PRINCE EDMUND'S BRIDE

Chapter One

The Scandalous Daughter

Priscy

The Vanity Papers showed no mercy.

Every word seemed sharper than a sword, every sentence designed to humiliate rather than report. I held the newspaper with trembling hands, my eyes moving over the bold black letters again and again.

I already knew what was coming.

Papa would be here any moment.

And when he came, there would be no mercy.

My vision blurred as tears gathered in my eyes.

Why couldn't they simply leave me alone?

A muffled sob escaped my lips.

BANG!

My bedroom door flew open.

I flinched.

Papa stood in the doorway.

His face was twisted with fury, his eyes burning with the kind of rage that could make even the bravest person tremble.

Behind him stood Mama and my sisters.

No one spoke.

No one dared to.

Papa stormed into the room and snatched the newspaper from my hands before throwing it straight into my face.

"What is this?"

I lowered my gaze.

"Must you drag this entire family into disgrace?" he thundered. "Everything I have spent years building—everything I sacrificed to give this family a respectable name—and you decide to destroy it with your foolishness?"

My lips trembled.

"I... I'm sorry."

That was all I could manage.

Sorry.

As though one word could undo the damage.

Papa let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

"Sorry?"

He stepped closer.

"What exactly is that supposed to change?"

I said nothing.

"Just you wait."

His voice dropped dangerously low before he turned and stormed from the room.

The door slammed behind him.

Mama immediately followed him inside and shut it firmly, preventing my sisters from entering after her.

The moment she turned around, I broke.

"Mama..."

I fell into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

She held me tightly, stroking my hair as though I were still the little girl who used to run to her whenever I scraped my knees.

But I wasn't that girl anymore.

I had made a mistake that could ruin everything.

And it had a name.

Leo.

I had met him at one of the season's grand society gatherings.

He had been charming.

Gentle.

Attentive.

He knew exactly what to say to make me feel special.

He told me he was the son of Lord Orion, one of the kingdom's most decorated knights.

And I believed him.

Why wouldn't I?

When I told Mama and Papa that I had met someone suitable, they were delighted. For a family with four daughters and no male heir, every respectable marriage mattered.

I began sneaking out to meet Leo.

Again.

And again.

Until the lies finally unraveled.

Leo wasn't Lord Orion's son.

He wasn't even a gentleman.

He was merely a servant in Lord Orion's household—a clever, shameless man who preyed upon young ladies whenever their families were away.

And I had been his latest target.

Now the entire kingdom knew.

The headline on the Vanity Papers screamed:

LORD EDGAR'S SECOND DAUGHTER CAUGHT IN A SHAMEFUL AFFAIR WITH A SERVANT

But the words beneath it were even crueler.

THE FALLING KNIGHT'S DAUGHTER GIVES HER HEART—AND PERHAPS HER HONOUR—TO A SERVANT.

HAS LADY PRISCY ERGARD LOST MORE THAN HER REPUTATION?

LORD EDGAR'S HOUSE OPENS ITS DOORS TO SCANDAL.

My stomach twisted.

Every line was worse than the last.

"Mama..." I whispered through my tears. "What am I going to do?"

"First, you will never contact that bastard again."

"I won't."

My voice shook.

"He already fled to Eviren."

Mama stiffened.

"He left a letter this morning," I continued. "I tore it apart after reading it."

My fingers curled into the fabric of my gown.

He had deceived me.

He had used me.

Yet somehow, it was my family's name being dragged through the mud while he escaped safely.

I hated him.

I hated him with every piece of my heart.

But there was something else.

Something far more terrifying.

I lifted my head slowly.

"Mama..."

She looked at me.

My throat tightened.

"I'm with child."

The color drained from her face.

For several seconds, she simply stared at me.

Then she took a step backward.

"What have you done to yourself?"

"Mama—"

"You are already the talk of every drawing room in the kingdom, and now this?"

Her voice trembled.

"I tried to get rid of it," I rushed out. "I took medicine, but... I don't think it worked."

Mama stared at me in horror.

"I was too afraid to see a physician."

"Why?"

"What if someone found out? What if the gossip spread that I was pregnant? Papa would—"

I couldn't finish.

We both knew what Papa would do.

"I'm sorry, Mama."

She paced across the room, one hand pressed against her forehead.

I watched her anxiously.

Then she stopped.

Her expression changed.

"Your aunt."

I frowned.

"What about her?"

"I'll send word to her."

I stared at her.

"Geerly will come here."

My confusion only deepened.

"Geerly?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Mama turned toward me.

"Because from this moment until the child is born, you are disappearing from society."

My heart stopped.

"What?"

"You will go to the countryside."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Your father cannot know about the pregnancy yet. But he won't be able to hide your absence forever."

She began pacing again, already putting the pieces of her plan together.

"Geerly will take your place at society gatherings."

"But Geerly is our cousin."

"That hardly matters."

She looked at me firmly.

"Your aunt married into the countryside without your father's blessing. Geerly has spent years visiting us during the holidays. She knows this family, and she is a sweet girl. People already know her."

I swallowed.

"You want her to pretend to be me?"

"Not forever."

Mama sighed.

"Only long enough for people to stop asking questions."

I felt sick.

"And what happens to me?"

"You will hide."

Her eyes softened.

"You will have this baby somewhere your father's anger cannot reach you."

I lowered my head.

The guilt became unbearable.

Everything I had done had dragged my family into scandal.

And now Mama was sacrificing her peace to protect me.

"Get up."

I looked at her.

"Stop crying and start packing."

She crossed to my wardrobe and began pulling clothes from it, placing them onto my bed.

"Mama..."

"Not another word."

I wiped my tears and began folding my dresses.

Then another thought struck me.

"Wait."

I looked at her anxiously.

"Geerly and I don't look alike."

Mama paused.

"You have the same hair colour."

"But—"

"She will wear a mask at the gatherings."

I stared at her.

"A mask?"

"Society has become obsessed with mystery since the Games of Masks. No one will question it."

She returned to packing.

"Stop worrying about Geerly and start worrying about the child growing inside you."

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

My child.

The little life I had been so terrified to acknowledge.

I didn't know what the future held for us.

But for the first time, I wondered if perhaps this baby wasn't a punishment.

Perhaps it was simply an innocent life caught in the consequences of my mistakes.

By noon, I was gone.

The grand halls, expensive carriages, glittering society gatherings and cruel whispers were replaced by a small wooden house tucked away in the countryside.

It was humble.

Almost painfully so.

There were only a few pieces of furniture, an old fireplace, a narrow bed and wooden floors that creaked whenever I moved.

But there was something strangely peaceful about it.

No servants whispering behind my back.

No aristocrats pretending to sympathize.

No papers waiting to destroy me again.

And most importantly...

No Papa.

Not yet.

I sat beside the small window, staring at the unfamiliar fields stretching into the distance.

Sooner or later, Papa would discover the truth.

Mama could only protect me for so long.

I placed a trembling hand over my stomach.

A child born from betrayal.

A child the world would call a bastard.

I closed my eyes.

What would become of me?

What would become of my baby?

And how long could I hide from the society that had already decided I was ruined?

I had no answers.

Only fear.

And a strange feeling that this quiet little house in the countryside was not the end of my story.

It was only the beginning.

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