by Day Leclaire
“Damn it, Miri. I won’t be stepping over anyone if I’m in prison.”
“Brandt—”
“No more.” He sat up, tossing aside towels, baring them. “Come on, Princess. Let’s see if there’s anything useful left out there.”
She let the topic die. For now. It would give her time to regroup and come up with a new slew of arguments. “What about our clothes?” she asked, looking around for where they’d ended up. “I doubt they’re dry.”
“Then you’ll have a choice. You can either wear wet, sticky clothes, or leave them off. Personally, I think you’ll be more comfortable without them, though I’m not sure I’ll be more comfortable watching you run around nude.” He pretended to consider, a wicked gleam sparking to life in his black gaze. “I will, however, enjoy it more.”
She scrambled up, wishing she was as relaxed and unabashed in her own skin as Brandt seemed to be. She considered his suggestion, to saying the hell with everything and embracing her wild side. The idea lasted an entire two seconds before she found herself scooping up one of the clean towels with a studied indifference and wrapping it around herself. It earned her a slow grin before Brandt followed suit.
While he headed toward the remains of the cabin, Miri tracked down their clothes. Sure enough, they were still wet and she spread them in the grass to dry, shaking her head over their condition.
Her nightgown was a disaster. Aside from several small rents in the skirt and in the seams, it also had numerous burn holes from the hot ash, and the soot-stained hem was ripped loose. Brandt’s clothes had fared little better, probably as a result of his race through the woods to reach her. Both shirt and trousers were torn, some showing bloodstains where branches or vines had snagged more than cloth. He’d also collected his fair share of burn holes and soot marks, as well.
Realizing she couldn’t do anything more about their clothes, she joined Brandt. She found him waiting for her not far from the cabin. The fire had finally died, all that remained a pile of glowing embers. She shivered at the grim sight. Luck had been with them last night, tragedy barely averted. As though picking up on her distress, he slung an arm around her shoulders and held her close.
“Come on. This is pointless,” he said. “Let’s check out the boathouse and see what we can find there.”
“Fishing poles would be nice.” Her stomach grumbled. “A fresh trout breakfast would be even better.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
They did have their trout breakfast, though it took a few more hours than Miri would have liked. Even so, it was well worth the wait. By the time they’d eaten, their clothes were dry enough to wear, though she felt ridiculous running around in a nightgown. Still, it was better than a towel. Barely.
Standing by the boathouse while they returned the fishing poles to their proper places, Miri stared out across the lake and frowned. “Why does this place seem so familiar to me?” she muttered. Brandt had started to tell her yesterday when the helicopter’s departure had interrupted them. She swung around to ask again. “Tell me about the time I was last here.”
He regarded her in surprise. “You really don’t remember? I thought that was just a ploy to distract me.”
“Well, yes.” She fought back a blush. “But it was a sincere question. I really have been here before?”
“You and your family came to the palace to celebrate my grandfather’s seventy-fifth birthday. The next morning we all drove out here to spend the day at the lake.”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
“You should. It was the first time I rescued you.”
“That was here?” She stared at the lake and surrounding woods with new eyes, trying to equate memory with reality. “I guess it was such a traumatic experience, I put it out of my head. I remember begging my brothers to play hide-and-seek. And then…” Her brow crinkled in a frown. “I got lost and you found me. Is that what happened?” she asked uncertainly.
“You found a small cavern and squeezed inside. Then you couldn’t get out again. It took hours to find you.”
“You were the one who got me out.” Wonder lit her eyes. “How could I have forgotten? You sat there and talked to me for the longest time until I’d calmed down. That’s when I first fell in love with you. You told me to feel around for a pebble and hold it in my hand because it was magical and could shrink me small enough to squeeze back out. And it worked. Or at least, I believed it did at the time. I still have it in my jewelry box. It’s the prettiest stone—” She broke off with a gasp.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” His head jerked skyward. “Got it. I hear it, too. The helicopter’s returning.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Brandt—”
He caught her hand. “Come on. Rescue party’s here.”
“Wait. Brandt, wait! You have to listen to me.”
The helicopter dipped low, making a curving sweep along the lakeshore, the noise from its propellers drowning out her voice. It landed in the exact same spot as yesterday. Within seconds of touching down, Tolken emerged from the still churning copter, appearing distinctly white-faced.
He sketched a deep, humble bow. “I apologize, Your Highness, for my part in yesterday’s events, as well as for not getting here sooner. Less than an hour ago we received reports from a pair of hikers of a possible fire. Are you and Princess Miri hurt? Do you require medical attention?”
“That won’t be necessary. We could use a change of clothes, but we’re fine otherwise.”
Tolken’s gaze flickered in Miri’s direction and then swiftly away. “I have a spare jumpsuit stashed in the helicopter. It’ll be a trifle large for Her Highness, but might be preferable to the alternative.”
“Since the alternative is my nightgown, I’m forced to agree,” Miri inserted dryly. “If you’ll get it for me, I’ll change in the boathouse.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The instant he returned to the helicopter, Miri grabbed Brandt’s arm. “Before we go, I need to speak to you in private. It’s important.”
