The False Prince

The dinner with Princess Amarinda is held in the grand hall of Farthenwood and not the usual dining room. With Sage assigned as a door servant, Mott announces that Princess Amarinda and her parents have arrived. The princess is “as beautiful as Conner had described her, with chestnut brown hair swept away from her face and falling in thick curls down her back, and piercing brown eyes that [absorb] her surroundings” (185).

As Amarinda passes through the grand hall’s entry where Sage is stationed, she stops and asks what Sage is staring at. Amarinda should not address Sage, a lowly servant, in this manner; Mott tries to apologize on Sage’s behalf, but Amarinda insists that Sage tell her what he finds so interesting. Sage looks to Mott for permission, and with a nod of approval from Mott, Sage reports that Amarinda has dirt on her cheek. She is taken aback and “turn[s] to her attendant, who flushe[s] and wipe[s] the dirt off” (187). Conner observes this interaction from afar, but “his expression [is] so controlled I [can’t] tell whether he [is] amused, relieved, or furious” (187).

Dinner is served, and the conversation at the table turns to a rumor that Princess Amarinda has heard about the royal family.