Chapter Twelve May
Chapter Twelve
May
May couldn’t believe she was really here, on a paddle wheel steamer headed for the Isle of Wight.
Spray misted up from the waves, dampening the hem of her traveling gown.
The ferry was nearly full; Cowes was a popular regatta, even more so this year, since the queen herself had announced her attendance.
Surrounding Victoria, all wearing sashes and wide-brimmed hats, were a few ladies-in-waiting and various children.
The Coburgs had come, and the Waleses, and Alix and Ernie—plus a rather plain and serious-looking German prince, who seemed to be included for Alix’s sake.
Everything had happened quickly once May had helped Ducky at the gallery tour.
The note had come on Queen Victoria’s stationery the following week, just like the previous year’s invitation to Balmoral—a request that “sweet May please join us for a family weekend at Cowes.” When May’s father had seen the message, a vein had pulsed on his forehead in silent rage, but he’d let her go.
No one turned down an invitation from the queen.
Especially not to Osborne House. Balmoral was a private residence, too, but the queen was forever hosting people there: inviting ambassadors or prime ministers to visit, letting them borrow her plaids and traipse through the highlands.
Osborne House was her refuge, the closest thing to a break Queen Victoria ever took. No statesman ever received an invitation there.
May edged closer to the ferry’s railing, where Ducky stood alone, a solitary figure gilded in the afternoon light. “Thank you for making sure I was included,” she murmured, so softly that only Ducky could hear.
Ducky glanced over with a smile. “Thank you for getting me out of that engagement. Apparently, Eddy has already told the queen that he refuses to marry me.”
“Now that you’re free of Eddy, how will you get permission to marry Kiril?” It was a forward question, but May assumed Ducky wouldn’t mind.
“There’s no way I can marry Kiril.” Ducky blew out a breath, staring at the horizon. “Mother says he’s too wild and unpredictable, but it’s really about his fortune. For a Romanov, he’s not very wealthy. He gambles a lot.”
“Oh,” May replied, because she couldn’t think of a proper response to this statement.
“Perhaps I’ll never marry,” Ducky replied, clearly trying for a careless tone. “I can live in Coburg forever, have all the horses I want, sneak off to see Kiril whenever possible. There are worse things.”
At the sound of a nearby commotion, May looked over. It was Prince Eddy. He had lowered himself into a small sailboat, accompanied by another man in sailor’s uniform.
“Grandmother, may I go ahead to raise your standard?” he called out.
Queen Victoria stood on deck, frowning down at her grandson. “Why don’t you take Ducky with you. I’m sure she’d love to see Osborne House from the water.”
No one dared point out that the ferry also offered views from the water.
Ducky made a show of clutching her belly. “Of course, Grandmother, but I would hate to get seasick. You know how weak my stomach is.” She glanced meaningfully at May, who decided she might as well seize the moment.
“If Ducky is indisposed, Your Royal Highness, perhaps I could sail with you?” May called out to Eddy, her blood humming at her own daring.
Eddy seemed relieved at her offer. “Of course.”
One of the sailors helped May down the ladder. The wind tugged the skirts of her gown, trying to rip her hat from her head. May held it in place, then reached for Eddy’s hand, letting him help vault her into the smaller sailboat.
“George?” Eddy called out. “Come with us?”
George met May’s gaze for a fraction of an instant, then shook his head. “I’ll stay on board, thanks.”
He probably wanted the chance to be alone with Missy, May thought. Not that she cared.
There was a little jolt as their sailboat pulled away from the hulking mass of the ferry, its wake churning white around them. The sailor who accompanied them began untying a rope, but Eddy waved him away.
“Please, Lucas, let me. I never get to sail anymore.”
“Of course, sir. I shall be up front.” Lucas smiled in May’s direction, revealing a gap between his two front teeth, and disappeared.
Eddy looked at May with a slightly sheepish expression. “Welcome aboard the Minnow. I just need a moment to set everything aright.”
“I shall make myself as unobtrusive as possible,” May promised, and perched on the side of the sailboat.
Eddy shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. May was a bit startled at the sight of his bare forearms. He was wiry but strong, his skin covered in light brown hair that glinted in the sun.
She watched as he launched into movement, untying ropes before retying them other places, letting a great canvas sail unfurl behind them with a resounding snap.
It filled with wind, and their boat leapt forward like a living thing.
Eddy’s motions were precise, automatic—the way you do something you have mastered, something you’ve done a thousand times before.
When Eddy finally came to stand behind the tiller, May ventured to speak. “I’m surprised Her Majesty lets you sail alone. Isn’t it a safety hazard, having the future king on his own boat? The tides are strong here.”
She’d overheard one of the boatmen on the ferry say that, but Eddy looked at her with unmistakable approval. He clearly thought May had reached that conclusion about the tides on her own.
“You’re right. The sailing is trickiest around Egypt Point, where back eddies from shore meet the English Channel. But I know my way through it.” Eddy shrugged. “Plus, if I die, there’s always George.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I was joking, May.”
She looked over and saw that he was grinning, the relaxed grin of someone who feels truly at ease. She’d known Eddy for years, but May realized that she’d never seen this side of him. Probably because most of the time she saw him, they were in a ballroom.
“Why is your boat called the Minnow?” she asked.
“Father named it when he gave it to me. I think he was mocking me, but I actually like the name. Minnows are quick and agile.”
“I see that,” May replied. The boat tipped slightly to the right, causing her to slip. Eddy reached out a hand to catch her.
May startled at the contact, but Eddy stepped back, hardly seeming to have noticed.
