ABIGAIL

“Do I look okay?”

Emily sizes me up and raises both eyebrows. “You look amazing. But, um… you can’t walk around in the palace like that.”

“Can you imagine?” I laugh. “No, I have something to put over it.”

Tonight is my first official… something with Henry. I’m not sure what to call it. Rendezvous? Tryst? It’s definitely not a date, at least not the kind you can have in public. After our all-too-brief adventures on the balcony, and then again in the greenhouse last night, I’m practically beside myself at the idea of having a whole evening alone with Henry.

Last night our tryst in the garden ended too soon. As much as I wanted to stay wrapped in his arms in the privacy of the greenhouse, I understood why he had to go — several hundred guests were waiting back at the banquet tent for him to kick off the charity poker game. But before he’d left, he’d kissed me so long and passionately that I was nearly delirious.

“Tomorrow night, come to my suite,” he’d said, pausing at the door to the greenhouse, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “I’ll teach you anything you want.”

Then he’d left to go attend to his guests and get the Black Diamond poker game underway, leaving me standing in the shadows of the greenhouse, blushing and breathless.

And I’ve been that way ever since. It’s all I’ve been able to think about — I must have lain awake half the night fantasizing about him after that, and the activities today couldn’t pass fast enough. It’s been an excruciating long 24 hours since his invitation, but it’s finally time to go join Henry in his suite.

I’m nearly ready, I think.

“Do I finally have it on properly?” I ask Emily.

“I believe so. Turn around and let me see the back,” she says.

I spin around, and she adjusts one of the clips running from my negligée down to my stockings.

I’m not sure how she was able to procure this ensemble in a day’s time, especially since she hasn’t left the palace grounds to my knowledge, but I’m not going to ask for the details. If this is her outfit, or it was left behind by a former guest, I don’t want to know. I’m going to imagine she had it overnighted from a store in Paris and leave it at that.

“There,” she says, stepping back. “Now, go look at yourself.”

I grimace, worried I’m going to step in front of the mirror and see what looks like marshmallows stuffed in a bag of netting, but I force myself to walk over to the full-length mirror in the dressing alcove.

“Oh!” Wow, is that me?

The sleek bodice of the corset fits me like a glove, accentuating all the parts of me that I like and working magic on the areas I’m usually not so thrilled with. I have cleavage for days, thanks to the built-in bustier, and with the thigh-high stockings, my legs seem to go for miles.

I turn and look over my shoulder. Nice! Even my hips and ass, which are no small things, look… well, alluring. The wide, high arch of the lace panties lays across my hips just right, and the satin bow sewn to the back of the panties, positioned just before the plump mounds of my ass begin, is both cute and flattering.

“You’re sure you know which room is his?” Emily waves her detailed sketch in the air. She’s drawn the entire palace layout and marked out the best route for me to take. “It would be very awkward if you go into the wrong room.”

“Yes, I’ve burned it into memory, I assure you. The last thing I want is to accidentally crawl into bed with old McAllister. Or, God forbid, the Duke of Fellsworth and his wife — although something tells me they’d be open to a visit.” I shudder at the thought, and Emily laughs.

“Now, that’s a visual I didn’t need in my head.”

As I put on my high heels, I feel like a high-priced call girl getting ready for a special client or a naughty mistress preparing for the arrival of her lover, and it’s giving me an unexpected boost of confidence.

“Just think, if I’d taken that position with the non-profit, I would be in Africa right now, wearing muck boots and overalls, pulling testing lines out of a well, instead of dressed in silk and lace to go spend the night with the Prince.”

“You could always wear the muck boots and overalls now…” Emily says with a wide grin.

“You’re funny. ‘Why, hello, Your Highness, I’ve come straight from cleaning the barn, wouldn’t you like to invite me in?’”

She shrugs with a laugh. “Hey, it could be kind of sexy if you weren’t wearing anything underneath the overalls. Maybe he has a cowgirl fantasy.”

“You are not helping.”

Emily can’t stop smiling, partly from excitement for me, and partly because I’ve kept her in giggles for the past hour. First, I got stuck trying to put the corset on, then I put the lacy underwear on backwards, and finally I had to ask her how to attach the garter belt. As usual, she’s been a godsend, and with her help, I’ve managed to not strangle myself while wrestling with the many pieces of delicate clothing.

“I must be mad, sneaking around the palace like a hormone-crazed teenager. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never worn lingerie before,” Emily says with a dubious expression, one eyebrow raised.

“Oh, piss off, you. As if I’ve had anyone to wear it for.”

“Well, I’m sure Prince Henry is going to appreciate the effort.”

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and give myself one last look-over in the mirror. I’ve never felt so sexy and yet so vulnerable in my entire life. I’m trying to picture Henry’s reaction, and the thought has set off a torrent of butterflies in my stomach.

“I hope so.”