Page 101 of Rivals
“I knew that you were in love with someone before me, but you never told me who it was. I didn’t realize it was your Revere Guard.”
“What does that matter?” Beatrice asked, bewildered.
“I’m supposed to be yourfiancé,and you’ve known Louise for, what, a month? Yet you told her something you’ve never shared with me.”
“I’m sorry.” Beatrice wasn’t sure how to explain it. There had been something profound, almost sacred, about the way she and Louise had shared secrets that night, staring up at the stars. “We were having a serious conversation, and I knew I could trust her. I knew she would understand.”
“Because I will never understand your life? Because I don’t know the sacrifices you’ve made for the Crown?”
“Louise said those things, not me!” Beatrice exclaimed, frustrated.
“It’s what you think, though, isn’t it?” Teddy’s eyes were like blue fire. “Look, I may not be queen, but I’ve made sacrifices for the Crown, too. A lot of them.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that!”
Instantly Beatrice knew she’d said the wrong thing. She reached once more for Teddy’s hand, but he took a swift step back.
“That’s true. You didn’t,” he said flatly. “I gave up the dukedom all on my own.”
“Teddy, I didn’t mean—”
“I thought we were on the same page, that we were building a life together. That it was you and me now.”
Beatrice ached at the memory of when he’d said those words to her, the night she first started to love him, at his family’s house in Boston.
“I always knew that I was signing up for a life of being your coworker,” he went on. “But I hoped we were more than that, too. I thought you and I were figuring it out together, making each other stronger.” He sighed. “It turns out I’m just your sweet, selfless, silent support system.”
“When I told Louise that you were sweet and selfless, I meant it as a good thing!” Beatrice felt close to tears. She needed things to be right between them.
Teddy’s face was closed off, but he held out his arm, his gesture stiff.
“They’re about to serve dessert. That’s why I came looking for you; people were starting to wonder where you’d gone.”
“I’m sorry. Please, let’s talk about this,” she insisted, but it was like he’d turned to stone.
“We can talk later.”
As they walked back into the ballroom, Teddy was smiling his glazed, distant smile: the one that he used to wear in front of paparazzi, before they had fallen in love. The sight of it nearly broke her.
Somehow, though it sent agony down every last fiber of her being, Beatrice managed to set aside her anguish and paste a smile on her own face, too. Because she was a Washington, and this was a state banquet, and that was how things were done.
Everyone knew, didn’t they?
Daphne was on autopilot, chatting with Prince Bharat’s date—a Bollywood star with a blinding smile and easy charm—but she hardly registered what he was saying. She felt everyone staring at her, whispering that she was a nobody now. They were clearly delighted at her family’s disgrace, though they masked their glee in tones of honeyed pity. Daphne wasn’t sure how they’d all found out; probably Gabriella had been circling the room all night, sharing the news. Even if she hadn’t, word would still have spread. A good piece of gossip always finds its way.
The guests were still here in the great hall, though many of them had left their seats to mill about. They had reached the dessert portion of the meal; footmen appeared at the table with platters of three types of cake: a chocolate raspberry, a lemon chiffon, and a crisp white cake with almond frosting. Daphne wondered numbly if these had been the flavors of wedding cake at the reception Beatrice had canceled.
She caught sight of Gabriella a few tables over, deep in conversation with her father, who looked more arrogantly smug than ever, and the Emperor of Japan. Gabriella must have felt Daphne’s gaze on her because she glanced up, and a slow, eager smile spread over her red lips. She looked likeshe’d been expecting this conversation all night: looking forward to it, even.
Gabriella murmured something to her father, curtsied deeply to the emperor, then cut across the room. “Hello,” she said sweetly, pulling out the empty chair next to Daphne.
Bharat’s date—Daphne had already forgotten his name—said hi to Gabriella, then excused himself to go hunt down more cake. Maybe he felt the tension gathering in the air, thunderous as a summer storm.
“How dare you?”Daphne was still smiling, because at an event like this you never knew who was watching, but her words were like daggers. “I thought we had an agreement.”
Gabriella laughed, a sound like a crystal champagne flute smashing into pieces. “That was your mistake. I never agreed to anything.”
“No,yourmistake,” Daphne seethed. “I would have actually held up my end of the bargain and deleted that video if you’d protected my family’s title. But instead you came after us, so I went after you. I sent that video to theDaily News,Gabriella. What do you think your parents will do when they see it? Send you to rehab? And what about your adoring public?” Daphne lowered her voice, adopted a slightly mocking tone. “Now you’ll never be able to fulfill your lifelong dream of modeling for Nigel!”
