Yes, it absolutely was.
“You’d make a terrible spy, Your Highness,” Jacob quipped from the corner of his mouth. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Would you like a visit to the dungeons, Lauer?”
Jacob’s soft chuckle made Christopher want to plant him a facer.
They came to a stop before Harriet and Lady Lucia and try as he might, Christopher couldn’t seem to stop his gaze from devouring the lady whole.
God, she got more beautiful every time he saw her. How was that even possible?
He raked his eyes over her, landing on the aqua depths of her own, and damned if his heart didn’t stutter.
He couldn’t stop remembering those eyes glazed with wonder, shining with passion.
“Sweetheart, weren’t you supposed to be resting?”
Jacob’s voice sounded beside Christopher, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from Lady Lucia. He watched in rapt fascination as her cheeks turned the most becoming shade of pink, and he found himself desperate to know what put it there.
“I was.” Harriet sounded slightly defensive. “I was stretching my legs when I ran into Lucy. She’s taken pity on me and has agreed to keep me company.”
Lucy.
Christopher’s heart squeezed at the name.
Had it been only days ago that he’d thought Lucia didn’t suit her? Lucy was much better. Pretty and less reserved. It was a perfect fit.
And why did he care what the girl was called?
“It’s my pleasure,” Lucia – Lucy – interjected, smiling shyly at Jacob. “I’ve been cooped up for three days. I’m grateful for the company.”
As soon as she spoke, her eyes flew back to Christopher, and the blush on her cheeks grew deeper still.
Was she remembering just what had happened between them three days ago? He sure as hell was.
“Harriet mentioned you’d been ill. I hope that you’re recovered?”
“Quite. Thank you.”
Jacob’s friendly enquiry made Christopher feel like a heel.
He was the Crown Prince. The supposed charming ruler of this land. Yet he hadn’t spoken a word or enquired after the girl.
She wasn’t to know that he’d practically interrogated Lady Penelope every evening to check on her.
And in doing so, he was worried he’d given the girl some sort of false hope in his interest.
That was why he’d asked Princess Sylvie to join him this morning.
And that was why he would pay particular attention to Duchess Dorothea this evening.
He didn’t want to give any of the ladies from the list any sort of hope. Not until he’d decided on one of them.
“His Highness and I were just finishing up a meeting. Why don’t we join you for tea?”
Christopher’s head spun toward Jacob so quickly he was surprised it didn’t snap clean off.
Jacob had a strangely smug smile playing around his mouth.
When had he lost the run of his own life to his meddling brother-in-law? He would refuse, of course.
He was the ruler of Aldonia.
He didn’t have time to sit around drinking tea with ladies that he was not interested in.
Turning to refuse such a ridiculous suggestion, he spotted Lady Lucia’s eyes widen. He was fascinated by the green-blue depths. Just as he was fascinated by the rosebud lips that popped open on a surprised, “Oh.”
“Christopher, I’ve never known you to take time out of your day to have tea.”
“That’s because I don’t take time out of my day to have tea,” he bit out.
Harriet rolled her eyes, but Christopher was concentrating on Lady Lucia’s reaction.
Her shoulders dropped on an exhale, and he could see the relief stamped across her face.
And surprisingly, he found himself curious about her reaction.
Why was she relieved?
Was his company so unpleasant to her? Most people would walk over hot coals for the opportunity to take tea with the Crown Prince of Aldonia.
Maybe – just maybe – she was relieved because she too felt the strange pull between them. The attraction that was as unwelcome as it was undeniable.
Was she unable to forget that explosive kiss just like he was?
A devil of mischief awoke inside him. One he’d never experienced before.
“However, there’s a first time for everything. Lead the way.”
As he’d suspected, Lady Lucia’s face dropped.
Perhaps he should be insulted, but all he felt was amused.
He shouldn’t care, but he wanted to know exactly what the lady’s problem was with spending time with him.
Jacob was a master at reading people. Perhaps he’d have some ideas.
The ladies walked ahead, Lady Lucia far more subdued than she had been, and Christopher turned to Jacob.
But instead of watching Lady Lucia, Jacob was watching him. And the look of amused speculation on his brother-in-law’s face was enough to make Christopher think that this might not have been his best idea after all.
“Lord Travers seems positively enamoured of your sister, my dear. I shouldn’t be surprised if he offers for her.”
Lucy, determined to keep her attention on the princess and not the prince, who was quietly watching her from the window, smiled and sipped her tea.
Ever since they’d entered Princess Harriet’s sitting room, he’d watched her.
He hadn’t spoken. Just watched.
And rather than make her uncomfortable, it awoke that delicious dangerous feeling inside of her. The one that she only ever felt with him.
When he’d agreed to join them for tea, she’d almost died. The very last thing she’d expected or wanted today was to spend her time with him.
And yet…
She couldn’t deny the excitement, just as she couldn’t deny the impact he had on her heart.
It was foolish. Madness! Utterly insane.
And completely undeniable.
“She seems rather fond of the gentleman, too, I think,” she answered now as steadily as she could.
“He is of excellent lineage, of course,” the princess continued. “I’m sure your father would be well pleased with the match.”
