She curtsied and fled.
He didn’t stop her.
Chapter Fourteen
Pippa’sentire body shook as she made her way back down the staircase. Halfway down, she stopped, braced her hand against the wall, then slid onto the cold stone step.
What had just happened? What had she just seen?
She recalled all the things they said about him. That he was a debauched, profligate rake, a womaniser and a Casanova. Prince Lucifer, who seduced ladies and chambermaids alike. She had believed only half of those stories before she ever set eyes on him.
Her Klemens, of course, had been none of this. She knew him to be kind and charming, pleasant and cheerful, someone who liked a good joke, a quality glass of wine, and deep philosophical conversations; she knew him to be a loyal friend, a studious student, a fair master to his servant, and deeply, passionately in love with her. Never once had she doubted his loyalty and faithfulness. Never once had he given in to excesses.
But now, after hearing all those stories and seeingwith her own eyes the women leaving his chambers, and the way he was behaving —could they be true, after all? Doubt crashed about her.
An iron fist closed around her heart. Did he even remember their love? What they had shared together?
How could he be the same person? Cheerful, charming, ever smiling, as she had always known Klemens. A cold fear seeped through her veins. It was as if he had been taken over entirely by the Archduke.
Or, what was more likely, her version of Klemens had never existed.
Though what, ultimately, did it matter? What difference would it make?
She was a commoner. An educated one, yes, but now reduced to the meanest station, a servant, a maid. He was an emperor’s son. A gulf yawned between them wider than Dante’s infernal chasm.
In her mind, she replayed the moments of their past: Klemens coming to study with her father, his supposed commitment to learning, his laughter and his smiles. Of course, he had hidden his identity. An archduke would never announce himself to all and sundry.
She could forgive him that. But not the betrayal that now tore through her with such ferocity it made her gasp.
He had promised her marriage. She saw it now for what it had been: a lighthearted, thoughtless promise, cast to the wind. He had toyed with her. With her heart.
She had believed him to be faithful, loyal to her.
But just now she had seen the evidence to the contrary with her own eyes.
How could she ever trust him again?
She wrapped her arms around herself. What should she do now? What could she do?
There was only one answer. She had to leave this place. Go home.
She hurried back to her room and dug out the purse she had kept hidden beneath her mattress. She counted the coins—so few. It would not even cover the fare back on the mail coach. But Agent August had promised to pay if she brought him more information.
Her fingers clenched around the coins with grim determination. She would give him that. She would give him anything he wanted if it meant she could find the means to return home.
The only blessingin the entire situation was that Frau Benedikt never noticed that Henni and Pippa had swapped their duties that day. By the time Pippa returned to the servants’ hall, Henni had finished and they met in the middle of the hall, swapping pails and brushes.
“How was it?” Henni whispered. Then her eye fell on Pippa’s hand. “Oh, no! What happened to your poor hand?”
Pippa grimaced. “Just an accident.”
“And? Were you able to see him face to face? Was he your Klemens?”
Pippa averted her face. “No. Of course not.” She uttered a forced laugh. “It was as I said it would be. He merely looked like Klemens, but up close it was clear thathe wasn’t the same person.” She sniffed and wiped her bound hand over her nose.
Henni heaved a big sigh of relief. “A double! I must say, that is truly a blessing. I heard that he was particularly wild last night. The archduke, I mean. The revel they had last night was tremendous.”
Pippa nodded. “So was the mess they left in the rooms. I couldn’t clean it all up because of my hand.”
