The Accidental Prince. Michelle Willingham

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СКАЧАТЬ panes of glass. Now, she walked at a more dignified pace, as befitted a princess.

      Raindrops spattered down the windows, but even the wretched weather couldn’t destroy the bottled up hope inside of her. Freedom lay just within her grasp.

      She returned to her chamber, waiting for her father and Anna to depart for Sardinia. Anna would be presented to the widowed king as a possible candidate for his new wife.

      When Serena glanced in her looking glass, she saw the redness surrounding her throat. Without asking for permission, her lady-in-waiting Katarina brought out a lace fichu and drew it around Serena’s neck to cover the skin. ‘Does it hurt, Your Highness?’

      ‘I’ll be fine.’ But when Serena stared at herself in the looking glass, her face was pale, her green eyes rimmed with red. Despite all of her careful plans, she couldn’t repress her shiver. Her father might have killed her this afternoon.

      She touched the back of her head, and the barest pressure sent a wave of pain within the skin. Katarina dampened a cloth from the washing basin and sponged at her hair to remove the traces of blood. Though her lady was gentle, Serena closed her eyes at the pain.

      Soon you’ll be gone from here. And he’ll never hurt you again. She clung to the thought, taking comfort from it.

      ‘The coach is waiting in the forest,’ Katarina whispered beneath her breath. Before she could say another word, there was a knock at the door. When Serena nodded for Katarina to answer it, her lady-in-waiting announced, ‘Your Highness, the Princess Anna is here to bid you farewell.’

      Anna entered with three of her ladies trailing behind, and Serena went to embrace her. Her sister wore a rose taffeta travelling gown with seven flounces and a silk bonnet with a matching rose ribbon. A dark woollen cloak was tied around her shoulders. She held her gloved hands together, worry creasing her smile.

      ‘I’ll miss you,’ Serena told Anna. It was true. Despite her desperate need to escape, she would think of her mother and sister often. Perhaps one day she could send for Anna, or make arrangements to come and visit her after her sister was married. But the tangled sadness in her heart wouldn’t soften. She was afraid of never seeing them again, and it hurt to imagine the loneliness.

      Anna appeared worried. ‘I know that … a royal marriage is expected of me. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. What do I know of the king of Sardinia?’

      ‘You’ll be fine. And the weather will be much warmer.’ She braved a smile, but Anna didn’t answer it.

      ‘I still don’t understand why you’d want to leave for a holiday alone.’ A worried expression pulled at her sister’s mouth. ‘With only a few servants?’ Anna pressed her hands together. ‘How can you manage? You need at least seven ladies, simply to get dressed in the morning. Fifty would be a more appropriate number.’

      Serena only smiled. ‘I want a quiet holiday, not an army surrounding me.’ Besides, she’d sent word for the caretaker to assemble a household of servants within the hunting lodge. It was far easier to make an escape with six servants, rather than fifty.

      Anna would have none of it. In a whisper, she added, ‘You shouldn’t defy our father. What you’re planning will only make him angrier.’

      Her sister reached out and touched the fichu at Serena’s throat. The knowing look in her eyes made her wonder if Anna suspected the punishments she’d endured. Had someone told her?

      ‘The king will never know I’m gone.’ Serena stepped back, adjusting the fichu to hide her reddened skin. ‘I’ll be fine.’

      ‘You can’t go off on your own,’ Anna insisted. ‘Someone might try to kidnap you or worse.’

      ‘It’s only meant to be a short holiday. By the time you return from Sardinia, I’ll already be home. No one need ever know of it.’ The falsehood rolled easily off her tongue, and she pretended as if it wouldn’t matter at all. She could only pray they wouldn’t find her.

      ‘But why would you go to Hamburg?’ Her sister looked as if she’d suggested living in a beggar’s cottage. ‘We haven’t gone there in years. And there’s nothing at all to do. Except … catch fish.’ Anna wrinkled her nose with disgust.

      Serena didn’t answer, but merely hugged her sister again. ‘I’ll miss you.’

      A tightness rose in her chest at the thought of leaving Anna, but when her sister squeezed back, she fought back the shadow of pain from her bruised ribs. A flash of fear came over her, remembering her father’s beating.

      You don’t have a choice, she reminded herself. You have to go.

      ‘I’ll return in a few weeks,’ Anna promised. ‘And hopefully the king of Sardinia will choose someone else. You’re fortunate that the fürst of Lohenberg will be your husband. At least he’s quite handsome.’

      There was an enigmatic look in her sister’s eyes, as if she wanted to say something else. Instead, Anna drew back and said a final farewell.

      After her sister had gone, Serena ordered her ladies to help her change into a navy blue woollen travelling gown and a dark cloak. She raised the hood over her hair and covered her gown with the voluminous fabric.

      ‘Shall I come with you to the lodge, Your Highness?’ Katarina asked, her voice fearful.

      Serena shook her head. ‘You’d only be punished. If you stay here, you’ll be safe.’ She’d arranged for a coachman, footman and four guards to accompany her.

      Katarina pressed her forehead to Serena’s hand in a deep curtsy. ‘As Your Highness wishes.’

      ‘Go back to my father’s library. The guards I hired are standing outside the doors. Bring them to me.’

      But her lady-in-waiting hesitated a moment. One by one, her other ladies surrounded her, and Serena saw the worry in their eyes. Then Katarina spoke, ‘Your Highness, you must know that … we would do anything to protect you. What you’ve endured from His Majesty—’ Her lady bowed her head and flushed with embarrassment. ‘It’s so very wrong. And though there are servants loyal to him, rest assured, we will help you to leave, as best we can.’

      Serena looked at the faces of her ladies. These women had been with her for years, and they were so much a part of her life, she hadn’t thought of how lonely it would be without them. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

      ‘There was a … problem with your coach,’ Katarina said, biting her lip. ‘The footman, Herr Henley, will explain, but—’

      ‘We haven’t much time,’ one of the other ladies interrupted. ‘I’ll go and fetch the guards.’ With a curtsy, the young woman departed.

      Serena turned back to Katarina. ‘What problem?’

      Katarina shrugged. ‘Just something unexpected. Your sister, Princess Anna, arranged it.’ With that, Serena relaxed. Anna would do nothing to interfere with her plans.

      A quarter of an hour later, the men arrived. Among them was Gerlach Feldmann, captain of her father’s guards. He looked uneasy about the journey, but of all the guards, she trusted him the most. He’d assembled men to help her, at great risk to himself.

      Serena СКАЧАТЬ