“Silence.” The duke was not letting up. The man glared at Mr. Haynes. “What the bloody hell is going on here, Haynes?”
“Don’t have a clue, Your Grace. Just came upon these two having a row of it.”
The duke’s left brow shot up.
Victor didn’t comment.
“Thomas,” Duke said. “Need I call your father to the castle?”
“No, sir.” The boy shook his head, his red hair flopping about like a kitchen mop.
“Go clean yourself up.”
Thomas grabbed the pug from the floor, turned to face Victor, and said, “Ye lost. Y’ arse.” He then ran from the stables.
Victor charged after him.
The duke snatched Vic back by the spine of his waistcoat.
“Make sure Thomas goes home.” The duke nudged his chin toward the door and Mr. Haynes followed.
“I need to go after Tom,” Victor said.
“No, you don’t.”
“I can explain.”
“No. I don’t care what the hell went on here. You are a prince of the realm and beating up the help is not what someone of your rank does.”
“But I had to win or...”
“I said, I don’t care. Now go wash your face, pick up your coat, and take Jester for his daily trot. You have an animal to care for and you are shucking your responsibilities. You’re fifteen now, Victor. You’re a man. You must learn to do the right thing.”
But he was doing the right thing. He was fighting for that dog’s life. For his dog’s life.
He huffed and did his uncle’s bidding, for he was certain if he hadn’t, the king would hear of it as Uncle Louis and his father were the closest of brothers. The two only had each other. And if his father was told of the fight, then his mother would be told as well and the last thing he desired was to get hit with that damn chair rung she’d often use on him and his brothers.
Jester stuck his head over the stall sidewall.
Victor untethered the horse, walked him out of the stall, then mounted the animal and galloped out of the barn in search of that bastard Tom. He had to win his dog back.
He didn’t get far.
Halfway down the lane of shaded oaks, he spotted the puppy. Its small head dangled to one side, its body still and lifeless.
He cursed.
Never again was he going to lose.
At anything.
Ever.
Chapter One
1807
Frost Lake, Kingdom of Countavia
It was that damn dog all over again.
Only this time the dog was no dog at all, but the beautiful Charlotte Appleton, the hellion who’d disappeared on Victor for no reason whatsoever. And now he was on his way to spending the next four days with the woman he’d lost.
Bloody nuisance.
How could he have broken his own vow to himself? Losing was not his thing. Facing his loss—especially for four days at a house party to raise funds for charity where he was basically selling himself for said funds—was even less of his thing.
Damn his brother. “Kit should be the one wasting his hours at this ridiculous event and not me. He’s the one who insisted we move the festival to Frost Lake Hall.” He shivered as no number of blankets and coats could warm travelers in a carriage driving through this frozen tundra. Frost Lake was the highest—and coldest—point in all Countavia.
“It’s not a ridiculous event,” his brother Harry said from the other side of the coach. “Plus, what choice did Kit have? It’s not like he caused the fire at Uncle Louis’s castle. The charity event had to be moved.” For a twin, Harry wasn’t agreeing much with him lately.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m aware the raising of funds for the royal schools for children with learning disabilities is immensely important. The schools are paramount to our education system. If they’d had the funds when Leo was a boy, our brother would have fared far better than the suffering he’s had to endure. It’s the whole putting us on loan that I dislike. Why can’t we find another way to raise the funds rather than selling access to ourselves for a few days?”
“Now you sound exactly like Leo.”
“I take that as a compliment as Leopold is the only one of us seven who makes sense on the matter.” He paused and pushed his top hat further down the seat, the red leather tufting of the cushions a huge contrast to the hat’s black felt. “If nothing else, I am glad about getting in time with our little brother. Though I admit I wasn’t expecting Leo to remain housebound considering he’ll be living with guests he doesn’t want.”
Harry adjusted the wool blanket draped over his thighs. “Perhaps Phipps had a hand in the matter. The man does seem to do what is best for Leopold.”
