The Peculiar Princess

by Christina Graham Parker

  “How does your family fare?” Lukas asked Abiel as they crossed a small stream.

  Abiel smiled. “They are well. Mother is as formidable as always, working hard to keep the girls in line, even though they are all married.”

  “They are all married?” Lukas’s voice sounded strange, and Lexy took her gaze off the road to look at him.

  Abiel kept his gaze forward. “Rachel and Hannah have been married for four years. They had a double wedding. Lotte married last year.”

  “Did she?” Lukas asked.

  Abiel gave a small laugh, but didn’t act amused. “She could not spend her life waiting for you, could she?”

  Lexy raised an eyebrow. Lotte?

  Abiel continued. “She is the Marchioness of Landonsburg now and rather happy I might add. I gave her away myself.”

  Lukas smiled. “She married Henry, did she? Good for him. He always did follow her around like a love-sick pup.”

  Abiel’s gaze shifted to Lexy. “Lotte is five years younger than I. Lukas fancied himself in love with her.”

  “This would not be the story I would have chosen for you to tell my wife, Abiel.”

  Abiel laughed again, and this time he was amused. “Come now, Lukas. Princess Lexy is not the jealous sort. I doubt she will hold it against you that you fell in love with my sister when you were all of what? Sixteen?”

  “Fifteen. I was fifteen.”

  “Fifteen, sixteen, no notable difference when you look back.” Abiel smiled at Lexy, and she was struck anew by the sparkle in his eyes. “Lotte would have been thirteen at the time.”

  “Thirteen?” She looked in shock to where Lukas rode beside her. “You wanted to marry a thirteen-year-old?”

  He shrugged. “I would have waited for her until we were older.” He straightened. “Mayhap when I was seventeen.”

  “She would have been fifteen then.”

  Lukas cut his eyes to her and gave a quick shake of his head. “A reasonable age for a young lady to marry.”

  He was reminding her, she knew, that things were different in the sixteenth century. Hard as it was for her to imagine, girls did marry at fifteen. He could not say it in so many words though. Abiel did not know of her past. They hadn’t told him where she had been for the last twenty-five years.

  “Why didn’t they marry?” she asked Abiel.

  Abiel and Lukas exchanged a look. “Culberton wanted Lukas for that blonde girl. What was her name?”

  “Gwyneth Dumont,” Lexy answered before Lukas could. “Right pretty little thing.”

  “Er…yes,” Abiel said. “Gwyneth.”

  Lukas piped up. “Has it occurred to you, Abiel, that for one so concerned about the interruption of my sleep, you are ensuring any sleep I do get will occur on the floor for the foreseeable future?”

  Lexy laughed.

  Abiel ignored his question. “Not long after your father refused to negotiate for Lotte, you left for France, did you not?”

  Lukas nodded. “Quite so, Abiel. Quite so.”

  “Just as well. Lotte never did care for the French.”

  That got a grin from Lukas.

  “God works in mysterious ways,” Abiel mused. “But they always make sense in the end.”

  Lukas gave Lexy a tender smile. “Quite so, Abiel. Quite so.”

  They had entered a large field. As their horses spread out, the pieces began to fit together for Lexy. Lukas had objected to the proposed marriage to Gwyenth. Angry at his father for refusing to negotiate a marriage with Lotte Hastings, he’d left for France and he’d become a mercenary. Years later, he’d returned to the Dresdonia area, still harboring that anger, and he’d run into Severon once more. It all made sense to her. She looked to where Lukas rode beside her, his strong profile somehow enduringly fragile, and thanked God that His ways always did make sense in the end.

  ****

  She sat in her dressing room that night, undoing her hair in front of the large mirror that graced the northern wall. While riding was easier for her, she’d yet to grow accustomed to her hair being piled on her head all day. She dropped the last hairpin on the dressing table, dug her fingers into the tangled locks and rubbed her aching scalp.

