Betrothed

Chapter 16: Nikki

Throughout the whole ride from Harrison to London I was bombarded with questions from my new family. Questions' ranging from what my favorite color is to how I ended up working for Lord Wembley. Each one I answered truthfully and patiently, that is until we entered London.

The city was very different from the village where I spent my childhood. Along all of the streets are all kinds of shops and taverns. I watch as children play in the open market while their parents make purchases. Just when I think that it cannot get any more magnificent we turn onto Manor Lane. This apparently is where all of the noble folk live. As we stroll down the lane Princess Caroline (I am still not sure how I feel about calling her my mother, though she is a very nice lady) points out who lives at each house. She keeps saying stuff such as; "And that is the Speight manor," "And on the left is the Cornell manor. She keeps going on and on as if I can remember each one.

Finally, we turn into the drive of the Jernigan manor. As I expected it was grand but much to my surprise it was also right next to the royal palace. The more I think about it though the more it makes sense, I mean Princess Caroline is the King's younger sister. As soon as I am out of the carriage I feel myself being pulled towards the manor.

"Come and see my bedroom!" The littlest girl, Avery, says while pulling me along.

"No! I want to show her my bedroom!" The other girl, Willow, argues with her.

"Girls! Girls please. I am sure that Nicole would like to see her own bedroom before she takes a look at the rest of yours." Princess Caroline tells them before turning to me. "I will show you to the bedroom that we had prepared for you darling." With that she motioned to a guard to bring my one bad of luggage and walked into the extravagant manor house. I followed close behind her so as not to get lost as we traveled through the maze of hallways. Finally, we ended up in a huge bedroom.

The room had light colored walls and a giant bed with a very ornate headboard and blanket. The room also had a desk that doubled as a vanity in the corner and a big window overlooking the grounds with a window seat. To top it all off there was a wardrobe and a folding privacy screen with an intricate pattern of curving lines carved into it.

"All of this is mine?" I ask, wonderstruck, staring around the room.

"Yes all of this is yours." Princess Caroline replied. "Look Nicole I know that this is all a lot to take in and I apologize for springing all of this upon you. Your father and I really want to have a relationship with you and we hope that eventually you will feel comfortable with us as your family, your siblings too."

"I understand Your Highness, I mean mother, and I hope to have a relationship with all of you as well. I will just need some time to adjust. Your lifestyle is very different from what I am accustom to." I tell her cautiously, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Of course. How about as a start we throw you a ball. You can invite anyone you want from your old village and I will invite some of the upper class families in London as well as both mine and Brandon's families. That way you can meet people as well as learn more about our life here in London and you can still have some familiar faces." She exclaims delightfully. I on the other hand am a little doubtful, I am not sure if I want to meet these lofty, wealthy London families and how do I invite my friends from home if we are not even supposed to be friends in the first place.

"That sounds like a splendid idea." I tell her though I am not sure why I do. "When would you like to have this ball?"

"How about three days from now. That shall give us enough time to send out invitations and for you to get comfortable enough with us." She says. "We can worry about that later though. Right now we need to focus on getting you ready for your first supper with the family." She continues as she moves over to the wardrobe and pulls out an elegant red evening dress. "Now I am not sure if this will fit, it was mine from when I was younger, do not worry we will get you your own dresses soon. This will just have to do for now." I just stand back and stay quiet as she pulls out various accessories for the dress and then proceeds to hand them to me to change into behind the folding privacy screen. By the time I am all 'ready' I feel completely out of place. I am not used to the feel of the soft fabric on my skin or of the necklace around my neck even though it is my own. I decided to wear the diamond necklace that Allie and Maddie got me so that I would feel closer to home, I have never worn it before though because it most likely would have been perceived as stolen.

"You look amazing my dear." Princess Caroline says once I come out. I realize that while I was behind the screen, fumbling with the gown, she had gone and changed into her own evening clothes. Her gown was a deep blue color with a matching blue amulet around her neck.

"Thank you." I reply. "You look grand as well."

"Thank you. Now we should go before we keep your father and siblings waiting for much longer." She says as she ushers me out of the room and back through the maze of hallways and staircases to the doors of the dining hall. Well here goes nothing. I think as I push the doors open and enter the room.