“I’m not sure he’d notice,” Lucy blurted before she could think better of it. “Or even care.”
Princess Harriet blinked in surprise, and Lucy felt her stomach drop.
When would she learn to keep her thoughts to herself?
She felt her cheeks heat and couldn’t resist looking toward Prince Christopher.
Her heart skittered as she realised that he was staring at her. It felt as though he were staring right into her soul.
But he didn’t look displeased or disapproving, as she would have thought. More intrigued and even, she noticed with a jolt, sympathetic.
“Fathers are rarely concerned with their daughters,” Princess Harriet said softly.
“Or their sons.”
Once again, Lucy’s gaze shot back to the prince at the bitter words.
He was still staring at her, but this time she felt an affinity with him. As though he truly understood what it was to have a disinterested father.
Yet, how could that be?
How long Lucy sat there mesmerised by his dark gaze she couldn’t have said. All she knew was that the very air between them seemed to shift. Fill with that something that surrounded her whenever he was around.
Eventually, the sound of a throat clearing dragged her mind back to the present, and she turned to see Princess Harriet eyeing her speculatively and Mr. Lauer grinning from ear to ear.
“Sweetheart, you’re looking tired. Would you perhaps like to rest before tonight’s party?”
Lucy frowned at the sudden change of subject, even though she was grateful to Mr. Lauer for breaking the odd tension.
As she watched, an unspoken communication seemed to take place between the couple, and Princess Harriet turned to Lucy with an apologetic smile.
“I’m afraid this little prince or princess knows how to tire me out,” she said to Lucy. “Would you mind terribly if I rested awhile?”
“Of course,” Lucy said, too polite to question the princess’s sudden bizarre behaviour. Even Lucy knew it was rather unorthodox to essentially throw one’s guests out.
Princess Harriet smiled serenely before turning to face Prince Christopher.
“Christopher, do please, escort Lady Lucia back to the guest quarters. You know how maze-like the palace is. I should hate for her to get lost.”
Lucy felt her cheeks positively scald once again in the presence of the prince.
Whatever skills Mr. Lauer may have, and according to Princess Harriet they were plentiful, subtlety was not one of them.
Clearly, he and the princess had been plotting. Lucy felt a grudging respect for their ability to cook up their scheme without speaking a word to each other.
She didn’t want to look in the prince’s direction.
She hadn’t spent any time even near him, let alone with him since he’d kissed her.
Please refuse, please refuse, please refuse she prayed inside her head.
He was the Crown Prince. He could be as rude as he liked and nobody would be able to do anything about it.
And he’d never hesitated to be rude to her before.
The silence after Princess Harriet’s request was excruciating.
Finally, when Lucy couldn’t bear it anymore, she looked at him.
He was glaring at his sister, and Lucy’s stomach flipped with humiliation.
She wasn’t going to sit there and allow him to refuse. She’d have to just make her apologies and run. There was nothing else for it.
Lucy jumped to her feet, making a show of brushing out her lavender skirts, so she wouldn’t have to look any of them in the eye.
What did she think she was doing in any case? Lucia Allenwood simply wasn’t cut out for taking tea with royalty.
Before she could open her mouth however, Prince Christopher spoke.
“I’d be happy to,” he said quietly. Simply. With no sign of frustration or anger. With no inflection at all, in fact, so Lucy couldn’t even guess at his mood or thoughts.
She found herself staring mutely at him.
“Wonderful.” Princess Harriet stood and walked to where Mr. Lauer held out an arm to her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Mr. Lauer turned at Prince Christopher’s question.
“I’m seeing that my wife is settled comfortably. Did you need an escort to escort the lady?”
Lucy looked uneasily between the prince and his brother-in-law.
She didn’t know much about Prince Christopher, save that he was brooding, arrogant, and untruthful about who he was. Oh, and that his kisses shifted the entire world on its axis, and he made her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before in her life.
But she couldn’t imagine he was the type to take kindly to flippant remarks and even teasing from anybody. Even his brother-in-law.
But as she watched them she saw another of those secret, silent little communications go on. And after a tense few moments, the prince sighed and shook his head slightly.
“Of course, I don’t need an escort,” he barked. “Be in my office in an hour.”
Lucy’s confusion only grew after the odd exchange.
Mr. Lauer looked smugly pleased with himself. Princess Harriet looked delighted and amused in equal measure.
And Prince Christopher –
Lucy swallowed as she took in his scowl as he offered her his arm.
Well, Prince Christopher looked as though he’d swallowed a hive of wasps.
Lucy felt a spurt of anger at his obvious displeasure.
It wasn’t as though she’d asked him to accompany her. The palace was cavernous, but she was perfectly capable of finding her own way.
She wanted to turn on her heel and march away from him.
She wanted to tell him exactly what she thought of him and his unpleasantness.
But she couldn’t. He was royalty. The ruler of Aldonia and owner of the palace where she was currently a guest.
Lucy might struggle with certain societal norms sometimes, but she knew she couldn’t be rude to a prince. Even one who deserved it.
While she stood there staring at his arm, the prince sighed wearily.
