Page 46 of A Queen's Match
“You said you were”—she struggled to find the right word—“involved. With a groom, before Johann. Who wasit?”
“Christoph, of course! Who did you think it was?” Ernieasked with a strangled laugh. “Anselm and Leopold are both as old as the hills!”
For the second time that night, Alix surprised herself by laughing. It was a ragged sort of laugh, torn unwillingly from her chest—the kind of laugh that verged on tears.
“It’s all right, Alix,” her brother murmured, rubbing her shoulder. “Everything will be all right.”
They both knew that Ernie was lying, that he had no way of knowing that anything would be right again. But he kept saying it anyway, and Alix pretended to believe him.
Chapter Nineteen
May
The final morning of theregatta, May stood in the entrance hall of Osborne House. A row of carriages waited outside, ready to take the guests to the closing races.
May resisted the urge to remove her ivory gloves and steal another glance at her new engagement ring. Eddy clearly hadn’t had time to visit the Crown Jewels vault or even a jewelry shop; May suspected that Her Majesty had been holding on to this ring, saving it for whenever he finally proposed. It had probably been meant for Alix, given how perfectly the turquoise stone matched Alix’s bright blue eyes. At least the queen had managed to have the inside of the gold band engraved with May’s and Eddy’s full names—Albert Victor and Victoria Mary, 1891.
Eddy had given the ring to May a few nights earlier, amid much toasting and champagne and a profusion of speeches. Not that Eddy himself had said much. The only words he’d exchanged with May all week wereShall I escort you in?when the dinner bell rang. May had just nodded and kept on smiling until her cheeks hurt.
He had chosen May because he wanted to get engaged tosomeone,to prove to Hélène that he was as finished with her as she was with him. May had promised to be the easiest option.Now she needed to keep her word, and ask him for nothing at all.
That was just fine with May. This engagement was a transaction, clean and devoid of emotion, and for her part, May was pleased with how the arrangement had gone thus far.
The news of their engagement hadn’t yet been printed in the papers; Her Majesty would have to announce it before Parliament, and technically Parliament would need to approve. But May already felt like a future queen. The other ladies at the regatta were all swarming around her now, when just days ago they had stared blankly through her.
The only people absent from the weeklong engagement festivities had been Hélène and Nicholas. ThePolar Starhad weighed anchor the morning after Eddy and May’s announcement; Nicholas had sent the queen a note, claiming “pressing business” back in Russia and thanking her for the lovely parties. May couldn’t help feeling slightly curious about the timing. Had Hélène told Nicholas about her confrontation with May…pointedly leaving out the reason for their conflict? Surely Hélène wouldn’t have admitted her previous liaisons to her new fiancé—unless she was sleeping with Nicholas now, too? But even if Nicholas didn’t care about Hélène’s lack of innocence, May knew that his parents most assuredly would. She still had Hélène under her thumb.
And in the meantime, news of May’s engagement was spreading to London. Yesterday she had come downstairs to a pair of telegrams from her parents.
Her mother’s message was predictably joyful.
Oh, May! I was speechless, utterly flabbergasted! What wondrous news! Only somehow word has got out inLondon. Please do come back soon, people have been dropping by the house to congratulate you& we have not got a moment’s peace& of course your Papa does get much annoyed….
May could read between the lines. Bymuch annoyed,Mary Adelaide meant that Francis had shouted at her. Perhaps even thrown a vase or a candlestick at her head. Only her father, May thought darkly, would be enraged over his daughter’s engagement to a future king.
She had opened her father’s telegram with shaking fingers.
May, we heard the news. I hope the queen will apologize for making such an announcement when your mother and I were not present. A deliberate insult, I think. Well, we are all quite surprised. A great position has been handed to you. Let us see whether you are up to the task.
Even now, after a lifetime of her father’s slights—his neglect, his careless cruelty—May still felt wounded. His daughter would be queen someday, and he hadn’t even congratulated her!A great position has been handed to you! As if May hadn’t plotted and schemed and worked for years to bring this to fruition.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the rest of the houseguests, who descended the stairs in a whirl of muslin skirts and white linen jackets, their voices raised irreverently high.
“Grandmama!” Missy called out, hurrying to the queen. May noted with irritation that the girl didn’t even curtsy.“Ducky and I were wondering if we might be excused from the races today? I haven’t gotten to visit town yet, and we leave tomorrow!”
May watched Victoria take in her granddaughter’s eager smile. Missy’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with excitement.
“Very well,” the queen relented. “George, you will accompany Missy and Ducky.”
May’s eyes cut to George, who was standing near the railing of the great staircase. Surely he would be thrilled at the prospect of some time alone with Missy.
Yet he wasn’t smiling. He just nodded, his expression unreadable.
May wasn’t sure what impulse caused her to blurt out, “Your Majesty. May I join the outing?”
“You don’t want to come to the regatta?” Victoria asked; then she sighed and answered her own question. “You young people and your energy! Albert and I used to be the same when we visited new places. He always stopped at the local church to say a prayer, and at the confectionery for squares of dark chocolate. Yes, you may go.”
“Thank you.” Unlike Missy, May made a point of curtsying.
