“You need to take care of your son,” he told her. “You need to hug him and get him out of here while we clean up. This is no place for you and the child. I’ll take care of Ethan. You hug Nicky—and Nicky, you hug your mother.”
She gave Nicky a hug then released him. “Gabriel, this blood was shed because of me and my child, so give me your handkerchief and let me do what I must,” she told him.
Reading the determination in her eyes, he handed her his handkerchief. She knelt and pressed it to Ethan’s wound. “I’m not the least bit bothered by blood,” she informed Gabriel.
“So I see,” Gabriel stood back, a faint smile on his face. “That will teach you to be a hero,” he told Ethan.
The landlord, having heard the shots, burst into the room.
“Ah, landlord, some brandy, please, and a quantity of clean linen,” Callie ordered over her shoulder.
“Were that a gunshot? In my inn?” the man demanded. He saw the count’s body on the floor and recoiled. “Is he—is that—?”
“Yes, there is a dead body, but don’t worry, Captain Kordovski will remove it, won’t you, Captain?”
“Y-yes, of course, Princess.” Captain Kordovski was still in shock at the count’s blatant attempt on the crown prince’s life.
The landlord’s eyes bulged.“Princess?”
“Yes?” Callie responded. “Landlord, the brandy? The clean linen? Make haste, if you please. There is a man bleeding here!”
“Yes, Yer Royal ’Ighness.” The landlord bowed deeply and hurried off.
Later Captain Kordovski explained. The day after Princess Caroline and Prince Nikolai had disappeared Count Zabor—no, uncle Otto was not dead—had officially frozen all of Count Anton’s property and assets pending an inquiry into the prince and princess’s disappearance. He’d accused Count Anton of murder, but Count Anton had claimed their disappearance had nothing to do with him, and that the princess and her son had been stolen by enemies of Zindaria.
“But you weren’t stolen, were you, Princess?” Captain Kordovski finished. “Not by this man or any other.”
“No,” she told him. “Mr. Renfrew never stole me, nobody did. But he has saved me and my son, over and over, and I married him of my own free will.”
Every generous word was like a knife in Gabe’s heart. He hadn’t saved anyone. And he’d blackmailed her into marrying him under the guise of protecting her son. And then failed to do it.
Captain Kordovski continued, “Count Anton left Zindaria, insisting he could find the prince and princess. He vowed to get them back, safe and sound.”
“I suppose it was that or become a pauper and a pariah in his own country,” Nash interjected.
“Yes, that is true,” the captain agreed. “But now I think maybe Count Zabor did not trust him, for he sent myself and the Royal Guards after Count Anton to ensure the safety of the prince and princess.” He glanced at the princess and said stiffly, “He knew I would die before I let harm come to either of them.”
Callie nodded. “I know that, Captain. I wouldn’t have come into this room otherwise.” She gave Gabe a speaking look.
“Were you at Tibby’s cottage?” Ethan said in a cold voice.
Captain Kordovski raised a brow. “Where do you mean?”
“At Lulworth. Little white cottage, covered in roses.”
Captain Kordovski shook his head. “No, we only met up with the count in London two days ago. It took us several days to discover he’d sailed to England, but we traced him through embassy connections, and from there to the home of the Austrian ambassador, Prince Esterhazy.”
Ethan grunted.
Gabe nodded. It was as he thought. The captain’s arrival had saved Nicky. Nothing else. Nobody else.
“We shall convey the count’s body back to Zindaria,” Captain Kordovski told Callie. “It is the correct thing to do. No matter what he has done, he belongs in Zindaria.”
Callie nodded. “Yes, you are right.”
“And you, Princess, you belong in Zindaria, too, you and Prince Nikolai.” Captain Kordovski hesitated, then said, “You are much beloved in Zindaria, Princess.”
“Me? You mean Nicky.”
