“You only say that when you are this deep in your grief. There are many good fathers and mothers in that huge family, innocent children, the old and the feeble, even friends of ours. Yes, some of them might be unscrupulous enough to want to cause us harm. It might even be Karsten, influenced by the other young bucks who are impatient and bellicose. We just don’t know! But it is time we did. Give Christoph leave to use harsher measures. Please, Frederick, this nightmare needs to end!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
WHEN ALANA DROWSILY OPENED her eyes, she found the light so bright it felt almost painful. She didn’t want to wake up yet! Where the deuce was all the light coming from?
She opened her eyes wider, then immediately brought her hand up to shade her eyes. She wasn’t dreaming. Bright light was shining directly into her cell from the windows in the detention block because the curtain over the cell door had been pulled open.
“Good morning, Lady—Farmer.”
She turned her head to the voice and gasped when she saw Boris standing close to her bed, grinning at her. Yanking the blanket up to her neck, she demanded, “What are you doing in here?”
“I’ve brought you a very nice breakfast.” He set the platter down on the foot of her bed. “I would have brought a table, too, if I had known yours was broken.”
She blushed. The table, which was missing one leg, lay upside down on the floor. She wasn’t going to explain. She wasn’t going to give up her club, either.
“It doesn’t feel as though I got enough sleep. What time is it?”
“Very early. The captain asked me to find some clothes for you to wear today.” He nudged the sack by his foot, then picked up the table.
“I take it mine aren’t cleaned yet?”
“Not yet. And the captain will be here soon, so maybe you should dress quickly, eh? And don’t forget to eat!” he called back as he carried the table away.
She noted he had left the door open. Did he forget? Or had Christoph finally figured out that she wasn’t going anywhere until she met her father? Boris’s tip that the captain would soon be here worried her enough to get her out of bed and emptying the sack of clothes.
She could feel that the clothes were made of coarse materials, but when she slipped the blouse on, she saw they were cut in a risqué style, too. Who in this day and age wore such lowcut garments that didn’t cover her breasts decently? The flimsy chemise was even worse as it barely covered her nipples! Nothing in the sack could be used to cover her bosom other than a long, rectangular scarf that was probably meant for her waist, but she draped it around her neck instead.
She had only half-finished eating breakfast when Christoph appeared in the doorway. She got off the bed immediately. He was wearing a long coat, but not the military coat she’d seen him in last night. The material of this coat was not as fine, and because he hadn’t buttoned it yet, she could see he wasn’t wearing his uniform either. Instead he wore a woolen shirt and loose pants tucked into knee-high boots with wide, furry cuffs. Why was he dressed so informally today?
“Very colorful,” he said, running his eyes over her.
She could tell he was trying to hide a grin, but actually she had to agree; she was colorful. The skirt was bright yellow, the blouse white, and the wrap was deep red.
“But this won’t do,” he added.
Thank goodness, she thought, until he stepped forward and pulled the sash off her neck. “What are you doing?!” She put her hands up to cover what he’d just uncovered.
“You need to look authentic, not comical, where we’re going.” He wrapped the sash around her waist several times before he tied it off. “There, much better, but you’ll need a coat. We’ll borrow Franz’s, he’s as short as you. Let’s go.”
She didn’t budge. “Where are we going?”
“I have to attend a festival today in the high country. It’s official business. Bad timing, since I need to keep my eye on you as well. So I can tend to both responsibilities by taking you with me.”
“I can’t go out in these clothes!”
“Of course you can. I was going to introduce you as my maid, but any man who looks at you will know I wouldn’t let such a pretty morsel stay out of my bed for long, so . . .”
She sucked in a breath. “Don’t you dare introduce me as your mistress!”
“It’s only for the day, Alana. We need to blend in at this festival, not show up as obvious nobles who will make the commoners feel uncomfortable. It must appear that we are just there to have fun like everyone else.”
The thought of having some fun appealed to her, although she wasn’t sure it was possible with him. Nonetheless, she stopped complaining and followed his direction when he extended a hand for her to precede him out of the cell. At least she would be given a coat that would cover her appalling outfit.
Now that she understood why he was wearing what looked like rugged work clothes, she couldn’t resist commenting, “So, just going to be the barbarian today, are you?”
She was being sarcastic, but he raised a brow at her. “If you insist.”
She gasped as his palm whacked her arse. Oh, good grief, that better have only been retaliation for her remark and not a preview of how he was going to behave today!
