Wear the pink silk gown you wore on the night of the fireworks party. It looked beautiful. I shall send a maid to assist you, and a carriage to take you to the Pavilion. I shall be there waiting.
He handed the note to Joseph to deliver and finally he returned to his dressing room, where Hamley was still waiting hopefully with his neat pile of starched white cravats.
‘My lord,’ said Hamley, ‘might I suggest you try arranging your cravat in the Oriental style, to match the magnificence of the Prince’s Pavilion?’
Dan shuddered. ‘Please don’t remind me of that atrocity. And I’ve changed my mind about the cravat business—just fetch me a white muslin neckcloth, will you?’ Hamley looked crestfallen, so Dan patted his valet’s shoulder. ‘It could be worse, you know. I did rather fancy wearing my striped brocade waistcoat, but I shall abstain.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
By the time Dan arrived at the Pavilion, the main rooms were already filling up with guests. But despite the crowd the Prince spotted him immediately and headed straight for him, putting one plump arm around his shoulders.
‘Now then, Rivington, you must let me show you my latestdécorin the Music Room. Wait till you see it! Gold and red everywhere, and the theme is Chinese. There are dragons and miniature pagodas all over the place and everyone assures me it is a stupendous sight.’
Dan smiled. ‘It’s all been done in your usual subdued style then, Your Royal Highness?’
The Prince Regent laughed heartily, which made his stout figure shake. He was in fine spirits, Dan realised, and the outfit he wore—a coat of royal blue, adorned with gold braid frogging in the military style—certainly matched the splendour of the Pavilion. ‘You know me,’ the Prince declared. ‘If something I design or wear doesn’t strike the timid-hearted as outrageous, I have failed miserably.’
‘Then I shall admire your dragons and pagodas, of course. But can they wait just a little while? Your invitation told me to bring a guest, and she has been slightly delayed. But I’m expecting her to arrive at any moment, so I should be at the door to welcome her.’
‘Another lady under your spell, eh, Rivington? Very well. Make sure you introduce her to me, there’s a good fellow!’
‘Indeed, sir.’ Dan bowed then went to stand near the main door to watch the latest arrivals. Carriage after carriage was offloading guests in extravagant finery, and many of them stopped to greet him, but his gaze was never far from that door and before long he recognised the chaise that was pulling up outside. It was his, and once it had pulled to a halt, he could see that Kate was gracefully emerging.
For a moment, he was overwhelmed by a sense of relief as well as triumph on her behalf, because this was her moment, her victory. Everyone was turning to look as Kate approached the grand entrance of the Pavilion, carefully holding up the hem of her skirt—and yes, she was wearing the pink silk dress, with a cream stole draped loosely around her shoulders.
She had told him she’d found the dress in her aunt’s attic, but really, it might have been made for her. Maybe the full-skirted style was slightly old-fashioned but it emphasised her tiny waist, and the close-fitting bodice presented a discreet yet utterly tempting display of cleavage. All in all, she looked stunning.
Other men were staring, and Dan had to fight down the desire to sweep her away from this ridiculous place and take her somewhere they could be alone. Instead, he hastened to claim her, taking her hand and giving her a reassuring smile. ‘I’m very glad, Miss Summerby, that you made it.’
She smiled back. ‘It’s only thanks to you.’ For a moment, when she met his eyes, he saw a sparkle in them, and he wondered if she too was remembering the moments of passion they’d secretly shared. Then she looked around, blinking a little at the spectacle. ‘My lord, the whole episode somehow reminds me of Cinderella, when the fairy godmother tells her, “Youshallgo to the ball!” You really don’t let anything stand in your way, do you?’
‘I don’t,’ he said. ‘But Miss Summerby, if you are Cinderella then I have to be Prince Charming, and that can’t be right. My brother and several others would more likely compare the two of us to Beauty and the Beast.’
She laughed, but as he led her inside, she drew closer to him and said, very quietly, ‘Dan. I’m sorry to have caused you all this trouble.’
He stopped in surprise. ‘Sending my carriage for you, you mean? There’s no need at all to apologise. What happened to the dress was not your fault—it was the fault of your idiotic sister and her family.’
‘But sending your maid to me, as well! I really didn’t expect you to go to such trouble!’
That was when he found himself saying, ‘Don’t you realise, Kate, that I would do anything to make you happy?’
For a moment she said nothing and he held his breath.Anything?What was he saying? Oliver would lecture him about false promises and so forth. But at this moment in time, he meant what he said, absolutely.
Kate, though, was clearly not taking him too seriously because she laughed and said, ‘Well, Iamhappy.’ She gazed all around. ‘This is wonderful.’
He led her into the Chinese Gallery where the Prince and most of his guests had congregated. He saw Kate’s eyes widen again as she took in the huge room with its roof light of stained glass, then she looked in wonder also at the lanterns and bells that hung everywhere, and the paintings of rural life in China.
‘Well?’ said Dan. ‘What is your opinion of all this?’
‘I think it is…’ He saw she was struggling for words. ‘It is all very fine.’
‘Are you sure? My brother says it reminds him of an over-iced wedding cake.’
‘Oh, indeed!’ She looked hugely relieved and smiled back. ‘It really is too much. How anyone could spend more than half an hour surrounded by such overindulgence, I cannot imagine.’
‘Hmm. Half an hour?’ He looked at his watch. ‘Are you demanding release from the party so soon?’
‘Oh, no! I do not want to spoil your evening.’
