Page 85 of Her Royal Houseguest

Monk Vaji had been the one to submit her name for an invitation, claiming she was needed by their delegation. He’d convinced her to come, saying that it would go a long way to re-establishing her reputation.

That was true. If she had remained in the ballroom with everyone else, then her consequence would have risen enough to make her acceptable again.

But then no one had spoken to her. Rather than risk speaking to someone who was only marginally acceptable, they had chosen to ice her out. Even the roues had kept away. And the longer she stood alone, the more people began to taunt her. She overheard snide comments about her dress, family and every mistake or lie ever spoken about her.

‘Why didn’t you find me?’ Anna asked. ‘I could have helped.’

Rather than answer, Phoebe buried her hands in her face and cried anew.

Then Anna answered her own question. ‘I would have asked how you got an invitation.’ Indeed, that had been the first thought on her mind when she’d seen the woman across the ballroom. Then Phoebe would either have to lie to Anna’s face or expose Monk Vaji as having asked for her presence, something no monk should do. Indeed, he wasn’t even supposed to talk to a woman, much less request her presence at a formal court presentation.

‘He was trying to help me,’ Phoebe said. ‘And I’ve ruined him. I’ve ruined everything.’

‘Nonsense,’ Anna said as brightly as she could. ‘You’ll come with me when I retire to my dower property. We’ll be happy spinsters together.’

She said the words and part of her meant them. But inside, another part of her quailed. Now that she wasn’t failing at managing the household, she’d started to enjoy herself. Now that she wasn’t actively looking for a husband, she felt freer than ever. She wasn’t so obsessed with being perfect or worried about what other people—other men—thought of her.

She was finally doing what she wanted and that meant—primarily—helping Prince Deva. It also meant doing things she was good at. She knew how to design good clothes for him. She loved teaching him how to dance. And he often sought her advice on who was whom in English society.

Those were things she couldn’t do while in exile with Phoebe.

As much as she wanted to support her friend, she didn’t want to disappear with the girl. If only it could wait a few months. Eventually Prince Deva would return to his native country. Her usefulness to him would end. Her best option—marrying the man she loved—involved leaving England altogether to go to Siam.

But once there, she’d be useless to him. She knew nothing of Siam. She’d be dead weight and completely cut off from everything she knew and loved. Without his love to sustain her, she’d be miserable in very short order.

She was miserable now knowing that she was in love with a man who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—love her back.

That left her planning a spinster life in the Cotswolds. There were worse things but she wasn’t excited about the idea either.

First things first. She had to make sure Phoebe’s parents didn’t throw her out. They walked together into the house and Anna was left awkwardly standing there while Phoebe confessed what had happened.

Her father went from concern to fury in very short order. She’d created an incident in the royal palace! He was a banker, and his business had already suffered because of Phoebe’s apothecary disaster. This could destroy him. It might create a run on the bank as high society punished him for her behaviour.

Anna didn’t understand it all but Phoebe certainly did. Her tears returned and all Anna could do was to say that things would work out. It only required some time and understanding. It was a lie but one they all clung to.

In the end, all she could do was promise to call on Phoebe tomorrow. Then she left for her own home.

She sat in silent misery as the carriage lumbered down the lane. She was not looking forwards to the disaster that awaited her from her own parents. Neither of them would be pleased that she’d so publicly allied herself with Phoebe. Indeed, she feared she might be sent to her dower property right away.

She arrived home to have the door pulled open immediately by their new butler. His face looked strained but otherwise impassive as he took her coat and gloves.

‘Where are my parents?’ she asked as she looked around. Everything looked still except for the abbot’s single voice as he chanted upstairs. Then she frowned, as she looked at the dark sky. ‘It’s past sunset,’ she said. ‘Evening prayers should be over.’

‘Those are prayers for the damned,’ the butler said in a lugubrious voice.

Anna winced. ‘Really?’ Getting publicly defrocked was embarrassing. Maybe a lot worse than embarrassing but damned for all time? That was a little extreme, wasn’t it?

The butler shrugged. ‘I do not know what the chants mean, my lady. Only that they continue.’

And they continued without Monk Vaji’s voice.

Oh dear. ‘Where are the princes?’ She couldn’t call Vaji a monk any more, so she reverted to his royal rank.

‘Prince Vaji has removed his things from the attic to the nursery. I believe Prince Deva is in your upstairs parlour.’

‘The nursery! Why? We have much better bedrooms—’

‘It was Prince Deva’s decision.’