Chapter Six

Lady Sadia and her sons left the manor with the rising sun. There was a grand gathering at one of the country estates they were attending, but it would take at least two hours to get there. The family rose early, much to Sil’s disgust, in order to arrive in time for morning tea.

That meant that Elle, Lucy, Macy, and Jack were left to their own devices for the entire day. Of course, the duchess expected them to spend the time preparing the closed-off rooms for the impending marriage, but it was a holiday, and none of the servants felt all that inclined to listen to the woman for the entire day. Taking a few hours of their own here or there wouldn’t be noticed. There were street parties to attend, after all.

Jack left while Elle was still yawning into his breakfast bowl. Elle usually spent the holidays relaxing at home, glad to have the opportunity to be lazy for once.

This year, things were a bit different.

“Hurry up, Elle,” Lucy chided. She whisked Elle’s bowl out from under him the second he took his last bite, and while he was still chewing, Macy dragged him upstairs.

Instead of walking to his mother’s rooms, as Elle assumed, they walked farther down the corridor and turned into his father’s old room.

“Macy,” Elle began in a worried voice as Macy let go of his arm and headed over to the wardrobe. “What’s going on?”

“The Lady Heathbridge has requested an audience with you,” Macy explained, “and she told me to see you dressed properly.”

Elle heard the heavy scraping sound of something quite large being dragged into the room just as the door opened to admit Lucy. At the sound of water splashing, Elle realized he was getting another bath. The bath wasn’t surprising; he was dirty from cleaning ashes out of fireplaces.

“Why are we in my father’s room?” Elle asked curiously while Lucy and Macy worked quickly to fill and heat the tub.

“Lady Adelina said you were to be dressed to your station. ‘No skirts,’ she told me,” Macy replied as she helped Elle undress and climb into the tub without slipping. “So you’ll be wearing something of your father’s.”

He washed his body while Lucy and Macy worked on his hair, and he wondered why Aunt Adel wanted to meet him. Once his hair had been washed, the women wasted no time pulling the front strands away from his face and into an artful knot on the back of his head.

“At least my stepmother is away today, so the chances of my getting caught…” Elle trailed off pensively. Neither woman bothered to reply to his fears, instead busying themselves with getting Elle ready. Elle dried himself off while Macy returned to the closet and began selecting clothing and Lucy disposed of the bathwater.

Once Elle was dressed simply but finely in breeches, a delicately cut shirt, and a jacket—all just as expensive as the riding outfit Theo had let him borrow—they moved to inspect his father’s jewelry. Unfortunately, most of the useful pieces had been moved with his father when this wing of the manor had been closed off. Anything his father had left behind, Lady Sadia had sold or given to her sons. However, there were a few elegant pieces remaining in this hidden room, including stud earrings and matching cufflinks, which Elle put on.

Elle couldn’t help fidgeting in his borrowed clothes as he was guided from the room and down the hall by Lucy, unused to the feeling of fine cloth and properly fitted clothing. His sackcloth clothes were horribly ill fitting, loose and unrestricting, and it felt a bit strange to Elle to actually be wearing proper clothes.

Wearing a dress and all the finery that accompanied women’s clothing hadn’t felt as discomforting to Elle because he had known from the start that he was in costume. This wasn’t just some costume—it was his birthright, and Elle was simply not used to having his life be as it should have been without his stepmother’s interference.

When Elle was handed into an actual carriage, no doubt sent by Aunt Adel, attired in real finery, he almost started crying. For the first time since his father’s death, Elle was doing things expected of his intended birthright. He finally felt like the Duke of Marchcant.

Elle held back his tears; he knew at the end of the day when he had to redress in his servant’s clothing, it would be much harder to resist breaking down into sobs.

It took some time for the carriage to travel through the city. Elle could hear the beginnings of holiday celebrations; the sounds of laughter—drunken and happy—slipped into the carriage and made Elle feel a bit melancholy. The entire week had been one emotional extreme to another, from joy to fear at how strange his life had become, and the added burden of memories and dreams of what should have been. Elle heard when they passed through a gate, the noise from the street celebrations fading behind them. The carriage traveled up a long driveway before finally coming to a halt, where a footman opened the door and gave Elle a hand outside.

