“This isn’t pheasant, your ladyship. It is a dove, and you will eat it. Unless, of course, you wish to starve.”
I raised my head to meet his stare, my blue eyes glaring fiercely into his dancing light gray ones. I took the bird out of his hand, steeling myself against the feel of it, and hurled it onto the ground.
I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but it was all I could do to keep from flinching. If I’d ever done such a thing in Wallace’s presence, I would have paid for it, and swiftly. But when I chanced to look at my captor, his face was inscrutable, his eyes dancing and merry as always.
“Now you must pick it up and eat it cold,” he said, as though it mattered not one bit to him. Before I could offer a reply, he had walked around to the other trunk in front of the fire and made himself at home. As much as I wished I could pretend otherwise, Iwashungry. I couldn’t help but keep darting looks at him, and watching him eat his bird made my stomach growl.
But I couldn’t be made to play fetch like a common dog! I would rather freeze to death than to let him see me obeying his casually issued command. Instead, I glared at him, daring him to meet my eyes, but he kept right on eating as though it meant little whether or not I did as he’d instructed.
I tried to distract myself by thinking of other things. Perhaps I could work on my escape plan. Perhaps I could distract myself with thoughts of my family, who surely must be looking for me by now. My kidnapper had the upper hand now—I was, after all, a lady and one of small stature and build at that. I could not fend off an attack, nor could I outrun him. But one day, when I’d returned to the castle I’d grown up in, he’d pay for the time he’d stolen from me.
Yet, even thoughts of vengeance fled in the wake of my growling stomach. The longer I waited, the colder I knew the meat would be. Casting another hot, hateful glance at my companion, I eased off the log and walked to where I’d thrown the bird. I snatched it from the snow, wincing to see the dirt and grass that had dirtied it. As I marched back to my seat, I caught sight of him looking at me. When I reached the fire, he held out his hand.
“Give it to me,” he said, not unkindly. His voice wasn’t even slightly mocking this time. “I’ll warm it for you.”
Who did he think I was, to need favors from one such as him? I was a royal duchess of Hohenzollern, and I needed help from no one. Glaring at him, I brought the dove to my face and sank my teeth into the cold meat. As I chewed, I lowered the food and glared at him defiantly.
“Very well.” He shrugged and went back to eating. Only then did I notice how much smaller his bird was than mine. For a moment, the briefest of instances, I almost felt remorseful of my treatment of him. It fled with his very next words. “The next time you choose to discard the food I offer you, you will not eat. I am trying to be considerate of your… unusual circumstance and of your hardship, but I am not going to be played for a fool, my lady. You will take what you are given or have nothing, and I shan’t tell you again.”
My cheeks burned with indignation. What right did he have to speak to me so freely? Why, if we were back at the castle… but we weren’t. And no matter how hard I tried to tell myself otherwise, I might never make it back. But I wouldnotbe made a peasant, not by this man, or any other!
“You may address me by my proper title, which is Duchess,” I told him, my voice clear and cold. Neither of us spoke again as we went back to eating.
Chapter One
Hohenzollern Castle
The music swirled around me like a beautiful tapestry of melody and my feet moved obediently in step with my partner.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Lady Cecily?”
I acknowledged the wizened Lord of Archester with the best smile I could manage, stifling a yawn. “Very much so, thank you, my lord.”
“And are you eager to be a wife?” he asked as he twirled me around. “Eager to be a duchess?”
I went through the steps fluidly—I’d been taught to dance nearly before I’d learned to walk—easily disguising my annoyance at the personal question. It wasn’t as though he’d been the only one to hint around the matter, though he was the only one who dared to ask outright. As the cousin to the princess, I already enjoyed a certain amount of special treatment at court. Now that I was to wed a duke, my star would rise and there was bound to be a certain amount of envy and speculation among the other courtiers. Having never met the Duke of Württemberg before—not that such a thing was uncommon—I was a bundle of nerves, not that I intended for anyone to know it.
Yet, the smile the lord gave me suggested that he knew things I was not saying. “You need not fear, my lady. I hear that the duke is quite an honorable man.”
“Indeed, I have been well informed.”
“I met him once, I believe.”
I was so caught off-guard, I nearly missed a step in the dance, but fortunately I caught myself just in time. I’d never spoken to anyone who had met my future husband and I could not deny my curiosity. I looked at my partner, my cheeks flushed from making such a silly gaffe, and hotter still to see the patronizing smile he’d fixed on me.
I won’t ask then, I thought to myself. Better he think me unfeeling than nothing more than a simple maid.
“A very intelligent man.” He offered up the information like half-hearted alms for a starving woman. Though I didn’t meet his gaze again, I devoured the information as though I truly were famished. “He will surely consider himself quite fortunate to gain such abeautiful bride.”
This time, I did slip in my step. When I looked, horrified, at my partner, he was indeed laughing at me. Mercifully, the music stopped just then and I was able to hide my flushed cheeks as I dipped my head and curtseyed.
“Another dance, my lady?”
I was tempted. I wanted to hear any tidbits he might be willing to share, but I was beginning to suspect that he was only amusing himself at my expense. “No, thank you, my lord. I must confess myself to be a bit tired.”
“Very well,” he said agreeably, taking the hand I extended to him and bending over it. “I shall look forward to dancing with you again. Mayhap on your wedding day.” His teeth gleamed as he teased me once more.
“Mayhap,” I agreed half-heartedly, forcing myself to smile as he kissed the back of my hand. I pulled it away a moment before it was courteous to do so, but the Lord of Archester did not seem in the least offended.
