A fortnight was not nearly enough for Caroline to recover, but she willed herself to become stronger every day while Gabrielle visited her to conduct what she called lessons.

"Most of the ladies are taught everything they should expect in their future courts. And they shall be courted based on the evaluation of the Mistresses."

She nodded, quite versed by now how the ladies were courted and their basic roles of each court. However, she was not certain if she was ready to be a Belle after all.

"Are you regretting your decision?" Gabrielle asked, her beautiful face filled with knowing. "We have all been where you are, Caroline. Most of us, at the very least. We grew up in Belcourt not knowing anything else outside and this is the only world we know very well."

She blinked, looking around her bedchamber. "I heard that there are already rumors spreading around about me."

"Yes, because we must prepare the ladies once you are introduced as a Belle. They need a story."

Gabrielle's green eyes did not reveal much, but Caroline could read enough. "I will not be embraced by all, will I?"

"You will be welcomed." Gabrielle took a breath and let it out with a sigh from where she stood in the middle of the room. Her curly red hair tied at the nape swung as she turned to look out the window. "The Belles will welcome you with no questions asked for none of us make the decisions. The Court of Flowers is the most welcoming of all, but they can also be cunning."

"I have heard, yes."

"They are not merely beautiful faces, Caroline. They are wise women who hold many secrets for Belcourt. They can be your best ally, but also your worst enemy should they ever suspect that you are lying."

"I will only be lying to save myself."

Gabrielle nodded. "But be careful with your secrets. We do not want the Belles to misunderstand and take action that they should not." The Soldier turned to face her, posture erect and proud. "I will not always be there to protect you, but I hope that you find good friends amongst the Belles. They will die to protect each other."

With a slow nod, Caroline stood and walked over to the mirror. She fingered her long brown tresses. "Arielle said that I will have to change my hair."

"Yes. Someone from the Village will come and help you."

"The Village?"

"The Court of Service."

"But why is it called the Village?"

Gabrielle smiled. "You will find out soon enough. For now, you need to study that." She pointed at the book lying on the table beside Caroline's bed. "Every code you have to follow as a Belle is written there. Should you ever have questions, you can call for me or one of the Librarians."

Long after Gabrielle had left, Caroline continued to stare at herself in the mirror.

Her bandage had been removed, but she knew the scar was still there. The injury in her midriff was healing, but the pain still reminded her of what she had lost.

She blinked, giving herself an assessing look, questioning if she was at the right place or if she was doing this right.

⠒♣◆♣⠒

It had been long enough and the waiting was making Trent anxious.

His father was of no help. The man was concerned not about Caroline, but of his son's future in the Circus and the betrothal with Caroline.

He had learned that his father visited Remington, probably to tell the man that his son was capable enough to bring Caroline home.

At first, he wanted to box his father. But as he waited helplessly for two weeks without word from Darcy, he was starting to doubt. Would he be capable of protecting her? He failed when she was abducted, did he not?

On the third week, he had to take Jade to a ball because Sasha would be there. By this time, he had already conditioned himself to control himself around his Belle and be the flower that she at least expected him to be.

"I do not particularly find this ball fun," Jade whispered beside him as they sashayed around the ballroom to where Ruby and Aaron were. "Should we find an empty drawing room?"

Trent ignored the seductive invitation and merely smiled, saying, "I am certain you will have a good time tonight, Jade."

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "Are you feeling all right now, Trent?"

He smiled. "Why would I not be?"

"Jade!" Her answer was left unspoken as Ruby called her name, waving her hand while her other arm was looped around Aaron Stanway, Earl of Emsworth.

They both walked and Ruby extended her arm as she left her flower to drag Jade away from Trent. "We shall return, my lords," the black-haired beauty said and soon enough, she and Jade were whispering to each other in one corner.

"This bloody ball is a bore," Aaron droned beside him.

He scoured the entire ballroom. "Have you been to the gaming rooms?"

"Yes, and as I have said, this ball is a bore." Aaron looked at him. "Did you receive the invite for the ball?"

"Which one?"

"The Stanway Ball, you bastard."

"Ah, yes, of course."

"You should be there. Otherwise, I might find my way out of there in no time."

He chuckled. "I shall be there. I would not want your father to roast me next parliament session."

Aaron scoffed. "He could barely manage to scratch his own back these days, the poor bastard."

Trent doubted that. Jubert Stanway, the Duke of Islefield, should never be considered anything but incapable. The man had served the current king for years and was amongst the trusted people within the monarch's little circle. Aaron may not see his father as what he was, but for the Royal Circus, the duke was a priority. They needed his secrets and they needed it fast.

"By the by, have you heard?" Aaron started, motioning his blond head to where Ruby and Jade were.

"Heard what?"

"I heard there is a new Belle."

"There is always a new Belle, Emsworth."

"No, I meant..." Aaron looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat before he continued. "I heard this from the other flowers. Ruby, of course, refuses to provide details, but I was told that there was a woman who fainted outside Belcourt's gates weeks ago. A woman, Chalbarth. And she will be the new Belle."

Trent went cold. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Have you seen this woman?"

"No."

"Why did she faint? What happened?"

Aaron shrugged. "This is bloody Belcourt we are talking about. Of course, we do not know."

