Chapter 21 #2
“I’m very curious about you, Miss Hill,” the prince said, lifting his spoon from the table. “You seem to have taken the London season by storm in such a short amount of time. Where are you from?”
With all pretense gone, I could tell him the truth. “New York City. I was raised in a neighborhood called Five Points.”
He frowned as he dipped his spoon into the soup, signaling for the rest of us to begin eating. “I’ve never heard of the place.”
“Not many have. It’s quite unpleasant and most people choose to avoid it.”
“Quite so.” He took a sip of the tomato bisque and raised his eyebrows in delight. “Delicious.”
Aunt Maude was at the other end of the table, but I saw her watching closely. Not only did the meal need to go off without a hitch, but we could not bore him, with the food or the conversation.
“I learned from the newspapers that you were adopted by Mrs. Hill,” he continued. “Is that true?”
“Yes, just recently.”
“Fascinating. I rarely hear of an adult being adopted. Is that an American thing?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“And your parents?” he asked, his gaze filled with avid interest.
How did I explain my parents?
“I was given to my aunt and uncle as an infant, Your Highness. I’m afraid I know very little about my parents.”
“How unfortunate.” He frowned. “Were you born in New York?”
“No.” This, at least, was easy to explain. “I was born right here in London but left soon after. I’ve come home, in a way.”
He no longer seemed merely interested, his curiosity going deeper. “And your aunt and uncle took you to New York?”
“Yes.” I tasted my soup, and it was warm and tangy on my tongue. I was about to include the duke in the conversation when the prince posed another question.
“What does your uncle do for a living?”
Question after question kept his attention on me for most of the meal.
Lady Mandeville had said he enjoyed American women, and it was apparent that she was right.
He asked me about America, about my childhood growing up in tenement housing, and how I had come to live with Aunt Maude.
Not once did he drum his fingers on the table.
The meal lasted for two hours, and rarely did I have the opportunity to talk to the duke. He sat quietly to my left, eating his meal. He did not engage in conversation with the woman to his left, though she made several attempts.
“I very much enjoyed my visit to America in 1860,” the prince said. “I was only eighteen years old, but it made a lasting impression. I do believe I was the first British monarch to visit North America. I’m thankful I went before the War Between the States, or I might never have gone.”
He recounted his trip, arriving in Newfoundland, touring Canada, and then visiting the United States, including a tour of President George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon.
I had never been to any of the places he mentioned, except New York City.
But I listened with rapt attention. He was a great orator and he loved it when I asked him questions.
“You really must see Chicago,” he said to me. “That’s in Illinois.”
I nodded, though I didn’t tell him I was aware of where Chicago was located.
“You really are remarkably beautiful,” he said, abruptly changing the subject and leaning on the armrest to get a good look at me.
My neck grew warm under his scrutiny, but I tried not to squirm and look uncomfortable. All the rumors about his infidelity filled my mind.
He glanced at the Duke of Severton for the first time. “Is this the young man you plan to marry?”
Surprised at the bold comment, I shared a look with the duke, but neither of us spoke.
“You would make a strikingly handsome couple.” The prince put his napkin on his plate. “I approve, wholeheartedly, of making her a duchess. But, Severton, you mustn’t take this jewel to your drafty castle until we’ve all had the opportunity to enjoy her company. Do you hear me?”
The duke looked bewildered for a moment. It was the first time I’d seen his well-built facade crack. “But I must return home as soon as possible,” he said. “There is ledger work to be done, crops to manage, tenant farmers to oversee. Not to mention the work that needs to be done on the castle.”
The prince waved his hand. “Go back to Ravenscar and do what needs to be done but leave Miss Hill here. We’ve only just begun to know each other, and I will not let her go easily.”
“Your Royal Highness,” I protested. “The duke and I have only just met. He has not proposed and I have not accepted.”
“He will,” the prince said. “I’ll see it’s done before the end of the month—or even the end of this week. At a ball he hosts, no less. You must become a duchess, my dear. But I will not let him take you away.”
I glanced at the duke and then caught Alec’s eye. He was sitting on the other side of the table, close enough that he could hear our conversation. I think everyone heard our conversation, as the noise in the room quieted.
