Page 84 of Her Royal Houseguest

Anna nodded, her expression set. ‘Let’s get you home, Phoebe,’ she murmured.

The woman shook her head, tears streaming down her face as they watched Vaji disrobe. He still wore his undergarment that covered him from waist to knees. He would be cold without the saffron robe and Deva was angry enough to hope the man froze for his sin.

As was appropriate, Vaji folded up the garment, setting it respectfully in front of the abbot. The man refused to bend to even pick it up. And when Vaji would have reached for his staff and crown, Deva grabbed it, pulling it away.

The man would not be allowed to hide behind his royal status. Eventually, yes. But for tonight, he was a defrocked monk and he would exist in that shame until Deva found a way to forgive him.

Buddha, why tonight of all nights?

When the robe was proffered and rejected by the abbot—yet another condemnation—the defrocking was complete. The abbot turned to leave, abandoning Vaji’s robe on the floor. Deva led the way, his back to his brother and everyone else in the room. He only paused when he heard Anna speak.

‘Your Royal Highness, is there perhaps a separate exit for Miss Gray?’

‘No!’ he heard Phoebe say, her voice trembling but still clear. ‘I will leave with Prince Vaji,’ she said. ‘We did it together. We’re both at fault.’

‘Everyone knows that,’ Anna said but apparently that didn’t sway the girl.

Deva waited until Prinny stepped out into the main ballroom. Then he turned and bowed to the prince in the English fashion. ‘Your hospitality flows like a golden river,’ he said formally. ‘Our gratitude overflows.’

Prinny grinned. This was an evening that would live on in memory for years to come. ‘Thank you, thank you, Prince Deva. I’m so sorry that you must cut the evening short.’

Deva ground his teeth together. Did the man have to emphasise Vaji’s transgression that way? Of course he did. It played into the drama.

‘I am eager to resume negotiations tomorrow,’ he said. They hadn’t exactly been negotiating over drinks but the discussion had been heading that way.

‘Tomorrow? No, no. I don’t have time for that. But you can meet with Lord Patrick and his men whenever they are free.’

The fury in Deva’s blood flared again. ‘Siam does not negotiate with the East India Company. We speak with England.’

‘I think,’ Prinny drawled, amusement in his tone, ‘that you’re going to speak with your brother first.’

Chuckles surrounded them and Deva’s face burned. There were ways around this. Ways to turn even this humiliation to Siam’s advantage but Deva had never been one to do that. Vaji was the humourist, the one who made jokes that eased everyone’s tension, but Vaji wouldn’t speak now. Not until Deva chose to let him. And Deva was too furious to think diplomatically.

Everything they’d planned, everything they’d wanted for months, had just been dealt a serious blow. The English laughed at them. And Deva had no idea how to recover the respect that had been lost this night.

So he did the only thing he could. He caught and held Prinny’s gaze in a hard glare.

‘I will visit you the day after tomorrow,’ he said clearly. ‘We will speak then.’

And on that note, he spun on his tight English shoes and walked out. The duke rushed to join him, ushering him quickly into their waiting carriage. Of course it was waiting for them. Everyone knew they had to leave. He climbed in with the duke who wisely said nothing. He saw Anna out the corner of her eye with her arm wrapped around Miss Gray.

Good. She would see that the girl was taken care of. Which left it to him to deal with his brother. Hai! He wanted the man whipped!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Anna accompanied Phoebe home. The woman didn’t have a chaperone here, which was further proof that she’d come without a proper invitation. And Anna’s mother clearly wanted to cut poor Phoebe from their lives. Indeed, the duchess turned her back on the girl, leaving Anna alone to either cut her friend as well or share in the girl’s shame.

That wasn’t a difficult choice. Anna felt liberation in not searching for a husband, in not caring what anyone thought of her. So she stood by her friend’s side amid all the smirks and stares. She held Phoebe’s hand as they waited for Anna’s carriage. And they said nothing until the vehicle’s door closed and the horses started forwards.

‘How did this happen?’ Anna asked, her voice gentle. She knew how exquisite a man’s touch could be, especially that of a Siamese prince. But to indulge at Carlton House was a mistake of epic proportions, which Phoebe clearly knew because she burst into tears. Great racking sobs tore through her. She clutched her ribs as Anna warped an arm around her shoulders.

She wanted to say supportive things. She wanted to reassure her friend that all would be well but that wasn’t true. Phoebe would never be accepted into polite society again. This indiscretion would follow her everywhere.

She was now a woman of loose morals whether or not that was true. Worse, her parents might feel obliged to disown her. Then what would she do? She’d be forced to become exactly what everyone labelled her. But that was something Anna was determined would not happen.

Though how she was going to stop it was anybody’s guess.

Eventually Phoebe’s tears dried. There was only so long the usually ebullient woman could steep in pain. As her sobs ebbed, Phoebe was able to haltingly relay the tale.