Staring at my reflection as she continued to work, I felt horribly guilty for not confessing the truth to her. I wanted to warn her she was going to be greatly disappointed in me. Not just because I was going to betray this house by walking away, but the fact that if I stayed, I would have turned into one of them.
Chapter 16
“You look beautiful.” Theo stared ahead, the compliment coming out cool, but I could hear the slight tightness in his voice, though he tried to disguise it.
“Thank you.” I clutched his arm as we went up the steps to the house. Cameras at the end of the street clicked, flashing the street like a dance club.
“Theo! Theo!”
“Spencer! Turn around! Spencer, how does it feel to be engaged?”
The papzz continued to yell, the onslaught prickling my spine with anxiety. How did anyone get used to this?
“Spencer! Spencer! I heard you were spotted driving away from the hospital today. A source said you were coming out of the prenatal unit. Are you pregnant? Is there a royal baby already on the way?”
Bloody frickin’ hell.
Of course, they would take a sliver of truth and twist it beyond belief. Take some fibbing source and run with it for a headline. And little did they know the truth was ever juicier than whatever they had conjured up.
Theo’s normal cadence with the media had flipped, his stony expression completely contrasted with the open, good-natured guy they were used to.
He rushed us into the private residence of the Prime Minister, exhaling roughly the moment the doors closed, but he didn’t relax. Anger and sadness locked his face as the servants took our coats.
“You know I’m not, right? That was total bollocks,” I whispered hoarsely to him when the attendants stepped away.
“I have no idea what is true and what is not with you anymore. For all I know, you could be. But would you even know whose baby it was?”
I stood still, sucking air through my nose. “Fuck you, Theo.”
“Actually, you’re right. It wouldn’t be mine. We used every means of protection when we did do it.”
“Your Highness? My lady?” An attendant motioned for us to progress to the main drawing room. I didn’t move, staring at Theo, my teeth grinding together. His attention darted around, not wanting to look at me. Finally, he took a deep exhale, his hand rubbing his forehead.
“I’m sorry. That was cruel,” Theo muttered, sounding so much like the guy I used to know. “I’m really struggling here, Spence. This is not easy for me.”
“You think this is easy for me?”
“You put us here.” He flinched the moment he said it, wagging his head, taking a breath. “Let’s try to get through the night, possibly have fun.” He held out his hand. Hesitantly, I took it, knowing we were being watched. All eyes were on the newly engaged pair out at their first event after the proposal; we should be floating in happiness and excitement.
Joseph and Paul stood right inside the doors wearing similar three-piece impeccable black suits, with red silk ties, white pocket handkerchiefs, and shiny, black shoes.
The pair was handsome, and even with Great Victoria’s stiff upper lip society, you could see the undying connection and love between them. The small touches, the looks to each other across the room. They didn’t flaunt it in people’s faces but didn’t hide it either. They were a unit. They had each other’s backs, their love and support for the other stringing through the room like the holiday decorations. I heard a rumor they were thinking about adopting soon. They would make incredible parents.
“Spencer!” Paul greeted me while the Prime Minister, Joseph, shook hands and chatted with Theo. “It’s so lovely to see you again.” He took my hand, squeezing it, his fingers running over the huge family heirloom on my hand. “Gorgeous. I’ll bet you are so excited and overwhelmed. I’m sure RH is already in a whirlwind of planning. Just some advice, don’t let them take so much away from you that it is no longer about you and Theo. The wedding day is a single day out of the thousands you will have building a life together.” He patted my hand again. “You’re going to fight, some days wondering what you got yourself into. But at the end of the day when you know he is the only one you want to spend your life with, it’s all worth it. Someone who makes you laugh, and who you cry with. Someone you are willing to fight any battles you face with. Finding the right person, your person, is key. All the other stuff you can figure out as you go.”
The air struggling in my lungs lodged in my throat. My head subtly turned, my eyes searching the room. I could feel him. The power of his gaze spanned the room, humming over my skin.
Blue-hazel eyes caught mine, hitching my lungs. Dressed in a dark suit, he stood with his arms crossed in front like a statue, trying to blend into the far wall, with Dalton down at the other end.
Neither man disappeared as much as they hoped they did, especially compared to Eloise’s guard, Peter. He was placed on another wall by the windows, and you could easily have missed him.
Lennox was the bodyguard who needed his own bodyguard. He could have dressed in the same color as the wall, and he’d still stand out like a beacon. And by some of the women’s gawking stares as they walked by him, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
A playful smile took hold of my lips before I could stop it, and my eyebrow curved up as Duchess Caroline, a woman of eighty-one who was still as flirty and randy as a twenty-year-old, approached Lennox. Because of her age and station, she was allowed to be her crazy, eccentric self. She did not hide her interest in Lennox, as she openly ogled him, fanning herself.
A ghost of a grin hinted the side of his mouth, his gaze driving into mine with heat, his shoulder lifting in, “Hey, what can I say? All women want me. I’m an open age opportunist.”
I slightly shook my head, trying to contain the smile and laugh wanting to explode from me.
“Spencer?” My name jerked me back to the person across from me.
“Yes. Sorry.” I tried to play it off.
Paul’s gaze slid from me to Lennox and back, his gaze settling heavier on me, seeing something I didn’t want him to.
“Spencer,” Joseph broke in, his hand reaching for mine in a quick clasp, breaking the awkward moment with Paul. “You look as lovely as ever.” He said it like it was a script he was learning. Paul was definitely the more open and warmer of the two. Joseph was the example of the stiff Victorian, proper and stoic.
“Wonderful to see you too, Prime Minister.”
“Please, call me Joseph,” he said.
“Just not Joey or Joe.” Theo clapped him on the shoulder. Joseph stiffened at the friendly touch, forcing a grim smile to the Prince. “He hates that.”
“He really does.” Paul joined in, winking at his lover. “But that’s probably why I do.”
“You are the only one,” Joseph said under his breath, “I allow.”
The door opened, Catherine and Alexander stepping into the foyer, all attention turning to them.
“Please, go get some drinks. Enjoy the party. Dinner will start in an hour.” Paul motioned for us to move fully into the vast drawing room.
Theo’s hand skated down my back, his palm pressing into my spine, leading me forward. His touch was an odd sensation to me. Familiar, easy, but no longer desired or relaxing.