They all went out on the terrace after that, and half an hour later, Princess Victoria offered to show Annie to her room.
“You’re a brave girl to come and meet all of us at once. I hear you’re a smashing rider. Your mother was as well, dangerously so, I fear. She was about your size, and fearless on a horse. Our father was always afraid she would break her neck and kill herself riding.” She looked wistful as she said it. “I’m afraid I was the wicked older sister who always scolded her. Jealous, I suppose. It seems so stupid now. I’m so glad you’re here.” She didn’t say it, but it had occurred to her that Annie gave her the chance to do things better now, and make up for how mean she had been to Charlotte in their youth. “You look just like her, you know,” she said softly as they reached the top of the stairs and she walked Annie into a splendid room, all decorated in yellow satin, and floral silks, and filled with antiques. “This is my favorite guest room of all,” she said, as Annie caught her breath and looked around. She had never seen a bedroom as beautiful in her entire life. There was a portrait of Queen Victoria in her youth on one wall, and a huge canopied bed. “This was her favorite house,” Victoria said, pointing to the painting. “Prince Albert bought the original house for her as a gift and then built her a new one. They were a very romantic couple, and madly in love. I suppose all those children were testimony to that,” she said and laughed. She had a very light spirit and seemed like a lot of fun, as Anthony had said. She was much more frivolous than her older sister, although they were only a year apart. Princess Victoria was forty-two but didn’t look it. She seemed very young, in white linen slacks, with a starched white shirt and silver sandals. The queen had been wearing a linen skirt and pale blue twin set, and her traditional double strand of pearls, which she wore every day, wherever she was. “And don’t worry about dressing for dinner. We don’t bother here. It’s all very casual,” she added.
“I didn’t really know what to bring,” Annie said in a soft voice, feeling nervous with this dazzlingly attractive woman who seemed so at ease in her own skin and so full of life. It had shocked her how much Annie looked like her late mother, they were almost identical, but she tried not to let it show. It was a knife in her heart, and almost as though her younger sister, Charlotte, had returned to them in the form of this shy, pretty young girl.
She could see why her mother and sister liked her. She was so unassuming, and so sweet and direct, with no artifice or pretense. Her manner was like Charlotte’s too, and even the way she moved. “Don’t let us overwhelm you, my dear,” she added before she left the room. “There are a lot of us, but we mean you no harm, and your cousins are wonderful boys. We’re all going fishing tomorrow. And you can ride if you like. Alexandra keeps some very nice horses here. I hope you’ll enjoy it.” She smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her, and Annie lay down on the huge bed and looked around, smiling. Everything was so beautiful, and they were all so nice. She still couldn’t understand how all of this had happened to her. She wished Jonathan was with her, so he could see it all too. She would tell him all about it after the weekend.
She bathed before dinner. The bathroom was old-fashioned and had an enormous tub. She wore a plain black skirt and a white silk blouse, one of her few choices. She made up with youth and beauty for what she lacked in fashion, and the queen looked as though she approved when Annie entered the room in her simple skirt and blouse and black high heels that were new too, and hard to walk in, but looked pretty on her. Victoria came downstairs a few minutes later in a Pucci dress she’d bought in Rome, which the queen thought was too loud and too short, in a bright paisley pattern in turquoise, yellow, shocking pink, and black with shoes to match. Victoria had famously great legs and liked to show them off, although the queen disapproved. Annie looked like a schoolgirl in comparison, but a very proper one, and resolved to go shopping soon with her new allowance, for future family occasions. She had almost nothing to wear, and they all looked so fashionable to her. She wouldn’t have dared to wear a dress like Victoria’s, but it looked like fun, and molded her fabulous figure. It all went well with her flaming red hair, which she wore loose down her back, and made her look even younger. Annie could easily see how she’d had an affair with one of Anthony’s thirty-year-old friends. She looked barely older than that herself.
The queen had seated Annie next to her at dinner, and they talked about horses all through the meal, which suited them both, and put Annie at ease. She knew little about anything else, but a great deal about horses. And the queen invited her to go riding with her the next morning, before the planned fishing expedition. Annie accepted with delight, and after dinner they all gathered around the piano again, and sang all their favorite songs. Annie even knew the words to some of them and sang along. It was a fun evening, and they all went to bed early.