Page 101 of The Secret of Flirting
He stepped once again to the podium and cleared his throat. “Well, then, it appears we have one less candidate to vote for.”
Pontalba rose. “Twoless, don’t you mean, Lord Fulkham? How do we know that Prince Leopold wasn’t behind Danworth’s actions all along?”
“Because in my investigation of this matter, I didn’t find one shred of evidence supporting that. Nor did Danworth ever say that he was acting at the prince’s behest.”
As Pontalba took his seat, it was clear his words had still had some impact on the assembly. There was nothing Gregory could do about that. But the fact was, with Princess Aurore out of the running, it was in England’s best interests to put Leopold in place. And the Dutch would never vote for a Frenchman, nor would Austria, Prussia, or Russia.
So, with that in mind, he called for a vote.
Monique wasn’t entirely surprised when Prince Leopold was chosen in the end. She’d had a chance to get to know him over the past few days when Gregory was gone, and it had become apparent to her that he would make a good ruler. Putting aside his flirtations, which she chalked up to his attempt at making a sound political alliance, she judged him reasonable, responsible, and eager to serve. No one could fault those qualities in a king.
Nor had she been entirely surprised when Princess Aurore withdrew as a candidate. Clearly, the princess had known that becoming ruler of Belgium would seriously damage any future between her and Lady Ursula. And it was obvious, at least to Monique, that the two women were thoroughly in love. Monique only hoped that their life together would be a happy one, despite their not being able to publicly acknowledge their affections.
Now that the vote had taken place, the conference attendees were dispersing to attend a lavish reception being held at St. James’s Palace. Gregory came over to greet them.
It was all Monique could do not to run up and throw herself into his arms. But he and she had agreed that the best thing for his career and her future as his wife would be a sedate courtship conducted in full view of society. Gregory insisted that he wouldn’t have any trouble selling that to the press after her heroic actions.
And judging from the delegates who kept stopping to say how appreciative they were that she had risked her life for the good of the conference, he might be right. She seemed to be the woman of the hour.
But she knew better than anyone how swiftly such adoration could turn to scorn. It was the only fly in her ointment. Danworth’s wordssome whore of an actressstill rankled.
Not that you could tell from the heat in Gregory’s eyes as he met her gaze. He banked it swiftly, though, and turned to hold out his hand to the count. “Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor. I’m only sorry that things did not turn out as you had hoped.”
With a snort, her uncle shook Gregory’s hand and glanced over to where Princess Aurore and Lady Ursula were conversing in low voices. “One can never predict what the young will do. I try to give them the benefit of my years of experience, and this is how they thank me.”
Then he gave a Gallic shrug. “On the other hand, I am getting rather old to be guiding an obstinate princess. I’m not sure how I would have liked being a queen-maker in Brussels. Indeed, I may wish to do some traveling instead.” A gleam lit his eyes. “I may even extend my visit to England, assuming that your lovely mother would be willing to show me some of the countryside.”
Gregory’s shock was comical. “My mother.”
“Yes.” The count looked almost mischievous. “Lady Fulkham. I do believe you know her?”
“Apparently not as well as I thought,” Gregory mumbled.
Monique stifled a laugh. “I’m afraid my uncle and your mother have become even friendlier in the days you were in London.”
Her uncle glanced about the room, which had now emptied out to leave only the five of them standing there. He stared Gregory down. “Since you left Canterbury Court, I have also learned that you knew of Monique’s subterfuge all along.”
Gregory cast her a lingering glance. “I saw her play Suzanne inThe Marriage of Figaro.” He smiled warmly. “I never forgot her. Hard to forget a woman of her talent and beauty.”
She eyed him skeptically. “I seem to recall your not being quite so complimentary then, my lord.”
“I was a fool. Fortunately, I’ve had three years to regret that.”
The count narrowed his gaze. “Very touching, sir. That does not mean, however, that I shall let you blithely marry my great-niece without a number of meetings between my solicitor and yours to hammer out a suitable settlement.”
“Uncle,” she chided under her breath, shocked and embarrassed that he meant to step in on such a thing after all these years.
“I would think less of you if you did,” Gregory told him. “Bring the solicitors on, old man, though I’m not sure you need them. I will agree to anything as long as it means that your great-niece can be my wife.”
Monique swallowed, especially when Gregory followed that pronouncement with a wink at her.
“Very well,” the count said. “Then I will consider giving my consent to the match.”
She stifled the urge to tell him what he could do with his consent. He was being very magnanimous about everything, after all, especially considering the surprise her cousin had dropped into his lap.
Gregory stared him down. “There isonething more I need from you. In the weeks to come, a number of news accounts concerning my courtship of Monique will appear. I ask that you stand behind whatever I’m quoted as saying in those accounts.” His gaze hardened. “If you can dothat, thenIwill consider consenting to your being ‘friendly’ with my mother.”
To her surprise, her uncle chuckled. “Touché, my lord. Say what you please. I will support it.”
