Surely he wasn’t serious.
Was he jesting?
She couldn’t bear it if he was.
“Maxim,” she whispered, feeling as if she were in a dream. “What are you saying?”
As if, at any moment, she would wake to discover none of this had truly happened, and she would be shattered anew.
“I’m saying that I am humbly requesting Princess Anastasia’s agreement in the annulment of our betrothal contract,” he said, giving her another look of such raw, unfettered tenderness that she had to press her lips together to stifle a sob. “Doing so will leave both myself and the princess free to pursue those we love instead of forcing ourselves into a marriage of obligation.” He paused, turning back to the princess. “What say you, Your Royal Highness? Will you take the opportunity to be free to pursue your English puppy?”
The princess’s eyes narrowed. “He’s no puppy.”
Maxim shrugged. “As you wish.”
“Yes,” Princess Anastasia said without hesitation. “I agree to the annulment of the betrothal. How soon can I go back to England?”
“It’s too early to be certain. I expect a swift defeat, given the size of the Varrosian army and those of the rebel forces in Boritania compared to the size of what—according to our spies—remains of the Boritanian army. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from my years at war, it’s that a man should never underestimate his opponent. It won’t be safe for you to return to England until the war is won. If you return prematurely, not only will you be at peril, but so will your Englishman. I’ll not mislead you in that.”
War.
A shiver went down Tansy’s spine, for she knew all too well the cost that Maxim had paid in war before. The thought of him having to go to battle again filled her with fear.
Princess Anastasia nodded. “I’ll wait forever for him if I must.”
“I understand the sentiment,” Maxim said, gazing at Tansy.
She longed to run to him. To throw herself into his arms. To hold him close and never let go. And yet, there was much that needed to be said, and Princess Anastasia was still present in the room.
With great effort, Tansy remained where she was, gripping the back of her chair to keep from tumbling over beneath the weight of this sudden turn of events.
“I should leave the two of you alone,” Princess Anastasia said, sending a sly smile in Tansy’s direction. “I’m sure there is much you need to speak about together.”
Dazed, Tansy watched her friend take her leave from the chamber, as effortlessly elegant as always.
The door had scarcely closed behind her when she turned to Maxim. “What is the meaning of this?”
He went to her, setting two fingers gently beneath her chin and tilting her face toward his. “I want you to be my queen.”
Once again, it was so very Maxim, to make a decree rather than to ask permission.
“But what of your duties, your obligations to your people to form a great alliance between Varros and Boritania?” she demanded, knowing how it had weighed upon him.
Knowing why he had made the decision to marry Princess Anastasia.
It was a decision she had respected, even though it had crushed her.
“My brother is an idiot,” Maxim said wryly, “but sometimes he is wise beyond his years. When we were in London, he said to me,You’re the King of Varros. Can you not choose the woman who will be your queen?At first, I dismissed his words as recklessness. Nando being his wild, ne’er-do-well self withnary a care in the world and no sense of duty. But those words haunted me.” He caressed her cheek lightly with the callused pad of his thumb. “And the more I thought about them, the more tempted I was to heed them. I thought my first duty was to my kingdom and my people, to the throne. I was wrong. My first duty is to the woman I love. To you.”
Tears blurred her vision, made her blink to clear them so that she could see his harshly handsome face, and then she reached for him, wrapping her uninjured arm around his neck and anchoring herself there, bringing their bodies flush. “You love me?”
“I love you, spitfire,” he rasped. “I should have told you sooner. I intended to, but everything has been such a damned whirlwind, returning to Varros and planning the invasion. It wasn’t until the moment I realized you were leaving me that I knew I had to find you and tell you. I had to beg you to be my wife, and I had to do anything and everything I could to make that happen.”
The day she’d been wounded, he’d intended to ask her to marry him. And meanwhile, she’d been plotting to leave him again.
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” she demanded.
“You were badly injured and ill. I didn’t want to pressure you into making a decision when you weren’t well enough to think clearly.”