It was hard to read Alec’s expression, but I sensed that he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
And I wanted to join him.
The prince left after the meal ended and the guests slowly took their leave, as well. The whole event was a magnificent success, with the prince asking when we would receive him again.
Finally, it was just the duke left. He had silently waited, and when the others were gone, Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville made an excuse to go into the front drawing room and Alec said good night and went upstairs.
For the first time, the duke and I were completely alone together.
“Thank you for the evening,” the duke said to me as we stood near the door.
“I want to apologize for the prince’s comments—”
“There’s no need.” He interrupted me. “He was not wrong. I am in need of a duchess, and I would like to return to Pickering Castle as soon as possible. I can’t abide playing games or wasting time.
I intend to ask for your hand in marriage and there is no use pretending otherwise.
But now that the prince is involved, I will be forced to host a ball, though I loathe and despise such things. ”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It isn’t your fault.” He gave a slight bow. “Please be on the lookout for an invitation soon.”
“Of course.”
“Good night, Miss Hill.”
“Good night, Your Grace.”
With those final words, he left 7 Buckingham Gate.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville rushed out of the drawing room, their faces aglow with success.
“Did I just hear the duke make his intentions known?” Lady Mandeville asked.
“I believe he did.”
For the first time since I’d met her, Aunt Maude cheered. It was undignified and unladylike, but it was raw and honest and full of victory.
And it made me angrier than it should have.
“And he’s hosting a ball!” Aunt Maude said. “Oh, how Mrs. Garfield will fume!”
As Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville reentered the drawing room to celebrate their victory, I slowly walked up the stairs, my heart so heavy, I was afraid it might stop beating altogether.
There was a small sitting room on the second level, and it had been empty each time I’d passed it, but tonight, a light burned bright under the door.
I paused on my way to the second set of stairs that would take me to my room, almost certain I knew who I would find inside. I wanted to be with Alec, to have his reassurance, even if he had none to give. Though I knew it was incredibly foolish.
Slowly, I opened the door to the sitting room.
Alec stood by the window, looking out on to Buckingham Palace Road.
“Is he gone?” he asked.
"Yes."
“Did he propose?”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “But he plans to.”
I closed the door behind me and took a tentative step toward him. “I’m sorry, Alec.”
“Why?” He let the curtain fall back into place and then turned to face me.
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Keira. I’m the one who should apologize.
I know you don’t want to marry him and live on the coastal moors.
In an old castle with nothing but the ghosts of the past for companions.
I’m the one to blame. I should have stopped Aunt Maude on the very first day. ”
“You couldn’t, even if you had wanted to. And I didn’t know better.”
“I should have tried harder.” He paused. “If you are truly unhappy, I will live with the guilt of it all my days.”
“I won’t be unhappy,” I tried to promise him as tears stung my eyes, because it wasn’t true.
“I’ll be far away from the city, living a solitary life like I always dreamed.
” My voice caught. “Even if it’s not quite how I imagined.
I’ll find a way to survive. I always have.
” I couldn’t stop the tears, and they fell unashamedly down my cheeks.
He stepped toward me and drew me into his arms. “Please don’t cry.”
I clung to him as more tears fell. “I love you, Alec,” I whispered, unable to hold it in any longer, knowing I couldn’t utter the truth once I was engaged to the duke.
He held me tighter but didn’t speak.
I pulled back, but when I did, my heart tore in two.
Alec’s eyes were red from the tears he had not shed, and when he met my gaze, his hands came up and gently cradled my face.
My tears fell harder as I shook my head.
“I love you, too,” he whispered. “With all my heart and soul.”
And then Alec kissed me. It was nothing like the chaste kiss on Christmas evening. This kiss was months in the making. Passion and pain mingled with love as he deepened the kiss, until I was breathless.
He kissed my lips and then my cheeks, and my nose, and finished with a kiss so achingly tender on my forehead, I was afraid I would never breathe again.
When he pulled me into an embrace, he said, "What will we do?”
I held the lapels of his jacket, my cheek pressed against his chest and simply wept.