Page 50 of A Royal Kiss & Tell
Hollis was bent over the layout of her gazette. She’d turned what had once been a very lovely room into an office, where she pieced together her gazette before sending off a template twice monthly to Gilbert and Rivington for printing.
A repurposed dining table dominated the center of the clutter, upon which Hollis had spread out the pages of the current edition of her gazette. Past issues were stacked around the floor and on shelves that Donovan had constructed. A tabby cat was stretched across the stacks on the floor, and another sat like an ornament on one of the shelves. There were books and strings and scissors and visors that Hollis wore when she worked late in the night.
Hollis had also taken to using a monocle to examine the print layout of her gazette, and at present, she held it up to one eye.
“This looks more and more like a government office,” Caroline complained, glancing around her. She took some broadsheets from the seat of the only armchair in the room and shoved them onto a shelf and sat.
Hollis put down her monocle. “What brings you round on this fine day, other than to seduce my household help?”
“I can’t help myself, Hollis. Donovan is a beautiful man and he deserves to be admired, andyouwon’t do it.”
“He is admired, you may depend. Last week, he accompanied me to the market, and there we met a lass who put herself in our path at every turn. She reminded me of you. Very tenacious, that one.”
Caroline laughed and stacked her feet on top of a pile of gazettes on an ottoman. “I have news.”
“Splendid!” Hollis said. “I’ve just enough space for a bit of gossip in the next issue. Tell me.”
“You know about Prince Leopold and the brothel.”
“I do indeed! You came here with the news yourself, remember?”
Caroline remembered. She’d made a mad dash, as she recalled it now. “Which happened only a week after I spotted the prince chasing our maid Ann around Leadenhall market.”
“I still can’t believe you went there!” Hollis said with delight. “I wrote Eliza straightaway and told her you went to Leadenhall in the company of Mr. Morley and his sisters.” She laughed.
“Never mind that,” Caroline said. “I suspected the prince was a rake, but the visit to the brothel was the truth. But then Priscilla told Lady Montgomery—”
“Oh! I heard aboutthat,” Hollis said. “She was incensed he would do something so terrible before her ball.”
“And naturally, I told Lady Norfolk, because she would never forgive me if Lady Montgomery banished the prince and she didn’t have the opportunity to do the same.”
“You did?” Hollis asked.
“I did! It’s wretched behavior for a man of his stature.” She folded her arms and stared off into space for a moment.
She realized Hollis hadn’t said anything and glanced in her direction. “What? Why do you look at me like that?”
“Like what? Like I’m terribly curious about what goes on in your head? I thought you had clearly resolved to be less infatuated with him, darling.”
“I’m notinfatuatedwith him,” Caroline scoffed.
“Really? Because this is the second call you’ve made to my house since crawling off your deathbed, and both times have been to complain abouthim.”
Caroline huffed. “He just confounds me, that’s all. That’s why I think that ladies of good reputation should steer very clear of him. He can be quite charming, but beneath the surface, this despicable behavior lurks. But the die has been cast, hasn’t it? Priscilla said Lady Pennybacker means to reduce her guest list, as well.”
“Caro! What are you doing?”
She hadn’t really meant to set all these wheels in motion, but Priscilla couldn’t stop telling everyone she knew, and Augusta, well... Caroline had been in a bit of a mood during that call. “My friends would not want someone of questionable morals in their homes. I have no choice in the matter, as Beck thinks he and the prince are the best of friends.”
“Well. I suppose you know best,” Hollis said with a hint of sarcasm.
“I don’t know if I do or not, but I’m ashamed that I ever kissed him.”
Hollis gasped.
Caroline waved her hand at Hollis as if it were a trifling matter. But it was no trifling matter. Her heart was permanently singed from that kiss. “It was nothing! I was angry, that’s all.”
“Angry! Why would you kiss someone if you were angry?” Hollis scoffed. “Don’t you dare sit there looking so coy, Caroline Hawke. Tell me what happened.”
