She could hardly wait to ride in the park, to see Astley’s, to tour the Tower, to eat Gunter’s sweet ices, to receive flowers and chocolates from well-heeled gentlemen, to shop and to dance late into the night and drive home sleepy in her father’s carriage. All of which would lead to the discovery of her very own Prince Charming. He would sweep her off her feet and happy ever after would begin, if not this Season, then most certainly the next. Not even her mother’s endless admonitions during the journey from Cornwall about the expectations for a good match had dimmed her enthusiasm for fabled London.
It was the fairy tale she’d been raised on. Her mother, her maid, her aunts, all had exclaimed over the magic of a Season in London. Not once had they mentioned that somewhere between the journey from Cornwall to the altar of happy ever after there was this: listening to men like Strom Percivale prose on about primitive fire-making techniques, spending her evenings explaining simple jokes to the handsome, empty-headed Lord Fredericks of the ton and dancing with men who were trying to peek down her bodice while calculating the prospect of what they could do with her fifteen thousand a year. This was definitely not the dream, not her idea of happy ever after. Was this the best London could do? She’d been raised to expect better. Therein lay her disgust. What did one do when a dream died? Find another one, she supposed. But at this late date, what would that be? A most disquieting thought indeed, one that left her feeling empty, hollow.
A loud burst of energy at the ballroom’s entrance snared her attention and her gaze went past Percivale’s shoulder to where people gathered about the doors in excitement. Perhaps it might be someone interesting? Hope surged as a broad pair of shoulders parted the crowd. She caught sight of champagne-blond hair, a square-jawed face sporting a broad smile and penetrating blue eyes. Excited whispers ran through the ballroom, announcing that this wonder of a man was the royal poet laureate of Kuban, Illarion Kutejnikov, not just a real-life prince, but a larger-than-life one who was nothing like the fairy-tale charmer of her childhood stories.
Unlike every other man in the room, this Prince made no attempt to fit in. From head to toe, he was different. His champagne-blond hair was worn long and thick, caught back with a black silk bow. Instead of dark evening attire, he wore a thigh-length tunic of brilliant royal-blue silk with a heavily embroidered placket of dark blues and teals at the collar, sashed at the waist with a swathe of black silk, emphasising the trimness of his physique and the long legs that supported it. Long legs that were no more traditionally clothed than the rest of him. He wore tight dark trousers that left no room for discreet padding or doubt that his legs were all muscle.
He was without question the most attractive man she’d ever seen, the most exotic, the most sensual, the most vibrant. He was simply more than any man in the room, a peacock in a ballroom full of black wools and white silks. His presence excited her and discomfited her. She wanted him to look in her direction and yet there was a flutter of panic, too, at such a notion. What would she do if he did glance her way? A Russian Byron, the women called him, only much more hale, the audacious would titter behind their fans; a man with a poet’s soul and a warrior’s body. The gossips had got the warrior’s body part right. Already, within moments of him entering the ballroom, women flocked to him, forming an entourage of fawning females as if he were the pied piper. He stopped his progression to bow over Lady Burton’s hand, who was all smiles. Even her redoubtable godmother, it seemed, wasn’t immune to the man’s notorious charm.
Her godmother lifted a hand and gestured towards her, directing the Prince’s gaze. Dove froze, a hasty litany forming in her mind. No, no, do not bring him over here. She knew instinctively she should not want his attention. She was not meant for a man like the poet-Prince. She was meant for a man like Percivale, perhaps even Percivale himself. The realisation blossomed heavy and dark in her chest. That was the source of her dissatisfaction. She didn’t want the Strom Percivales of the ton. She wanted more and more was looking right at her.
The Prince’s champagne head followed her godmother’s gesture, his eyes locking on her, his smile acknowledging her. To the great regret of every other woman in the ballroom, he and her godmother began to move towards her, his intentions clear to her and to everyone else present. Good manners required there could be no escape now, not with her godmother doing the introductions. ‘My darling, here’s someone I want you to meet,’ her godmother began. At her words, part of Dove wanted to run. There was nothing but trouble here if she tempted herself with a sweet she couldn’t have. She should settle for Strom Percivale’s dukedom and be done with it. But the girl from Cornwall who wanted more stood her ground and let more bend over her hand with a kiss. Heaven help her, she would need all her wits now.