On that, he agreed. What other butler would have taken care to send a letter to their half-way stop letting them know Leo hadn’t left Frost Lake Hall? Probably none.
Harry huffed. “Of course knowing Leopold, being in the same house with him doesn’t guarantee we’ll see him. He could very well stay in his rooms for the four days. You know how he dislikes a crowd.”
“True. Though I pray he’ll see fit to spend at least a few hours with us.” Leo never did recover from Parliament having spurned him at the young age of ten. Earning the satirical name, the Hibernating Bear, hadn’t help the matter any either. “It riles me every time I see one of those blasted caricatures of him in the newssheets. Those ignorant politicians don’t even know the loss they suffer by not accepting Leo, as his stutter is nothing compared to their flaws. They don’t deserve him.”
“I agree.”
He let out a long breath. At least Leopold had this frozen cocoon to which he could escape his enemies. His pug had none, not that he’d ever wish to compare his brother to a dog, but in some ways, they were the same, all seven of his brothers were—each wounded in one way or another. Though in his case his pain was the least of all, as his was an ache to the heart and not a physical scar. Not that it hurt any less, as even thirteen years’ time couldn’t eradicate the guilt of failing to save that puppy’s life. Losing was for cowards.
He shook his leg, tapped the heel of his boot against the carriage floor. He couldn’t help but think of Charlotte. What in the world could have prompted the woman to drop him as she had? Her sudden silence had tormented him for three long months and every time she’d come to mind, so too did that sinking feeling he’d experienced that day when he spotted his pug dead in the lane.
Harry bounded forward and grabbed Vic’s knee. “For the love God, Vic, stop that bloody jittering. It’s ringing out in my head like a chisel taken to stone.” He glared at him before returning to slouch against the seat.
His brother didn’t understand, which was surprising since they were twins and had always sorted out the other’s problems. Even when they were kids. “I can’t help myself.”
“We can always help ourselves.” Harry closed his eyes. “Besides, she’s just a woman. I’m sure she won’t be the first to break your heart.”
He should never have told Harrison that he still had feelings for Charlotte. “Well, thank you very much for thinking so highly of me.” He stretched his legs out in front of him, the dark blue velvet of his trousers disappearing under the polished black leather of his boots.
Harry fluttered his eyelids open. “You’re crowding my space.” He slammed his boot toe against Vic’s.
“You’re space? You’re damn lucky I even let your sorry arse in my carriage.”
“You’re really a prat this morning.”
As if Harry wasn’t. “No more than you.”
“That’s my right as the older brother.”
“Only by minutes. And who could blame me for not wanting to push through first? Everyone knows when a mother has twins, she fawns longer over the second born child. I won hands down in that lot in life.”
Harry kicked him in the calf.
“Ow!” Vic rubbed his leg but didn’t give Harrison the extra space he sought.
�
�You really need to stop with that ‘I will never lose’ shite.”
“I don’t lose.”
“You lost Charlotte.” Harry smirked as he relaxed against the seat, a look of contentment settling on his face.
“That was low. Even for you.”
Harry frowned. “You’re right. Sorry. But seriously, why is this one woman so damn important to you?”
“Because she ended our courtship without explanation.”
“Then why not just ask her about it? You’ll be spending the next four days with her, I’m sure you’ll get at least one chance to irritate her again.”
He couldn’t just walk up to Charlotte and demand to know why she had so suddenly stopped accepting his letters, refused him calling on her, and returned his gifts. That would be no different than troubling the woman and he wasn’t about to cause her any embarrassment at the house party. “I did not annoy her.”
“I beg to differ.” Harry peered down and adjusted his cravat. “You sent the woman two letters a day, four floral arrangements daily and since I don’t mind your every step, I have no idea how many times you went ‘round to Appleton House to call on her. But judging by the way you pressed the printers to practically work day and night procuring new calling cards for you, I’d say you more than proficiently irked the woman.”
