She was right. But there was one thing still out of our grasp. I had not received an invitation to Mrs. Vanderbilt’s fancy dress party. If my debutante ball was a success, there was no reason I wouldn’t have the invitation in hand by tomorrow morning.
“George Vanderbilt is getting serious,” Aunt Maude said as she looked into the mirror with me.
I didn’t respond, since there was no use denying it. George called regularly, and though I had told Alec I would turn him away, Aunt Maude felt it imprudent. George and his brother Cornelius II were among the only swells on Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred list. Somehow, they had earned a place amongst the fashionable elite. George didn’t seem to care about the list, but it still mattered to Aunt Maude. Being associated with him was crucial.
“What if I married George?” I asked her. “He’s on the list. Wouldn’t that put me on the list and, by association, you?”
“Don’t be naïve, Clara. You should know better by now.” She adjusted the diamonds around my neck. “There are eight Vanderbilt children and only two of them are on the list. If one could earn a place by association, the rest would be there.” She shook her head. “The only way to get on the list is to find a dukeand become royalty. Mrs. Astor cannot turn a duchess’s mother away.”
George was so kind and good to me. He’d become a dear friend over the past two months, and though I hadn’t encouraged him romantically, I knew he had it in mind. “I don’t want to hurt George.”
She waved aside my comment. “It’s all part of the game. We know what we’re getting into when we begin to play. George is no different. He’s not guaranteed that you’ll marry him. He knows he has competition. Let him fight for you—and, in so doing, it’ll elevate your status. Then, when we’re in England, you can marry a man of my choosing and George will have to accept that he has lost the game.”
My conscience pricked and I looked down at my gloved hands, clasped in front of my waist. “I don’t think I can knowingly break his heart.”
Aunt Maude put her hands on my shoulders and turned me to look at her. “You’ve known your duties since you agreed to this job. It’s not personal. Hearts should not get involved. It’s all for the sake of financial security. Do not think of it as anything less.”
I blinked several times and took a deep breath before I nodded my acknowledgment.
This wasn’t personal. This was for security—both hers and mine.
And Alec’s.
“Louise Garfield will be here tonight,” Aunt Maude continued. “I don’t believe I need to remind you that she is your biggest competition. Alec has been working day and night trying to update our hotel in Newport to keep our clientele happy. But it’s not just the amenities of a hotel that attract customers. It’s the perceived status of the hotel and its inhabitants. Especially if they think there’s a chance a nobleman might be in attendance, they will flock to that establishment. Alec tells me there arepeople waiting to see what happens in Europe this spring, before determining which hotel to patronize.”
I frowned. Surely that couldn’t be the truth. “Why?”
“Because they are wealthy, but not wealthy enough to take their own daughters to Europe. The closest they can get is meeting a nobleman who visits America. If you attract one, and we invite him to our hotel, the patrons will come. If the Garfield girl attracts one of higher standing, and invites him to their hotel, the patrons will go there. We will not settle for anything less than a duke—though a prince would be best.”
A prince? It was all so ridiculous. Even months into the process, I was still flabbergasted by the way wealthy people lived their lives and what they perceived to be important.
“And don’t forget that Annabelle Wellington will be here,” Aunt Maude continued as she lifted her chin. “Her mother also has plans to capture the most eligible bachelor in England or France. But I have a better plan in mind. Last summer, Alec proposed marriage to her, and both she and her father were eager to accept. It was her mother who refused the match.”
I lowered my gaze, not wanting Aunt Maude to see how this story affected me. I had thought about Annabelle and Alec countless times since Christmas, and it still pained me to imagine them together.
“If possible, I want you to encourage both Annabelle and Alec to rekindle their romance,” Aunt Maude instructed.
I quickly looked up at her, to see if she was teasing.
She was serious.
“If we can get them to elope, then her mother won’t have any reason to travel to Europe and Annabelle will be one less person to compete with.”
Encourage Annabelle and Alec to fall in love again? The thought made me ill. I chose not to comment, hoping she’dforget she had asked me. I couldn’t play matchmaker between them.
“Keep all your competition close.” She continued her last-minute instructions as she handed me my fan and dance card. “But not too close. Learn their strengths and weaknesses—but never reveal yours. Do you understand?”
I nodded. This wasn’t just about winning the best husband, it was about thwarting the plans of my competitors, and keeping allies like George close—but not too close.
What I really wanted was a real friend.
“Good.” She stood back and looked at me one more time. “I believe you’re ready, Clara.”
Despite the hours of socializing I’d already done, there was a heightened level of nerves that hummed inside me. Hundreds of people had accepted Aunt Maude’s invitation to my debutante ball tonight, and all of them would be watching me. Almost no one questioned the story we’d told about my origins, but many were still skeptical. Any little misstep could mean disaster.
“I’ll go down first,” Aunt Maude said as she moved toward the door. “Our guests will start arriving any moment, but I want you to make a spectacular entrance on the stairs. Come down in thirty minutes.”
I nodded, knowing every strategy, every detail, every nuance of this evening was part of a larger master plan.