“Sorry, I know this is not the sort of comfort you’re used to. Grandmother should never have suggested I bring Ducky,” he added, “but once she did, I’m glad you offered to come instead.”
Here was May’s chance. “Are you and Ducky…?”
“Grandmother wants us to marry, but I won’t do it,” Eddy said quickly.
“I’m sure Her Majesty is disappointed.”
“Oh, she’s furious.” Eddy’s fingers drummed nervously over the tiller. “You know, Ducky has changed quite a lot. I thought I knew her, but I was mistaken.”
Because the Ducky you saw was nothing like the real Ducky. “I think we’ve all changed since we were children,” May said neutrally.
“I suppose so. You have certainly changed,” Eddy added with a sidelong glance. “I don’t remember you being the sort to climb into an elevator, or venture out onto a two-person sailboat.”
“I believe there are three of us on this sailboat.”
“Ah, yes. Lucas, our trusty chaperone.”
It was a good sign that he’d used the word chaperone, wasn’t it? That word was usually employed in a romantic context, by couples who were courting. “It’s nice, seeing you like this,” she said softly. “You are so at home on the water.”
Eddy frowned into the distance. They were getting closer to the Isle of Wight, its rocky outcroppings stretching toward the sparkling blue waters of the Solent. Osborne House rose above it all, punctuated by a clock tower.
“I like it out here. No one is judging me, or trying to make me into something I’m not,” he said at last.
“I would never try to make you into something you’re not.” May’s heart thudded, her words coming out in nearly a whisper.
“Um—thanks.” Eddy sounded confused, so she tried again.
“Now that things are over with Ducky, are you…what will you…?” May was usually so articulate, but to her surprise, her words were slipping over each other.
“Grandmother has given up on Ducky, but that won’t be the end of it. Thora is coming next week,” Eddy said darkly, naming yet another of his cousins, Helena Victoria. “If I don’t propose to her soon, Grandmother is sending me on a three-year tour of the colonies.”
May had a wild urge to scream into the wind. Of course Her Majesty had another well-bred granddaughter lined up in case things didn’t work out with Ducky. Another young woman named Victoria, who went by an absurd nickname. Another princess to scheme against.
She felt so weary, suddenly, of all the subterfuge and manipulation. All the endless, relentless climbing.
“You don’t have to marry Thora,” she heard herself say.
Eddy shifted uncomfortably. “Remember what I told you in the elevator, that I’m in love with someone else? I just…I don’t know where things stand with her.”
He was still holding out hope for Hélène.
May knew she was venturing into dangerous territory, but she had to ask. “Forgive me if I’m intruding, but the woman you love: What is the problem? Does Her Majesty not approve?”
For a long moment Eddy said nothing. His hand tightened on the tiller as he guided them around the curve of the island.
“Grandmother approved,” Eddy said at last. “But the woman I love changed her mind.”
May waited, sensing that silence would draw him out. Sure enough, he sighed.
“I don’t know what to do. I still love her, but she’s seeing someone else now. I can go on the tour, of course, but what if I come back and she’s married him—and then I’ve lost my chance to win her back?”
May decided to risk it. She couldn’t keep competing with Eddy’s cousins, trying to eliminate them one at a time. She would put all her cards on the table, come what may.
“Eddy,” she said, using his Christian name for the first time. But really, one couldn’t begin a proposal of marriage with Your Royal Highness.
“I know this is unconventional and perhaps a bit shocking, but…this woman you love. If you cannot marry her, if she ends up married to someone else…” May let that trail off for a meaningful moment.
“Well then, you should do the next best thing. You should marry someone who will make your life easy, who will let you be yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you could marry me.”
Eddy stared at May, dumbfounded. Clearly, he hadn’t considered this possibility.
“I know you thought about marriage as something based on love, but what if it was more of a partnership? I don’t expect you to love me,” she added hastily, “but I’ve always felt that we understood each other. We could be friends, you and I.”
“May…”
“Don’t say anything yet. Just hear me out,” she pleaded.
“If you married me, you would escape Her Majesty’s incessant pressure to find a wife.
Not to mention that you would be granted houses and a much larger income.
As for the two of us—I would be as unobtrusive in your life as I have been on this boat.
I will make no demands of you. I will manage your household and your public appearances and your children, and let you do as you please. ”
Eddy went slightly pale at the mention of children, but May forged ahead.
“I have no issue with you continuing to live your life as you do currently. The woman you love—I would never make you feel guilty,” she said clumsily. “I mean, if you wanted to keep seeing her.”
Well, she had done it. She had offered him everything she could think of, including a carte blanche for all future infidelities. There was nothing else to say.
“You’re suggesting a loveless marriage,” Eddy said at last.
“I’m suggesting an arrangement that will benefit us both. I think, in our own way, we could find happiness together. Even if it is not the sort of happiness you expected,” May concluded.
Eddy stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he looked away. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, May. But I meant what I said. I am in love with someone else, and as long as there’s a chance I can win her back, I have to keep hoping.”
May swallowed and nodded. She felt the sea air cutting through the fabric of her gown, chilling her all the way to the bone.
“Your Royal Highness! Welcome back!” called out a sailor on the beach.
Atop the hill, a blue, yellow, and red flag began to snake up the flagpole: the royal standard rising over Osborne House.
“May, I trust that everything we spoke of will stay between us.” Eddy’s words were soft, but for the first time, May heard a blade of command in his voice. He sounded…well, he sounded like a king.
She hurried to nod. “Of course. I won’t speak of it again.”
What had she done? She was as bad as her father, staking his entire fortune on a single hand of whist. May had gambled everything on this conversation with Eddy, and she had lost.