He shook his head. “Enough, Miri. There’s nothing left to be said. We both have our own opinions about honor and duty, and I don’t see either of us changing our mind anytime soon.”
“It’s not about that. It’s—”
Tolken hustled back, a bright orange pair of coveralls in his hands. Left with no choice, Miri snatched it up and headed for the boathouse to change. The outfit was huge, leaving her swimming in an ocean of orange. Acres of excess material dangled off her wrists and ankles, tripping her every time she tried to take a step. Opening the door, she called for Brandt.
“Hey, I need help in here.”
He broke off his conversation with Tolken. Not that it was much of a conversation. It looked more like he was giving the poor man hell. With a final hard comment, he left a visibly shaken Tolken and approached, his stride long and lethal, reminding her more than ever of a stalking panther. Heaven help her, His Highness was back in charge and didn’t appear to be in the best of tempers. So much for last night. So much for the gentle man who’d held her through the night. Comforted her. Made love to her.
He entered the boathouse and pushed the door to behind him. “What’s the problem, Miri? We need to leave.”
“And you need to listen.” Before he could interrupt again, she flipped her dangling cuff at him. “First, help me with this stupid thing. It’s dragging every which way.”
“Then we leave. No more talking.”
Together they rolled up the material at her wrists and ankles. She looked down at herself with a sigh. “I look ridiculous, don’t I?”
He nodded. “Just a bit.”
“Gee, thanks,” she grumbled. “You’re supposed to say I look adorable.”
“Your nightgown looked adorable. This…not so much.”
“That bad?” She grabbed a pair of rubber sandals from off one of the storage racks and slipped them on. “Bad enough to keep you from ravishing me?”
<
br /> He waited a beat. “Never that bad.”
“Okay, then. I feel better now.” When he would have opened the door again, she caught hold of his hand. “Listen, Brandt. That cavern. The one where you found me all those years ago? Do you think you can find it again?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.” He frowned impatiently. “You don’t mean today?”
“Yes, today,” she insisted. “As in, right now, this minute.”
He shook his head before she’d even finished speaking. “That’s impossible. According to Tolken, there’s a situation brewing back at the palace. I’m needed there.”
She waved that aside, nearly unraveling her sleeve again. “Forget the palace. This can’t wait.” She didn’t want to tell him of her suspicions, not if it meant raising his hopes, only to dash then again. Not when it promised to cement his determination to get rid of her. But she could see he was going to refuse her request and desperation had her speaking without consideration. “I’ll make you a deal. If you’ll do as I ask, I’ll agree to return to my family without a fight.” Oh, God, what was she saying? “I’ll…I’ll do whatever you want about our future, no matter how thickheaded and foolish I consider it.”
Okay, maybe that last part could have been phrased better, considering she hoped to win his cooperation. But really. He was being thickheaded and foolish by refusing to allow her to stand at his side while he faced the charges being leveled against him.
She could tell her impulsive offer had given him pause and he studied her in the dim light seeping into the boathouse. “You? A walking, talking argument? You’ll do whatever I want?” His eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Miri?”
If she’d been a child, she’d have been jumping up and down and pleading incoherently by now. “I’ll explain if you find the cavern. I might be wrong and I’d rather not say anything until I know for certain.”
He shook his head. “It’s been a long time and I’m not sure I remember exactly where it was.”
“Please, Brandt. You have to try.”
“And if I agree? Do we have a deal?” He spoke with his grandfather’s voice, serious and regal. The voice of a man who ruled a principality, and one day, maybe, a country. “You’ll return to your family as soon as we get back to the palace?”
She flinched from the ultimatum, but she’d made a promise and she’d stick to it. “Yes. We have a deal.” She closed her eyes in despair. So, this was what sacrifice tasted like. She couldn’t say she cared much for the flavor of it. The dish held far too bitter a bite. “I’ll return to my family as soon as we get back to the palace.”
He jerked his head toward the door. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”
“Wait.”
He thrust a hand through his hair. “What now, Miri?”
“Before we go…” She moistened her lips. “I want you to kiss me one last time.”
He stilled. “Is this some sort of trick?”
She laughed, hoping against hope he couldn’t hear the underlying tears. “No trick. Just a goodbye kiss, that’s all I’m asking.”
He didn’t argue further. Hooking his index finger into the plunging neckline of her coveralls, he propelled her into his arms. And then he kissed her, driving every thought from her mind but the need to lose herself in his embrace. He took her mouth with exquisite tenderness and she moaned softly, opening to him. His tongue mated with hers, teasing her toward the raw, primal urges she’d experienced both times he’d made love to her. It only took that one kiss for her to want again, to be filled with a fierce longing to have him take her the way he had last night. One touch, and she lost all rational thought.
His reaction was no different. Sunlight streamed through the narrow gap in the door and fell directly on his face. Harsh color slashed across his cheekbones, the wildfire burning in his eyes glittering with deadly intent. He was a man reduced to his most primitive, his desire raw and blatant. She stared up at him. Breath and heartbeat quickened. If the time and place had been any different, he’d have taken their embrace to its ultimate conclusion.
