The Seamstress and the Pea

Eleanor is a hard-working seamstress with an inherited distrust of nobility. She doesn't have time for frivolity or a flirtatious prince, especially if she wants to save enough money to visit her mother's grave in the neighboring kingdom.
When a dress fitting for the queen begins with a torrential rainfall and ends with an unexpected proposal from Prince James, her world is turned upside down.
Eleanor is the prince’s last hope to avoid an undesired marriage with the rival kingdom’s princess. In exchange for a one month pretend engagement, he will pay her more than enough to finally travel to see her mother’s grave.
Despite her father’s disproval, she accepts James’s offer and is thrust into a world of formal gowns, doting servants, and pompous royalty.
The jilted princess and her arrogant brother are determined to get rid of Eleanor, and she and James must rely on one another to counter their hostility.
As she spends time with him, the lines between flirtatious acting and genuine affection blur.
Amid her struggles with the royals, internal and family conflicts also arise, fighting to overpower her and the blossoming feelings she has for James.

Can Eleanor overcome the cruel advances of the rival royalty as well as her own prejudices?
Will she choose love when everything is on the line?

This is a cozy no-spice romantasy tale inspired by the Princess and the Pea fairytale.
Although it is a prequal to events in The Whisp and the Prince, it is ment to be read second.