Page 62 of The Duke Meets His Match

“Such an honorable gentleman, Aylesham,” the prince mused aloud. “So generous of his time and talents—and coffers—for his monarch and country.”

“Yes,” Susan said.

“Such an honest, loyal, and generous nobleman, what? You must be as proud of him as we are,” the prince said.

“I am,” Susan replied.

“We’resureyou are.” The prince nodded at her, his eyes huge and innocent looking. The prince didn’t know that Susan had five brothers and recognized that look instantly. “Why, we were just saying to someone the other day—Aylesham has accomplishedso muchin our behalf. We must certainly reward him.”

“He doesn’t do anything for his country expecting to receive a reward,”Susan said. She realized the minute the words left her lips that they were true.

“Oh, we agree with youentirely,” the Prince Regent exclaimed. “And where are you from, pray, Miss Jennings?” he asked, changing the subject. “We do not recall seeing you, let alone meeting you before today.”

“Lincolnshire, Sir,” Susan said. “My father, Viscount Thurlby’s, family seat is called Alderwood.”

“Alderwood, hm.” The Prince Regent tapped his chin in thought. “Alderwood.Can’t recall it. But Lincolnshire, you say? That’s a far cry from Aylesham’s ownfamily estate. Howdidthe two of you meet?”

And there it was.

“We first became acquainted last year at the wedding of the Earl of Cantwell and Lady Elizabeth Spaulding,” she said.

“Hm,” the prince said again, obviously unhappy with her answer, as it implied a relationship longer than the one they’d actually had and hobbled the prince’s theory. “And have you been in Town long, Miss Jennings?”

Susan drew upon Athena, needing the qualities George had described.“Long enough,” she said. She gave the prince the wide-eyed look he’d given her previously.

The Prince Regent’s nostrils flared. “You are very self-assured,” he said in an uncomplimentary way. “We would remind you to whom you are speaking, lest you become too familiar in your tone. Additionally, if we are not mistaken, and weknow for a factthat we are not, Aylesham’s invitation was for him alone, and yet you are here. Thus far, we have extended a welcome to you”—he looked her up and down with obvious disgust—“regardless of the fact that we could have you escorted from the property.”

This was not a veiled threat. The Prince Regent was extremely displeased by her presence here, but then, she and George had known this would be the case. “I understand, Sir, and I thank you for your hospitality,” she said as meekly as she could and then waited to see if the prince would call for footmen to usher her from the premises.

“We hope you are of a sound constitution, Miss Jennings, for we fear youwill be facing quite a disappointment this afternoon. We expect to make anannouncement that will, sadly, change the plans we know you have for Monday—and for your future as well. Good afternoon.” He gave a slight nod of his head,which Susan belatedly remembered was a sign of dismissal, so she curtsied deeply.It was a bit tricky with her parasol, but she managed it, nonetheless.

The prince sauntered off.

She turned her parasol so the canopy kept her face shielded from the majorityof the guests and then skirted along the perimeter of the area where the guests were mingling. She had thought her encounter with Lord Frome bad enough,but after her conversation with the Prince Regent, she needed a few minutesalone to regain her composure. Lady Walmsley hadn’t precisely covered thetopics of “Encountering the Man Who Broke Your Heart” or “Finding Yourself Threatened by Your Monarch” during their tutorial yesterday.

After watching George leave with Princess Sophia and having walked the opposite direction with Lord Frome and an entirely different direction with the Prince Regent, there was only one direction left, so that was the one she took. She began to hear the faint notes of a string quartet she hadn’t heard before and followed the sound, eventually eyeing the musicians. There was a buffet table of refreshments not far from their location, and she thought getting a drink of punch might allow her to appear to have a purpose rather than merely wandering aimlessly about on her own.

No one seemed to pay any heed to her, which was precisely what she wanted,and her parasol helped further in that regard. She had years of experience inmaking herself invisible—it had been a way to leave and find a quiet place to be alone, like the time she’d met George—and it worked for her this afternoon too. At least for the present, while she pondered her conversations with Lord Frome and the Prince Regent.

The pastries at the refreshment table looked delicious, and although she wasn’t particularly hungry after the negative encounters she’d had, she doubted she’d ever be at Carlton House again, so she decided to indulge. She picked up a small plate and selected a lemon tart and a small slice of shortbread, took a cup of punch from the serving girl stationed near the punchbowl, and then located a small table on the farthest side of the grounds where she could sitalone and eat in relative peace, with her back once again discreetly turnedtoward the guests.

She had just taken her first bite of the lemon tart when she heard a conversation between a man and a woman behind her. Their words gradually grew louder, so she assumed the couple speaking was moving closer to her table. And as they werespeaking German, it was easy to narrow down the possibilities of who the manand woman were.

In an ironic turn, Prince Ernst and Princess Eugenia seated themselves at the table next to Susan’s. She adjusted the canopy of her parasol to hide herself further and then took another bite of lemon tart. The prince and princess were not having a pleasant conversation, to say the least, if the tone of their words was any indication.

Susan lowered her head and sipped from her cup. To be sitting so close to the guests of honor and to witness their heated conversation would turn awkward if they realized they were seated near the woman who was interfering with their daughter’s marriage to George.

She could only pick at her shortbread, her appetite having fled at the arrival of the prince and princess. Perhaps it might be best if she left to go search for George ... but then she decided to stay where she was and not draw attention to herself for the time being, especially after the conversation she’d just had withthe Prince Regent. She kept nibbling on her shortbread to look busy in caseanyone noticed her seated here—although she doubted that would happen—while Prince Ernst and Princess Eugenia’s conversation in German droned on.

By the time she’d finished her tart and shortbread, the Germans’ conversation had begun to subside, so Susan took a final sip of her punch and rose to her feet,hoping to slip away unnoticed from her table.

Unfortunately, her exit wasn’t going to occur the way she’d hoped. Prince Ernst recognized her at last and nodded at her with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. She hadn’t been fully and properly introduced to them, so she supposed the prince’s condescending nod was more than she’d expected.

Princess Eugenia only looked at her with puckered lips, as though she’d just eaten something sour, then said something in German under her breath.

Prince Ernst smirked.

Susan offered a slight curtsy to him and then to Princess Eugenia. Then,adjusting her parasol so that it would shield her face from their Royal Highnesses—her own little cut direct toward the German royals—she went in search of George. There was much she needed to tell him.

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