Page 40 of A Royal Kiss & Tell
Leo was surprised and relieved by the tiny bit of charity from her. Why she’d done it, he wasn’t certain, and he glanced at her questioningly.
She returned a faint smile.
“I am honored to be called your friend, Lady Caroline,” Mr. Morley said, grinning like a lad. “Mr. Chartier, how do you do?”
Leo nodded.
“Are you a Londoner, then?” Mr. Morley asked as the two ladies Leo had seen earlier arrived at his side, each of them carrying a small cake.
“At present,” Leo said. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, but if you will excuse me, I’m in a bit of a rush. Good day to you,” he said, and touching the brim of his hat, he turned to leave.
“Good day, Mr. Chartier!” Lady Caroline called in a singsong voice after him.
He could feel Lady Caroline’s gaze on his back, and he swore he could hear her laughter.Impudent woman. Impudent, irreverent, beautiful woman. Impudent, irreverent, beautiful, enticing woman.
With a mouth he would very much like to kiss into submission.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A crate of squawking chickens delivered to the Clarendon Hotel has upset the genteel patrons to the point of complaint. The chickens were a gift for a prince of a fellow from a Humble admirer in Lancashire. It has been said that the prince is so in search of good poultry that he took it upon himself to visit the Leadenhall market. Perhaps the prince might endeavor to raise his own perfect poultry in the ruins of Herstmonceux Castle.
A recent encounter at Gunter’s Tea Shop between a gentleman whose debts have been questioned and the gentleman who questioned them, was devoid of the dictates of polite society and resulted in both gentlemen being ejected from the premises. This serves as a solemn reminder that one must always bow to an acquaintance, even if that acquaintance is one’s enemy.
—Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and
Domesticity for Ladies
CAROLINEWASFEELINGher old self again. The trip to Leadenhall, which Beck was adamant she not attempt, had done her some good after all. She hadn’t meant to go along, she hadn’twantedto go along—she could think of nothing less attractive than a meat market. But Mr. Morley and his sisters had called, and Caroline had been desperate to escape them, and had said that she must accompany the new maid to Leadenhall, which she was certain would do the trick. Alas, much to her dismay, Mr. Morley said he would be delighted to accompany her as well, and turning to his sisters, he’d asked if they didn’t both need some beef sent home?
The day had been truly exhausting, physically, as she was still recovering, and also emotionally, as she found it taxing to be demure for such long stretches of time. But in the end, Caroline was very pleased that her legs had not lost their usefulness after all. Indications were that she would indeed dance again.
The other happy result of her trip to Leadenhall was the remarkable sight of Prince Leopold prowling around as if he were some inspector of birds. Not the poultry kind, either, as he maddeningly would have her believe.
Caroline had seen him in conversation with Ann Marble. She’d only noticed it because she’d spotted Molly, the kitchen maid, wandering around by herself, and had looked around for Ann. She’d been so intrigued by the intimate little tête-à-tête that she’d stepped away from Mr. Morley and his sisters and slyly moved in the prince’s direction.
She knew what those two were about, obviously. She knew the true nature of men, and she particularly knew the true nature of privileged men. He was a rake! The question was, what was she going to do about it?
She wondered what Beck would say if he knew about this despicable affair. Caroline did not intend to tell him...at least not now. She had her reasons. For one, she didn’t want to see Ann dismissed. She was good around their house, and besides, from what Caroline had gleaned from Martha, the poor girl was alone in this world. Beck had said as much when he brought her into the house. “Russell didn’t want to keep her, and I’d not like to see a young woman put to the street,” he’d said with a grimace.
But Caroline couldn’t allow this affair to continue. It would be a trifling thing to the prince, but it would ruin poor Ann. That was the thing Caroline had come to understand about men—their desire was so immediate, so intense, that they didn’t think of the consequences of what they were demanding. They thought of only the need. They didn’t see a person, really, but a feminine shape that appealed to them and their base instincts.
She’d noticed this,reallynoticed this, after her debut. She’d always known she was attractive, but she hadn’t realized just how attractive until that night. She had basked in the attention and the compliments, had found it exhilarating. And subsequently, at every party, every soiree after that, she sought the same feeling—of being admired. Of being desired.
But...it wasn’t long after that Caroline began to notice that the attention she gained was not particularly fulfilling. She knew what she looked like and how men looked at her. She began to understand that what attracted men to her was her near perfect shape, her face, her mouth, her hair...her exterior, in short. But they were not attracted toher.
It was as she told Hollis the afternoon her friend had called to see how Caroline fared after her illness. “No one but you cares how I truly am,” she’d complained.
“That is not true!” Hollis said. She was trying on Caroline’s latest gown and admiring herself in the mirror.
Caroline was sitting on her chaise, staring listlessly out the window. “But it is. All anyone had to say was how I looked. ‘Oh dear, your hair, darling, can it be repaired?’ Or ‘your pallor is quite gray.’ Or ‘your dress is too loose, you must eat something!’”
“All genuine concern, darling,” Hollis said. “Surelythisgown was not loose on you. My God, I can scarcely breathe at all.”
“But no one asked aboutme, Hollis. You were the only one to ask if I understood how close to death I’d come and how did it feel to be on the edge of dying.”
Hollis paused to wrinkle her nose. “Well, that sounds positively dreadful when you put it like that. But I was curious, and if I can’t ask you, who might I ask?”
“That’s precisely my point,” Caroline said. “You are very curious aboutme, and not the terror of my hair. Of course you can ask me those things, because we are very dear to each other. Do you see?”