Elle stepped out into the sun and took a deep, bracing breath. He didn’t know what his aunt wanted to speak to him about, although he had his guesses, but it wouldn’t do to arrive showing his gloomy feelings to her.

“Elle!” Theo’s voice called. Elle heard jogging footsteps as Theo rushed to his side. “I’m sorry I was late,” Theo added as he reached Elle, brushing his arm against Elle’s in a signal for Elle to take it.

Elle rested his hand against Theo’s arm and smiled at him, his sadness fading as Theo’s warmth enveloped him. There was no better cure for a bitter heart than having the one you loved beside you. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Elle responded. “And I’ve only just arrived, so you’re not late at all.”

“I’m taking you to meet Lady Adelina Heathbridge and my mother,” Theo explained as they walked into the building. “They both want to have words with you.”

They walked for a while, chatting happily through the winding hallways. Elle only noticed how long the walk had truly been when they finally came to stop. Where were they, to be in such a large building? There weren’t many buildings of this size in the city, as far as Elle knew.

Theo knocked politely on a door before opening it and guiding Elle inside.

“May I present Lord Elleron, Duke of Marchcant, my nephew,” Elle’s aunt said politely as Elle and Theo walked into the room.

“Such a handsome man,” another woman replied, but Elle ignored her as he turned to Theo. Theo hadn’t flinched or gasped or indicated any surprise when Elle’s real title was given.

“You knew?” Elle whispered furiously. “All this time?” He pulled away from Theo and backed toward the door. “All of this was just to get me here?” He had shared kisses with Theo. Theo had taken him drinking and riding and was the only reason Elle had been able to enjoy the balls so much. The truth that Theo had just been digging out the true duke from the cinders was clear, and Elle didn’t want to have anything further to do with him.

Elle drew one fist back and swung wildly in the direction Theo had last been standing. His fist connected with what felt like Theo’s shoulder, and they both grunted in pain. Now that Elle knew exactly where Theo was standing, he pulled back his other fist and struck at Theo’s face. He missed and swung again.

This time Elle’s arm was caught and his body was yanked forward into Theo’s warm arms. He struggled to get free, growling angrily at Theo, but Theo’s arms were strong and Elle soon subsided when it became obvious he wouldn’t be getting free.

“Now, Elle,” his aunt admonished in the strict voice he remembered so clearly from his childhood, “be polite to His Highness.”

“His Highness? The prince is here?” Elle gasped, his voice going high and squeaky in surprise.

“You see what I mean?” Lady Adelina asked brightly, as if Elle acting out was not horrifyingly common and rude.

“Your nephew certainly had no idea; I agree with that,” the second woman’s voice agreed. “However, we might wish to enlighten the poor boy before the guard decides to arrest him.”

Arrest? Elle’s thoughts scattered at this idea. Who was being arrested, and why?

“I’m sorry, Elle,” Theo’s voice whispered into the hair over Elle’s ear.

“For what?” Elle snapped back coldly.

“For not telling you everything,” Theo replied, his voice annoyingly calm. He gently drew Elle further into the room and guided Elle into a couch seat. Theo didn’t let go of Elle as he joined Elle on the couch. “I didn’t know when we met in the market that you were the real duke. I didn’t!” he added when Elle opened his mouth to argue. “I suspected at the first ball that something had happened to you that demoted you into servitude, because you do know the basic forms of all the dances.”

“And of course I needed to know everything about the girl my son was dancing with,” the second woman—Theo’s mother! Elle remembered—added sharply. “So I interrogated my son. The fool boy didn’t want to tell me much, but I finally coerced him into telling me where you lived, and I sent a man to find out more.”

Elle’s head started spinning. If Theo wasn’t lying, then none of their morning walks, or their time out drinking, or even that first wonderful ball were a façade. Theo’s actions had been sincere—in the beginning at least.

