The Last Princess Read Online Free Page A

she was with him.
    For a second she was shocked into silence. Then she stammered, “Roger, you’ve caught me by surprise. I’ll have to think about it.”
    “I wish you would, Lily,” he said, squeezing her hand. “We would make such a good team.”
    Team? My goodness, they could play touch football or row together to Hyannis Port. Her trepidation was almost replaced by laughter.
    Of course, Lily had no way of knowing that her destiny had already been determined. Even while she was still in Paris, Charles Goodhue had invited Roger’s father, Jason, to lunch at the Harvard Club. Before Lily had even sailed for home, Charles and Jason had laid their plans for a merger between “the children.” Both fathers had agreed to press for an engagement—and then marriage—as soon as possible. A week later, while Lily was still on the Atlantic, Jason Humphreys invited his son to lunch with the same purpose in mind.
    After ordering, Jason took a sip of his drink and began: “You know, Roger, you are twenty-six years old, and it’s time you settled down. I have a lovely young girl that I’d like you to meet.”
    “Look, Father, I’m sure that she’s a lovely girl, but I’m not ready to get married.”
    “Now Roger, I want you to listen. You know, I had lunch with Charles Goodhue last week, and he tells me that his daughter, Lily, is returning from Europe. From everything Charles tells me, she would make a perfect wife.”
    “But Father …”
    Jason held up his hand. “I’m not interested in your protests, Roger. Let’s face it. This girl is the Goodhues’ only child, and you know how much the Goodhue Rubber Company is worth. Someday she’ll inherit it all.”
    “But Father, I haven’t even met her, and you’re planning a wedding already.”
    “That’s correct, Roger. Every young woman your mother and I have suggested you have rejected. Now it’s time to grow up.”
    “Why don’t you just let us meet and see if we even like one another?”
    “I’m not going to let Lily Goodhue slip through your fingers. There are going to be a hundred men after her fortune the second she reaches New York. You’re our only son and you have an obligation to the family to marry well.”
    Roger sat in silent rebellion. Why was he cursed with four sisters, so that the burden of carrying on the family name fell to him? I’m not ready to be tied down , he thought. I’m only twenty-six!
    But as he stared across the table at his father, he realized that he no longer had any choice. People were already beginning to wonder why he never had a steady girl. He knew he would have to marry soon, like it or not, and the unknown Lily certainly had the right qualifications. Later, after he met her, he decided he was probably a very lucky man. Lily was very beautiful, and he found himself actually liking her; she was unaffected and easygoing and when he was with her she was almost like one of the boys. But seeing how the other men hovered about her, he knew he couldn’t delay and he took advantage of the time alone in the boathouse to blurt out his proposal.
    Lily went home perplexed. Although she was grateful that Roger had not demonstrated any great passion for her, she thought it odd that he did no more than peck her on the cheek. Even if it was America, she didn’t think men were all that different. Despite his clear blue eyes and thick sandy hair and strong, even features, she knew she was not in love with him, and she would have no trouble deciding about his proposal.

Chapter 4
    T HE NEXT MORNING LILY went down to breakfast with a light heart. At last she felt she was the child her parents wanted and she was expecting to entertain them with the scene in the boathouse. She gave them a laughing account, concluding: “Of course, I wouldn’t think of accepting him.”
    Charles brought his spoon to his lips and took a bite of soft-boiled egg. Dabbing his lips with his napkin, he said, “And why not, my dear?”
    She wasn’t sure