The Reluctant Princess

by Raye Morgan

  The trouble was, you didn’t get those where they were going. For that, they would have to stay up here in the mountains. She’d never had a Christmas like that herself. So where did she get the sense that it was the ideal? She sighed. Somehow she would make her baby’s Christmas special. She would find a way.

  “Do you want to go back to your apartment before we head out?” Jake asked her.

  She smiled. She thought it was interesting how completely he was invested in this trip already. “No,” she said. “I didn’t leave much behind and I’m fully paid up for the month.” She stopped, suddenly anxious. “What did you do to Dr. Harve?” she asked as she realized he must have done something to get the address of where she was going. “Do you think we should go back and check on him?”

  Jake barely met her gaze before his skittered off again. “No,” he said shortly. “I’m sure he’s okay.”

  “Uh-huh.” She shook her head, but she really didn’t want to know the details. “And how about you? Are you okay? You put that body through a lot today. Maybe you should have a day of rest before trying to travel.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed. “I’m ready to go when you are. We can be in Dorcher Cliffs by dinner time.”

  “Really?” She wrinkled her nose. “How are we planning to do this?”

  He looked astonished that she didn’t understand that already. “On the motorcycle of course.”

  “Oh?” Her eyebrows rose. “That sounds exciting. Do we each get our own motorcycle?”

  He frowned as though he thought she was being silly on purpose. “No. You’ll be riding behind me, holding on for dear life.”

  She was beginning to realize he really meant it and her eyes got very wide. “On that crummy little thing?” she said, looking out to where he’d locked it to a lamppost.

  “Sure. It can handle the load. I’ll be careful.”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was speechless.

  “It’s a fine little machine,” he said quickly, reassuring her. “It’ll get us there, don’t worry.”

  She stared at him, trying to picture what they would look like flying down the highway. “But…but how will I carry Dede and hold on at the same time?”

  “No problem. We’ll tie you on. And put Dede in that sling carrier you have and strap her to you. It’ll be fine.”

  “Tie me on?”

  “Sure. It’s the only way that will work. No one will pay any attention to us. We’ll be instantly incognito.”

  She let out a sigh that was more exasperation than anything else. “Because only fools would ride that way?”

  He grinned as though he thought she finally got it. “Something like that.”

  “Wonderful.” Her sarcasm was showing, just a little bit.

  He frowned, realizing she really wasn’t with the program just yet. “Do you have a better idea?”

  She shrugged, wishing she could think of something, fast. “We could take the bus. That’s how we got here about six weeks ago. The bus is pretty incognito, too.”

  His scowl showed her what he thought of that idea. “Not incognito enough. We need to fly under the radar.”

  She shook her head, at a loss. “Why?”

  He hesitated, realizing that was a pretty good question. “Because I’m illegal and you’re a runaway princess. Don’t you think those are a couple of pretty good reasons?”

  Shaking her head, she gave in. Despite all he’d been through, he was the one with more energy, more spunk left. She just felt wrung out and lifeless. She needed to get where she could relax again, something she hadn’t done in weeks.

  And so she gave him the answer he was waiting for. “All right. I’m ready. What do I do?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE snow began as they were leaving the city.

  “Don’t worry,” Kim told Jake. “It never snows in Dorcher Cliffs, or anywhere down near the shore. We’ll be out of this soon.”

  Famous last words.

  The bike was steady, but not very fast. As they chugged along, it began to snow even harder. Jake was right about one thing—they were incognito—hidden by the driving snow. There wasn’t anyone else on the road to see them, anyway. Most people wisely stayed indoors.

  Kim wasn’t sure she would make it. Every mile seemed more and more excruciating. The wind whipped her face, snow matted in her hair, her ears were frozen. She had to hold Dede so tightly, she kept wondering if she was about to smother her in all the cloth and binding. What on earth had she let herself in for? This was pure misery. They had to go back.

  She let Jake know how she felt when they came to a pause at a crossroads. At first he tried words of encouragement.

  “Just think of pioneer women in the American West,” he told her cheerfully. “Crossing the snow-covered Sierras in little rickety wagons.”

  “At least they had some protection from the elements,” she noted rather sharply.

  “Not a whole lot. Besides, this is only going to last for a few hours, not days or weeks like their journey did.”

  It was obvious he was having the time of his life. He seemed to thrive in the freezing cold wind. Snowflakes stuck to his eyelashes, making him look even more rakish than usual, and his eyes were shining with adventure. But once he’d looked back into her face, he seemed to realize her complaint was no passing fancy.

  He pulled over as they came up to a small shed ahead, pulling out of the weather as much as he could and turning to look at her again.

  “If you’re really this miserable, we’d better do something about it,” he said soberly.

  She looked up at him in surprise. Something about his willingness to see her side of things made her feel much better.

  “We could find a farmhouse,” he suggested. “There have to be a few near here. And maybe they would let us in for a bit. Once the snow lets up, we could go on, or turn back, whichever seems best at the time.”

