He paused as emotions overcame him, and he looked away for a moment.
“When I woke up the next morning, she was gone, and I’ve never spoken to her since.” He shook his head. “I had someone locate her just after you were born. She’d come to England to live with her brother, Charlie, and give birth to her daughter—our daughter. But after that, both of you disappeared and I’ve never heard a word about you since. You can imagine my great surprise to see you walk into the drawing room, almost identical to the woman I knew as a younger person, so long ago.”
I was still staring at him, dumbfounded by his confession.
Iwas the daughter of the Prince of Wales—thegranddaughterof the Queen of England? Me? Keira O’Day from Five Points?
He studied me for a moment, swallowing. “Say something, Miss Hill, please.”
My mouth cracked open, but I could think of nothing to say that would make sense.
“I know this is quite a shock,” he said. “But I had to know for certain.”
“I—I have the locket,” I whispered.
He blinked, surprised. “You do?”
“In my room. My mother gave it to my uncle to give to me.” I frowned. “But I thought your name was Albert.”
“It is.” He smiled. “But my friends and family call me Bertie.”
I finally rose, unsure what else to do. I felt stronger than I anticipated. “What does all of this mean?”
“To me, it means the world. To everyone else? Nothing.” He walked over to me. “No one must ever know the truth. This will be a secret between you, me, and your mother. One we will need to take to the grave, I’m afraid. The scandal it would cause, especially now that you’ve created quite a stir in London society, would be detrimental to the health of the monarchy—and my mother.” He sighed. “I’m afraid she already holds me accountable for my father’s death. You see, after he visited me and returned to England, he became very ill and died not long after. My mother believes it was from the strain caused by the scandal, and all the time we walked together in the rain. If that scandal came back to haunt her, it would be catastrophic.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Good.” He lowered his eyes. “Do you—do you know where your mother might be?”
I wanted to tell him, but it would not be wise. Both of them were married now. Nothing good would come of them seeing each other again. So, I decided to keep another secret, to protect the people I loved.
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded. “Just as well.” He lifted his gaze again. “Thank you, Miss Hill—”
“It’s Clara—or, at least, that’s what Aunt Maude calls me. My mother named me Keira.”
“Keira.” He smiled. “That’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
He stood for a moment, smiling at me. And then he said, “I should probably take my leave. I wouldn’t want Mrs. Hill, oranyone else, asking too many questions about my visit.” He grew very serious. “I must beg your promise that you won’t speak about any of this to anyone.”
“I promise.” Though it would be excruciating not to tell Alec. “What should I say about your visit?”
“Tell them that I am quite taken with you and that I wanted to further our friendship.” He grinned. “I’m the prince. No one can ask me why.”
I smiled at him.
He started to walk toward the door but paused. “May I call on you again, Keira?”
I nodded. “I would like that.”
“Very good.” He smiled and then bowed, in a gesture that was reserved only for royalty. “It was a pleasure, my dear.”
I was speechless again as he left the drawing room, and when Aunt Maude entered a few moments later, I was still standing where he’d left me.
“Well?” she asked. “What was that all about?”
