Chapter 19

I spent several weeks without leaving the castle and I did not receive private visits either. Being queen, it was expected for me to have an active presence in the best social circles of Dranda, but after the incident with the cards and with Fiona Miller, I was afraid to be in public and suffer another humiliation. I felt very discouraged, I spent most of my time alone. I kept on receiving subjects on Open Day, but the rest of the time I kept to myself. Gregory spent a few hours a day with me, but I preferred being alone to his company. When my husband questioned me about my withdrawn attitude, I told him that my duties as queen were keeping me busy and that I had no time to socialize. Fortunately, the king seemed satisfied with my excuse and he dropped the subject.

One afternoon while I was taking a lonely walk through my garden, something caught my attention in the bushes, the plants were shaking. I walked there to see what was happening and a rabbit j