“I haven’t mastered it. I’m still learning.” Viggo glanced down at the text. “Homer’s worth the effort though.”
“‘Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns,’” Fairbridge quoted softly in Greek. “‘Driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.’”
Viggo stared at him. “You know Homer.”
“I did read Classics at Oxford before the military claimed me.” A faint smile touched Fairbridge’s lips. “A long time and a very different life ago.”
The train’s whistle sounded, long and mournful. They began to slow.
“Oh!” Shaw abandoned the card game and glued herself to the window. “I can see the cliffs.”
Viggo gazed past her and caught his first glimpse of the famous white bluffs rising stark against the grey Channel waters. Even in the weak midday light, they gleamed like bone.
Evander finally looked up from his files, his ice-blue gaze distracted for a moment as he reorientated himself.
The train shuddered to a stop at Dover’s modest station. They collected their bags and prepared to disembark, Viggo tuckingThe Odysseycarefully back into his coat. The weight of it against his ribs was oddly comforting.
The bustle of passengers and the sharp tang of salt in the air greeted them when they stepped outside. Seagulls whirledoverhead, their cries sharp and their pale wings stark against the overcast sky.
They waited until the porters assembled their trunks before making their way to the exit and the carriages the Met had arranged to take them to the port. It didn’t take long to realise something was amiss when they reached the waterfront.
A commotion eruptednear the harbour master’s office as they exited their transports.
Evander looked around at the sudden surge of activity. A contingent of uniformed guards on horses appeared, forming a protective corridor through the crowd. Behind them came carriages bearing a royal crest, the lion and unicorn gleaming gold against black lacquer.
His stomach dropped when he realised what he was looking at.
“Bloody hell,” Rufus breathed. “Is that?—?”
“The future German Empress,” Fairbridge said quietly. His expression had gone carefully neutral.
Tension knotted Evander’s shoulders. He glimpsed Viggo’s frown out of the corner of his eye while he kept his gaze locked on Princess Victoria’s entourage. He’d known she was visiting her mother the Queen. He hadn’t expected her to stop at Dover on the way to the continent.
An excited flutter ran through the crowd as the royal party emerged from the carriages in a flurry of silk and ceremony. Princess Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia, stepped onto the dock with the bearing of someone born to command. At thirty-five, she was striking rather than beautiful, with her mother’s pale blue eyes and an intelligence that showed in every gesture.
Her gaze swept the crowd and landed squarely on Evander.
Recognition flashed across her face, followed by unmistakable delight.
Evander swallowed a curse as Victoria said something to one of her ladies-in-waiting and began moving in their direction, her entourage scrambling to keep pace.
“Your Grace?” Shaw looked between Evander and the arriving procession, her confusion clear in her face. “Do you know her?”
“We’re acquainted,” Evander said tightly.
“Evander,” Viggo said in a low voice, “what’s happening?”
“I’ll explain later.” Evander straightened his shoulders and stepped forward, acutely aware of every eye on the dock turning toward them. “Right now, I need to follow royal protocol.”
He moved to meet Princess Victoria halfway, conscious of Viggo’s tension radiating behind him like a physical force. She reached him first. Propriety demanded he bow. He did so, deeply and formally.
“Your Imperial Highness,” Evander said in a polite tone. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
“Duke Ravenwood.” Victoria’s voice carried across the dock with unrestrained warmth in contrast to his own. “How wonderful to see you. I had no idea you’d be travelling today.”
She extended her hand. Evander took it and brushed his lips across her knuckles. Victoria’s eyes sparkled with barely contained amusement at the formal gesture.
“I’m leading an investigation for the Metropolitan Police,” Evander said levelly. “We’re en route to Paris.”
