Page 44 of Her Royal Houseguest

Anna nodded, satisfied that there was an answer now. She would marry Lord Patrick if she could convince him to propose. He was a good man and Ireland could be a nice place for her. She could start over without the weight of everyone knowing about her failures.

Mama bid her goodnight as soon as they were home. Anna undressed quickly, grateful that the monks had stopped chanting.

Dawn would come early, so she had best get to bed. It wasn’t until she was under the covers that she allowed herself to remember.

Forget the embarrassment. She relived the good parts.

The dance. Prince Deva’s laughter.

Spin, spin, spinning safely in his arms.

Chapter Fourteen

Deva’s head hurt.

Yesterday had been full of surprises. Everything here was similar but still so strange. The English smoked tobacco but they rolled it differently and had never heard of a water pipe. They played cards for coin, gambling with good cheer, but the cards were entirely different from the ones Deva knew. The method of play was different, too, and Deva struggled to follow the gameplay.

Throughout it all, the English drank, smoked and talked. So much so that Deva’s head pounded. In the end, he resorted to a Siamese practice perfected when he was a child.

He stood and watched, his arms folded and his brow contracted as if he were judging everything he saw. It was a lie. His mind disappeared, wandering where it would. He had very little memory of anything that transpired until finally the duke said he was finished at the ball and would go in search of better gameplay. He was cordial as he invited Deva along.

‘I must be up at dawn to serve the monks,’ he said by way of excuse.

‘Don’t be silly,’ the duke responded. ‘Use the servants for that. That’s why they’re there.’

Yes, normally that would be the way of things but the English servants were still learning their needs. ‘I must see my bargain with your daughter fulfilled,’ he said.

‘Never mind her,’ the man said. ‘She’s a good gel but cursed. She needs to learn how to get along without help. She’ll be alone for the rest of her life.’

‘Cursed! Who dared do that to your child?’

The man heaved a loud sigh as they settled into the carriage. ‘Well, as to that, we don’t know. It was the nurse who told us first but the duchess saw it, too. They kept trying to hide it. It can be trained out of a child, or at least hidden, but calamities follow her everywhere. Tonight was a prime example.’

Deva frowned. He did not know this word—calamity—but he could tell it was not a good thing.

‘What happened tonight?’

‘You wouldn’t know but she does. Your dance was de trope. Everyone will be talking about it. That’s just what happens with her. Always gossip. It’s embarrassing.’

‘We danced badly? But that would be my fault. I do not know the dance.’

He’d thought the experience had been wonderful. How shocking to learn that what they’d done was considered wrong.

‘No one will think less of you. You’re foreign. Anna isn’t.’ The duke leaned back against the squabs, his gaze going distant. ‘She’s destroyed her last chance.’

‘Last chance? For what?’

‘Marriage. But everyone knows, you see, about her backwards nature. I tried to keep it secret but her mother can’t keep a secret. She talks to her friends and they tell everyone else. Every time Anna becomes the talk of the town, it all gets dredged up again. Her curse. How hard her mother and I have tried to mitigate it. It’s deplorable, honestly, but it could be worse. My friend had a stupid boy. His heir is an idiot who can barely feed himself and looks…’ He shuddered. ‘At least Anna isn’t deformed. She’ll be all right in the country on her own. I’ll have a gardener or someone look in on her.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ll send her away as soon as she packs. She won’t bother you any further.’

‘Lady Anna has been helpful,’ Deva said. ‘I have not noticed any deficiencies.’

‘But you wouldn’t, would you? You’re a foreigner.’

Deva frowned into the darkness, searching his memories for any sign that Anna was under a magical curse. He found nothing but her father was right. He wouldn’t necessarily know. Either way, the idea that she would leave in the morning upset him.

‘Have you found the person who did this? Have you punished them?’ If someone in Siam cursed his child, there would be no rock or hole that would hide him from Deva’s vengeance. But the duke seemed completely resigned.

‘What? Oh, I don’t mean it literally. It’s a country superstition that explains simple children. The nanny believed it and my wife took it up. “The fairies cursed Anna”, they say. It’s better than saying, “Anna was born wrong”. It’s not her fault. I’m just grateful it landed on my daughter and not my sons. I’ve two healthy boys at school right now, making me proud.’