A Man to Remember

DRESSES and everything pink should be banned, the woman muttered, putting on her stockings. She hated stockings, but at least she had bought the high ones. A little personal challenge. Princess Andrea Katrine Brunner von Grunberg specialized in challenges. At twenty-six, she considered herself a grown-up, but she still looked like a tomboy. Putting on a dress was like… putting on a corset. She couldn't run, or ride a bike, or go down to the beach to gaze at the sea, or climb the highest tower of her castle and gossip about what was happening in neighboring Switzerland. There was nothing she could do wearing a stupid dress. But that day, there was no other choice. A bridesmaid had to wear a dress. She frowned, took a breath, and looked at herself in the mirror of the tiny fitting room like a prisoner would look at her executioner. "Oh my God," she said, covering her eyes. It shouldn't have been looked at. The ignorant live happily. It was terrible, but she had to be brave, so she took her hands off her face and opened her eyes. She was completely covered in pink satin. Pink, pink, and more pink. A hell. She felt her legs tremble and sat down on the floor. She cursed as a princess never should. Finally, she stood up. She had stopped cursing, but she was furious. —I'll have to drink a few glasses of champagne to bear it. I was wearing the ugliest bridesmaid dress in the world. Plain and simple. There was no time for regrets. I had gone to Taos, New Mexico, USA for the wedding of Lissa, the daughter of my best friend. her mother, and that was exactly what she was going to do. Although he would have preferred to have his nails pulled out one by one. Look at that dress! Couldn't it have been something else? Something a little more normal... Last winter, he'd given in and worn a kilt to Uncle Seany's birthday party. It had been a big step, and his uncle had appreciated it. Not so the press, which had called it tacky. And what did the press know about her? Nothing, absolutely nothing, like her friends and even... her family. When the other princesses were delighted to wear dresses and behave, she would climb trees and tear her clothes. She had been a difficult child, especially for her British nanny, Amelia Grundy. Many years had passed, but she still looked like a boy. She was a stubborn, strong-willed, and tenacious woman, confident in her own thoughts and unafraid to speak them out loud. A woman who wasn't dying to find a husband. And? He doesn't care. Well, a little. I knew I scared men off because I was too outspoken, because I had a strong character, or because I was a princess. She was who she was and wasn't going to change. But she had to wear that dress. There was no turning back. Even though they were going to laugh their heads off, she wished Natalia and Lili, her sisters, were there. "You have to get over it," Annie told her reflection. She knew Lissa was going to ask her what she thought of the dress, so she tried to smile. She grabbed her skirt, which was very long, and took a step forward to leave the fitting room. All he managed to do was fall face first onto the ground. She cursed and charged again. This time, she managed to get away with it.