Chapter 21
Lady Mandeville had sent word the morning after the Churchills’ ball that the prince still intended to dine with us, and word of that had quickly spread throughout town.
We had not received any notes of regret from the others who had previously responded that they were coming, and Aunt Maude was confident that all would continue as we hoped.
I wasn’t so sure. I couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling in my stomach about the duke.
And worse, no matter how much I tried not to think about Alec, he was always on my mind. He was the first thought I had each morning and the last thought I had before I fell asleep. I searched for him whenever I entered a room and was disappointed if he wasn’t there.
Even when I slept, my dreams had been full of him.
What would I do when he left?
I’d accepted that it would be better to just get married to the duke and be done with it. The sooner it was over, the sooner I could put Alec behind me and face the inevitable future at Pickering Castle, ghosts and all.
Yet the very thought filled me with such sadness, I wanted to weep.
“Mrs. Hill has saved the very best dress for tonight,” Gallagher said as she walked out of my dressing room with a beautiful white gown that had sparkling rhinestones sewn into the design. It was a stunning dress, and I was certain Aunt Maude had spent a fortune on it.
I was once again reminded that if this scheme didn’t work, Alec’s business would suffer. I couldn’t live with myself if all his hard work and sacrifice were for nothing.
Gallagher had styled my hair high on my head and placed a narrow diamond tiara of flowers and ivy around it.
After the gown was on, Gallagher stood back and admired me. “You look like a duchess, miss.”
I took a deep breath at the thought.
After putting on my long white gloves, I left my room. The dinner would start soon, and our guests were set to arrive. Lady Mandeville would be the first, and she’d warned us the prince would probably be the last.
As I walked down the final set of stairs, I found Alec, Aunt Maude, and Lady Mandeville standing in the foyer.
All three looked up at me at the same moment, but it was only Alec I watched.
Placing my hand on the railing, I walked gracefully down the stairs, my feelings all mixed up inside me. I wanted to throw myself into Alec’s arms and feel his love. At the same time, I wanted to run back to my room and weep.
The longing in his eyes was so keen and palpable, I wondered how I had ever convinced myself it wasn’t there. Tears threatened and I had to blink them back.
Alec stepped forward, as if he wasn’t aware of Aunt Maude or Lady Mandeville, and offered me his arm. He didn’t need to speak. Neither of us did. His eyes conveyed everything.
“You look stunning, my dear,” Lady Mandeville said as Alec escorted me to her side. “The prince will be so taken with you.”
“I’ve heard he has quite the reputation,” Aunt Maude warned, “so don’t let him take too much.”
“Aunt Maude,” Alec protested.
Embarrassment made my skin crawl. I’d heard the prince was a philanderer and had several mistresses. His wife knew of his indiscretions and turned a blind eye. Would he really proposition me?
The house smelled of fresh-cut flowers, and a small orchestra ensemble had been brought in from Paris to play dinner music.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville had thought of everything.
There were two menus, one in French for the prince and his retinue, and the other in English for everyone else.
A French chef had been hired, and he’d prepared all the prince’s favorite foods, including tartelettes aux fraises, a delicious strawberry dessert.
Lady Mandeville handed me a bouquet of lilies of the valley and whispered, “The prince loves how they smell.”
I hadn’t had time to be nervous before now, but I was suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety. Of all the events I’d attended thus far, this was the pinnacle moment, even more important than meeting the queen. I needed to impress the prince and entertain him for several hours.
“And remember,” Lady Mandeville said to Aunt Maude. “If you see the prince drumming his fingers on the table, that means he’s bored, and that is every hostesses nightmare.”
Aunt Maude nodded gravely.
The doorbell chimed and Rodgers went to answer it.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville stepped into place, and Alec and I followed suit.
Over the next hour, we greeted our guests, including the Duke of Severton.
There would be thirty people in all, including four who would come with the prince.
Princess Alexandra had sent her regrets, but Lady Mandeville said that it was common and nothing to worry about.
It was the prince we needed to win over.
Finally, after the rest of the dinner party was assembled, Rodgers opened the front door and the prince stood on the stoop, his retinue behind him.
He wasn’t a handsome man, but he exuded confidence and importance.
