Chapter 23 #2
“The prince is here,” Lady Mandeville said in an excited tone. “And he’s early!” She smiled at me. “He seems very eager to see you and the duke engaged.”
Despite the fact that I knew the prince was my father, or perhaps because of it, I was more nervous around him than ever before. I hadn’t seen him since he’d visited to share the truth with me, and I had wondered how I would behave when I saw him again.
He scanned the drawing room, and when his gaze landed on me, he smiled.
I returned the smile, joining the others as I curtseyed.
He approached and stopped in front of me. “I know the duke will want the first dance tonight,” he said to me, “but I am asking if you will honor me instead. I have a previous royal engagement to attend and I cannot stay long, I’m afraid.”
“Of course.” I nodded, wondering what everyone was thinking of his behavior.
Aunt Maude didn’t seem curious as she basked in the interest it brought to her from the rest of the room.
The prince offered me his hand and then walked me into the center of the room, though the orchestra had not started to play, and others were forced to move out of the way.
Quickly, the orchestra lifted their instruments and fumbled to begin. Soon they were playing a beautiful waltz, and the prince took me into his arms, dancing me around the ballroom as the guests watched.
“I had hoped to stop by to see you again this week,” he said to me.
Thankfully, with the sound of the music drowning out his words, none of the onlookers could hear our conversation.
“I would have liked that.”
He turned me a few more times and then said, “You look lovely tonight, Clara. The duke is a lucky man.”
I couldn’t hide the pain his words caused, though I tried.
“What’s wrong?” He frowned. “Don’t you want to marry the duke?”
I pressed my lips together and tried to remember to breathe.
“Are you in love with someone else?” he prodded.
Without looking at him, I nodded, trying to keep the tears at bay.
“Tell me about him.”
“It doesn’t matter." I forced myself to rally. “Aunt Maude needs me to marry the duke.”
“Why?”
I found myself telling him all about the hotel situation and Louise Garfield and all the reasons that Aunt Maude had adopted me.
“None of it makes sense to me,” I said as I finished, and the music was coming to an end. “But it matters to her and to Alec.” My voice caught and I had to look away from him.
“It’s Alec, then?” the prince asked.
I could only nod.
The song ended and we came to a stop on the dance floor.
“I’m very sorry,” he told me. “I understand more than anyone, for the reasons you might guess.”
“I know.” I tried to smile. “Thank you.”
He returned my smile as I curtseyed to him.
“Whatever you decide,” he said, “I hope you will be very happy, Clara.”
“Thank you,” I said again, knowing that the choice had already been made, and I doubted that I would be happy.
The ball proceeded with few diversions. I danced with the duke, and he asked if he could have the pre-supper dance, as well as the final dance, which would tell the rest of society that we were either engaged or would be soon.
“I would like an opportunity to talk to you during supper,” he had said, when he handed me back my dance card. “Alone.”
I had nodded, though it was hard to find my voice, knowing why he wanted to talk to me.
The small ballroom had become overly warm, despite the cool evening.
My head had started to hurt and the noise from the orchestra, the guests, and the shuffling of feet over the parquet floor were grating on my nerves.
The one bright spot had been the prince’s dance, but that could not carry me through the rest of the evening.
After dancing with the Earl of Hartford, I glanced at my dance card and saw that there were only two more dances until the duke would have his turn and then we would talk.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville were visiting with a group of women on the edge of the room, and the duke was nowhere to be seen. After our first dance, he had disappeared, and I’d only glimpsed him here and there as the night progressed.
He had danced with no one else.
I glanced around the ballroom to locate Sir Huntington, my next dance partner, when I saw Alec enter.
He had come, and he looked handsome in his formal evening wear.
Butterflies filled my stomach at the sight of him, and I wanted to rush across the room to throw myself into his arms. But I stayed on the dance floor, watching as he searched the room for me.