“And what, pray tell, makes you the expert on relationships?”
A deep breath escaped Harry. “You don’t see me pining over a chit three months after she parted ways with me.”
“That’s because you spend six out of seven nights with your nose in a book rather than it nuzzled in the sweet warmth of a lady’s neck. You haven’t had a woman to pine over.”
Harry jerked forward, the look of sudden realization settling in his hazel eyes. “Holy Christopher, but you’re in love with Charlotte.” He slapped Vic on the thigh.
“Am not.” Love was for fools.
“Are too. Though I don’t know how I missed it before.”
His brother missed a lot of things these days, but him falling in love with Miss Appleton was not one of them. “I don’t love the woman.”
“If it isn’t love, then why are you still missing her?”
He picked a lose thread from his blue frock coat, then toyed with the cuff. “It’s simple. It’s like you said. I don’t care to lose.”
His brother quirked one brown eyebrow. “No. I think it’s more than that.”
“Is not.”
“Then win her back.”
Charlotte Appleton wasn’t a woman easily won the first time around, never mind win her again. Plus, if he was truly honest with himself, it was more than simply losing her that pained him. He did indeed like the woman. But Harry did not need to know the small fact, or he’d never hear the end of it.
Vic stared out the window and watched the snow fall. He and Charlotte had spent many days in the window seat in his sitting room at Baine Palace watching the snow blanket the city. He missed those hours. “I don’t think winning her back is possible.”
“Of course it is. All women are winnable. All you have to do is make her think you’re someone you’re not. Make her believe you’re a charming prince while also making her think you’re not interested.”
“But I am charming. And I am interested, though not in love.” Again, he lied on the latter.
“That may be—the interested part, not the whole charming prince bit—but you have to seem disinterested. Women are strange creatures. They always want what they can’t have.”
He doubted that’s how Charlotte worked. But perhaps Harry did have a point, albeit a minor one. Maybe he had shown too much gusto the first time around. Afterall, it couldn’t hurt to try to win back Miss Appleton. She never did give him a reason for her sudden change of heart and to this day he hadn’t read or heard rumors about a new man in her life. What did he have to lose?
“I propose a wager,” Harry said.
“On what?”
“On you winning back Miss Appleton.”
Affairs of the heart were nothing to toy with, least of all bet on. “I’m not wagering on love.”
“I know you, Vic. You truly don’t like to lose, so I’ll play to your favor. One hundred dollars says you’ll win the lady back by the end of the Winter Charity Festival.”
“I will not bet on Charlotte.”
“Fine. Then I’ll engage Leo. I’m sure he’ll be up for the wager, though he’ll probably feel the same as me.”
“You do realize I can easily avoid Miss Appleton and just take your money.”
“True, but you won’t. You’re not a cheat, Vic.”
No, he wasn’t, and the sentiment was damn annoying.
The carriage rolled to a stop in front of Frost Lake Hall.
Harry bounded up, his blanket tossed to the floor, his body out the door before the footman even pulled down the carriage steps. Though to be fair, with him and Harry both teetering a tad above six-foot-four, the leap down wasn’t that far.
He gathered Harrison’s fallen blanket and returned it to the seat across from him.
Fear struck his soul. What if Charlotte didn’t want him back? What if she was having a secret relationship that no one knew about?
Closing his eyes, he recalled every last minute of the last day he and Charlotte had spent together. What the bloody hell had he done to the woman that had made her want to push him away? For the life of him, he couldn’t think of one good reason. And that hurt.
He opened his eyes and stared out at Frost Lake Hall with its grand entrance opened wide as if some magnificent treasure waited inside ready to suck him into its wonders. Wonders he knew he could never have back again.
