But first, I wanted the Lebedevs to sweat, to tear the city down in search of their sister as Beatrice said they’d do. Then, when I felt satisfied enough, I’d tell them where their princess is.
I wished I could be there to see the look on Caspian Lebedev’s face when he realized I married his sister.
Just then, I saw a flash of quick movement out in the gardens, from the corner of my eye. I leaned closer to the glass.
I watched, incredulously, when I saw Beatrice hiding behind a tree, scanning the perimeter walls. Instantly, I saw exactly what she was up to.
She wasn’t admiring the gardens, that much was clear. I watched closely as she looked left and right, suspiciously like she was trying to avoid the guards. Once she thought the coast was clear, she began to jog toward the walls.
I clicked my tongue and rose, a bit of amusement spurring in my chest. Even though her little escape attempt thwarted my morning routine, I honestly found myself entertained by the fight in her, thinking back to how she tried to flee in her heels just yesterday.
When I had decided to take Beatrice Lebedev, I hadn’t given much thought to how she’d handle being taken. I expected a fight at worst, and a meek, quiet submission at best.
She’d outdone all expectations. From the moment I saw the sass in her yesterday, I was hooked.
She was anything but boring, and I felt like I wanted to play with her fire. I wanted to see what she’d do and how far she’d get. More than anything, I wanted to spar a little with my clever new wife.
I quickly stepped out of the house and traced my path to Beatrice, making sure I followed at a distance and kept to the shadows of the trees that lined my property.
Beatrice reached the eastern wall, but stopped when she noticed the tight security. She stood for a moment, then turned unnoticed and headed south.
It was clear to me that she was looking for blind spots and testing the layout.
Oh, she had guts.
She walked the entire southern perimeter, occasionally stopping to examine the wall or look up at the security cameras. At one point, she picked up a rock and tossed it at a camera. Her shoulders drooped low when the camera didn’t break, given that it was shock-proof.
At last, she found a smaller gate, partially hidden by overgrown ivy along the western wall. I couldn’t believe that she’d found one of our very few unwatched gates!
It used to be a service entrance, but I had it locked because it was too far from the main house. I moved closer and ducked behind a large oak, watching as her face lit up when she broke away some of the ivy.
It was almost cruel to let her think she’d found a way out, but I was curious to see what she would do next.
Beatrice glanced around, but in her excitement, failed to notice me watching from her blind spot. She then moved to the gate and examined the lock.
That’s when I decided to make my entrance.
I stepped out from behind the tree and walked silently toward her.
“Looking for something?”
Beatrice yelped, whirling around so fast she nearly lost her balance.
“Jesus Christ!” she gasped. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“What’s there to be scared of? You’re not doing anything wrong, are you?” I let myself play with her a little.
Her face flushed.
“I was just…exploring the grounds.” She tried to come up with an excuse. “You said I could access them, didn’t you?”
“I said you could roam the gardens, yes. But I think you misunderstood that to mean find a way to scale my wall.”
“I wasn’t…I just…I was admiring the creepers and stuff.” Much to my disbelief, she still refused to acknowledge she’d been caught.
“Save it, princess.” I gave her a cutting smile. “I’ve been watching you make a complete circuit of my property. Just so you know, you have the subtlety of a bulldozer.”
She crossed her arms and narrowed those gorgeous eyes at me. “I wasn’t trying to escape.”
