Page 28 of A Torn Allegiance
They approached, and the prince held out his hands. “Welcome. Prince Hayes of Oldenburg, you are most welcome. Prince Kristoff, Prince Marc, we extend our warmest welcome to you as well. Your Grace, Duke of Sumter, it is good to see you again.”
As soon as they were closer, the prince chuckled. “So, Your Grace, perhaps you will be more lucky in love during this visit to St. James’s.”
Bartholomew laughed along with him. Hayes wondered if comments like the prince’s were truly welcome. When Bartholomew had asked for Aribella’s hand in marriage, he had just inherited her estate and her father’s title by entail, and it had seemed a good and convenient match. And it might well have been, but she had already met Hayes’s youngest brother, Layton. Hayes could only be happy that she was now a princess of Oldenburg. All the same, Bartholomew was a good man, one deserving of every happiness.
Prince George raised a hand in his direction. “Prince Hayes, we have a luncheon in your honor, naturally, and you and your party will be invited to all activities at St. James’s and Carlton House while you are in London. Formal invitations will be sent, of course.”
“Thank you,” Hayes answered for all of them. “We are honored by the distinction. I am pleased our countries are on such good terms.”
“Yes, yes, your brother Layton and I made certain of that. Good man, Layton. Send my best wishes and encourage him to join you next time you visit.”
“I will. I believe it was only the impending birth of their next child that kept them.”
“Excellent. They have two, from what I understand.”
“Yes, a lad and I suspect the princess hopes for a daughter, but the Wilhelms have little luck in producing those.” Hayes laughed.
They entered a large banquet room with a table down the center that was piled high with meats and cheeses and fruits. Goblets rested at every place. Guests mingled about, and Hayes found Lady Elsie immediately. Her welcome smile sent a wave of warmth through him. All guests lowered in a bow or curtsy of welcome upon the royal entry. Prince George led them to the head of the table. Hayes sat at his right and the Duke of Sumter at his left.
When Prince George sat, everyone else in the room sat as well.
“Let us begin!” He held up his cup. Everyone joined him, raising their own glasses, and after he took a sip, they all followed suit.
On Hayes’s right was an older gentleman with a paunch stomach. He was well-dressed, and his chin poured out over his cravat, almost covering the material. His eyes seemed sharp, and Hayes suspected him to be intelligent.
The man nodded and introduced himself. “Lord Everly.”
“Prince Hayes of Oldenburg.”
“Ah, our new allies in the north. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Prince George interrupted his own conversation to add, “Lord Everly is from Scotland, creating quite a stir up there. The lords might love him if the tenants don’t.” Prince George’s amused laugh had a foreboding tone to it, if such a thing were possible in a laugh.
Hayes raised his eyebrows, wondering if Lord Everly would elaborate.
“Oh, he is simply referring to the possibility of newly acquired sheep in the Lowlands.”
“Sheep? I am most interested in sheep.” Hayes couldn’t believe his good fortune.
“Are you? A rare reaction, to be sure, but when your land is arid and your tenants are suffering from the efforts of trying to produce anything edible, sheep have been the answer. They eat many things humans will not.”
“I am most intrigued to learn more.” The rest of the room had become invisible to Hayes as he waited to hear what could be a valuable solution for his country. But an abrasive shrillness interrupted.
Across the table a woman as thin as twigs could be, her mouth drawn together in what could only be described as a snarl, practically wheezed at him. “Do not listen to his fairy-tale version of the facts. Sheep might have done something to save the finances of his estate, but they have done nothing for the true lifeblood of the place, the tenants who make an estate what it is. And what of their clan covenants? What of the promises made to their fathers? What of the responsibilities of a landlord?”
Hayes knew she would have gone further, but she had gone abruptly silent, the man at her side sending daggers in his gaze. She pulled out a fan and vigorously waved it in front of her flushed face.
Hayes’s intrigue increased.
The man he guessed must be her husband said, “Forgive my wife. She has an obvious affection for her homeland.”
“More than affection.” Her sniff was bound to be her final say on the matter if her husband’s expression was anything to go by.
Lord Everly lifted a hand in the couple’s direction. “These are landowners in Scotland, Lord Gallach and his wife, Lady Gallach. Though they are not, at present, living in their estates, they have active and thriving situations there.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, and I appreciate your thoughts while I attempt to determine how to best assist my own people. Our landholders are at a loss, as the crops have been dying for several years. I’m seeking any solution to help them and their tenants.”
“And that is the problem here.” Lord Everly swallowed from his cup. “We have not as yet found a solution for all.”