  She studied his serious face, wondering how she could ever have thought he looked like a man filled with hate. He seemed to be ready to accommodate her in any way she needed.

  “No, you know what?” she said, shocking even herself. “I can do this. I’m just letting myself sink into whining a bit. I’m over it now.” After all, the main thing was to get home so she could think things through and decide what she was going to do about finding a doctor for Dede.

  He frowned, searching her eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “As long as Dede’s okay, I can do this.”

  He glanced down at the baby and smiled. “Okay. Let me know if it gets to be too much.” He looked at her speculatively. “We might find an inn, you know. If we do, we’ll stop.”

  She shook her head. “The only inn I know of along this road gets a little wild at night. Let’s just push on through. We wouldn’t want to stop there.”

  Wrong again. The one thing she didn’t anticipate was that Dede would be so hungry after the crazy day she’d had that she would let fussing turn into outright crying. That was unusual for her. So was the wrestling match she was trying to have with the sling and everything else that got in her way. Then Kim remembered that she’d only fed her once since lunch. In time, the struggle was just too much and Kim had to ask Jake to stop again.

  “We’re going to have to pull over,” she called out to Jake.

  “Look,” he said. “The inn is just ahead. Why don’t we go in there and get warm for a bit before we go on?”

  Despite her reservations about the place, the prospect of getting warm sounded like heaven.

  “We’ll just go in and get a little cup of soup to warm us up and we’ll be on our way again,” Jake suggested. “Meanwhile you can get that little fussbudget fed.”

  Once inside,
Kim’s spirits started to rise. Waves of warmth enveloped them, and then the happy sounds of patrons singing songs and engaging in some good-natured teasing that included a lot of laughter. It seemed a crowded, cheerful scene. A lot of the men looked like they’d only been out of the army for a short time, and some still wore their uniforms—Granvilli green was everywhere.

  Once inside the pub, they found a table in the far corner and Jake left them to go to the bar and order a couple of cups of chowder. He was back with the soup moments later, sliding into his seat, turning his face away from the crowd and pulling up his hood over his head.

  “Wouldn’t you know it?” he said to her. “The one place I see someone I know from the other side and it has to be here and now.”

  “What?” she asked, alarmed.

  His face was grim. “There’s someone here who knows me.”

  She drew in a sharp breath. “Where?”

  “See that bunch by the fireplace? The tall fellow with the purple scarf?”

  She looked where he’d directed her. A group of three or four men were gathered in front of the fire, each holding a drink. They seemed to be having a great time together. She picked out the one Jake was talking about and noted he seemed to have a roving eye as he kept track of every buxom waitress who passed him.

  “Who is he?” she asked him.

  “Hiram Bounce. He was actually one of my lieutenants at the beginning of the war.” His face darkened. “He got caught sleeping with another officer’s wife and he defected before his court martial. I thought he’d gone to the continent, but it seems he ended up here in Granvilli territory.”

  She nodded. He seemed the type. “He hasn’t seen you, has he?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What do you think he’ll do if he does?”

  Jake shrugged. “Act like he’s glad to see me and turn me in behind my back.”

  She sighed. “Then we’d better make sure he doesn’t see you.”

  He turned and looked out, being careful to stay under his hood as much as he could. “That is getting harder and harder to imagine,” he noted. “He and his group are edging closer and closer to the pathway in front of the door.. That’s going to make getting out of here a problem.”

  She chewed on her lip for a moment, thinking it over. Luckily, there were enough people milling around in the room to give them cover for the time being. But Jake was right. There was no way he was going to be able to walk past the man to the doorway and not be noticed.

  “What are we going to do?”

  He shook his head, eyes troubled. “We can’t stay here in this booth all night.”

  She nodded. “Maybe we could leave through the kitchen?” she suggested, but once they took a look at that route, they knew it wouldn’t work. The way the waiters came barreling in and out through the swinging doors left no room for sneaking.

  They ate their soup and it was wonderful, warming them from the inside while the heat of the fire warmed them on the outside. She fed Dede, which put her back to sleep. And then they watched Hiram and his friends laugh and joke and down more alcohol and wondered what to do.

  Finally, Kim made a decision.

  “Okay. How do I look?” She turned her face toward him and lifted her chin for examination.

  “How do you look?” He gazed at her, puzzled. “Beautiful, as always. Why?”

  “No, I’m serious. How do I look? My hair is all wet and the snow has washed off all my makeup. So how bad is it?”

  He shook his head, bemused by her words. “Kim, hasn’t anyone ever told you that you have a luminous quality that shines right through all that?”

  She smiled at him. “You’re being very sweet, but not very helpful. I need to know if men are going to find me attractive.”

  He almost laughed aloud at that one. “In a word, yes.”