But it wasn’t another time or place, and she’d made a deal. Snatching a final kiss, whispering a silent farewell, she released him and stepped back. “Thank you, Your Highness,” she managed to say. Crossing to the door, she flung it open and stepped into the painfully bright sunshine. If she blinked hard, it was only because her eyes were slow to adjust to the light. Nothing more, most certainly not tears.
Turning to Brandt, she gestured toward the surrounding wood. “Which way?”
The search proved hot and exhausting. More than once Miri was on the verge of giving up. But there was too much at stake to quit. “Try again,” she urged when they hit another false trail.
“I know you couldn’t have gotten too far from the lake. The brush has probably grown up around the cavern,” Brandt said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He paused to study the surrounding terrain. “It should be on a hillside.”
She pointed farther out. “We haven’t checked there.”
He hesitated, before nodding. “I would have thought that’s too far, but it took a while to find you when you originally went missing. So, let’s give it a try.”
As soon as they approached the area, he picked up his pace. “This is it. I’m sure it’s over here.”
And there it was, a narrow slash in the earth. Miri could only stare at it, shaking her head. How in the world had she managed to fit in there, even at the tender age of eleven? She approached the cavern and dropped to her knees, grateful for the bulky coveralls. Carefully, she slid her arm into the opening and groped along the floor, gathering up a handful of the pebbles. Sending up a silent prayer, she pulled her arm from the opening and slowly opened her hand. Sunlight struck the stones she held.
“Are these what I think they are?” she asked Brandt unevenly.
Crouching beside her, he expelled his breath in a long sigh. “Only if you think they’re Juliana Rose amethysts.”
Eleven
“How did you know?” Brandt asked, shaking his head in amazement.
She examined the stones with a practiced eye. “It was Juliana’s wedding ring that tipped me off. That new colored amethyst looked so familiar for some reason. I couldn’t think why until you reminded me about getting trapped in the cavern when I was eleven. Then it clicked. I remembered the pebble I’d kept from that day and the odd color and—” She threw herself into his arms. “Oh, Brandt. I can’t believe we found more of them. Wait until everyone finds out that those few in her ring aren’t the only Juliana Roses in existence.”
He gathered her into a tight embrace, resting his cheek against the top of her head. How many more times would he be able to hold her like this before he’d be forced to let her go? “Honey, we need to keep this a secret until we’re certain about what we have here.”
“Yes, of course. I won’t say a word.” A small frown touched her brow. “How soon can you get a geologist to the site?”
“I’ll have a crew out here before the end of the day.”
“That soon?” She beamed in delight. “And how long before they know how large the deposit is? Tomorrow? The end of the week?”
“Slow down, Miri,” he cautioned. “It could be a while. Accuracy is more important than speed.”
“But if it’s a large deposit?” The hope filling her eyes was painful to watch. “Will it be enough?”
“It could save Verdonia.” He held up a hand to stem her excited exclamation. “Let’s not get too worked up. We have to wait for the initial report to come in. And then for the final one. A lot can happen between now and then.”
“In the meantime, maybe Juliana has discovered something about the accusations against you.” It was her turn to cut him off. “Don’t tell me not to get my hopes up. I’m not all doom and gloom like you. I want to believe that everything will work out. I’ve already decided that my darling sister-in-law will clear you and our find is going to be the tip of a huge mine full of Juliana Rose amethysts. Don�
�t bother trying to talk me out of it. That’s what’s going to happen. My mind is made up.”
He couldn’t help but smile. Miri’s green eyes glowed with excitement, her cheeks as bright a pink as her lips. Dirt smudged the side of her nose and her hair remained in a hopeless tangle down her back. But he’d never seen her look more beautiful. Unable to resist, he snatched a kiss. The color in both cheek and lip deepened.
Reluctantly letting her go, he hunkered down in front of the slash and scooped up another handful of stones, dropping them into his pocket. From what little he could tell without the appropriate equipment, they showed serious promise for depth of color, size and clarity. He’d be very interested to hear what his master cutter had to say about them.
Looking around for a suitable rock, he gestured to Miri. “Unroll one of your sleeves. I want to mark this spot.” He used the sharp edge from a piece of quartz to jab a hole in the material. Ripping it, he tore free a strip of orange and tied it to a nearby bush. “Okay, let’s go. We’ve done everything we can here. I need to take care of whatever crisis is going down at the palace.”
She threw the cavern a final excited glance before falling in beside him on their return trek through the woods. Tolken and the pilot were waiting patiently by the helicopter, ready to lift off at a moment’s notice. The ride back to the palace took no time, and no sooner did they step from the craft than one of his guards came for them at a dead run.
He sketched a hasty bow. “Please, Your Highness. All hell’s breaking loose in there—” He gulped when he realized what he’d said, and stared at Miri in horror. “Begging your pardon, ma’am.”
She waved aside the apology. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“I think they’ve come to arrest Prince Brandt. They’re all in there arguing.” He turned back to Brandt. “If you would, Your Highness. You need to come.”
“Go tell them I’m on my way.”
He would have followed the guard if Miri hadn’t thrown herself in front of him. “No. No, you’re not going.”
