more time we spent together, the closer we became. Dom had a dry wit which he hid from most people, but which I had been blessed to have witnessed. We lunched together whenever we could and dined together nearly every night which we followed up with a walk among the gardens. Spring had hit in full force and the rose garden looked particularly spectacular which would be wonderful for the wedding. There would be photos taken in the maze, as Bianca and Louis had suggested what seemed like months ago but which was only weeks, and here in the rose garden as well. Alyssa would hold a bouquet of roses from the gardens, as would each of her attendants, which of course were her Ladies in Waiting. As well as planning the wedding, I would be in the wedding party and had had to wedge dress fittings into my already bulging schedule.

But all would be well.

“So,” Dom said as we wandered down the gravel path in the twilight, “I don’t know if this was implied or whether I should formally ask you.”

I looked over at him. “As I have no idea what you’re talking about, perhaps you should ask me.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Would you be my date for the rehearsal dinner?”

I blushed and looked down, inordinately pleased that he asked me. “Yes,” I said and looked up at him again, “I’d love to be your date for the rehearsal dinner.”

As per Alyssa’s very strict instructions, the rehearsal dinner would only be hers and Will’s closest friends. I had been surprised to learn that Dom had become friendly with both the Prince Consort, Will, and Lord Bingham, Freddie, and had been included in the gathering. If he hadn’t been invited as a guest, I would have made sure he attended as my plus one, not that I’d worried about him being excluded. It appeared the Queen had developed a soft spot for him as well.

“Have you decided what you’re going to wear?” he asked and I raised an eyebrow at him. He blushed and stammered. “It’s just that, well, I thought I might wear a matching cravat.”

I grinned at him and pressed up to place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Savannah is choosing our outfits. I can ask her if you want.”

He shook his head, “That’s okay, I think I’ll speak to her myself.”

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. I had a hand tucked in his elbow and we strolled at a leisurely pace as if we had not a care in the world. It was peaceful and the sky was streaked with vibrant pinks and purples as the sun slid silently behind the mountains. It really was a beautiful part of the world and I was fortunate to have a place in it.

We reached the grotto where Dom had kissed me for the first time after I had tried to kiss him and he had rejected me. It was a tradition now, whenever we walked, that when we reached this place, we would stop and we would kiss. It hadn’t become so by any spoken word, but a mutual understanding that the hurt that had transpired here would be undone by our act of affection. We had yelled ugly words at each other that night, but those days were behind us…mostly. We still did have occasion to fight, and rather loudly too, but making up after those cross words was the best part. Sometimes I wondered whether he riled me up on purpose just so he could silence me with a kiss. Maybe I did the same to him.

We paused at the entrance to the grotto and I turned to him. He smiled down at me, his eyes full of warmth and care. He reached up to cup my jaw with one hand while the other one circled my waist and pulled me close.

“I am thankful for you everyday,” he whispered, “You have brought life and light back into my world and I will forever be in your debt.”

“There is no debt between us,” I said back, needing him to know that what he had done for me cancelled out anything he thought he owed me. “I owe you my life, Dom. How could I ever repay that? Don’t speak of debt between us, because what I give you I give free of any expectation of repayment. It is a gift from my heart to yours.”

“God, Priscilla,” he said before lowering his mouth to mine.

We had not yet spoken of love, neither of us had professed such an emotion, but it floated in the atmosphere about us like a hummingbird. I knew that I loved him, but I was still a little gun-shy to say the words. I trusted Dom, as much as I could after what the men in my life had done to me and I knew that one day soon I would speak the words, but for now they were in my heart and in my interactions with him. I loved him with my eyes and the light touch of my fingertips on his cheek and in his hair. I loved him without words, but with actions and for now it would need to be enough.

I walked into Lady Savannah Matthias’ office and stopped, my mouth gaping open. There was a veritable explosion of colour and fabric; lace, tulle, satin, silk in every colour known to man. It covered every available surface, it hung from racks, from curtain rods, from door handles and even the tops of doors. There was no rhyme or reason to the chaos and I worried that something nefarious had happened to cause such destruction.

“Stop right where you are,” the unmistakeable French accented English came from behind a pile of fabric that reached to about my chin.

“Lady Savannah?” I queried, not moving but trying to peer around the unstable mountain that separated us.

“Lord Chancellor?” A platinum blonde head poked out from around the mountain and her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

I made to step forward so that I wouldn’t have to yell across the expanse of the office, but she put up her hand in warning.

“I was hoping to discuss Lady Priscilla’s rehearsal dinner dress with you.”

She raised on delicate eyebrow and I felt her displeasure. “Are you going to tell me what to dress her in?” she asked.

“No, of course not, only… well, I had an idea is all and I wondered whether it might not be too late to make it happen.”

Lady Savannah rolled her eyes with a beleaguered sigh. “Wait there,” she said, “I’ll come to you.”

Savannah made her way across the office like she was jumping from rock to rock across a stream. I had thought the entire floor space had been covered in dresses, but I noticed the small patches of carpet as she traversed towards me. I held out my hand to her so she could make the final hurdle and she looked up at me with a smile.

“Did something happen in here?” I asked as she smoothed her dress and ran a gentle hand over her coiffed hair. “Do you need me to get Benjamin or Von Bartham?”

She looked back at her office with a puzzled expression. “What do you mean?”

