Dinner was a formal affair, so the women were glad they had purchased new stylish clothes to bring with them. They both selected wrap-style, ankle-length floral dresses and peep-toe heels. Laughter erupted from both of them after they emerged from their individual powder rooms into the foyer.

Geoffrey was standing at attention, waiting in the hallway to escort them to dinner. “Twinsies!” The ladies shouted in unison in the hallway outside of their room.

It was only after Geoffrey cleared his throat that Tess realized their volume was way too loud for their posh and formal surroundings.

“Is it dorky to dress so similarly?” Mo worried as Geoffrey led them down the grand staircase towards the dining hall.

“Perhaps, but our dresses are different patterns. I think we look cute,” Tess weighed in. Her confidence in their attire made Mo feel better.

The prince and Sebastian both politely rose from their seats when the women entered the grand dining hall. “You both look lovely,” Pierce weighed in, but his startling blue eyes never strayed from Mo.

Tess enjoyed the way the prince was looking at her friend. The corners of her mouth tipped up as she watched him openly gawk at Mo. One of these days, she hoped to find someone who would look at her with such adoration.

When her eyes were drawn inexplicably to Sebastian, she couldn’t help noticing that he was giving her a bemused look. Deciding that if she couldn’t be the recipient of an awe-filled gaze, somewhat intrigued would have to do, so she graced him with a shy smile.

Once they were settled in the chairs, the queen spoke from the head of the table. “Now that everyone is finally here, we can eat.”

Tess and Mo’s gazes darted to each other. They were five minutes earlier than the appointed time for dinner, so they had both been surprised to be the last to arrive at the table. Apparently, Her Highness didn’t approve of having to wait for anyone, even if they weren’t late.

As if by some mysterious royal magic, ornately decorated glazed porcelain tureens of lobster bisque appeared before each of them in perfect synchronization.

“Oh, yum!” Mo sounded delighted as she picked up her spoon and took a big slurp of her soup. Realizing too late that it was piping hot, she fanned her open mouth with her hand and tried too cool it off. Once she was able to swallow the hot bisque, she picked up her crystal water glass and took a few gulps.

The queen bugged her eyes out at Mo as if she were a cockroach doing the backstroke in her soup. “We sip and nibble our food like human beings. We don’t gulp and gorge like animals,” she reprimanded Mo. “And no one picks up utensils before the monarch!”

Mo looked down at her lap, feeling chastised. Tess was fuming that the queen would so rudely pick on Mo in front of the others. The kind way to address any issues with manners would have included privacy and sensitivity, but this woman had not bothered to even try to keep from publicly embarrassing Mo.

As Tess took a calming breath before giving the uppity woman a piece of her mind, Sebastian stepped in. “She didn’t know, Your Highness. We have etiquette classes scheduled for both women starting tomorrow.”

Tess was surprised that it was Sebastian who spoke up to the queen in Mo’s defense. She figured the woman would have him guillotined or some other overly-harsh, archaic punishment for daring to talk back to her. To her surprise, the woman’s pinched face relaxed a tiny bit.

“It can’t be soon enough,” the woman said, finally picking up her own spoon and blowing daintily on a sip of soup. “I know they’re uncultured Americans, but I would have thought they would have a handle on basic manners.”

Infuriated that the woman had managed to insult her and Mo as individuals, as well as their entire country, with one biting sentence, Tess prepared to speak up in their defense.

Before she could devise a fitting and proper rebuttal, the prince jumped in. “Let’s give our guests a break, Your Majesty. They’ve had a long day, and I’m sure they would appreciate us being gracious and welcoming hosts.”

Seeming properly chastised for being rather rude herself, the queen gave a curt nod and set about the business of daintily sipping her soup. After just a few tastes, she waved her white-gloved hand and servants appeared to remove all of the soup tureens. Tess wasn’t anywhere close to being finished with the delicious creamy broth, but it was swept away from her before she could object. Apparently, when the queen was done, everyone was done.

Several more courses of delicious food were presented to them, including a filet that was so tender it could be sliced with a butter knife. The queen raised a brow when Mo swirled her butternut squash, green beans, and creamed corn into a gooey pile of combined flavors and textures, but she refrained from calling Mo out again for her unrefined eating habits.

By the end of the meal, Tess was glad she hadn’t been allowed to finish the mouth-watering soup. She was completely stuffed, and the remaining sips of her bisque would have put her over the top.

The men had competently guided the conversation into safe territories to avoid upsetting the queen any further. They discussed the recent duck hunt, how the horses in the royal stables were faring, and the sites they had taken in on their trip to America.

When there was a lull in their polite chatter, Mo couldn’t keep her curiosity at bay any longer. “So, why didn’t the king join us for dinner?”

Silence permeated the room as all eyes gawked at Mo. She instantly regretted her question and wondered if she had stuck her foot in her mouth again.

The queen picked her linen napkin up from her lap and tossed it onto her gold-rimmed dinner plate. A waiter rushed forward to pull her chair back and whisk her plate away. In an obvious snit, the queen arose and glared at Mo as she spoke to the room at large. “There aren’t enough etiquette lessons in the world to teach this one proper manners.”

With that, she stormed out of the room and Mo’s face crumpled.