Georg told him the entire story.
Julius grew white when he reached the part where the Baroness’s gun went off. “I shall lock her in a tower for the rest of her life.”
“That will be my privilege,” Georg countered.
“And you! How dare you use my sister as bait in this most dangerous operation?”
“It was never my intention to use her in the first place. Though you know Evie. I count us fortunate that she told me at all. She could have gone ahead and met the woman without our knowledge, and it doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened then.”
Julius pointed his finger at him. “You. You had better take her off my hands, soon.”
“There would be no greater joy. I was about to ask for your permission to bring forward the wedding.”
Julius got up. “You can marry her tomorrow for all I care.”
“Alas, we shall have to wait until the manoeuvres are done. I should much prefer the beginning of March to June.”
Julius nodded. “It shall be done. And now, may I return to my nuncheon?”
“Do, my friend, do.” Georg slapped him on the shoulder.
Herr Dehne,the owner of theconfiserie, was so distraught at what had happened that he closed the place for the remainder of the month. He swore he had no idea who the woman was; he had never seen her before, nor had he known that she would use his establishment for such a vile purpose.
“I am ruined,” he moaned. “No one will ever want to visit again.”
Happily, he was mistaken, for on the day he reopened, at the very height of Carnival, on Shrove Tuesday, no less, a long line of impatient patrons waited outside the shop.
To top it all, he received a most magnificent order: he was to create a wedding cake for the most important wedding of the Season, complete with four tiers covered in almond and sugar icing, a profusion of roses made of fondant, and gold and silver pearls.
Evie thought it all somewhat excessive, but she was told that for the most important wedding in the congress, people were expecting a fashionable cake, particularly if all of Europe’s royalty were attending.
She would have preferred a quieter wedding in the English style just with the family, but that might have been a problem too, since Georg’s family included rather extensive relations consisting of Austrian archdukes and archduchesses, his mother having been born a Habsburg archduchess. However, she, as she had already announced, would not attend. Evie understood that Georg’s relationship with his mother was not the best and found that to be a pity, for she herself had never had any mother at all, and part of her had hoped that Georg’s mother might fill that gap. But, it appeared, that was to remain wishful thinking.
“Things would be simpler if we could just elope to Gretna Green,” Evie declared, quite tired and cross with allthe wedding preparations. “Besides, in England, all we have is a wedding breakfast without much fanfare after a simple ceremony at church. I do not know why we must make such a to-do here. We are just getting married, nothing more. Why must we do so twice?”
It really was most tedious. Because her bridegroom was an Austrian officer, they were obliged to marry first in a Viennese church under Catholic rites, and to secure her own protections under English law, an Anglican service had to follow.
“You don’t appear to look forward to our wedding celebration,” Hartenberg observed. There was an odd glint in his eyes. “It is meant to be a joyous event that we have decided to share with the rest of the world.”
“If you say so.” Her voice was deflated.
He grabbed her by the wrist and drew her up to him so that she was pressed up to his chest, looking up at him. “What is it you are worried about?”
The sudden closeness took her breath away. “Nothing. I just didn’t sleep well, and I am tired.”
His finger traced a dark shadow under her eye. “Is that all?”
She wanted to affirm that of course it was, though oddly enough, entirely different words came out of her mouth.
“Shall we truly be all right?” she whispered. She did not mean the wedding or the celebration, and Hartenberg immediately understood that.
He looked down at her, cradling her face between his hands. “Whatever happens, we will be all right, Evie. I am certain of that. But I can’t promise you eternal happiness, or that we will never encounter any problems. I wish I could, but I am not God. But I can promise you that I will care for you for the rest of my life and will be loyal to you.”
What about love?her heart cried.What about love?
But she only nodded, the words dissolving in her throat.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, heavy and expectant.