“Ah, well, it looks like an armoire exploded in here or someone was rifling through your things to find something.”

She huffed in indignation and crossed her arms across her chest. “I’ll have you know that I know where everything is in my office. To the outsider it may look like a mess but it is really a rather complex filing system.”

I shook my head in disbelief really not understanding how she could get any work done amongst all that clutter, it would drive me insane.

“Now, what was your idea for Priscilla’s gown?”

“Are you familiar with the movie ‘Pretty in Pink’?”

She scrunched up her nose as she thought it over. “I think so. It’s an old film, yes?”

I nodded, “It’s an eighties classic.”

“What about it?”

“It’s Priscilla’s favourite movie and there is a dress, a pink dress, in it. Priscilla doesn’t think she can wear pink because of her hair, but—”

“You would like her to wear a reproduction of this dress? From the movie?”

“Well, you see, in the movie the actress takes an old prom dress and remodels it. I’m not particularly fond of the new creation, but the original prom dress? I think it would look lovely on Priscilla. It is a vintage style, off the shoulder, fitted to the waist with a swing skirt and just a hint of tulle underneath.”

She looked me over like she’d never seen me before. “What do you know about lady’s fashion?”

I shrugged, “It’s curious what comes across my desk sometimes. Questions of protocol regarding what is acceptable for an event is one of the most common.”

“I shall watch this movie and look at this dress you describe.”

I nodded, “I’ll leave it in your capable hands,” I said, backing out of the office.

With a last goodbye, I turned and walked away, a smile splitting my face. Even if Lady Savannah couldn’t get a replica of the dress, it would mean so much to have Priscilla wear pink and know that she could pull it off. It was an odd thing, but I felt somehow that it would show her that I cared, that I had listened when she’d told me about the dress. I wanted her to know that she meant more to me than just a passing fancy. I had told her I loved her when they pulled her form the water, but she had never said anything to me about it and I wondered now if she’d even heard me.

With everything that had happened since that day and the approaching wedding, there just hadn’t been the appropriate time to bring it up, and I was a coward. What if she had heard me but was pretending it hadn’t happen to save my feelings? What if she didn’t feel the same? We had been spending any spare moment we could together and our evening walks were lovely, but what if it was all just a casual affair for her? She’d never uttered the words to me, but I had felt them in her touch. That could simply be my wishful thinking though, as body language was very easy to misread. I wouldn’t be sure, not really, until she said the words to me.

And I had a plan for that.

“So how are you planning on wooing Priscilla?” Louis walked into my office and plopped down on the chair opposite my desk.

“Who says I have a plan?” I asked mildly, determined not to give anything away.

“You have a…” he waved his hand around in front of me, “A look about you.”

“A look?” I raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yes, a look. You look like you’re planning something.”

“What I look like,” I said, “Is busy. The rehearsal dinner is tomorrow night and then the wedding is the day after. Don’t you have work you should be doing?”

“I need a new suit,” he said, adjusting the cuffs of the suit he was currently wearing, “For the rehearsal dinner.”

“You’re going?”

“Of course I’m going,” he replied, “I’m your plus-one.”

“No, Priscilla is my plus-one.”

“No, Priscilla has her own invitation. I am your plus-one and Bianca is Priscilla’s plus-one.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose to stave off the headache that was building behind my eyes. “You and Bianca planned this, didn’t you?”

He grinned at me. “I don’t see the problem. You have your date and I have mine. It’s not like there won’t be enough food or places to sit. We RSVPed on your behalf and named ourselves as your plus-ones. Everyone will be expecting us.”

“I thought you had learned something from working with me?” I said, “But you’re still up to your scheming ways.”

“Oh Dom, stop it, would you. There is no need for you to be this stuffy. If the Queen had a problem with it, she would’ve said something. Besides, she will only have eyes for Will at any rate and probably won’t even notice we’re there.”

I knew that Alyssa wouldn’t be upset at having Louis and Bianca there, but it was the principle of the thing. “Louis, you can’t just go around inviting yourself to things. The Queen specifically wanted the rehearsal dinner to be a small, intimate affair with her friends. It is just not done to appropriate yourself an invitation.”

He waved my objection away. “What does it matter, really? In the grand scheme of things, it’s just two meals and we’ll make sure we are seated away from the main group. We don’t want to intrude on the Queen’s private affairs, but we do want to be part of the pomp and circumstance of such a grand occasion. A Royal wedding! When will we ever have a chance of seeing another one?”

“You are invited to the wedding,” I said but felt my argument going around in circles. How was it that Louis could do this to me? “The rehearsal dinner is not the wedding.”

“No, but it is the most genuine get together out of all the events and soirées and balls that we’ve attended so far. I want to see behind the mask, I want to see what very few people will ever get to see. And I can help you with your plan to woo Priscilla.”

“There is no plan,” I said tiredly, “And as for the dinner, it’s too late to do anything about it now, so I suppose I have no choice but to agree to let you attend. But I need to caution you, Louis, you cannot abuse your position like this. There are many invitations that will come across our desks and it is not always appropriate for us to attend. As the next Lord Chancellor, you need to know which ones you can and should attend and which ones to avoid. In this instance, this is one you should have avoided.”

“Ah,” he said, getting up from his chair, “But I am not Lord Chancellor yet.” And then he walked out of my office leaving me staring after him.