“Go back to the manor house,” he ordered Serena. “My brother is here, and I should welcome him.”
“Shouldn’t I greet Fürst Michael as well?” she asked.
“Another time, perhaps.” Given that Karl had kidnapped a princess and stolen her away to an island, he could feel his brother’s fury from here. “Return to the manor house with myguards.” Serena appeared reluctant, but she obeyed his orders, accompanied by his guards.
Karl stood his ground while Michael approached with his horsemen. Though he was at a height disadvantage while Michael was mounted, he didn’t move a muscle until the Fürst drew his horse to a stop.
“You went to the kingdom of Badenstein and stole their crown princess,” Michael began without prelude.
“Yes.” No reason to deny it. He’d taken the princess away, ruined her reputation, and forced her to work like a servant. All for his own gain.
“Were you trying to start a war between our two countries?” the prince demanded. “Everyone has been searching for her. And you dared to dishonor her.”
“Are you going to imprison me?” he asked calmly.
Michael dismounted from his horse, and strode forward. “I should.” He strode along the beach, glancing back in an unspoken order for Karl to follow. When they were out of earshot, his brother continued, “Did you marry her, like the servants claim? Were you that stupid?”
“She refused to wed me,” Karl answered. It wasn’t surprising, given all that he’d done to her.
“I don’t know which is worse,” Michael admitted. “What do you think will happen to her now? You’ve ruined her. The world will believe that you took her into your bed, whether you did or not.”
“I didn’t.”
“By kidnapping her, you’ve drawn the king into this. Her father could rightfully demand your head. And we’d have to give it to him or risk war.”
Karl could feel his brother’s blistering anger, and he deserved it. Hehadtaken Serena to this island. He’d fully intended to wed her, seizing control of a title he didn’t deserve. And right now,when he looked back at his actions, he realized what a fool he’d been.
“She ran away,” he told Michael, “because her father was beating her. Weeks ago, he broke her ribs. And on the day she left, he left bruises along her side and tried to strangle her.”
No woman should endure that, princess or not.
His brother’s face sobered as he considered what Karl had told him. “What are you going to do now?”
“Protect her,” was all he could say. The purchase he’d arranged this morning would help somewhat, if Serena chose to avail of it. “If someone threatened Hannah—”
“I’d kill the man. With no remorse at all.”
“Much as I’d like to, I can’t kill a king,” Karl said. Even if he wanted to, he knew better than to risk threatening so powerful a man. All he could do was help Serena to disappear.
“Do you love her?” Michael asked. He stopped walking along the beach and stared at the water, which was starting to grow rougher. In the distance, clouds rolled across the sea.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Karl could give no answer, for he didn’t know what love was. The only thing he understood was power and the lack of it. He was playing a dangerous game with the king’s daughter, one that might result in surrendering his life. He didn’t plan on martyring himself for a woman. But neither would he let any harm come to her.
“You want me to leave her,” he predicted, meeting his brother’s gaze. “Let her father come for her.”
“If you fight against a king, I can’t protect you.”
“Can’t you?” He stared at Michael’s fury. “You know I won’t abandon her to him. Her father might kill her because she dared to flee.”
“I don’t believe that.”
Anger unfurled within him. “I’ve seen her bruises.”
His brother’s eyes narrowed. “And where were those…bruises?”
Karl knew what he was implying. “The servants believe that we married in secret. For her sake, I’d suggest you uphold the lie.”
Michael struggled to regain control of his temper. “You took advantage of a princess, dishonoring her for your own use.”
