“What’s that you say, miss?” the innkeeper queried. “The lad isn’t your husband?”
“No! My husband is the Duke of Württemberg, and this man,” I jabbed an accusing finger in the direction of my captor, “has been holding me against my will!”
The innkeeper’s brow furrowed as she looked with notable concern from my face to his. “Well, what have you to say for yourself?”
“Please, my lady, this woman is—”
“Don’t be trying to sweet-talkmenow, lad! I know your kind! Yes, indeed! You best be out with the truth!” She came around to stand beside me, crossing her arms across her considerable chest. Her nearness gave me a boost of security that I hadn’t felt since this entire ordeal had begun.
“Please, madam, I assure you—”
“What’s this, now?”
I turned my head at the sound of a new voice and saw a tall, robust man making his way toward us. His dark hair was lined with silver and his eyes were dark as obsidian.
“What’s the fuss about, wife?” he demanded of the innkeeper.
“George, to hear this young lady tell it, she’s been kidnapped by this man here who’s keeping her from her husband!”
I felt nearly weak with relief at her coming to my rescue. Finally,finally, I could get back to Hohenzollern. I could nearly feel it within my grasp.
Her husband turned to my abductor, his face as angry as a storm cloud. “What kind of man does such a thing?” he demanded.
“I would never harm a lady,” my captor told him smoothly. “And certainly not a single hair on this one’s fair head. Truly, sir, this is my wife. She took aspill from her horse not a fortnight ago and has been speaking nonsense ever since. In fact, we’re riding to see the doctor now.”
I’d begun shaking my head long before he was finished speaking, but I could see that the innkeeper’s husband seemed inclined to believe the tale. “No, I’ve known how to ride since I was a babe, I’ve never fallen—”
“A lass who’sneverfallen?” he chucked to himself. “Well, now. There’s something you don’t see every day.”
“My father had me tutored in riding right along with the squires!” I protested, missing the glances the man and his wife exchanged. “Why, it is not uncommon for a well-bred woman to know how to ride! The princess herself has never fallen!”
“You can see for yourself what I mean,” my captor interjected softly, ignoring the daggers I glared at him. “She’s a sweet woman, I swear it, but a bit… daft at the moment.”
“I am not!” I spat at him, stomping my foot. “It’s true!” I turned to the innkeeper, reaching for her with pleading hands and feeling my hope begin to fade as she backed away, as though my touch would burn her. “Please, you have to listen to me! My name is Cecily, the Duchess of Württemberg! Write to my husband, and he’ll come for me. Please, all you have to do is write to him!”
“She is overtired,” he said, while turning to me with a pitying smile. “Of course, Duchess, we’ll do as you ask at once.”
I flew at him then, my hands reaching for his face. I’d never struck another person in all my life, but if he hadn’t captured my hands just then, I would have dug my fingernails into the flesh of his cheeks with pleasure and made him bleed.
“I’ve seen enough,” the innkeeper’s husband announced, his voice gruff. “Take your wife to bed and be sure to keep her in line while you lodge with us.”
“Thank you for your kind understanding, sir.”
“He’s lying!” I cried, feeling tears well in my eyes. “He’s lying, I swear it! If you’ll only write to the duke, tell him that I am here…. please.”
“Come along now, sweeting,” my abductor said, pulling me along. No matter how hard I dug my heels in, it did nothing to slow him down.
“Let me go!” I spat at him. “I won’t tolerate this for another second! I—”
“Stop it,” he hissed in my ear as he continued to lead me to a room. It was the first time that he’d spoken to me in such a hard voice, and for a moment it did send me into silence. “I will not force myself on you, if that’s what you fear. If I’d wanted to take you, I would have done so without paying for the pleasure.” He gestured to the inn.
For some reason, the way that he’d said it, the way he insinuated that he didn’t find me desirable rankled me even more. “If you want me to stop, takeme home! I’m not going to stay here and let you have your way with me!”
“You’re causing people to stare,” he told me in a clipped voice that was laced with warning.
Proper ladies did not raise their voices and they certainly did not cause a scandal, but I was beyond the rules of gentility now. Let them stare—let him be embarrassed. Perhaps it would be enough to get me my freedom. “I willnotbe forced to—”
He was much taller than me, a head at least, and he had a large, muscled form. He had no problem picking me up and hoisting me over his shoulder, carrying me as though I weighed no more than a barrel of hay. People were indeed staring then, not that he seemed to notice.