Everyone in the large foyer bowed or curtseyed as he stepped over the threshold.
I held my breath as I offered a deep curtsey, wondering if he remembered me from the drawing room presentation.
“Thank you for inviting me to your home, Mrs. Hill,” the prince said as he stopped in front of her. “I’m always keen to meet Lady Mandeville’s American friends.”
“It is our honor, Your Royal Highness,” Aunt Maude said as she rose. “I don’t believe you’ve met my nephew, Mr. Alexander Paxton-Hill.”
Alec bowed before the prince. “How do you do?”
“How do you do.”
“And, of course,” Aunt Maude continued, “you must remember my niece, Miss Clara Hill.”
When I slowly rose from my curtsey, the prince was watching me as he had done in the drawing room presentation.
“I believe my mother called her breathtaking,” he said, curiosity shining from his gaze. “And I quite agree.”
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
The atmosphere in the foyer shifted as everyone began to look at me with renewed interest.
All because the prince had complimented me.
I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding all evening.
It seemed my aunt and uncle’s attempt to foil our plans had not succeeded.
As I stood there, with everyone looking at me in a new light, I realized the truth had finally been revealed. They knew I came from an impoverished background, and yet, because of the prince’s approval, and the duke’s continued interest, none of it seemed to matter to them.
When Lady Mandeville and Aunt Maude motioned for the prince to meet some of the guests in attendance, Alec turned to me, a smile in his eyes.
“No matter what any of these people think of you,” he whispered.
“Your identity is not in the circumstances of your birth, or where you were raised, or even in the prince’s acceptance of you.
It’s in who God says you are. He sees you, values you, and calls you His own.
I hope you’ll start to believe that in God’s eyes, you’re more than a duchess. You are the daughter of a King.”
Tears gathered in my eyes, and I had to blink them away.
The duke approached and Alec stepped back.
I didn’t want him to go. He filled my heart with peace and joy.
From the moment I’d met him, he’d seen me for who I was—in the best possible way, even if I had doubted it at times.
The duke would never visit Five Points or meet my aunt and uncle and cousins.
He would never truly know me like Alec knew me.
Because the truth was, my past, for better or worse, was a part of who I was today.
And Alec was right; it didn’t matter what anyone thought.
Only God’s opinion mattered, and I was no less worthy of His love than anyone else.
“May I escort you into dinner?” the duke asked, offering me his arm.
Alec glanced in our direction but then pointedly looked away. I didn’t blame him—if the roles were reversed, it would tear my heart out to see him with another woman.
I took the duke’s arm. My lot had been cast, and this was the life I had promised Aunt Maude I would seek when we came to England. I would have to make the best of it, come what may.
The dining room had been transformed into a floral garden.
Richly scented rose bouquets filled each corner, while white orchids spilled from satin bags hung on the corners of the table.
In the center of the long table, low-lying bouquets of a variety of flowers covered the vast expanse.
The orchestra played softly as the dinner guests entered the room and found their place cards.
“You have the seat of honor, Your Royal Highness,” Aunt Maude said to the prince. “At the head of the table.”
He acknowledged her comment and found his seat.
Since Lady Mandeville was the highest-ranking woman in the room, her place card was positioned to his right, and the second-highest-ranked woman in the room was to the prince’s left.
I was seated farther down the table from him.
“Miss Hill?” the prince said. “Would you sit next to me?”
Everyone turned to look at me as embarrassment warmed my cheeks. “Of course, Your Royal Highness.”
“You don’t mind, do you, Lady Fitzgerald?” he asked the woman to his left.
She looked like she did mind, but who could argue with the prince?
Lady Fitzgerald and I switched seats, placing me between the prince and the Duke of Severton.
“Ah,” the prince said to me, squinting as if he was trying to get a closer look. “That’s better.”
The duke held out my chair and then took the spot next to me as all the other men found their seats.
“I’m honored, Your Royal Highness.” I was also leery, given his reputation. Why had he asked me to sit next to him when protocol dictated the seating arrangements?
Fifteen footmen appeared from the butler’s pantry door, steaming bowls of soup in their white gloved hands. One of them placed a bowl in front of the prince first, and then the rest of us were served.