Christ. Never did he think the day would come where he feared hearing the truth from Charlotte, but apparently, said moment had arrived. He had half the mind to turn around and head back to Landon and forgo this whole house party all together. And to make things worse, he hadn’t even had his valet with him due to Weatherstone having broken his leg this morning. He shouldn’t have left the man. Maybe going home was best.
“You can’t win her back if you’ve frozen to death,” Harry called from the gravel path leading to the Hall’s front door.
Vic cursed under his breath. If he survived this weekend it would be a miracle. And that had nothing to do with Miss Appleton and everything to do with his irksome twin. He exited the carriage and caught up with His-Royal-Know-It-All.
His brother slapped him on the back. “I’m going to enjoy this little wager.”
“Do not interfere, Harrison. I’m warning you or it won’t be a fair bet.”
“I’ll up the total by half if I catch you two in an embrace...or worse.”
“I thought you were wagering that I’d succeed in winning back Miss Appleton?”
“I am, and a compromising situation will guarantee my winning, as you’re not the sort to ruin a woman and then up and leave her. Another fifty says you’ll only waste an hour or so before losing all resolve. I’ll even steal the key to that lodge Leo keeps locked up, so you can have all the privacy you and Charlotte want.”
Anger flared in his veins. “Sod off, Harry.” He did not need his brother making a mess of this for him.
Harry hugged him close. “Loosen up and enjoy yourself for once. This is the first time we’ve had in monthys to forget about that nasty anti-monarchist business. And I for one plan on taking full advantage of the option. You should too.”
Forgetting about the kingdom’s problems, especially the fact that a serial killer was on the run and murdering the realm’s highest-ranking peers, wasn’t something easily erased from one’s mind. “I won’t let my guard down. I can’t.”
“Then you can worry over it in my stead, because I need this distraction. Though I do suggest you give that compromising position some serious thought. It might just be what you and Charlotte need.” Harrison gave the gravel drive a good tap with his walking stick, then took off for the Hall’s front entrance, leaving Vic in shocked si
lence.
He’d never ruin Charlotte. But he wouldn’t mind teaching his brother a lesson or two. Damn you, Harry.
Vic flipped his hat onto his head. Coming here this weekend was indeed a mistake. And not because he was about to spend four days selling himself to a group of pompous aristocrats who were willing to open their purses for the right to brag about attending a house party with the Princes Harrison and Victor. But rather because now all he could think about was taking the enchanted Charlotte to bed.
Damn me to Hell.
He prayed to God his resolve held up.
THE DECISION TO ACCOMPANY her parents to Frost Lake Hall was not looking to be the promising idea Charlotte Appleton originally had thought it to be. In fact, it was probably her daftest move ever as she would never have agreed to come if it was announced early on that Prince Victor was to be one of the charity event’s hosts. That knowledge came only after it was too late to change one’s mind on attending the party.
And to make matters worse, not only was her mother working feverishly at getting her to rekindle her relationship with Prince Victor, but the woman also had the compliance of her sister, the one and very opinionated, Mrs. Jane Woodbury. Mother alone would have been enough to contend with this weekend, but she had the glorious benefit of having to deal with both women. And Aunt wasn’t any easier than Mother.
She shook her head, disbelief rattling her brain. Hopefully, her mother won’t make her seem the total arse over the next few days. The woman’s knack for accentuating things was unrivaled.
With a sigh, Charlotte studied the gowns her maid had laid out across the bed, a whiff of violet coming off the garments. It was never any fragrance other than violet, as that was her favorite scent and the only one she’d ever worn. “I don’t know which to choose, Rose. I’m inclined to go with the primrose gown for tonight’s dinner, but I know Mother. She’ll complain unless I wear the cerulean one because she believes it brings out just the right hue of blue in my eyes. And we both know she’s going to be all about pairing me up with Prince Victor.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Sometimes I think that is why Mother insisted we make this house party. I don’t believe she’s concerned for the royal schools at all.”
Unwrapping a Rogue: A Christmas Regency Boxset Page 67