Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl Page B

the article. “What twaddle! It’s not worth the time to read it.” She crumpled the paper. “Liza, I hope this isn’t all you have for me, because there are always silly stories about me in the papers.”
    Doggedly, Liza brought the conversation back to the danger. “Sir John was particularly pleased when he read it.”
    “But why?” The Princess’s forehead crinkled. “Any criticism of me reflects badly on him.”
    Liza plunged in. “Not if, as the writer suggests, the regency be extended.”
    Victoria became very still. “Extended?” she asked icily. “For how long?”
    “At least until your twenty-first birthday. Perhaps forever.” Liza watched her carefully.
    The Princess threw the balled up newspaper against the wall. She scrunched her hands into fists, squinted her eyes and huffed, like a young child whose sweet had been taken away. “I’ve been patient,” she said. “I was prepared to wait until my eighteenth birthday. But not a day longer!” She paced about the room. “I won’t let him. They will have to reckon with me…“ She sank down onto the bed, her face blotched with unshed tears. Her anger seemed to evaporate. “Oh, what’s the use? I can’t stop him. He controls the Palace. He controls Mama. He controls me.”
    “But time is on your side,” Liza insisted. “Like sand falling through an hourglass, the more time passes, the more power shifts to you.” Liza played her card. “I’ll help you.”
    The Princess’s eyes widened. “How?”
    “While we wait for you to reach your majority, we’ll keep close watch on Sir John. We counter his plans until your eighteenthbirthday.”
    “How?” the Princess repeated.
    “When my father entered a new market, the first thing he did was learn whose opinion mattered. Sir John is relying on the press to make his case for him. Let’s investigate this newspaper writer,” Liza said. “He knew about your tutors; perhaps he knows other things. I’ve a friend who can take me to him.”
    “Oh Liza, do that. Find out what this miscreant knows.” Victoria nodded eagerly. “At least then I can feel as though I am doing something.”
    Liza reached into her pocket and felt the gold guinea Sir John had given her. “Princess, there’s one more thing.” She explained Sir John would pay Liza handsomely to know what Victoria fancied for her birthday.
    “I don’t have any money.” Victoria’s protuberant eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why are you helping me?”
    “‘A friend i’ the court is better than a penny in purse,’” Liza quoted.
    Victoria frowned quizzically for a moment, then: “Henry IV, Part 2!” she cried, identifying the quote with triumph.
    “I mean one day, you’ll reward me properly,” Liza pressed.
    The Princess looked disappointed. “If I couldn’t reward you someday, does that mean you wouldn’t help me?”
    It was an important question, not just for the Princess but for Liza. It was one thing to be a paid spy for someone you liked, another to do it only for the money. She reached her decision. “Princess, I would. You rescued me when I had no home. And you will be my rightful Queen. Besides…“ the Princess waited with cautious eyes, “of all the people in this Palace, I like you best.”
    Princess Victoria smiled. “It’s a bargain then.”
    A little while earlier, Liza had sealed her bargain with Inside Boy with a handshake. But the Princess did not put out her hand. After an awkward moment, Liza curtsied. The Princess inclined her head regally.
    “And for your birthday gift?” Liza asked.
    “Don’t tell him anything. Why should we help him with my present?’ “Perhaps we could get you precisely what you want,” Liza prompted.
    A broad grin lit up the Princess’s face. “And instead of currying favor, Sir John, all unwitting, will be doing exactly what I wish. Liza, you are clever.”
    “Thank you, Your Highness,” Liza said. “So, what do you want most?”
    “I’ll have to think on it. We