A Royal Kiss and Tell

Caroline was so lost in thought that she didn’t really notice the two gentlemen standing outside her home when she disembarked from the carriage. She smiled and nodded and moved to pass them on her way to the gate of her house. But then one of them said, “Lady Caroline?”

She paused and glanced back at them. “Yes?”

“Mr. Drummond, at your service,” said one. He looked like someone’s kindly grandfather, tall and stately. He touched the brim of his hat as he handed her a calling card. She looked at the inscription. The gentleman was from the foreign secretary’s office. She frowned with confusion and glanced up.

Mr. Drummond’s smile turned kinder. “Oh—this is Mr. Pritchard,” he said, nodding to the silent man behind him. “Same office.”

She stared at them, trying to understand this intrusion.

Mr. Drummond stepped forward. “If you would be so kind as to indulge us, Lady Caroline?”

“Shouldn’t you speak with my brother?”

“Oh, undoubtedly. But we would like a word with you, as well.”

Caroline’s pulse began to race. She glanced uneasily toward the gate.

“We could speak here, if you like. It won’t take a moment. We should like to ask a few questions about an acquaintance of yours.”

“Who?”

“His Royal Highness Prince Leopold of Alucia.”

Caroline was stunned that she gave no reaction to his name at all, because in her mind, she shrieked and fell back against the gate. She didn’t know what this was about, but she was certain she didn’t want to have this conversation. “What of him?”

“An...accusation has been made against him.”

Good God, what had he done now?

“It’s a bit complicated, but to put it succinctly, there is some suspicion that the prince might be plotting with the Weslorians. With his uncle Felix, specifically.”

She had no idea who they were talking about. Who was his uncle Felix? Plotting what? Oh, how she’d wished she’d listened more carefully to Hollis on the voyage to Helenamar, when she’d tried in vain to educate Caroline about the history of Alucia.

“His uncle is the half brother of his father the king. I am sure you are aware of the rift between the brothers?”

She did know something about that, but at the moment, she could hardly say what.

“Recently, here in England, we’ve uncovered a plot by the prince’s uncle in Wesloria to dethrone the prince’s father. You may recall the unfortunate murder of an Alucian gentleman last year?”

Caroline stared at this man in disbelief. Of course she remembered it. “Yes.”

“There is some...speculation that Prince Leopold has aligned with his uncle.”

“Impossible,” Caroline said immediately.

“Oh, I should think so,” Mr. Drummond agreed, all too readily. “But so that we may end any speculation, might we ask you a question or two?”

Caroline’s head was spinning wildly. The maid in Arundel was Weslorian. But what could a Weslorian maid possibly have to do with this?

“Lady Caroline?”

She started.

“Have you known the prince to have met with or mentioned any Weslorian nationals?”

Caroline slowly shook her head.

“No one? A woman, perhaps?”

Her pulse was racing so quickly now that she couldn’t seem to breathe. She shook her head again.

Mr. Drummond was still smiling his grandfatherly smile and stepped closer. “If I may, Lady Caroline...this plot, if it exists, could have far-reaching implications for England, and especially for the Duchess of Tannymeade.”

Caroline’s breath caught. “What? How?”

“Imagine if there were to be a coup in that country. How do you think the rebels would treat the duchess?”

Caroline gasped softly. She slowly lifted her hand and gripped the gate handle to steady herself.

“Do you think you might keep an open ear to his conversations? We’ve noted that he calls here more than any other house.”

A cold shiver radiated through Caroline. What else had they noted? Were they looking in windows?

“If you could see what you might learn for us?” he asked, smiling in that strange, grandfatherly way, while his eyes remained as hard as flint. “Think of it as helping the duchess.”

Caroline could hardly get a breath. This was all so confusing and alarming...but she knew when she was being manipulated and whirled about to the gate. She fumbled with it, fearing they would try to stop her, perhaps even attempt to take her with them. She managed to get through the gate and closed it resoundingly shut behind her.

The two men hadn’t moved from their spot on the sidewalk. Mr. Drummond tipped his hat again.

Caroline ran up the steps and into the house. She closed the door and pressed her back to it, breathing deeply, her hand to her chest, then two hands to her face as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

What they said wasn’t possible. She could believe many things about Leopold Chartier, but she would not believe for a moment this was true. He was a lothario, but he was not a traitor.

But what of the maid? Was it really mere coincidence she was Weslorian?

What if it wasn’t coincidence at all?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR