Or she could act in her own self-interest.
It was in Alix’s interest too, she reminded herself. If Alix really did want to marry for love, who was May to dissuadeher?
She leaned forward. “Are you having reservations because of Eddy’s women?”
“I— What?”
“I’m sorry; I thought everyone knew.” May pretended to hesitate. “Please, forget I said anything.”
“Tell me.” For the first time there was a blade of strength in Alix’s voice.
“Eddy keeps a Gaiety Theatre girl at a flat in Haymarket. And they say he’s been…involved with some of his fellow officers’ wives.” May felt a little guilty, but everything shehad said was true, and Alix might as well know sooner rather than later.
“I had no idea,” Alix said faintly.
“Like father, like son, I’m afraid.”
Surely even Alix had heard about their Uncle Bertie. Throughout his marriage he had juggled an endless cast of aristocratic mistresses, all of them high-ranking: countesses at the very least, if not duchesses. May had heard that each of the women got an ouroboros tattoo around her wrist, so wisp-thin that she could hide it beneath a diamond bracelet. The tattoo was her symbol of membership in England’s smallest and most elite club—the club of women who’d slept with the Prince of Wales.
Alix’s mouth fell open in a delicateOof shock. “Uncle Bertie, too?”
She really had no idea? May had underestimated Alix’s naivete. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. But I imagine that it’s been hard on you, navigating all of this alone. With your mother gone and your sister in Russia…I know it’s not the same, but I’m family too. I’m always here if you’d like to talk.”
Honestly, she was doing Alix a good deed. If Alix was frightened off by Eddy’s indiscretions, then she wasn’t cut out to be queen. May was worldly enough to know that you couldn’t marry a prince, ascend to the highest of heights, without any sort of trade-off.
She dared to reach across the table, laying her hand over Alix’s. Shockingly, her cousin didn’t pull away. “Forget about those women. Think of all the other exciting things you’ll do as queen, meeting sultans and leading parades and having your picture on postage stamps!”
May would love all of that, but as she’d expected, shy Alix flinched at the prospect. She was just as dreamy and introspective as she’d been as a child, when she sat outside braiding daisies into a chain.
“If Eddy and I ever do get married, it won’t be for any of those reasons,” Alix said hesitantly.
“Of course. You’ll marry Eddy so that you can spend the rest of your life here in England! Just think,” May added warmly, “when you live in London, we can have tea once a week! You’ll never have to go back to the cold of Darmstadt again!”
At that, Alix’s expression crumpled, and May felt a twinge of guilt. Perhaps she shouldn’t have laid it on so thick; she knew how homesick Alix was in London.
“I love Darmstadt.” Alix’s voice wavered. “I would missit.”
A clock echoed through the room, chiming twice, thrice, a fourth time. May stood. The table before her was covered in half-empty plates, crumbled scones and smears of butter glinting in the afternoon light. It all had an atmosphere of luxurious exhaustion.
“I should be going,” she announced, ignoring the regret she felt at having manipulated Alix. Did it count as manipulating if all you’d said was the truth?
Alix gave a reflexive smile. “Of course. I’ll see you at the theater tomorrow?”
“The theater?”
“Grandmama is taking us toLa Traviatato celebrate our last night in town.”
Grandmama.It struck May yet again how different her reality was from Alix’s. She would never dare call Queen Victoria anything exceptYour Majesty,especially not a pet name likeGrandmama.
“Have a wonderful time at the opera. I wish I could be there.”
Alix’s blue eyes were wide and guileless. “Surely your parents have a box for the Season?”
She might as well admit the truth; it wasn’t much of a secret anyway. “Not anymore. We haven’t taken a box at the opera in years, not since…”
May didn’t complete the sentence, but she saw Alix’s sudden comprehension. Even in far-off Darmstadt, word would have spread of the Tecks’ financial ruin.
“You should come with us—you and your mother,” Alix hurried to add. “I’m sure Grandmama would be happy to seeyou.”
