May cast about for a change in subject. “You must be very busy with the cavalry. And with your horses! I hope you have one entering the races,” she said quickly. “It was such a shock when Lorne won last year’s Ascot.”
Eddy’s interest sparked, and May said a silent prayer of gratitude for her sharp memory; she hadn’t evenbeenat Ascot, just read about it in the papers.
“Exactly! I was so surprised when Dante didn’t win. He’s a magnificent horse—the Duke of Beaufort let me ride himat Badminton House.” Eddy glanced over her shoulder again, then back at May. “Do you ride?”
“A little.” She hadn’t ridden since she was a child on a pony, but if Eddy invited her on a hunt, she would say yes and figure out the details later.
“May. I need to ask you a favor.” Eddy placed a hand on her forearm and tugged her aside, toward the archway that led to the front of the house. May should have been thrilled that he was touching her, except that something told her Eddy hadn’t even registered it. His eyes were darting in the direction of the balcony.
She resisted the urge to follow his gaze. It was a cold, dank evening, and no one had ventured outside; the lamps weren’t even lit. What was he looking at?
“Anything,” she told him.
“I need to step away and…take care of something,” he fumbled. “If Mother is looking for me, tell her I went to the smoking room?”
The entrance to the smoking room was on the opposite side of the ballroom. No doubt it was crowded in there, this far into the party; May was quite certain Uncle Bertie had retreated there half an hour ago to drink brandy with his friends. Leaving the hosting to his wife, as he always did.
May nodded. “Of course.”
“Thanks,” Eddy said warmly. “I knew I could count on you. You’re a good sort.”
A good sort?Wasn’t that the sort of thing men said when they clapped each other on the back?
Then Eddy was gone, his scarlet uniform vanishing through the archway that led to the front of the house.
May closed her eyes. She stood there for a moment, swallowing back the ache that threatened to burn in her throat. All she had done was say yes and be agreeable, yet in some way she didn’t understand, she had failed. Again.
“In America, we call that being relegated to friendship.”
May whirled around to see a young woman standing nearby. She couldn’t help registering the expensive details of the stranger’s gown: the rich gold braid along the cuffs, the detailed embroidery, and the vibrant green of the silk, which matched the young woman’s emerald-colored eyes.
“Excuse me.” May started to brush past her, but the newcomer kept talking.
“It’s not very enjoyable, is it, when you’re interested in a man but he’s completely unaware of you?” She sighedsympathetically. “I can’t believe His Royal Highness asked you to cover for him while he went off to a liaison in a coat closet.”
May was so shocked that she nearly stumbled. She glanced back over her shoulder and remarked, in her iciest tone, “That was a private conversation.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” her companion chirped.
May should have left it at that, but for some reason she added, “And the prince wasn’t sneaking off for aliaison.I’m sure he just needed a moment away from the party.”
She didn’t like the notion that Eddy had asked her to lie for him while he met up with another woman. But even if he had, what did it matter to May? Whoever he snuck off with wasn’t her competition; it would have to be a servant, or perhaps some nobleman’s wife. No unmarried woman could behave that way, at least no one of quality.
The stranger shrugged, making the emerald droplets in her ears shimmer. There was a deliberateness to all her motions, from the way she tilted her head to the click of her heels on the floor, that conveyed a forceful personality.
“Perhaps. Personally, I’d put my money on the coat closet. Shall we peek inside and find out?”
“Are all Americans appallingly coarse, or just you?”
May had never spoken like that before. But then, she’d never been spokentothis way, with such blunt disregard for propriety or appearances.
She expected the young woman to blanch at her rudeness, but the stranger only laughed.
“Don’t worry, I can be as opaque as you British, who saylots of beautiful words without ever saying what youmean.I just reserve that for the men. We need to protect them from our real opinions, because if they knew what we actually thought, they would run the other direction!”
How many times had May thought the exact same thing? Though she was wise enough to keep such convictions to herself.
The young woman smiled warmly as she added, “Surely we don’t need to be so disingenuous with each other. Don’t you agree, Your Serene Highness?”
