‘You might like being kidnapped by me,’ he said softly. Leaning in closer, his knees touched hers. ‘Think of it as getting better acquainted.’
Serena seemed to hold her breath when his hands came upon either side of her seat. Her green eyes were frozen with fear. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ she protested. ‘It’s not proper.’
‘I don’t care about what’s proper or right, Princess.’ He reached out and captured her gloved hand, despite her attempt to snatch it back. ‘But I do care if my intended wife is trying to run away.’ He caressed her palm with his thumb, and her lips parted with startled surprise. ‘Or am I wrong?’
She cast a frightened look outside the window. ‘This has nothing to do with you.’
Whether or not that was true, he strongly suspected she was fleeing from something. Or someone.
‘You have no right to interfere with my plans,’ she insisted, pulling her hand back.
‘Don’t I?’ He changed tactics, for it was nearly time to put the second part of his plan into action. ‘Did it not occur to you that every man who has helped you on this … journey … could face charges of assault or treason?’
‘Not if I absolve them,’ Serena pointed out. ‘I won’t be gone for … very long. When I return, I shall take full responsibility for my orders.’
She believed it; he could see it in her innocent green eyes. She really thought that her word was strong enough to vouch for the men.
‘Every last one of these men will lose his post.’ Karl leaned forward, resting his forearms upon his knees. Once again, she drew back. Whether it was an aversion to him or another fear, he didn’t know.
‘They will never work in the palace again, and every person who saw them leave will know of their involvement in this frivolous holiday of yours.’
Her face reddened with fury. ‘It’s not frivolous at all.’
‘It is when it affects men’s lives.’ His gaze hardened upon her. ‘Do you have any idea what these people endure for your sake? They would throw themselves in front of a bullet to save your life. And yet, a single word from you would destroy them.’
Her hands clenched in her lap. ‘You don’t understand—’
‘No, it’s you who doesn’t understand.’ The coach was slowing down, and Karl saw the open land shift into another wooded forest. The coachman had obeyed his orders, and slowly, the vehicle came to a stop. He opened the door, and outside the rain pounded so hard, it was difficult to see. ‘I’m sending them back.’
‘Do not presume to undermine my orders.’
‘I’ll presume whatever I wish. Your Highness,’ he added with a dark smile. Before she could make a single move, Karl reached for the princess and captured her waist.
She let out a hiss, clutching her side. ‘Don’t touch me.’
It didn’t surprise him. Princess Serena was a woman accustomed to getting her own way, and she wasn’t about to obey him meekly. Despite her gasp, Karl lifted her outside the window, into the freezing rain. ‘I can’t breathe,’ Serena insisted, and he shifted his hold lower, still carrying her as he strode away from the coach. When he raised a hand to the coachman and her escorts, he signalled them to return to the palace.
But her guards didn’t obey. Instead, they closed in with weapons drawn.
‘Princess Serena?’ Captain Feldmann queried, awaiting his order. He held a bayonet, the sharp point directed toward Karl.
He couldn’t fault them for loyalty. He set her down, giving her a chance to make her choice. Rain poured down over them, dripping past the princess’s hood and soaking her gown.
‘Do you want anything to happen to them?’ Karl demanded of her, beneath his breath.
His bride gripped her cloak, her face crestfallen. He was counting on her to consider the truth of his words.
‘If you want to leave, I’ll escort you myself with my own men.’
She stared at him, and he could see the words of argument forming in her mind. ‘It’s your choice,’ he continued. ‘Go with me. Or return to the palace.’
Her hand went to rest against her throat, and it almost seemed that she was fighting back tears. He couldn’t understand why, but at last she nodded.
‘Return to the palace,’ she ordered her men. ‘Fürst Karl will see me safely to my grandfather’s lodge.’
The captain withdrew his bayonet and knelt before the princess, his knee sinking into the mud. ‘Your Highness, my men will be forced to search for you.’
She offered him her palm, raising him up. ‘Then don’t let them find us. Take them to all the other estates before the lodge. I just … want a fortnight to myself.’
‘You truly wish to go with the fürst?’ Captain Feldmann questioned.
The princess sent him a glance, but to her credit, she nodded. ‘He will not harm me. You’ll be in less trouble if I go with him and his men.’ Despite her calm tone, her face revealed her displeasure at the prospect.
One by one, her guards disappeared into the woods. When they’d gone, Karl took her hand and gestured toward his own coach, which lay waiting down the road. ‘My coachman Samuel will accompany us from here on out.’
The princess stood motionless, staring at her departing servants while the rain drenched them both. ‘I cannot believe I’m even considering this.’
Karl wasn’t about to let her change her mind. Instead, he led her to his own coach, where his footman opened the door. Lifting her inside, he settled her upon the soft cushions. Within moments, his coach changed directions, travelling northwest instead of south.
The rain had soaked through Serena’s cloak and her dark blond hair hung in tangled waves beneath her hood, across her shoulders. She was trembling, and her eyes glittered with anger.
‘Why are you really here?’ she demanded. ‘And don’t tell me it’s because my sister sent you. You didn’t care enough to come and see me more than twice in the six years since we’ve been betrothed.’
‘I think you know why I came, Princess,’ he said smoothly. ‘To make sure you weren’t eloping with some other man instead of me.’ He removed his hat and set it beside him. The cold rain had dampened his face, and his clothing was soaked from the bad weather.
Serena kept her hands folded primly in her lap. ‘Your Highness, let us be honest with one another. We were only betrothed because my father wanted to secure the alliance with Lohenberg. After we are married, what we do with our lives won’t matter. I don’t believe for a moment that you have any interest in me.’
‘You’re wrong.’ He reached out and lowered her hood, brushing his fingertips against her damp cheek. In her eyes, he saw the startled shock. ‘I find you very interesting indeed, Princess.’
He could see from the look on her face that she wasn’t at all looking forward to their union. Whether she disliked him or was afraid of him, he couldn’t be certain. ‘Our marriage can be more than political.’
She turned her face to the window, the melancholy sinking in. ‘Sometimes I wish I could live like an ordinary woman, just for a few days. Free to make my own decisions.’ Her voice held a note of misery, as though she believed herself a prisoner.
‘Is it such a hardship, wearing diamonds and silks?’
‘Sometimes,’ she admitted.
When he saw her shivering, Karl reached beneath the seat for a blanket. He passed it to her, and she huddled within the wool, struggling to get warm.