“And then after the second ball,” she continued, “my spy found out that it was a servant boy dressing as a noblewoman.”

So, Theo hadn’t known during the second ball that Elle was nobility? Elle shook his head, trying to clear it of any remaining sense of betrayal. Everything he was hearing sounded truthful, and Elle preferred to believe that Theo hadn’t meant to hurt him.

“Of course, I then confronted my son about a servant boy masquerading as his love interest.”

“I laughed at her,” Theo interjected immediately, before his mother’s words could hurt Elle’s feelings. “I explained that I knew you were a servant and a boy,” he explained. “I told her that you weren’t trying to trick me.”

“And then I had my audience with Their Majesties,” Lady Adelina finally spoke up. “I told them everything! My nephew, the true duke, a servant in his own home! And that horrible Lady Sadia trying to steal your money and title for her own spoiled son.”

“To attempt to deceive the crown in such a manner is a serious accusation,” Theo’s mother added. “But the story soon became clear. With my man reporting on Lady Sadia’s actions, and Lord Everett coming forward to warn of your impending demise, we devised a course of action to intervene on your behalf.

“But we must clear up the last discrepancy in the story, Elleron. You must know the entire truth of the matter before we decide how we are to proceed.” She paused, as if waiting for someone else to begin speaking.

Theo’s body stiffened, and his hand dropped away from holding Elle in place, but he didn’t speak.

“I am Queen Margaret,” she said gently. “And my son, Prince Theodrin, appears to have fallen in love with you.”

The queen? Elle’s frazzled mind supplied the words, but he didn’t quite understand.

“Theo?” Elle asked, turning to him for answers.

“I’m sorry,” Theo said. “I should have told you from the start, but it was so nice to have a real friend. And you were so wonderful I had to invite you to the ball.” His voice trailed off when Elle did not show any response.

Elle’s mind was still whirling. “You’re the prince?” he asked Theo.

“Yes,” Theo confirmed, voice gentle. “I am sorry.”

“You were wearing a military jacket,” Elle said, half question and half accusation.

“First son is the heir,” Queen Margaret interjected. “Second son goes to the military, and third son to the monastery. I doubt you were ever taught these social customs, as you were removed from society at such a young age.”

“I’m a captain,” Theo explained. “And, on formal occasions, I wear my dress uniform.”

“None of it was fake?” Elle asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer. “The horseback riding, the dates?” Elle hesitated to mention their kisses in front of his aunt and Theo’s mother in the room, unsure how scandalous it would be.

Theo heard what Elle didn’t say aloud. “None of it, Elle,” he said, with such conviction that Elle sighed and relaxed back into Theo’s side. Theo wrapped an arm around Elle, who reached up to clasp the hand resting by his shoulder.

Theo might have held back information, but his purpose had never been malicious. He had never intended to take advantage of Elle. Any lingering sense of betrayal was quick to fade forever, nestled in Theo’s arms.

“Well, I believe that settles that,” Aunt Adel said briskly. “I assume you are satisfied that my nephew is not trying to hoodwink your son in any way?”

“No, no,” Queen Margaret laughed. “Duke Elleron was clearly innocent of any trickery! And I am satisfied that my son is truly in love with your boy. It’s an advantageous match, at the very least, so I certainly cannot complain about your choice, Drin.”

“Thank you mother,” Theo replied wryly. “That was, of course, one of my chief concerns,” he added with even more sarcasm in his voice. “I love him, so your support means a lot to me,” he finished in a much softer voice that made Elle melt a little inside.

“Yes, yes, love is important. But to the court? A man marrying another man must have a purpose behind it to so flout tradition. Tying the powers of the Marchcant family with the royal family is a wonderful excuse. Now, let’s forget about politics and move on. We must free Elleron from servitude and make the duchess and her son pay for what they have done to you. Summon my husband!” she called imperiously. A responding set of retreating footsteps told Elle that one of the servants or guards also in the room had left at a quick pace. “And, Theo, where is that engagement ring?”