3 Her Royal Highness

CHAPTER 3 Her Royal Highness Two whole school years passed. Sara grew stronger and smarter and dreamed every day about returning to India to take care of her papa. Captain Crewe wrote her long and vivid letters. He also sent her books she would read late into the night, after the other girls had gone to bed. Sara's French and her stories of India made her the perfect pupil to show off Miss Minchin's fancy boarding school. Some of

the other girls began treating her as though she were royalty indeed. But others were jealous of her special attention and what they saw as fancy airs. One day while in the parlor with her classmates, Sara received perhaps the most interesting letter of all. In it, Captain Crewe told his daughter about a new business that was sure to make them even richer than before. He had agreed to become a partner in a diamond mine with his best friend, a man he had met when he was just a boy in boarding school. "Maybe Sara and I can have our own diamond mine someday," Ermengarde thought dreamily. "Great," Lavinia sniffed jealously. "That's all Sara needs—more riches!" "I think it sounds romantic," confessed Jessie. Sara agreed. She didn't care about being

rich. If she was excited (and she was), it was only because the idea of a diamond mine was indeed dreamy, not to mention magical. It was like something from Arabian Nights. Oh, the stories the diamond mine sparked! Ermengarde, Lottie, Becky, and the other girls were treated to colorful tales of jeweled passages in the deepest parts of the earth, and of brave men digging gemstones out with picks. "Oh, I can't bear it," Lavinia told Jessie. "Now she will really be stuck up." Jessie just shrugged. She would never tell Lavinia, but she was starting to like Sara and wished her no harm. "Did you know that Sara secretly pretends she is a real princess?" Lavinia asked Jessie, trying to start trouble. "Oh yes, it's true. One night I heard her telling someone—it must have been that silly dunce Ermengarde— when I was passing by her room. I think we

should all start calling her 'Your Royal Highness.'" Jessie frowned. She didn't want to call her any such thing. Lavinia leaped up and ran over to where Sara was just finishing up her story. Much to Sara's surprise, Lavinia started to clap. "Oh, Your Royal Highness," Lavinia said mocking her, in between claps. "Diamond mines—how exciting!" Sara swallowed. She was rather shy about her princess fantasy (or "pretend," as she called it), and here was Lavinia making fun of it in front of the whole school. In secret, Sara had decided that she would pretend to be a real princess. She would have real subjects (like Becky and Lottie) who needed her—the "populace," as she called them. And she would worry about more important things than just being pretty. Above all, she would try always to be

generous and kind. Sara felt like slapping Lavinia. But princesses didn't slap people, she thought. Even spiteful ones like Lavinia. She forced herself to speak calmly and, yes, regally. "It's true," she said. "Sometimes I do pretend I am a princess. And I try to behave like one. You might want to try that sometimes." "I wonder if you could still pretend you were a princess if you were a beggar girl and lived in an attic," said Lavinia with scorn. Sara didn't know. "I would certainly try," she said. "Hmmpf!" said Lavinia, storming out of the room in a huff. After that, many of the other girls started fondly calling Sara "Princess." Even Miss Minchin started doing it—not fondly, but because it made visiting parents think that

hers was a school for children of royalty. Captain Crewe's letters kept coming. However, their magic had started to fade. Of course, he tried to keep the letters cheerful and full of good news. He spoke of Sara's upcoming eleventh birthday, and promised her a huge party, the likes of which the important young ladies at Miss Minchin's school had never seen. Sara began to read between the lines of the letters: business troubles, problems with his health. Her papa seemed uneasy and spoke more often about how much he missed her— something he had always kept secret before. On the day of her birthday, Becky came to bring Sara down to the party. Mariette quickly helped Sara finish dressing. Miss Minchin had ordered Sara to put on her finest pink silk dress, made just for the event, and to curl her hair. Sara hadn't wanted to make such a fuss, but Miss Minchin had