phantom knights 04 - deceit in delaware

by Amalie Vantana

  “I have been in service to his majesty since I was a child, milady.”

  “You have been companions with Eric for that amount of time?”

  “From the day of my arrival, yes. I have been fortunate that the prince has deemed me worthy of his friendship.”

  The ladies in waiting were sewing at a table nearby, but I knew that they were watching and listening to our interchange. Where Lady Elisabeth’s questions were heading I did not know, until she asked me what Eric was like as a boy. It struck me at once how it must have been for her. She knew little of Eric before coming to Lutania and now it was her duty to marry him and to live in our land, making it her home. I could have looked upon this interview as unnecessary womanly emotions, considering that regardless of what I told her it was her duty to marry Eric, but I remembered my first day in the palace. If it had not been for Eric befriending me, I do not believe that I would have succeeded as well as I had.

  Knowing Eric’s growing infatuation with Lady Elisabeth, I saw this as a way to assist my friend to gain the lady’s favor.

  Telling her about the first time that Eric and I had snuck out of the palace had her gasping and then laughing.

  Having convinced Eric to come with me, we got out of the palace unnoticed during the king’s birthday ball. We ran past the gardens to the field where the fireworks were to be lit. While the men were taking a break, Eric kept guard while I stole a torch and one of the fireworks. We took it a little ways away from the men and lit it. Unfortunately it was too heavy for my small arms to carry and I did not get the stick in the ground properly. When lit, it zipped directly toward the palace.

  We thought we were going to burn down the palace, as did the men whose duty it was to light the fireworks. The firework did not hit the palace but exploded in the garden. The popping brought the guests out onto the terrace. They thought they were watching the beginning of the fireworks display. The king knew better.

  When Eric and I were taken into the palace, Eric took the blame, assuring his father that it had been his doing and that I had only been keeping guard. The king knew the truth, but he never chastised me, or, as I expected, threw me into the dungeon.

  That night Eric had gained my undying devotion. After I was sent to my bedchamber without supper, Eric snuck down to my chamber near the kitchen and brought me a pastry from the party. I swore to him that I would always be there to protect him and where he went I would follow.

  “You have manners beyond those of a palace guard,” Lady Elisabeth mentioned. “Does your mother work in the palace?”

  “No, milady, for she departed this world during an influenza that swept through the land when I was a babe. It was Eric—forgive me, Prince Eric—who assisted me in my learning. He bartered with his tutor to do his lessons without complaint if the tutor agreed to teach me as well.”

  “The king allowed you to learn with the prince?” asked one of the ladies in waiting abruptly. When Elisabeth turned her gaze upon the young woman, her cheeks turned red and she lowered her gaze.

  “Forgive Eleanora, Captain. She, like you with the prince, has been with me since we were children.”

  Turning my gaze to the woman who had spoken, all that I could see was the top of her bowed head, but I answered her impertinent question. “King Frederick believes that the young should have an opportunity to learn. If they complete their studies, he has his steward find positions for them within the palace.” Turning my attention back to Lady Elisabeth, I smiled. “It is Prince Eric’s endeavors that have gained schools for the tenant workers’ children. As the son of a farmer, I assure you, milady, that the prince and his family care about their people.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Elisabeth said, and I knew from the satisfied look upon her face that I had succeeded in lifting my friend in her esteem.

  Lady Elisabeth dismissed me and the impertinent lady in waiting was the one who held the door for me.

  Thanking her, she looked up into my eyes and my heart gave a great leap within my chest. Her hair was as black as a raven, but her eyes were of the purest blue. Her lips were as pink as a rose petal, and appeared as soft. The top of her head only rose to my chest, but she was elegantly and perfectly placed together. She had the face of an angel … if angels were scowling creatures.

  “My lady,” I said softly as I stepped out into the hall and motioned for her to join me.

  Casting a look over her shoulder, she joined me in the hall, but kept the door open.

  “Lady Eleanora, is it?” I asked with a smile.

  She raised her chin in the air.

  Feeling one side of my lips tilt further up, I addressed her again. “Lady Eleanora, should Lady Elisabeth or yourself ever have need of me I do so hope that you will send me word. Anything at all.”

  Her brows lowered over her eyes. “What need could I possibly have of a soldier? Especially one who puts himself forward in such a disgraceful manner.” With that said, she turned and walked back toward the chamber.

  “Forward, perhaps, but never disgraceful, my lady,” I said in my smoothest voice.

  She turned with her hand upon the knob of the door. “It appears to me that you have been allowed too many freedoms in your time in the palace, but let me assure you, Captain, that I am not one of your kitchen maids to be trifled with.”

  “Let me assure you, my lady, that I am not the sort of low soldier who would trifle with a lady’s affections.”

  “You wish me to believe that you do not take advantage of unsuspecting maidens by kissing them upon the back stairs?” she retorted with superiority.

  Nearly laughing, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my mouth from twitching with my amusement. I could not help but wonder what all she had seen in her days in Sweden to make her believe all soldiers and palace guards were lowly dogs.

  “No, indeed. I kiss only the ones who offer.”