  “Allow me.” Lukas appeared behind her and, catching her gaze in the mirror, took the brush from beside her. With deliberate, even strokes, he untangled her hair, then pushed it to one side, and kissed the back of her neck. “Better?”

  “Much.” She leaned against him and took his arms as they came around her. “I was wondering . . .”

  “Mm?” He pressed another kiss on her neck.

  “How come Abiel never married?”

  He pulled away and locked gazes with her in the mirror. “Am I to keep none of my sins to myself, then? Must you know them all?”

  So that was it. She’d wondered what had caused the estrangement between Lukas and Abiel. All appeared forgiven to watch Abiel. Always had been, according to Lukas. Yet sometimes she sensed a particular sadness whenever Lukas talked to his friend.

  Funny. She’d never considered a woman to be the reason.

  “Will you tell me?” she asked, turning to face him. “It’s all right if you don’t want to.”

  He took her hand, drew lazy figure eights on her palm, and sighed. He was calm on the outside, but she knew he was struggling within. “Yes,” he said finally. “For you see beyond the man I was and love me for the one I want to be.”

  She found it hard to believe it could be that bad. Lukas had been all but promised to Gwyneth and she didn’t see Abiel as the type to fall for childish blondes. And yet there was still that something Lukas had been unwilling to talk about.

  He focused on the wall behind her, dropping her hand. “Ruth Dreckhart and Abiel were childhood friends, set to marry upon her eighteenth birthday. They were so young, so deep in love, the most perfectly matched couple. And then, five years ago, my path crossed Ruth’s for the last time.

  “I had been hunting and was returning with my kill to the group of mercenaries I was working with. The night before I made my decision to return home, and I planned to annouce it that night. I felt so free, so happy. To this day I rememeber the warmth of the sun on my face, how good everything felt. Of course returning home meant I would have to marry Gwyneth. It seemed a small matter, though, to restore peace with my father.”

  She snorted at the mention of Gwyneth. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

  “I need you to understand how much I wanted to return home,” he said.

  “Small matter though? Really?”

  “I was horribly naïve at the time. Shall I continue?”

  She nodded. She’d try harder to keep her thoughts to herself from now on. Still, she hoped the story didn’t revolve around Gwyneth. Blast that gorgeous, sixteenth-century goddess.

  “I noticed the silence as I entered camp. We were a group of men. It should have been noisy. For there to be silence was almost frightening. Then I saw the others, standing around a bundle. There were seven of them, eight including Davis.”

  “Byron Davis?” Surely it was another Davis. It couldn’t be that Davis.

  “Yes,” he said. “Byron Davis. The man has tainted every area of my life.”

  The man was coming close to tainting every area of her life. She wished, not for the first time, that Lukas had killed him at the Duke of Oldenburg’s.

  “The bundle,” she said, not wanting to dwell on Davis. “What was it?”

  “I dismounted and walked to where the men stood. My mind screamed to turn and leave, but my feet refused to listen. It was…” His knuckles went white as he clenched the side of the bench. “It was Ruth.”

  Her heart stopped for a second. Dear Lord! One lone girl against Byron and seven other rough men? She should have left well enough alone. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to hear any more. Let’s go to bed.”

  “You asked me.” His usually smooth voice became rough and splintered. “And if I can tell it, you can hear it.”

 
; But she couldn’t. She was nowhere near as strong as he was. Her own run-in with Byron proved that much. She didn’t even have the strength to leave the bench and walk to the bed.

  He eased his hand under her hair. Right there. Tears prickled her eyes as he reached the place Byron had bitten.

  “Let me tell you,” he whispered, easing away the memories of Byron’s teeth with his gentle caress. “If you can bear it, I need to tell you.”

  “I can’t.” She concentrated on his fingers, trying to push memories of Byron as far away as possible. “I can’t bear it.”

  “You can,” he said, as if reading her mind. “You are stronger than you think, and I need you to hear it now. I need to tell you.”

  She couldn’t refuse him any more than he could refuse her. She nodded in agreement.

