Page 21 of A Queen's Match
Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the paneled oak walls, the rose-colored carpet. The table was piled with far too much food for three people: sausages and kedgeree and sweet rolls stuffed with raisins. Alix picked up a blue-and-white Sèvres mug and filled it with coffee, only to pause and study the mug’s motif, a bucolic pattern of frolicking sheep. It made her think of home, though Darmstadt was more a place of forests and wolves than of shepherds. She felt a sudden longing to bring Nicholas there, and show him all the places that mattered to her. The ponds where she used to catch tadpoles, the church where her mother was buried. The small, familiar corners of the house where she used to hide, and read, anddaydream.
“It was quite unnecessary for the tsarina to send Nicholasin her stead,” the queen went on with a huff. “And really, the way he was carrying on with that French girl! She certainly made a spectacle of herself, dancing so many times with him.”
Alix realized that their grandmother wasangryon Eddy’s behalf. She felt protective of her grandson, resentful that Hélène had, to all appearances, deserted Eddy and begun flirting shamelessly with Nicholas. Alix found it surprising, and also endearing.
Ernie shot her a look across the table, but Alix merely said “Oh, really?” and took a sip of coffee, as if Nicholas’s name meant nothing to her.
Alix had managed to find Nicholas again later in the evening. They’d waited until the rest of the guests had started to filter home or were gathered around the baccarat tables, gambling dizzying sums of money. No one had noticed them slipping into the coatroom for a few precious moments. They had managed a hurried kiss and several quickI love yous before Alix had reemerged into the party, heart pounding.
“I must say, I’m disappointed in the Orléans girl,” Victoria went on. She seemed determined to punish Hélène by not using her name. “As her behavior last night made evident, it is all over between her and Eddy! They were secretly engaged, and then the next thing I knew she had changed her mind—she said that, upon reflection, she couldn’t convert to the Church of England as she’d promised.” Victoria’s voice shook with anger as she added, “If she thinks the Romanovs will let her remain Catholic, she isquitemistaken!”
“Poor Eddy,” Alix murmured in reply. She’d seen him on the dance floor last night, watching Hélène and Nicholas with a wounded, bewildered expression. Alix wished she could tell him that it was all just a show, but it wasn’t her place.
And really, Hélène was right to keep him in the dark. Tact was not exactly one of Eddy’s best qualities. In his hands, the situation might detonate, letting Hélène’s secret explode into the world. Then he would never get permission to marryher.
“Well, I have made other plans for Eddy,” Victoria went on, in a brisk tone. “No more of this nonsense about foreign princesses. I’ve found him someone much better, someone in our own family—a nice young woman who will do as she’stold.”
For a terrifying instant, Alix thoughtshewas the young woman in question, that she would have to fight off an engagement with Eddy again, the way she had once before. But then the queen smiled.
“I’ve also started making plans for you two. It’s high time you were both engaged.”
Ernie’s fork clattered noisily to his plate. Alix and her grandmother turned to look at him, and he flushed. “Thank you, but I’m in no rush to be wed.”
“What nonsense. You’re the future Duke of Hesse, not to mention my grandson; you can hardly expect to continue as a bachelor indefinitely. When we head to Osborne House for Cowes next month, I expect you to pay court to your cousin Maud.”
“Maud?” Ernie repeated faintly.
“Yes, Maud! You can hardly expect to do better than a daughter of the Prince of Wales. As for you, Alix,” her grandmother continued, “I have a special guest arriving soon. If all goes well, I will invite him to join us at Cowes.”
This was a complication Alix hadn’t foreseen. “Who isit?”
“A German prince I’ve been corresponding with. His rank, of course, is nowhere near as illustrious as Eddy’s. He’s not even set to inherit. But he’s a wonderful man, quite intelligentand educated in the law.” The queen paused before adding, “I see now that you and Eddy would never have worked. You belong with a German prince of steady position, a good-hearted man who will keep you close to home.”
Alix opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again.
“And really, Germany is an excellent place to find a husband. My own dear Albert was from Germany, of course,” Victoria went on. “It is Britain’s natural ally, a country whose roots have been intertwined with ours since King George I came to England from Hanover.”
“Grannie,” Ernie cut in. “As always, you are impossibly generous to Alix and me, but I’m afraid we cannot stay. Our father needs us at home in Darmstadt.”
“Nonsense! I’ve already written to Louis, and he agreed that you two could remain with me all summer. So I’m afraid we must consider the question as utterly settled.” Their grandmother leaned back in her chair. “It’s been some time since I attended the Cowes Regatta. It will be quite a treat for me to watch the races.”
Bythe races,she meant their romantic progress as much as the sailing. If Alix weren’t so irritated, she might almost have laughed. There was nothing her grandmother enjoyed more than a good matchmaking.
That afternoon, Alix and Ernieescaped for a game of croquet on the back lawn so that they could discuss their grandmother’s plans in private.
“I can’t believe they arepretendingto court,” Ernieexclaimed, after Alix had explained what Hélène and Nicholas were doing. “It’s brilliant, honestly. Perhaps I should do it with Maud.”
“Why?” Alix asked, and Ernie shrugged.
“To buy myself some time. If Grannie thinks I’m going along with her plans, she’ll ease up on me, and then I can…” He trailed off, flipping the croquet mallet around.
Alix watched him thoughtfully. “Do you think I should do the same?”
“You mean, feign interest in this match she’s made for you?” Ernie nodded. “If nothing else, it will make things easier for you and Nicholas. You can slip away with him, and Grannie will assume you’re with her German man.”
“Alix, darling!” As if on cue, the queen stepped onto the back terrace of Buckingham Palace. “I’d like you to meet someone.”
“She came outside to introduce him personally,” Ernie breathed, with a sidelong glance at Alix. “Be careful. That means she’s serious.”