  With a great huff of air expelled through her nose, she turned on her heel and slammed the door closed with enough force to rattle the nearest picture hanging on the wall.

  Laughing loudly, I made my way back to my office, but the lovely, superior Eleanora was not far from my thoughts for many days to come.

  We did not have much contact for several weeks as Eric and Elisabeth’s courtship increased. It was my duty to follow Lady Elisabeth whenever she went upon an outing with her family, her maids, or with Eric. When she kept her activities to within the palace, one of the other guards could accompany her, but if she was to leave the palace walls the duty of following her was mine.

  On the occasions that Eleanora accompanied Lady Elisabeth, I tried to speak with her, but she would cast up her nose at me and turn away. If Lady Elisabeth noticed her refusal to speak to me, she was all pretense, claiming that she had not heard me speak. Her superiority began to grate upon me, until I noticed her watching me when she thought my attention was occupied elsewhere. The first time that I had noticed was when I had been following Lady Elisabeth through the garden and had seen Eleanora watching me from the library window. Lady Elisabeth also noticed, and it was through her that I learned that Eleanora’s first love was for books. She loved to read, being able to speak Swedish, Danish, French, and some English.

  Discovering Eleanora’s schedule from Lady Ann, I waited until a day when one of the other guards was with Lady Elisabeth to approach the library. Eleanora was not seated upon the blue chair near the window as Lady Ann had claimed she would be. Stepping into the large library and closing the door, my gaze shifted around the room, seeking her out, but she was not there.

  The library was four stories in height with a stained glass dome rising into the sky above. Eric had once told me that this room was the joy of his grandfather, who had increased the size of the original single room that had been the library. Every wall was now full of books, climbing in rows for at least three stories. Ladders were placed about the room, but the upper stacks were reached by one of two spiral staircases. The windows that covered a portion of the far w
all let in light when a fire was not burning in the large stone fireplace.

  I had spent much time in this room as a boy, choosing to hide here from Luther and his friends, or the tutor when he wanted to test me on what I had learned. King Frederick did not enjoy the library as much as his father had, so one could find it empty at certain times during the day. Eleanora had apparently discovered those times.

  Hearing a soft and distant grunting caused me to look up.

  A very feminine body was dangling upside down, while trying, and failing, to grasp hold of the shelf that was just out of her reach. Her legs were wrapped around one of the statues that stuck out from the walls all along the ceiling beneath the dome. How she had climbed so high, I did not know, but there she was and, unfortunately, my first impulse was to laugh. As my laughter boomed in the library, she stiffened her reaching arms, and then her gaze shifted to where I was standing.

  “I am dangling over what will surely be my death and all you can do is laugh?” she shouted. “What sort of guard are you.”

  “An amused one, my lady,” I shouted up to her.

  “You may take your departure, Captain Neilsen, for I have no need of you.”

  The words that I knew she meant to sting did not have their desired effect.

  “Your words are sharpened arrows, my lady, but you have missed your target. I assure you that I stand unharmed.”

  Her legs slipped a little and she gave a cry. My amusement disappearing, I ran toward the nearest staircase and up until I reached the highest path.

  When I stood beneath where she was hanging, I reached up toward her, but could not grasp her hands.

  Stepping over to the bookcase, I shook it to test its strength. Placing my boot upon the second shelf, I lifted myself up and began to climb.

  “What are you about?”

  “Rescuing you, my lady.”

  She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I do not require your assistance.”

  “So you say, until you lose your hold, or you faint from hanging upside down for so long,” I said as I stepped up half of the bookcase. Reaching my hand out toward her, she slapped it away.

  “No! I will not be beholden to you.”

  Sighing aloud, I leaned against the bookcase and stared straight into her eyes. “My lady superior, if you will but allow me to assist you down, I shall be the one beholden to you, for I am not certain how long this shelf will hold my bulk.”

  She stared at me for a moment and then agreed.

  “If you will allow me to take your hand, I will swing you toward me.”

  “We will both fall,” she exclaimed.

  “I will not allow you to fall.” The earnest intensity in my voice caused her to reach toward me. Taking her hand, I stepped over until my boots could go no further. Holding onto the top of the case with one hand, I placed my arm around her shoulders, lifting her back up and against me. Then I took her furthest hand into mine. She wrapped her other arm around my neck, twisting her body toward me.

  “Now, release your legs.”

  Her breath caressed my neck as her cheek pressed against mine. “I cannot,” she whispered.

  “You can, for you are my lady superior.”

  Breathing out quickly, she unwrapped her legs from around the stone statue. Her lower body tumbled downward and she screamed through clenched teeth while throwing her arms around my neck and nearly climbing atop me.

  My boot slipped off the step at the force of her body hitting mine, and I lost my hold on the bookcase.

  Eleanora screamed again, against my ear, as I grabbed at a shelf and slammed our bodies against the front of the case.

  Breathing in and out quickly, I leaned my forehead against the side of her head. Her forehead rested against my shoulder as her arms were still wrapped around me.

  Feeling her body pressed against me had me fighting the impulse to kiss her.

  It was not at all the moment for that.

  “Hold on to me, my lady, and I will see you to safety.”

