A moment of silence followed. “Are you?”
He said that without inflection, making her realize her wish had come true. She was now dealing with the real captain of the guard, who would actually attend to duty, not that tempting seducer, thank God. Yet why wasn’t he more surprised by her revelation? Could he actually be that well schooled in guarding emotions when required? She’d had that training herself, though it had certainly been tested during the last month.
“I can explain,” she said, “as it was explained to me. If you aren’t surprised, I certainly was. I’ve only known about this for the last month. I—”
Alana stopped. Was she rambling? She was still in the grip of too many emotions she wasn’t familiar with.
She moved to one of the sofas in the room, but not to sit down. She just wanted to put more distance between herself and the captain. And have an excuse to take her eyes off him. After placing her cloak and her purse on the end of the sofa, her heartbeat still hadn’t returned to normal. The effect he’d had on her was amazing.
“Would you like some refreshments?” he inquired behind her.
Alana was taken aback by his question, but she quickly seized on his gesture of hospitality. “Yes, thank you. I’m actually quite hungry.”
He shouted, “Boris!”—which produced a servant after a few moments. “Tell Franz to serve dinner early, and bring some food immediately for the lady.”
He had his own cook, too? “These are your quarters?” Alana questioned as she turned to give him her full attention again. “A bit fancy for a captain, isn’t it?”
“I had permission from the king to build this addition. It will be given some other use when I leave.”
“Your job is only temporary?”
“It’s mine for however long I want it, and in fact I may never leave. It is highly important to me that the king and his family be well protected.”
She found those words reassuring, since she was a member of that family. And he didn’t seem to mind her questions. His expression hadn’t changed at all since his manner had turned professional again. He had to be curious about her revelation, yet he hid it well. Unless he simply didn’t believe her . . .
She dismissed that thought. He didn’t dare not take her claim seriously. He could just be waiting for her to explain herself. She was hoping she wouldn’t have to, at least not until her father was present to hear her tale. The less she said about Poppie to others, the better.
The tall captain moved over to the lit fireplace and stood with his back to it, his hands held behind him. The fire was close to dying. It could definitely use another log, but he didn’t take his eyes off her long enough to see to it. He’d even kept his eyes on her as he’d walked over there, his stride and his posture military-erect. She couldn’t help but notice he was in prime shape. In fact, she couldn’t recall ever before seeing a male physique this superlative. Surely she had, she just hadn’t been impressed enough to take note of it. Until now. Because he was so handsome?
The large room felt a little chilly. Of course, she could share that meager fire with Becker, though it might appear a bit too bold for her to close the distance between them. She didn’t want him thinking about those kisses again.
“Why was I really kept waiting today?” she asked. “I saw at least one man who arrived after me summoned into the inner chamber.”
“Bureaucracy,” Becker said simply. “If you don’t state your business, you are placed at the end of the line.”
“So I should have told a mere guard who I am? When my life has been in jeopardy since I was an infant? I was warned not to do that.”
He shrugged. “It is of no matter. You would have gone no further in either case. We would merely have had this conversation sooner, since you would have been brought to my attention, not the king’s.”
She sighed. Such a waste of time. Had she really thought it would be easy to gain an audience with the king? She had hoped foolishly, it now seemed. But at least the captain seemed cordial enough now in his official capacity. And way too cordial when he’d thought she was a widow looking for a lover. But he hadn’t had her escorted to the gate as he’d done with his lady friend. And he hadn’t dismissed her claim as ludicrous, as he could have done. So apparently he was going to hear her out.
He confirmed her assessment of the situation when he said, “Sit down. Make yourself comfortable. I suspect you will be here for quite a while.”
“Not unless my father is scheduled to leave the palace today and I have to wait for his return,” she disagreed.
“The king isn’t leaving.”
“Then can you at least take me to him, so I don’t have to repeat myself? The story I have to tell is not exactly a brief one.”
“When you aren’t the first princess to show up with this claim? I think not.”
Chapter Fourteen
THE FOOD ARRIVED BEFORE Alana could say anything, which was fortunate, because she didn’t think she could utter a single word, she was so stunned. Someone else had tried to impersonate her?
Poppie hadn’t warned her about this, so it must have been kept secret, so secret that not even his paid informant had discovered it. Yet it should have occurred to him, even to her, as a possibility. So much wealth, power, and privilege was involved, of course, some unscrupulous person would try to claim all that. When you were seven, there was another tidbit, that with so much time passed, it was now presumed you were dead. She remembered Poppie’s words clearly now. There had even been a ceremonial funeral! And that news had opened the door for an imposter to take her place. Who would have dared try something like that before then, when she’d only been “missing” and could have been returned to her family at any time?
“It’s appalling and so cruel that someone tried to impersonate me. But I suppose it’s not surprising considering what’s at stake,” Alana said with disgust in her voice. She sat back on the sofa and took a deep breath before she added, “You think I’m going to withdraw my claim now, don’t you? I would if lives weren’t at stake. I might have been born here, but—”