  “Ruth was not yet dead,” he said, still rubbing her neck. “But death was certain. She opened her eyes for a brief moment when I called her name. She knew me, tried to speak my name, but in the end, she only whispered for Abiel. Then her eyes fluttered closed and did not open again.

  “I sat by her side for some time, willing her to come back, to open her eyes again.” He shook his head. “But she was gone. I was not certain how long I sat by her side, holding her hand and wishing her eyes open. Finally I stood and spoke to Davis.

  “‘That is Lady Dreckhart,’ I said through clenched teeth, my body shaking in anger. ‘She is betrothed to Lord Hastings, heir to the Earl of Estwitch.’

  “’Was she?’ Davis asked. ‘Too bad she’s dead now.’ Then he walked to my horse and held the reins out. ‘Perhaps you would like to inform his Lordship. Or perhaps not.’

  “I remained frozen until Davis dropped the reins. Then he said, ‘You will talk no more of leaving now. Will you, Reynard?’

  Lukas took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Once he’d regained control of his emotions, he continued. “I removed my coat and draped it over Ruth’s body. I felt empty and cold. Davis was right. I could not leave. I stayed with the group until the end. Mayhap forever. Or at least until I died on some distant battlefield. The thought was not unwelcome. Death, I believed, was far preferable to facing Abiel.” His jaw clenched. “I carried her body to her father’s estate that night and never again thought about returning to England. So you see, Abiel never married because I killed his betrothed.”

  “You didn’t kill her.” She forced him to look at her. “You weren’t even there when it happened.”

  “She was killed because of me. By another’s hand, yes, but in the end it was I who killed her.”

  Lukas was a stubborn man, and she knew it would do no good to argue with him. He’d have to work out his part in Ruth’s death by himself. He’d come so far in such little time, surely this guilt would work itself out.

  “You asked me once how many women I had raped.”

  She blinked and forced herself to speak in a low whisper. “And you said there weren’t any.” He’d told her so, and she’d believed him. She still believed him.

  He took her hand and squeezed. “I did not wholly deceive you. I have never forced my person on a woman or shared that part of myself with anyone save you. But I thought about it. I came close.”

  She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Instead she waved for him to go on.

  “Davis sent a young girl to my tent one night and God help me, I was tempted. I was tired of the suggestions the other men made. As if I were somewhat lower in their estimation because I would not take a woman by force or find a willing partner. In the end, I sent her away and threatened Davis with his life if he ever did such a thing again.”

  He sat silently for several seconds. And then he surprised her even more. His beautiful, troubled eyes questioned her. “Your work in the future? Did you help women such as Ruth? Those who…lived?”

  The faces of her more severe cases flashed before her eyes. The familiar ache in her stomach returned as she remembered the helplessness she felt when faced with such brokenness. “A few. Most weren’t so brutally attacked.”

  He sighed, like relief and regret at the same time. “I think…I think what you did was commendable.” He cupped her face and ran a thumb over her cheekbone. “You have the most beautiful heart.”

  She twined her fingers with his and brought his hand to her lips. “Thank you,” she whispered, her heart skipping a beat at his unexpected approval.

  After they prepared for bed, she took his hand. “Pray with me?”

  At his nod, they knelt by the bed, hands entwined.

  “Dear Lord, I love You,” she prayed. “Thank You for this day and this time You have given us. We know Your ways are perfect but, Lord, sometimes we struggle with them. I don’t understand why You would take someone like Ruth. Especially in that manner. But I know it’s not Your will for Lukas to be bound in guilt over it. Please take that burden from him. Release him. Show him Your love and wrap him in Your grace. Please? I love him so much.”

  Lukas squeezed her hand.

  “And, Lord,” she continued. “I see now that Abiel has darkness behind his ever-present light. Please be with him and bless him. He’s had such a great loss, but remains devoted to You. Help him find love again. Restore to him what he lost when Ruth died. I pray as well for the woman You plan for him to marry and that they might have a long and loved-filled life together. In Your precious Son’s name. Amen.”