  She nodded against my shoulder as her hands pressed against the back of my head.

  Climbing down the bookcase was not as simple as it had been to climb up.

  When my boots touched the path, I gently lowered Eleanora to her feet. She slowly unwrapped her arms from around my neck. As she straightened her dress she would not look at me.

  “What were you doing all the way up there, Eleanora? I must admit, I have never attempted such a climb.” When I had spoken her name, her gaze rose to meet mine, but I quickly looked away, toward where she had been hanging.

  After a moment, she spoke. “I was reaching for a book when I saw a different one behind that statue there.” She pointed to the statue that was beyond the one that she had been hanging from.

  Angling my head, I saw what had captured her interest.

  “Were you attempting to leap that distance?”

  She shrugged and that was her response. The woman was too intelligent to be daft, but reckless was a term that could be placed at her feet.

  “If you are to correct me, you may save your breath,” she told me, defiantly.

  “I would never presume to correct one so far above me, my lady superior.”

  “Why do you call me that?”

  “Is it not evident? You believe yourself to be above me, so far that you do not feel the need to thank me for rescuing you.”

  That rankled, for she scowled at me, but then the scowl faded and her shoulders dropped the slightest touch.

  “You have my thanks, Captain Nielsen.”

  “Eleanora,” I said, causing her to stiffen, “you may call me Willem. I do believe that we are well enough acquainted.” I traced the tips of my fingers across her soft cheek.

  She slapped my hand away. “You go too far, sir.”

  I walked away from her, needing the space so that I would not do something foolish, such as kiss her.

  When I reached the spiral staircase and halted, she bumped into my back. Smiling, I began to descend the staircase.

  My restraint to keep from touching her lasted until I reached the bottom step. Turning swiftly, I caught her unaware. Her eyes grew round an instant before I leaned down and captured her lips with my own. They were petal soft as I knew that they would be. Such lovely lips did not deserve to be devoured, but cherished, and so I lessened the pressure of my embrace, caressing instead of forcing.

  She pushed against my chest with her fists, making protesting noises against my mouth. Sighing against her wonderful lips, I began to pull away.

  Her fists unclenched, and the next instant were pulling me against her by the front of my coat. Her lips pressed against mine with more force than I had been showering upon her. Completely surrendering to her embrace, I smiled against her lips as one of her hands released me and pressed against my neck. When she dug her fingers into my hair, I swooped her into my arm, lifting her feet off the stairs. She gasped against my mouth with one breath, and then pulled back with the next.

  “I am not a kitchen maid!” Her screech had me dropping her to her feet and then tugging on my ear as it was ringing.

  She stood before me, chest heaving, and never before had she appeared more like an angel. An avenging angel called down to bring me to my senses.

  Smiling at her, I spoke words that would have been better kept to myself. “You need not convince me, my lady, for never has a kitchen maid displayed as much passion as you.”

  “Ooohhh!”

  With my head filled with desire, I did not perceive what she was about, until her palm cracked against my cheek.

  “You are a detestable cad, Captain Nielsen, and I will not be one of the maids to be captured in your net!”

  Brushing past me, she stomped toward the door and then out of the library.

  Rubbing my cheek, I watched her go, with only one thought echoing inside my thoughts.

  Perfection.

  CHAPTER 5

  March 1794

  The wedding uniting Eri
c and the Lady Elisabeth was to take place in two short weeks, five months after her arrival. In those five months I had dealings with each of the ladies in waiting, except Eleanora. Every time I was called to Lady Elisabeth’s chambers, Eleanora was noticeably absent. After our dealings following our time in the library, that suited me well.

  Once my head had cleared, I had gone back for the book that she had found behind the statue. When I delivered it to her, believing that it would soften her toward me, I quickly learned the error of my ways. She was cold and harsh, snatching the book from my hands and then demanding that I leave her sight. When I was about to take my departure, she issued scathing words that had remained with me like a thorn buried within my skin.

  “When I wish for the presence of a peasant, I shall go into the village.”

  She would be leaving Lutania for good after the wedding and so I decided to act as if she had already departed.

  The palace was all hands to the stone as it was made ready for the wedding. As Lady Elisabeth would be moving into the chamber beside Eric’s after the wedding, I was given a new office in the family wing. It was a month before the wedding when Eric came to me with some news. Instead of sending all of her ladies in waiting back to Sweden and choosing maidens from within Lutania, as was the custom, Lady Elisabeth would be keeping two with her and choosing only two from Lutania. Eric had said that it was to be his gift to her because he knew how much Eleanora meant to her. He assured me that they had been companions for as long as he and I had been. Then he startled and humbled me by asking me if I would stand with him at the wedding.

  It should have been his brother Luther, but, from the last missive that Eric had received, Luther would not be attending the wedding. He claimed that his studies could not be neglected.

  In the days leading up to the wedding, Lady Elisabeth’s possessions were moved into her new bedchamber, guests arrived from other countries, and I was fitted for a new suit of clothing. Eric said that as much as he admired my uniform, he wanted me to appear as regal as he would himself.

  “That is not possible, my friend,” I had assured him.