A Most UNWELCOME FACE

Georgiana couldn't believe her eyes. Only feet away was the man who had almost ruined her

- Amelia Blackwell

The opulence of the feast appalled Georgiana Darcy. Two thousand guests had been assembled to celebrate the ascension of the Prince Regent at a fete that spoke more of excess than elegance. Beyond the palace walls the poor scraped by, but inside Carlton House, the tables were stacked high with steaming tureens of soup, meats of all ilk, and the fruits of the sea.

As if this display of decadence was not lavish enough, clever craftsmen had fashioned a stream that wound its way up the length of the tables, in which goldfish swam for the amusement of the ton.

Georgiana shook her head in disapproval as the baroness beside her boasted of a new necklace. It was said to contain the largest emerald ever dug out of the ground in Colombia, and worth more than the prince’s own carriage.

Had the lady ever spared a thought for those who could not afford a lump of coal to warm themselves in winter?

Georgiana lifted her eyes to heaven as the baroness droned on, and wondered if she might, without the lady noticing, stuff her ears with morsels of bread.

Her gaze slid about the room, as she recollected the shocking rumour that each guard had been required to don a new livery for the occasion, purchased at their own expense, since the miserly Prince Regent would not contribute a shilling.

In an instant, her ponderings were shattered by the sight of a most unwelcome face.

It could not be!

He was older, of course, his face lined by too much sun, the curls at his temples grey, but it had been 12 years since last they had met. It was only natural his appearance would have altered.