Page 67 of The Duke Meets His Match

“As I told you outside,” she said, “I heard Prince Ernst inform PrincessEugenia that Princess Sophia had gone off with Lord Cosgrove.”

“You phrased it more colorfully the first time, Miss Jennings,” Prinny said. “Were you using hyperbole?”

“Not at all, Sir,” Susan said. “Do you wish me to quote the conversation exactly?”

“What doyouthink?” Prinny snapped.

“Very well,” Susan replied with a slight nod of her head. “As I mentionedbefore, I heard Prince Ernst say, ‘Ihre Tochter ist mit diesem faulen Schweinweggegangen, Cosgrove.’ ‘Your daughter has gone off with that lazy swine, Cosgrove.’Princess Eugenia replied to him, saying, ‘Sie ist auch deine Tochter. Sie weiß, dass sie ihre Verlobung mit dem Herzog sicherstellen soll. Dumme Gans.’ ‘She is your daughter too. She knows she’s supposed to ensure her betrothal to the duke. Stupid goose.’”

“Mama!” Princess Sophia gasped.

George watched in fascination as Princess Eugenia glared at her daughter.Cosgrove, in the meantime, looked unnerved and sidled slightly away fromPrincess Sophia.

“You are going to listen to this desperate woman?Die Drache?” Prince Ernst exclaimed, pointing at Susan.

Susan—George’s own Athena—looked directly at Prince Ernst. “I am not desperate in the least,” she said in a commanding, wonderfully powerful voice. “And referring to me by an insulting name like dragon only makes you look small.”

“How dare you speak to me that vay! She lies!” Prince Ernst roared, first at Susan and then at Prinny. “You villnotbreak our agreement over the lies of apathetic nobody! An interloper!”

“We suggest you remain quiet for now, Ernst,” Prinny hissed, his florid features tense. “We wish to hear what the lady has to say to us, and then we will respond accordingly.” George noted with interest that Prinny had referred to Susan as a lady, which could be an implied step upward in Prinny’s estimation of her—or, most likely, was merely a tactic to use against Prince Ernst.

Susan, seemingly unfazed, returned her attention to Prinny. “Prince Ernstthen said,‘Nur der Herzog hat genügend Geld, um uns zu bezahlen, was wirversprochen hatten, den fetten englischen Prinzen zu bezahlen.’ ‘Only the duke has sufficient funds to pay us what we promised we would give the fat English prince.’”

“You needn’t have translatedthat bitfor us; weknowwhat it means!” the Prince Regent snapped. “We speak Germanfluently!”

George feared his monarch might have a heart seizure at any moment, so purple was his face.

“I’m sorry. I did not know,” Susan said calmly.

“It would appear our guests made the same mistake aboutyou,” Prinny said with a huff. “You seem to have been underestimated in everyone’s eyes. Is there more? We wish to hear everything ouresteemed royal guestshad to say abouttheir gracious host.”

“They said nothing more about you, Sir,” Susan said.

“Ah,” Prinny said sarcastically. “Well, we see everything quite clearly now. Quite clearly indeed. But we get the feeling there is more you are not telling us, and we wish to hear everything that was said. What is it?”

“Nothing of consequence,” she said.

“What is it?” Prinny asked again, punctuating each word, his voice crescendoing.

George watched Susan’s face pale, but she stood firmly. “Very well, I will tell you.” She took another deep breath. “‘Sie müssen sie finden, bevor es zuspät ist,”she said, still looking squarely at Prinny.“Bevor diese alte Kuh ihn für sich sichert.’”George wished he knew what she was saying. Blast him for not learning German.French and Latin had seemed plenty to him as a youth.

She swallowed and looked at Prinny. Prinny glanced at George and then back at Susan. “Pray, continue, Miss Jennings,” he sneered.

Apparently, Prinny wanted George and the others to hear the translation from Susan’s own lips.

“‘You must find her before it is too late. Before that old cow secures him for herself,’”Susan said.

That was the final straw; George had heard enough. His selfish and vindictivemonarch had made Susan say aloud those insulting words about herself becausehe’d failed in his royal marriage machinations. He was punishing her for theselfishness of himself and the others.

But before he could speak up, Susan continued. “In summary, Sir, based on what I overheard and what has been said since and setting any resulting politicalconnections aside,youwere expecting a great lot of money from Prince Ernstand Princess Eugenia for procuring a suitable husband of wealth and rank for their daughter, money they did not have. Andtheywere expecting a great lot of money from the Duke of Aylesham in the form of an overly generous marriage settlement, owing to the fact that they were offering him a princess, whom they deemed valuable, money they would then use to pay what they had promised you and that would also provide them with the ability to continue living in the manner to which they were accustomed.

“So, in ‘rewarding’ the Duke of Aylesham with the so-called gift of abride and the enticement of more wealth, you and Prince Ernst were actually expecting to receive more from the duke than he has already generously given in the service of the Crown and his country.” Her tone was clear and firm, and all eyes were upon her. “There was no reward for him in any of this. Shame on you.”

Oh, but she was magnificent, his Athena.

“Lest there be any confusion,” George said to Prinny, “Ido notintend tomarry Princess Sophia, nor do I intend to bestow a gift of money or of any other sort on the prince of Schönberg-Nusse”—George refused to say the wretch’s name—“as part of any marriage settlements—intended, imagined, or otherwise. I am marrying Miss Susan Jennings in three days’ time, and that is the end of it.”

“This is all your fault, Ernst! You gave me assurances!” Prinny bellowed at Prince Ernst.

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