The Princess and the Peer(98)

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded with sudden suspicion. “You do not even know me.”

“I know Emma,” Princess Ariadne said with an untroubled confidence. “As for why, it is simple enough. I wish to see her happy. Anything beyond that is irrelevant.”

“And you believe I will make her happy? For all you know, I could be a grasping opportunist trying to align myself with royalty.”

She arched a haughty brow. “If you were anything of the sort, you would have attempted to benefit from your relationship with Emma long ago; unscrupulous men rarely keep silent. I watched you tonight, and it is as plain as the nose on your face that you care for her, quite deeply if I do not miss my guess.”

Is it so obvious? he thought wryly. Was he the only one who hadn’t realized until tonight that he was in love?

“Yes, I care,” he admitted in a low voice.

Princess Ariadne smiled. Seconds later, she looked away.

Only then did he notice the fact that the crowd around them had begun to thin as people returned to their seats.

“Quick,” she said, “since time truly does run short and I have no wish to land in the soup broth with the baroness.”

“She sounds a veritable ogress.”

“She’s not, but she reports everything to Emma’s brother. She’s a very well-meaning spy. Now, give me your direction. I shall send a note round by way of my maid and advise you when and where you and Emma may next meet.”

After another moment’s hesitation, he recited his address in Mayfair.

She gave a satisfied nod. “I bid you good evening, my lord. It has been most edifying to make your acquaintance.”

“For me as well, Your Highness,” he replied.

And then, before he could even manage a bow, she was hurrying away, her skirts swaying around her trim shape.

Aware he would be wise not to linger, he melted into the crowd. But rather than return to his box, he made his way down the staircase and outside to seek his coach.





Chapter 22





Emma spent the next week in a state of agitation. Her unexpected encounter with Nick had shaken her badly, leaving her more distraught than ever about her future—especially since she knew it was not to include him. She’d told Nick not to contact her; even so, she couldn’t help but check daily for some word from him. Yet he sent no letters, and although she continued to receive frequent gifts of flowers from other gentlemen, none of them bore his mark.

Perhaps he has decided to wash his hands of me for good, she thought despairingly. That night at the theater, he’d said he had to see her again and yet he’d made not the slightest effort to communicate with her since. What had he wanted to say and why had he changed his mind? Had he reconsidered and decided that she really was nothing but a bad bargain?

He was right, of course; she was a thoroughly lost cause. What was the point in his seeing her again when she was promised to another man? They’d already gone beyond any hope of simple friendship; there was too much simmering passion remaining between them—at least there was for her.

Nick was better off severing all ties with her. After all, she’d already sworn never to see him again. Why should their chance encounter the other night make any difference? Perhaps Nick had thought over the situation and come to the same conclusion. Perhaps he had decided it was best to be done for good.

Still, irrational as it might seem, she couldn’t help but feel betrayed, abandoned, and unspeakably alone as a result of his silence. Seeing him again had reopened every badly healed wound and left her as raw and bleeding as the day she’d forced herself to run from his house and from him.

Obviously aware of her less than satisfactory meeting with Nick and her subsequent unhappiness, Mercedes and Ariadne did their best to rally her spirits. With that goal in mind, they dragged her along with them to London on a variety of excursions that ranged from a private viewing at the Royal Academy, a trip to Hatchard’s Bookshop, and a variety of shopping expeditions.

Sigrid frequently joined them for the last, since she almost never turned down an opportunity to acquire a new gown or piece of jewelry for herself, or to buy a pretty new doll or amusing game for one of her daughters.

It was during one such trip that Ariadne bought not one but two new gowns for Mercedes as recompense for having ruined her evening dress. For despite the best attempts of Sigrid’s lady, who was an expert seamstress, Mercedes’s gown had proved beyond salvation. Awash with genuine remorse, Ariadne had been exceptionally generous and told Mercedes to purchase any two gowns she liked. Being Mercedes, she’d ordered fabrics and notions she loved for the gowns but did not add anything unduly expensive or unneeded.