His jaw tightened, but he had to say something. "Interesting."

"The other gentlemen are quite keen on seeing who this woman might be. Bloody bastards must be getting tired of their Belles, eh?"

Trent dug his hand into his pocket and balled it into a fist. "I find it odd. Does Belcourt accept adults now?"

"There may be a reason for this. As far as I am concerned, this woman is the first."

"She must be lucky then," he said, forcing a grin.

"Or bloody unfortunate," Aaron whispered. "I wager she is the very same topic of our Belles."

Trent did not comment as his eyes caught the familiar dark brown-haired woman walking through a crowd of guests with a man.

"And do you know what it means when Belles start gossiping?"

"Another Belle is on the way," he said through his teeth, reaching for a drink being carried by a server and downing it in one gulp. "I think I will go and find one good gaming room for us. See to Jade for me, will you?" And in jest, he added, "Make certain she does not get a single drop of drink."

Aaron's laughter was drowned by the sudden eruption of music, signalling the start of a new dance. As men and women scurried around the room to search for their partners, he reached the more crowded space in the ballroom and walked past Sasha, deliberately brushing his arm against her as he intentionally showed her his tight smile with a curt nod of recognition.

Walking out of the ballroom, he waited while she whispered to her new flower, Ivan Miller, Marquess of Rothsker, who stole Trent a glance before he nodded and turned his attention back to the group that surrounded him. Sasha began to move and Trent walked away, his anger carefully contained.

After a series of turns and a flight of stairs later, he walked into an empty drawing room. Within seconds, Sasha slipped inside and said, "I do not have much time, Trent."

"A Belle, Sasha?" he hissed. "Are you bloody serious?"

Sasha blinked. "It is the only option."

"No, the bloody option is that Belcourt allows her to walk out!"

"Trent, she lost her memory. She does not believe she is safe outside Belcourt."

"Belcourt was the one who tried to kill her!" Through the darkness, he narrowed his eyes at Sasha. "You are planning to use her, are you?"

"She will indeed be useful." And before he could say another word, she added, "She made the decision. I also believe that Belcourt is the safest place for her now."

"Do not talk to me about Belcourt being safe, Sasha. You bloody know she may end up dead inside!"

"She will not be vulnerable soon the moment she becomes a Belle."

"Why—" he began, but then he stopped as he realized, "She will have her villa."

Sasha nodded. "Outside the watchful eyes of Belcourt."

"But she will have people from the Service."

"Three is lesser than the hundreds inside Belcourt."

"And if she doesn't gain her memory?"

"If she proves to be of no use to us, then I shall find a way to bring her back to you."

Trent ran his fingers through his hair. "Remington will not like this."

"Remington has agreed to this."

He stiffened. "You told him and did not tell me?"

Sasha blinked, unperturbed. "Yes."

"Blood famous!"

"She is being prepared to be a Belle."

"Will she get a flower, then?"

"If she wants to."

Fury surged inside him. "Bloody hell, she will—"

"You can apply to be a hidden flower."

His jaw tightened. "And then what? Pretend that I do not know her at all?"

"She has been told everything, Trent. But we do not know how she will react to seeing you and learning who you are. We shall have to wait and see."

Be blinked a few times. "Just tell me you have full control of this, Sasha."

Sasha's gaze did not waver. "I do."

He stiffly nodded.

"Await for my instructions, Trent. In the meantime, the Stanway Ball is approaching. Do be sure to be there."

He sighed. "I will."

"And Jade has been sharing sentiments about you of late. She is quite distraught."

"Are you bloody serious? She is the most manipulative wench, Sasha."

"The best one, yes. Keep an eye on her. We do not want another incident of her following Caroline around."

Reminded of Jade's previous obsession with Caroline, his nostrils flared.

"She may have had something to do with this," Sasha said the words that had been running around his mind. "And if she does, we need to know if it is personal or if someone else ordered her to do it."

"I may end up killing her, Sasha, that is what I am afraid of."

For the first time, Sasha smiled. "Kill a Belle, Trent, and you will never see another daylight." She turned toward the door. "Wait for my instructions. Do not approach Caroline on your own for we do not know how Belcourt has been preparing her for this."

With a bitter taste at the back of his tongue, Trent could only nod.

⠒♣◆♣⠒

Another week Caroline was once again in front of the mirror. Only this time, she could not recognize the woman staring back at her.

Her hair was short, resting over her shoulders. And they were blond and smelled of lemons. Her brows were of the same color, the skin surrounding it red from the harsh lemon juice that the woman from the Court of Service had been rubbing it with. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin darker after lying under the open sun while her lemon-drenched hair and brows were drying. She had to endure the routine for more than a week before the woman from the Service was content with the result.

Her wounds were still a bother, but she was finally able to get into a proper dress. It was lavender with white lace sleeves.

She turned away from the stranger in the mirror as the door opened and a woman in a black cloak entered. In her hands was a folded dark, red cloth.

And soon, Gabrielle entered the room clad in her green cloak.

"The Belles are waiting in the Garden," Gabrielle intoned as the service woman walked forward, unfolding the red cloak in front of Caroline.

She stared at it, the color reminding her of blood.

"It is time, Caroline," Gabrielle's soft yet succinct voice said.