“Your Majesty,” the duke said, “they do not make way because they do not recognize the carriage. Allow me to descend and alert them.”
“Not on your life, Duke,” the queen said. “I did not tell Lady Darlington I would attend. Would you really deprive me of the amusement of the surprise? They will scramble like mice at sunrise and then attempt to compose some sort of throne or place of honor where I may view the proceedings. It will all be badly done but I will nod in approval so Lady Darlington might sleep tonight.”
The carriage did eventually make its way forward and then waited an age while Lady Catherine and her lord came out of their carriage, then the lord went back in to fetch his lady’s reticule, and then there was some further delay for nobody knew what reason. Verity presumed they’d be mortified when they realized that the queen’s carriage had been behind them, all the while waiting through their disorganized disembarkation.
Finally, at the queen’s direction, Verity and the duke descended and then her father helped Queen Charlotte to the pavement. The look on the waiting grooms and footmen when they realized the queen had arrived was amusing. When one of them made to dash inside to alert Lady Darlington, the queen stopped him in his tracks.
She sailed in with Verity and the duke behind her.
Verity, of course, understood that the queen making an unexpected entrance would put people on the back foot, and so it did. Lady Darlington had been almost speechless. After they moved on from the receiving line, Verity could hear the surprised hostess issuing orders for a particular chair to be brought into the ballroom and placed at the top.
They entered the room and the hush rolled across it in waves, one party seeming to notice that the party next to them had stopped talking. Men bowed, ladies made a low curtsy.
Queen Charlotte said, loudly, “I have not been in the habit of attending Lady Darlington’s soiree, however, Lady Verity mentioned that it was amusing.”
Her father winked at Verity over that particular pronouncement. She supposed the queen, of anybody in England, knew just what to say to manage theton.
Verity scanned the crowd looking for Lord Wembly. It was very hard—what was he wearing? Everybody was in at least a half mask.
Lady Darlington’s footmen had run in at the top of the ballroom carrying an oversized chair with gilt arms, racing to get it in place before the queen reached them. The three violinists who’d been there to provide soft music for the party were moved to the other end of the room. Several other footmen brought smaller chairs and placed them on either side of the makeshift throne.
“Come, Lady Verity, we will view the proceedings from the comfort of a chair. You too, Duke,” the queen said. As they made their way there, the queen leaned toward her and said quietly, “Let us see if Lord Wembly has a stiff enough spine to approach his queen and request an audience with Lady Verity Nicolet.”
