Page 11 of The Secret of Flirting
“No onehas met her before, outside of the court of Chanay. Certainly no one attending the London Conference. The princess has never traveled much—she preferred to remain at home. And the only image of her is a court painting that few have seen. Besides, you even look well enough like her to match that.”
“Yes, but looks aren’t the only thing,” Monique said. “The princess has had years of training and education in the royal family. I only know what Grand-maman has taught me and what I gleaned from my years in the theater.”
The princess’s mother snorted at that and excused herself. Clearlyshedid not approve of the count’s plan.
After casting the woman a foul glance as she hurried out, the count turned back to Monique. “You won’t have to appear in public often, and when you do, one of us will be always at your side to make sure you behave appropriately. It will take us a few days to journey across the English Channel in the private yacht, during which Lady Ursula, Aurore’s lady-in-waiting, will be able to instruct you in—”
“Me!” Lady Ursula cried, clearly distressed. “But I had hoped to stay here with the princess.”
The count’s blue eyes sleeted over. “You’re needed elsewhere. Aurore’s mother and the servants will remain with her. Thankfully, the English are providing us with a fully staffed residence in London, so we won’t require our own servants during our stay. But you, my dear, must go with us.”
Lady Ursula’s lips trembled, though she merely bowed her head and said, “As you wish, my lord.”
Sparing her a dismissive nod, the count smiled warmly at Monique. “Lady Ursula and I shall instruct you regarding the most important rules for proper behavior, but the delegates probably won’t care if you make a mistake. They’ll assume it results from your living isolated in Chanay all these years.”
“But what if theydocare? What if I stumble so badly that I ruin her chance at the throne? Or even worse, accidentally expose your scheme?”
“First of all, Aurore has no chance at the throne unless this succeeds. And if something goes wrong, we will simply proclaim you to be ill, whisk you back to the Continent, and take her home from Calais.”
“Her.” She curled her fingernails into her palm. “But not me. Or Grand-maman.”
His smile no longer held any warmth. “Forgive me, my dear, but this contract of ours depends on your succeeding. If you don’t, things will go back to how they were.” When the pure ruthlessness of that made her suck in a breath, he softened his features. “And in any case, youwillbe successful. You’re an excellent actress—surely you are accustomed to adapting to roles. Have you not played royalty before?”
“Well, yes, but all I had to do was act out someone else’s script. What if I blunder? Use the wrong word for something?”
“I cannot see that happening. You speak English very well. To be truthful, you speak it better than the princess herself, which is a boon to us.”
“Grandpapa was half-English,” Monique reminded him. “He made sure I was fluent in it. Though I know I have an accent.”
“The delegates will expect that.”
“But it’s not my facility with the language that I’m talking about. There are so many rules of deportment and—”
“We will teach you all that. And I swear that in most instances, one or the other of us will be around to steer you right or cover your errors.”
That wasn’t exactly encouraging.
Something else occurred to her. “Aren’t you the least worried that someone who’s seen me on the stage in Dieppe might recognize me?”
He waved that concern off with a flick of his bejeweled hand. “You wear wigs, costumes, and stage cosmetics—no one could discern the real you beneath all that. If my spies hadn’t already told me of your resemblance to Aurore, I would never have recognized you from your work on the stage.”
She blinked. “Spies?”
His mirthless laugh chilled her. “Come now, girl, did you really think the royal court forgot your branch of the family entirely? We did not, I assure you. One never knows when the heirs to the throne might perish, leaving some distant relation to inherit. As the oldest member of the family, I thought it important to keep track. That’s why I could meet with you so quickly after the princess fell ill. I’ve always known exactly where your family was.”
Because of his spies. She shivered. All this time, he’d had people watching them!
Though it seemed rather silly of him, to be honest. She was probably far down the line of succession, given that Grand-maman had been one of four children, all of whom must have had children themselves.
That actually relieved her. She had no desire to be a Princess of Chanay, forced to marry whomever the family deemed appropriate. She didn’t trust love, but she didn’t trust royal families either. There had to be some balance between marrying for love and marrying whomever was thrust upon you by political convenience.
“Even if someonecouldrecognize you from Dieppe,” the count went on, “it wouldn’t be anyone you’d encounter at the few public affairs we’ll be attending. Only those of the highest rank or political consequence will be there, and they aren’t the sort to attend a provincial theater.”
Though she bristled at his condescending tone, he had a point. Most of the foreigners at the theater were merchants and sailors, with the occasional courier thrown in. The highest-ranking gentleman she’d ever met in Dieppe had been...
Lord Fulkham.
Then again, he’d been only a baron. She knew enough about English peerages to know that a baron was nothing to a duke or a marquess or even an earl.
