Alec bowed before the prince. “How do you do?”
“How do you do.”
“And, of course,” Aunt Maude continued, “you must remember my niece, Miss Clara Hill.”
When I slowly rose from my curtsey, the prince was watching me as he had done in the drawing room presentation.
“I believe my mother called her breathtaking,” he said, curiosity shining from his gaze. “And I quite agree.”
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
The atmosphere in the foyer shifted as everyone began to look at me with renewed interest.
All because the prince had complimented me.
I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding all evening.
It seemed my aunt and uncle’s attempt to foil our plans had not succeeded.
As I stood there, with everyone looking at me in a new light, I realized the truth had finally been revealed. They knew I came from an impoverished background, and yet, because of the prince’s approval, and the duke’s continued interest, none of it seemed to matter to them.
When Lady Mandeville and Aunt Maude motioned for the prince to meet some of the guests in attendance, Alec turned to me, a smile in his eyes.
“No matter what any of these people think of you,” he whispered. “Your identity is not in the circumstances of your birth, or where you were raised, or even in the prince’s acceptance of you. It’s in who God says you are. He sees you, values you, and calls you His own. I hope you’ll start to believe that in God’s eyes, you’re more than a duchess. You are the daughter of a King.”
Tears gathered in my eyes, and I had to blink them away.
The duke approached and Alec stepped back. I didn’t want him to go. He filled my heart with peace and joy. From the moment I’d met him, he’d seen me for who I was—in the best possible way, even if I had doubted it at times. The duke would never visit Five Points or meet my aunt and uncle and cousins. He would never truly know me like Alec knew me. Because the truth was, my past, for better or worse, was a part of who I was today. And Alec was right; it didn’t matter what anyone thought. Only God’s opinion mattered, and I was no less worthy of His love than anyone else.
“May I escort you into dinner?” the duke asked, offering me his arm.
Alec glanced in our direction but then pointedly looked away. I didn’t blame him—if the roles were reversed, it would tear my heart out to see him with another woman.
I took the duke’s arm. My lot had been cast, and this was the life I had promised Aunt Maude I would seek when we came to England. I would have to make the best of it, come what may.
The dining room had been transformed into a floral garden. Richly scented rose bouquets filled each corner, while white orchids spilled from satin bags hung on the corners of the table. In the center of the long table, low-lying bouquets of a variety of flowers covered the vast expanse. The orchestra played softly as the dinner guests entered the room and found their place cards.
“You have the seat of honor, Your Royal Highness,” Aunt Maude said to the prince. “At the head of the table.”
He acknowledged her comment and found his seat.
Since Lady Mandeville was the highest-ranking woman in the room, her place card was positioned to his right, and the second-highest-ranked woman in the room was to the prince’s left.
I was seated farther down the table from him.
“Miss Hill?” the prince said. “Would you sit next to me?”
Everyone turned to look at me as embarrassment warmed my cheeks. “Of course, Your Royal Highness.”
“You don’t mind, do you, Lady Fitzgerald?” he asked the woman to his left.
She looked like she did mind, but who could argue with the prince?
Lady Fitzgerald and I switched seats, placing me between the prince and the Duke of Severton.
“Ah,” the prince said to me, squinting as if he was trying to get a closer look. “That’s better.”
The duke held out my chair and then took the spot next to me as all the other men found their seats.
