It would take only a few minutes for her to upbraid the lecher, Katherine thought furiously, and then she could go. “When will he come?”
Vladimir shrugged. “When he is ready to retire for the evening.”
Katherine lowered her eyes as warm color stained her cheeks again. She had heard sex discussed more today than in all her twenty-one years, and all in such a natural, unembarrassed way. These servants of Alexandrov’s must do this sort of thing all the time to have no shame whatsoever. It was as if they saw absolutely nothing wrong in kidnapping an innocent woman off the streets to serve up to their master.
“You do realize, don’t you, that what you’re doing is criminal?” she asked quietly.
“But such a little offense, for which you will receive recompense.”
Katherine was too stunned to answer, and he was gone before her temper had a chance to explode. They thought they were above the law! No, perhaps not. They simply thoughtshewas of the lower classes, and the law favored the gentry here, no doubt in Russia too. As far as they were concerned, abusing her was nothing, for what could she do against a powerful prince? But she hadn’t told them they were mistaken. She hadn’t told them who she really was and that it was quite a different matter to abduct an earl’s daughter.
She supposed she should have made a clean breast of it. But the thought of confessing to such a foolish charade was just too embarrassing. And it wouldn’t be necessary to secure her freedom. Showing Alexandrov her antipathy would be enough.
It was a young maid who came in to help her with her bath. Katherine didn’t want any help, but the girl obviously spoke only Russian, for she ignored all of Katherine’s protestations and chatted away in her own language as she folded each piece of clothing Katherine dropped on the floor in her haste to get her ordeal over. And then the moment she stepped into the tub, the girl walked out of the room with every stitch of Katherine’s clothing, including her shoes.
Blast and damn! They thought of everything! And there was nothing in the room, save the bedding, to cover herself with. It was the last straw! She had tried to be calm. She had tried her best to overlook each offense and treat the whole thing as a simple mistake. In the end she would have been civil to the Prince when she explained his servant’s highhandedness. But not now. No, by God, now he would suffer her wrath.
Katherine scrubbed herself with a vengeance until every inch of her skin was glowing pink. It was the only way she could immediately let off a little steam. Before she was done, her dinner arrived, delivered by Marusia again.
“I want my clothes back!” Katherine demanded immediately the door opened.
“All in good time,” the woman replied calmly.
“I want them now!”
“I must warn you not to raise your voice so, little one. The guards have their orders—”
“To hell with them, and to hell with you! Oh, what’s the use?”
Katherine stomped out of the tub, whipped a towel around her, and marched to the bed before they thought of removing even those coverings from the room. The heavy spread was too thick and bulky to do, so she threw it back and yanked off the top sheet, tossing it around her shoulders like a cape. The green satin quickly soaked up the moisture from her skin.
Marusia was more than a little surprised. Such a little bundle of fury, all glistening pink from her bath. Anger made her eyes sparkle, her cheeks bloom, and her body…la, such perfection had been hidden beneath that ugly black dress. The Prince would find no fault there.
“You eat now, yes, and then perhaps you have time for a little nap before—”
“Not another word!” Katherine interrupted sharply. “Leave me. I will speak to no one but Alexandrov.”
Marusia wisely left. There was nothing left to do anyway except wait and hope that there was some truth to Bulavin’s bragging.
Visions of those burly guards holding her down and shoving food down her throat forced Katherine to the table. The fact that she had been experiencing hunger pangs for the last three hours had little to do with it. But the food was delicious: chicken in a creamy sauce, boiled potatoes and carrots, little honey cakes. The white wine was excellent too, but she was really too thirsty to appreciate it, having drunk nothing all day, and had finished off two glasses before the young maid returned with another tray. This one held a pitcher of iced water, too late, since she had already quenched her thirst, as well as a large decanter of brandy and two glasses. It was set by the bed.
So was the time finally approaching when the great prince was going to show himself? Obviously. Good, let him come while she was still at the height of her outrage. But he didn’t come soon, and the time continued to drag by as it had all afternoon.
Katherine finished the meal, then began pacing again. But after about a dozen circles around the room, when every moment she expected the door to open on the elusive prince, she felt her skin begin to tingle where the satin rubbed against it. Nerves. Imagine that! She, who was always steady as a rock, experiencing nerves.
She stopped beside the brandy and poured herself a glass. The great fortifier, brandy. She gulped it down, unwisely, but there was no time to waste. He would be here any minute, and she needed to relax, to be in control. She sat down, willing herself to calmness. Her method didn’t work. The tingling continued, in fact was getting worse.
Katherine leaped up and poured another brandy. This one she sipped. She wasn’t foolish enough to get drunk over a case of nerves. She began to walk again, but the satin, the blasted satin sheet, was so irritating where it brushed against her legs. And yet she couldn’t throw it off, as she had the urge to do. It was her only claim to modesty.
She stopped in the middle of the room, standing perfectly still. That didn’t work either. It was as if every nerve in her body screamed with energy, urging her to move, to do. Standing still was impossible.
She began to fidget, to stretch—God, she had never in her life felt such restlessness. And then there was something else. She thought she could actually feel the blood rushing through her veins. Impossible, and yet she felt so strange and—warm.
The door opened, but it was only the young maid, come to take the dinner tray away. No point in talking to her when the girl couldn’t reply in anything but Russian. God, she needed another drink. She went to pour another one as soon as the girl left, but stopped herself. She didn’t dare. She already felt a little light-headed, when she definitely needed to keep her wits about her.
She sat down on the bed, then heard herself groan. Her eyes flared wide at the sound. What was wrong with her? It had to be the blasted sheet. She had to get rid of it, if only for a few moments.
Katherine let the sheet fall, then shivered as it slid down her arms and back to pool around her hips. Reflexively she crossed her arms over her bare breasts, then felt a shock clear down to her toes. She gasped. Her breasts had never been so sensitive. But the shock had been pleasurable. She had never felt that before either.