  “Okay.” She began to gather things together. “You take Dede and just skulk around the outskirts of the crowd, going that way.” She pointed it out. “Just lie low until I create enough of a distraction so that you can slip out through the door without anyone paying any attention to you.”

  He frowned. “Wait a minute. What exactly do you have in mind?”

  “I’m going to make a brave attempt to be captivating enough to draw the men’s attention. Wish me luck. In my bedraggled condition, I’m going to need it.”

  He frowned, looking stubborn. “I don’t know. I don’t like you putting yourself in jeopardy like that.”

  She gave him a look of pure exasperation. “Oh come on! I can do this. You don’t think I can do anything, do you?”

  He looked shocked at such a suggestion. “Of course I do. I know how talented you are. I just don’t think you ought to waste those talents.”

  “Come on.” She gave him a bright smile. “Let’s do it.”

  Jake was still reluctant. He turned and glanced at the men over his shoulder.

  “They’ve all had a few by now. What happens if they don’t let you go?” He turned back and looked at her. “What if they get a little too friendly, too fast?”

  He had a point. The war had made everyone just a little bit harder, a little coarser, and a lot more difficult to deal with. But she put on a good front.

  “I grew up in the castle. I know how to handle myself around a group of rowdy men.”

  He watched her for a moment and then a slow smile began to grow. “I imagine you do,” he admitted at last, his gaze traveling so slowly over her face, it was almost caressing her cheek.

  She smiled back. He’d done something to save her baby today. Now she hoped she could do something to help him.

  Still, her heart was beating like a drum as she sidled up to the revelers. She’d talked big to Jake, but she wasn’t sure just how rusty she might be at this sort of thing. She waited until Jake seemed to be at just the right angle across the room, holding Dede and getting ready to charge out the door, and then she made her move.

  “Hey guys,” she said, flouncing in the midst of the three and flashing her smile all around. “Is this a private party or can anybody join?”

  Hiram was the only one she really focused on and he appeared startled, then immensely pleased.

  “We’ve got special openings for girls as pretty as you, sweetheart,” he said, leaning toward her. “What’s on your mind?”

  She gave him a flirtatious look. “My friend and I were just wondering how late you guys were going to be hanging around. We have an obligation we have to take care of, but if you’re still going to be here in an hour or so, we thought we might come back and see what sort of celebration we can work our way up to.”

  All three men were practically drooling with anticipation by now.

  “Any time, baby.”

  “Hey, if there’s not a party when you get back, we’ll make one happen for you.”

  But it was Hiram who noted something missing. “Where’s your friend?” he asked, looking in the direction she’d come from and not seeing anyone interesting.

  “She’s…uh…” Kim craned her neck in the direction she wanted the men to look. “Well, she’s back there somewhere. We were sitting at that booth.”

  From the corner of her eye she could see Jake beginning to sidle toward the doorway.

  “Which booth?” Hiram began to frown, as though suspicious, and she felt her heartbeat stutter.

  “That one,” she said, pointing.

  But Hiram was turning back. “I don’t see her,” he said, and his position was turned enough to see the doorway, just what she didn’t want.

  Jake was almost there. She had to do something fast.

  “Well, come on,” she said, reaching out quickly to take his arm and turn him away from the door. “Let’s go look. She’s got
to be back here somewhere.”

  So now she had him by the arm and he was looking down at her as though he couldn’t believe his luck.

  “Hey, never mind. What do we need with her when we’ve got you?”

  She knew her answering smile was a little shaky, but she gave it all she could. Jake had to be out the door by now. She risked a quick look over her shoulder.

  Nope, he was still there. A woman with a large puff of red hair had stopped him, wanting to see the baby. Kim whipped her head back around and went back to pretending to be fascinated by Hiram, but all she could think about was Jake, and silently, she was urging him to hurry.

  All three men were saying things to her but she had gone beyond hearing them, so she just smiled and nodded and prayed Jake was gone by now. She held out as long as she could, then finally let herself steal another look.

  Relief flooded her. He was gone.

  “Hey, you know what?” she told her new friends. “I think my girlfriend has gone out and is waiting for me outside. I’m going to have to go. But we’ll be back. You can count on that.”

  She flashed them each a quick smile and started for the door, hurrying, hoping.

  But she wasn’t going to get away so easily. Hiram was right by her side, slipping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a slimy smile that seemed to mean he was claiming her as his own.

  “Hey, I’ll go out with you,” he said, hugging her closer than she liked as they left the room and went into the foyer. “I want to meet this friend. Is she as pretty as you?”

  Her heart was in her throat. Now that her mission was accomplished, how was she going to shake this guy?

  “Prettier,” she said automatically, then glanced up at him and felt a shudder coming on. “But she’s not for now, honey.”

  Pulling away from him, she pushed him back into the room.

  “You just wait here. We’ll be back.”

  Turning, she opened the door and the blast of cold air coming in from outside almost set her back on her heels. But even worse, Hiram was back again by her side, worse than a bad penny.