  ****

  Lexy had discovered Abiel started his day in Hullington’s garden. As she walked outside, she found that morning no different.

  “Lord Estwitch,” she called to his back.

  Abiel turned and smiled. “Princess Lexy, how delightful to have you join me this morning.” He waited while she caught up to him. “Do you wonder why one feels closer to God in a garden?”

  “I suppose it’s the overwhelming creativity one finds there,” she answered. “Maybe in its vastness one begins to feel their need for a Savior.”

  “How true.”

  They walked in silence for a few minutes. If Abiel wondered why she had joined him, he kept it to himself.

  “Lukas told me about Ruth,” she said, breaking the silence.

  “Ah.”

  A pair of butterflies circled around them. They fluttered by to land on a pink rose bush off to their side.

  “I never held him responsible for Ruth’s death. There were those who did, her father for one, but I never did. It was a situation completely out of his control. Lukas made some wrong decisions in his past and has done some bad things, but he would never have purposely harmed Ruth.”

  No. He’d never had done that.

  “Ruth is at peace now. She is with our Lord and I would never wish her back here, not for one minute.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “I do miss her.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I would like to have known her.”

  He smiled, the sparkle returning to his eyes. “I would have liked that as well. I believe the two of you would have been good friends.”

  He had such an engaging presence. She found it hard to believe he’d never found someone else after Ruth. But then again, would she jump at the chance to remarry if something were to happen to Lukas? It was not a pleasant thought.

  “I always prayed Lukas would come to know Christ,” he said, dragging her back from her thoughts. “It is wonderful how God has worked in his life. I believe you to be influential in that work.”

  Her cheeks grew hot. “It wasn’t me, you know. I’ve only been obedient in what God would have me do. A few times I wasn’t even all that obedient.”

  “Lukas has a purpose now. I can see it in his eyes. He never had that before. I almost feel as if I ought to thank you.”

  She swept a piece of hair out of her eyes. “It’s not as though you did nothing. I think you were instrumental in his formative years. He told me how much you meant to him, how much your family taught him.”

  “Lukas did have a rather unhappy childhood.”

  “I’ve met his fathe
r,” she said as if that one statement explained everything.

  Abiel turned to her, laughter lurking in his eyes. “Yes, he told me about his father insisting the two of you marry.”

  “I was not pleased.”

  His laugh shook his entire body. “I can see why. But mayhap now you have forgiven him that offense?”

  She gave a small chuckle. “Mayhap I have.”

  They had reached the end of the garden’s walkway and pivoted to return to the house. Lukas stood waiting for them at the front door.

  “Ah, speaking of Lukas,” Abiel said. He brought a hand up to wave at him.

  Lukas returned the wave and strode to meet them.

  “Lukas. I have been conversing with your wife.” He took one of Lexy’s hands and brought it to his lips. “It has been a pleasure, Your Highness. Thank you for joining me this morning.”

  Abiel took his leave then, and Lukas and Lexy stood watching him walk back to the house. She reached for Lukas’s arm and they started back themselves. “I like him so much.”

  ****

  Three days later, Lexy and Lukas were on their way to Dresdonia after Lukas recommended the group travel separately over several days. They were the first to depart, leaving Elisabet at Haddon House on their way. Lexy’s heart warmed watching the sisters reunite after twenty-five years. Elisabet tried to talk Torsten into remaining at Haddon House with her, but he refused. He would leave for Dresdonia the day after they did.

  Lexy was surprised to find she didn’t mind sleeping outside. She’d never been camping before and would have previously upturned her nose at the thought. Her perspective changed, however, knowing she might well be spending precious last moments with her husband.

  They had consistently prayed over the looming battle and while they both knew they were doing the right thing, they had no indication they would win. Lexy had never heard of Dresdonia before hearing Cara’s stories and was uncertain it would be God’s will for history to be so completely different. Maybe He’d only brought her back to die in her own century.