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Men on either side of the pathway Miss Sterling forged ahead bowed deeply as laughter followed, everyone delighted that a maid had discovered the pea.

“Ah, Your Majesty,” Lady Dalmeer said as Clara approached. “Do take your throne.”

She motioned to the elevated chair at the front of the room, placed a purple robe over her shoulders, then the paper crown upon her head.

Clara had never wanted to disappear as badly as she did in that moment. Her face no doubt matched the curtains by now. She kept staring at the pea still in her hand, then back to Miss Sterling, who looked utterly delighted and not the least bit surprised.

She had to have known. But, how?

A moment later, cheers erupted at the far side of the room.

“Our king has been found!” Miss Hollis cried out.

Clara already knew what was coming.

The crowd parted, making way for Mr. Cole as Miss Hollis pulled him toward her, their expressions matching Miss Sterling’s.

Clara had been duped.

Thirty

“What a delight!” Lady Dalmeer said between cheers of her own. “Take your throne by your queen, Your Majesty.”

More laughter occurred, and cheers erupted as Mr. Cole arrived at Clara’s side. The twinkle in his eye, the subtle wink he gave her, made it clear once again that he also knew this was going to happen. But how? The pea and bean were always placed at random before baking. How could such a thing have occurred?

Mr. Cole was also given a paper crown, a golden sash, and a scepter made from a small hawthorn bough with a sprig of holly tied to the end of it.

“Now, you two behave appropriately this evening,” Lady Dalmeer said, “and command forfeits from anyone you see fit. Call the dances, find amusements, make the evening jolly for us, agreed?”

“Of course, your ladyship,” Mr. Cole said.

“And do not hesitate to express your own interest in the queen, if you so desire it.” Lady Dalmeer giggled behind her hand. “Let the party commence!”

The dancing continued, the music began, and partners broke off.

A few people walked past, expressing their delight, and Clara simply smiled with humiliation as Mr. Cole did all of the talking.

In between the guests, Clara whispered to him. “How did this happen?”

“Whatever do you mean? It is all random.”

She gave him a knowing look. “You and I both know this was planned. I simply cannot see how.”

He greeted another guest, then finally replied, leaning toward her, his elbow resting on the arm of his chair. “Forgive me, my queen,” he said with a knowing look, “but I fear there has been a bit of subterfuge at play. You see, I enlisted the help of my cousin, Miss Sterling...and Mrs. Jennet.”

“The cook?”

“Yes. She and I have become friends due to my sneaking off downstairs for food, and she was more than happy to accept my plan of planting the pea and bean wherever I wished. Instead of her cooking them inside the cakes, Millie and Miss Sterling were each given one, then they placed them into the pieces themselves before delivering them to us both.”

They paused as another couple walked by to express their well-wishes, then Clara continued her whispering. “You are quite the mastermind,” she teased. “Were you so desperate to be king?”

He softened. “I was desperate to speak with you, Clara.”

Up until that moment, she’d been able to pretend things were normal between them. But hearing the truth in his words and seeing the intensity in his gaze brought the past few weeks to the forefront of her mind.

“I’ve been trying for days to speak with you,” he continued in a whisper. “If this is the only way we may do so without raising brows, then so be it. For what I have to say must be said.”

So he hadn’t seen sense after all. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, glancing across the Long Gallery. Most of the guests had taken to dancing again or eating with one another. A few eyes glanced to them at the front, Miss Bowles’s most of all. Her face was scrunched into a look of great displeasure—no doubt because she knew she could do nothing about the two of them talking now.