Anastasia dressed up with the help of the maids. When she stepped out, she was surprised to see the prince waiting.
"Let's go," he said, taking the initiative to hold her hand.
Anastasia was taken aback by the sudden display of affection. She wanted to pull her hand away, but she realized that allowing the servants in the quarters to see them like this that morning would reduce the gossip that might spread. Someone would eventually clean the room and notice that they had not spent the night together.
Anastasia had grown up watching her mother and herself suffer because they lacked the Duke's favor. She did not know if things would play out differently in the palace.
Either way, she felt more at ease minimizing the kind of gossip that would spread.
"Do you know how to ride a horse?" the prince asked as they stepped outside his courtyard. He had just realized that some noble ladies did not know how to ride and were accustomed to traveling by carriage.
