Scarlet frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but Matteo stopped her with a hand on her arm and said to Suzanne, “I find it quite easy to leave any room in which Éléonore resides. But it was heartbreaking to leave our beloved France, which is still caught in her snares.”

Suzanne bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Matteo returned his smiles to his new partner and led her out onto the floor.

Andrew, who stood at Suzanne’s side, whispered something into her ear. She held her hand up to her mouth in surprise, and her cheeks turned a shade of pink. “I did not realize.” After a moment, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she watched Matteo closely.

Lady Pinckney eyed the entire exchange with great interest, her expression calculating. Scarlet interrupted her thoughts. “Does our Prince George not look smashing in those new sleeves? I love the manner in which they drape down his forearm.”

Anyone within hearing distance turned to notice the drape of Prince George’s sleeve. He responded to their attention, lifting his sleeves for all to take note, and winked at Scarlet.

As soon as that set was completed, her next partner whisked Scarlet away. And it continued throughout the night. She noticed that Matteo barely had a moment before another lady was presented to him and he obliged her with a dance. Once, their eyes met, and he wiggled his eyebrows. She wondered how he was faring, fending off and appeasing all the curious minds of the ton.

Chapter Eight

Enchanting. Scarlet shook her head in awe. She and Matteo walked together through an archway, lit by candles flickering in the refreshing outdoor air, a tunnel of sorts, leading to a tented space beyond where all the tables were set for dinner. A thin, translucent fabric lined the walls, decorated with cascading artificial flowers.

In one of the smaller tents, Matteo and Scarlet sat near His Highness for dinner. He never included his wife, Princess Caroline of Brunswick, at any of these events, so Princess Elizabeth sat at his right with Scarlet at his left. Matteo sat on the opposite side of the table, farther down.

His Highness’s laugh shifted Scarlet’s attention back to him. “I shall have a river, my dear, flowing water, down the center of this table at my next party. Mark my words.” He leaned to the side, almost too far, and a footman rushed to right him again. “Yes,” he emphasized. “With fish swimming in it, flowing toward a fountain, right in the middle.” He swung his arm to demonstrate the direction and nearly upturned Her Highness’s cup.

Giggling, Princess Elizabeth responded, “Oh, do! I only hope I am here to see it.” She laughed at everything Prince George said, which pleased Scarlet because she was able to glance about the room and study the people in it.