Eliza was nearby as well, and Signa noticed after a second look that the dark-haired man who spoke to her was none other than Byron. When Charlotte caught her looking, she hummed under her breath.
“Miss Wakefield always did want to marry a Hawthorne,” Charlotte mused. “I just thought it would be Percy. They were so close before he left.”
The sound Blythe made was unintelligible. “Eliza and my uncle? Your mind is far more apt to storytelling than I would have imagined.”
Charlotte waved her fan harder, cutting Blythe a scathing look. “They’ve been seeing each other for some time. He’s a good match, unmarried and affluent. I daresay he might have asked for her hand by now, if not for the scandal with your father. Or maybe he has, and they’re biding their time until your family’s name is cleared.”
As much as Signa disliked the idea of Eliza being welcomed into the family, it certainly helped make sense of the ring they’d found in Elijah’s study.
Blythe wrapped her hands around her stomach, likely thinking the same thing. “It seems more happened while I was stuck in bed than I realized.”
“Or perhaps you’ve been far too concerned with yourself to consider what everyone else is doing.”
“Now, now, enough of that,” Signa said, alarmed. Whatever had happened between Charlotte and Blythe, there would be time to settle it later, in private. “We’re all friends here…” Her voice trailed off when she caught sight of a golden head of hair making its way through the throng. An angry heat festered in her stomach, thinking of her silver hair and their argument from when they last spoke. There was so much happening; so many thoughts to parse that she wasn’t sure how she could handle anything else. Fortunately, Fate turned at the last moment, headed not toward her but to Everett.
“I swear I can’t keep pace with you these days,” Blythe huffed under her breath. “First you’re dreaming of a duke, and now you lose your thoughts in the presence of a prince.”
“You’ve been dreaming of Everett?” There was tension in Charlotte’s jaw, though Signa couldn’t find it in her to answer. Fate’s presence was all-consuming. Though they were here to bolster Elijah’s name and make a good impression on the guests, Signa very much doubted anyone would remember that she and the Hawthorne family had attended when there was someone far more interesting to think about.
“I can’t believe he’s visiting all the way from Verena.” Signa turned to see that the voice came from a small group of ladies she recognized from other social events this season. Diana Blackwater was among them, flapping her fan so fiercely that her white bonnet bobbed upon her small head. “It’s such a lovely place, right on the water. My father took me there for a visit when I was young. The prince and I became quite close.”
One of the younger girls gasped. “Do you think he came all this way for you?”
Diana, bless her, was positively preening. How silly it was to watch her and the entire town play into Fate’s trap.
“Do tell us about him,” one girl said with prying hopefulness. “Is he charming?”
“He is quite the gentleman,” Diana said with a practiced swoon. It seemed everyone was an actor, these days. “He’s well-mannered and incredibly attentive. If you thought Wisteria Gardens was beautiful, you would perish upon seeing his family’s royal palace.”
Ha. Well-mannered, indeed.
“I must admit that I was pleased to see Aris—forgive me, I do mean Prince Dryden—visiting the year of my debut,” Diana continued. “I’ve always had such a fondness for Verena, and always imagined myself ending up there one day.”
She wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t. And yet Signa’s hands twitched with annoyance. Diana and her lies didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but there was something about her that irked Signa so much that she spun to face the girl.
“It must be fate,” Signa mused, smile so wide that her eyes squinted halfway shut.
Diana returned a thin smile, fanning herself with a touch more aggression. “I daresay you’re right, Miss Farrow.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Fate is a very powerful thing.” It was the alleged prince himself who spoke as he and Everett approached. Diana and the rest of the ladies fell silent as he and the freshly minted duke dipped their heads in greeting. Fate’s eyes, however, lifted to watch Signa from beneath long lashes, and that strange heat in her belly was back.