#with........edgar

There was no sight like Mayfair in the morning, following a ball as grand as the Barnett’s, everyone was abuzz with excitement, describing those who dressed so elegantly but the topic of discussion was soon changed when Lady Whistledown posted her own views on the evening. Shopping was a great distraction for the princess, but every coin that left her hand, the princess could hear the whispers and still her head remained held high, not wanting to give anyone the satisfaction of her reaction. Two broken engagements, how exhausted the king must be of her! Can the king be exhausted with her when he is driving the country in bankruptcy if Lady Whistledown is to be believed, and she is rarely ever wrong! The princess’s fingers tightened around a ribbon she was purchasing, the pink fabric getting taught in her hands and still she remained as poised as she could be, despite the words following her, even from Mayfair down to Bond Street! It was then she saw him, Mr Edgar O’Connor, the dashing rake described in Lady Whistledown and yet somehow he carried it quite well. “I must congratulate you, Mr O’Connor, somehow Lady Whistledown has practically declared you as a rake and you have somehow salvaged it by apparently courting myself and Princess Genevive. I should have known, she was asking about you quite considerably.” Edgar O’Connor was, it seemed, collecting royalty far more successful than he was any hints of good behaviour if Lady Whistledown was to be believed, but he was not running away from the princess of England, unlike so many others of court had done this morning. “Can I ask you to join me in a walk or are you worried that I will be damaging your casanova-like reputation?” 

Finally, the princess was free from the confines of her brother or sister-in-law, and what felt like an endless procession of those trying to court favour with the royals, some even being so bold as to ask Sophia for a dance, to which she had politely refused. The new countess was a former lady of the princess’s, so Sophia explained she was needed elsewhere when an oaf had been brave enough to ask, not knowing that there was one particular person she intended to see. A day or so ago, a bunch of red roses were delivered to Godwin house and it was quite the surprise, as was the name written on the card. Edgar O’Connor had sent a bunch, red of course, and while the colour was cliché, Sophia did not judge him too harshly for it. Spotting him from across the room, Sophia approached him with one of his roses in her hand and before he could say anything, she placed the single red rose in his lapel as others around them watched the notorious O’Connor and princess of England converse. “I admit that you surprised me, I did not anticipate flowers or something as safe as roses, but even I could not deny they were beautiful, but I assumed you were the sort who prefers causing chaos than courtship, Mr O’Connor?” The princess took a deliberate step back once she had placed the rose as though she was admiring her own handiwork, the vibrancy of the red rosebud brought out the finer details of Mr O’Connor’s waistcoat and there was some satisfaction to be had of that, but then again, he did buy the flowers. “But I admit you have kept me waiting, I was told you would steal me away for five minutes and I have been left to suffer the odious minds of Lord Austen and his daughter, how can I ever forgive you?”