When he finally saw me, his brown eyes lit up with so many emotions. But overriding them all was pure joy. He looked so happy to see me, it brought tears to my eyes. And the way he openly admired me in my gown sent heat into my cheeks.
“Miss Hill?” Sir Huntington asked as he approached and bowed. “I believe I have this next dance.”
I hardly looked at him as I said, “I beg your forgiveness, but I am going to sit this dance out.”
Good manners dictated that he bow out gracefully, which he did.
I left him and crossed the ballroom, where Alec was still standing, a smile on his face.
“You came,” I said, blinking back my tears.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier.” His smile fell and worry suddenly replaced his joy. “Am I too late? Did the duke announce your engagement yet?”
I shook my head. “No, he hasn’t.”
“May I speak to you? Alone?”
Curiosity made me frown, but I nodded. “Yes, of course.” Doors let out to a garden behind the house, and I could see that there were torches lighting a path. “Will the garden do?”
“Anywhere would do,” he said, his gaze never leaving my face.
The music started for the next dance, so Alec and I moved around the edge of the room toward the doors. People might see us leaving, but they thought of Alec as my cousin and would think nothing of us being alone together.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville were on the other side of the room, and hopefully they wouldn’t see us through the crush of people.
Alec opened the door, and I stepped through, then he closed the door behind us.
The coolness and fresh air were a godsend. Thankfully, the small garden was unoccupied as Alec took my hand and led me away from the door. He walked me to a corner, where a bench awaited, but neither of us sat. The light from a nearby torch didn’t quite reach the space, offering us some privacy.
“What is it?” I asked him, breathless.
He turned to me, the happiness returning to his eyes. “I love you, Keira.”
I frowned and smiled in quick succession.
“And I don’t want you to marry the duke,” he continued.
“I don’t want to marry him, either,” I whispered, my heart beating so hard, I was certain he could hear it. “But—”
“Shh.” He put his finger over my lips, his gaze following the motion of his hands. “I want you to marry me, Keira O’Day.”
My lips parted under his finger, surprise and confusion warring in my mind. “I don’t understand.”
He lowered his hand. “The Prince of Wales came to the house this evening and told me I must marry you.”
Again, I frowned and then smiled. “What? Why did he do that?”
“He told me that you were in love with me and that it was a royal order to propose to you.” He drew me into his arms. “But I told him, not only am I an American and he cannot dictate what I do—but there was no need to force me, because if you would have me, I would marry you tonight.”
“Alec,” I laughed, still confused, but not fighting him as he wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t understand. I thought I didn’t have a choice—that you needed me to marry the duke. The hotel—”
“The Prince of Wales made me an offer I can’t refuse.
” He smiled, his gaze slipping down to my lips again.
“He said that he wants an invitation to our wedding, and he insists we hold it in Newport, at our hotel, where he intends to stay. After that, he said he will go to New York and stay in one of our hotels there.”
“He told you that?” Excitement started to race through me.
“He did, indeed.” Alec smiled. “You charmed him, just like you’ve charmed me and everyone else, and he would do anything for you.
Keira, you can’t imagine what that will do for our hotels.
Everyone will want to stay where the Prince of Wales stayed.
” He chuckled. “And he’s insisting that we rename our Newport hotel The Prince of Wales, in his honor, to remind people for years to come that he graced it with his presence. ”
My grin could not be contained. My father was giving me the greatest gift of my life. He was giving me the opportunity to marry the person I loved, something that had been denied to him. And Alec wasn’t even questioning why.
“So,” Alec said, lowering his forehead to mine, “what do you say, Miss Keira O’Day? Will you marry me?”
I wrapped my arms around him, unable to hold back my love any longer. “I will marry you, Mr. Paxton, and love you with every breath God gives me.”
He kissed me then, his arms around me, and this time, he held nothing back.
I was going to become Alec’s bride, a thought that made me happier than I’d ever been before.
The only thing hindering my joy was the knowledge that I would need to tell the duke…and then Aunt Maude.