“Are you quite ready, my lady?” he asked in a tone that was nothing less than thoroughly fed up.
And all of Lucy’s intentions to act appropriately and subservient to the prince went right out the window.
“I’m sure you’re very busy, Your Highness,” she sniffed. “Far too busy to escort me. I won’t get lost. I can manage just fine without you.”
And without another word to any of them, she turned and marched away just like she’d wanted to.
Chapter Fifteen
Christopher stared at the door, shock rooting him to the spot.
He tried to remember a time he’d had someone ignore him or walk out on him, and couldn’t, for the life of him, think of even one.
He was Prince Christopher of Aldonia, damn it! Why did that seem to matter to everyone but her?
A giggle sounded behind him, and Christopher turned to see Harriet look positively delighted that someone had walked off on him.
Even Jacob had a stupid grin on his face.
“Don’t just stand there, Christopher. You’re losing her.”
“I’m not going to chase a madwoman through my palace.” Christopher sniffed, feeling uncharacteristically defensive.
“She’s not a madwoman!” Harriet exclaimed. “She just didn’t seem all that impressed with your arrogance.”
Christopher scowled at his traitorous sister.
Was he arrogant? Perhaps. But he was also busy and important and didn’t have time to go running after distractingly beautiful girls.
“I’m sure she’ll find her way unescorted,” he answered now, refusing to rise to Harriet’s bait. “There are guards and servants everywhere. How much trouble could she get into?”
Even as he asked the question, however, his mind raced with how much trouble she could, in fact, get into. He’d never met anyone so capable of attracting trouble.
“You’re right, of course, Your Highness,” Jacob answered smoothly. “There’s more than one gentleman here who’d be more than happy to steal a few moments with the lady, should they happen upon her all alone. And if she comes across the Count of Tresdon, that man will most certainly –”
Christopher didn’t even wait for Jacob to finish.
As soon as he mentioned Tresdon, a jealous protectiveness burst through him and had him moving to the door before he was even conscious of it.
He was very conscious of Jacob’s laughter following him from the room, however.
Just as he was conscious that his behaviour was becoming as obvious as it was problematic.
Yet, it didn’t stop him from running after her, lest she run into someone she didn’t want to.
Or worse still, run into someone she did want to.
Tresdon had clearly been a problem. But what of the other young men here? What of the earls, and counts, dukes, and marquesses who were in the market for a bride?
There wasn’t a man alive who wouldn’t want the red-haired, aqua-eyed siren as a wife.
Excepting him.
Only, Christopher demanded honesty of himself as he strode down the corridor, that wasn’t true.
Christopher the man would move heaven and earth to have her.
But Christopher the Crown Prince knew that it was impossible.
A flash of colour caught his eye, and he came to a slow stop.
Lady Lucia was standing in the glass corridor that ran between the private quarters of the palace and the part that housed guest rooms and official offices.
It was an architectural quirk that Christopher had never been overly fond of, though it was Harriet’s favourite place in the palace.
; However now, with the afternoon sunlight streaming in and lighting Lucia’s hair to fiery reds and burnished golds and lighting the smooth, unblemished contours of her face, he had a sudden appreciation for it.
She was exquisite. A vision.
And he was in more trouble than he’d ever been in his life.
Lucy sensed the arrival of Prince Christopher before she heard his footsteps.
Anger and embarrassment had fuelled her escape from him back in Princess Harriet’s chambers.
But she couldn’t resist stopping to take in the view from this corridor. Princess Harriet had told Lucy of Mr. Lauer’s wonderful proposal here at the same spot that she’d first seen him as a child.
It was too romantic for Lucy to resist, and she’d stood staring into the courtyard that had led Princess Harriet’s destiny.
The princess had mentioned her brothers being there the day she’d first seen her future husband. And Lucy’s heart had stuttered alarmingly at the idea of Prince Christopher resplendent in the Aldonian army blues.
She’d been standing there caught up in the vision of him when she’d felt his approach.
“You move quite quickly for one so small, Lady Lucia.”
Lucy turned to face him.
“You didn’t have to come after me, Your Highness. As I said, I am quite capable of making my own way to my rooms without any damage being done.”
Prince Christopher stared at her for what felt like an age. She didn’t know why. Nor did she know if he was particularly happy with what he saw in her face.
All she knew was that the longer he stood there staring, the more that wicked, wanton something unfurled inside her.
It made her feel hot and shivery all at once. Like her skin was on fire just from those dark, sinful eyes boring into her soul.
She was petrified. And excited. And insane to be feeling either of those things.
“Forgive me if I don’t quite agree with that, my lady. After all, how do I know one of my vases wouldn’t have taken your fancy along the way?”
Lucy frowned in confusion at his cryptic remark.
She couldn’t read his mood. It seemed almost – playful. Yet, she knew that would be impossible.
“Your vases?” she repeated uncertainly.
“My vases,” he repeated. “Don’t forget, I know about your secret penchant for thievery, Lucy. You can hardly expect me to trust you alone in my palace.”
Redeeming A Royal (The Royals of Aldonia Book 3) Page 10