“Sometimes I wish I had a sister.” May wished she could explain why—that she longed for someone with whom she could weather her father’s cruelty. Someone who could have held her hand, all those nights when Dolly was at school and May huddled at the top of the stairs, listening as her parents shouted at each other in the living room.
Maybe it was better that there wasn’t another Teck girl who had to endure all that. May certainly wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
“At least you’ll have Maud now. I mean—perhaps—now that you’ve grown closer, maybe she can be like a sister to you,” George said clumsily.
Likea sister, or a sister-in-law? May’s heart skipped a little, and she told herself not to read too much into it.
“Of course. I have loved getting to spend more time with Maud,” she hastened to reply.
They were drawing closer to the main ring; May heard the cacophony of horses and shouted greetings up ahead. She cast about for a topic that might delay their return to the group.
“How long will Prince Constantine and the tsarevich be staying with you?”
As she’d hoped, George’s steps slowed. “I’m not sure. Tino should be getting back to Greece soon, preparing for the wedding, but he and Nicholas keep delaying their departure.”
“Of course, the wedding! I’m so glad for Tino and Sophie,” May said automatically.
Everyone had been a bit surprised when the wild, rakish Tino got engaged to quiet Princess Sophie of Prussia. Their upcoming wedding in Athens was the talk of Europe.
George glanced over. “Will you be going?”
“I’m not certain,” May replied evasively.
The Tecks would almost certainly receive an invitation, which May expected her father to decline, grumbling that he didn’t want to be surrounded by his pompous relatives. The real reason, of course, was the expense. Traveling to Athens meant train tickets, and renting a house, not to mentionnew gowns for the wedding itself: all costs that they could illafford.
“Mother and Father are insisting that we all come.” Bywe all,George clearly meant his siblings. He smiled shyly as he added, “I hope you’ll be there, too.”
It wasn’t a proposal, or a declaration, but May recognized that George didn’t say such things often. It suddenly felt crucial that she get to that wedding.
“I’ll talk to my parents,” she assured him.
She would find a way, somehow, because she was nothing if not resourceful.
George smiled, then looked up and paused. “That is your companion, is it not?”
May noted with surprise that he was right. Agnes seemed to have followed her example and climbed out of the carriage; she stood with a pair of grooms along the fence that lined Rotten Row, speaking in urgent, rapid tones. The grooms shook their heads and Agnes crossed her arms over her chest.
“I wonder why she’s talking to the coachmen?” George asked, voicing May’s thoughts.
“Agnes?” May called out.
When Agnes saw her, she quickly smiled, then hurried over, holding out her hands palm up in a gesture of puzzled amusement.
“May, I was so worried about you! You ran off and I had no idea where you’d gone! I was asking everyone if they’d seen you,” she explained breathlessly.
What?May wanted to say in confusion.You’re the one who told me to chase after the hat.But Agnes had already turned to George and executed a perfectly elegant curtsy.
“Your Royal Highness, I’m so glad that you went to May’s rescue! What a knight in shining armor!”
George colored and retrieved the hat from atop his saddle, handing it back to May. “It was my pleasure.” Then, with a nod to May, he vaulted back onto his horse and started off.
May waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Agnes. “What were you doing with those coachmen?”
Agnes hesitated for a fraction of an instant, then waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s as I said; I was looking for you! You really did a vanishing act, chasing after that hat. Though it seems it was well worth it,” she added, teasing. “Now look, here is Jacob!” Agnes waved a gloved hand to hail her family’s driver.
Once Jacob had helped them back into the landau, May balanced her hat on her lap. She felt abuzz with a tentative new feeling that might have been hope.
She had gone after Prince Eddy because he was a means to an end, an escape from the dismal fate of remaining a spinster in her father’s house. Marrying Eddy would have kept her safe: from her father, from a life in debt, from anyone or anything that might hurt her.
