Okay so I am on page 209 before lunch and have gotten to the part where Katherine Parr (the Queen) is starting to figure out that her husband has a thing for Elizabeth. Again having a problem with the story b/c it is being told in 3rd person and I am not connecting at all with Elizabeth.

I feel as if I am being told what is happening and how I should react. For example the Queen and her husband the Admiral have cut away Elizabeth's mourning gown from her father's death as a joke to prove to her that she should not waste her life mourning:

"You must forgive my lord's boisterousness," she told Elizabeth, "and take this in good part, child, for we both felt it was high time you put off your mourning. We but thought to make it easier for you by turning it into a game, and we are quite private here, so no once anc see. Thell Mrs. Astley that I will replace the gown iwth another, finerone, and that peticoat too - its torn." Elizabeth nodded, aware that the Admiral's eyes were straying to the low neckline ofh er chemise. "I thank you madam,: she said unsteadily, then turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster. Behind her, on the gravel lay jagged strips of black cloth.

Okay here's my problem with that: How much cooler would it have been if we would have heard what Elizabeth was thinking through this whole thing. Instead we are told that she might be embarressed simply b/c she walked away with as much dignity as she could muster...

IDK maybe I'm just being picky but right now I am slightly disappointed with this story.