He smiled for the first time that day. “Of course.”
Tanya couldn’t believe how angry she suddenly felt, imagining hordes of women fawning over Stefan, seducing him, just to see what they could get out of him. And that damn smile of his said he had enjoyed every bit of it, whether the women’s ploys had worked or not.
It was all she could do to keep from glowering at him, so she didn’t dare pursue that subject any further. “So the dead woman was first my brother’s mistress. Why would that lead Janos to believe his own son was innocent?”
“Because he couldn’t believe Yuri was capable of such a crime. In his mind, someone else had to have committed it, and your brother was the most likely candidate. Janos claimed the boy killed the woman in a fit of jealous passion when she wouldn’t return to him, then bought witnesses to blame Yuri for the crime. He also claimed that Leos had Yuri executed instead of banished because Yuri could prove he was innocent, and Leos was protecting his own son.”
“Is it possible that Yuri was innocent?”
“No. One of the witnesses was a bishop of the church. Another was Yuri’s own servant. Only an enraged father would doubt them. Besides, your brother was well accounted for the entire day of the murder.”
“So then what happened?”
“Janos had your brother killed.”
“How?”
“How he did it doesn’t matter, Tanya. Suffice it to say—”
How?”
He stared at her for a long moment, his scars quivering as he ground his teeth together in protest at her persistence. She almost took back the question. But she already knew the end of this tale, so the details couldn’t make it any worse. Her whole family had been killed. This was a known fact and she considered it tragic. But she had yet to actually feel anything personal about them. They simply weren’t real to her because she had no memory of them. If she was going to grieve, it would be for that lack of memory.
She tried to explain that to Stefan. “If you’re hesitating because you think I’m going to get upset over any of this, don’t. These people might be related to me by blood, but for twenty years I didn’t know anything about them, and I still don’t know anything other than what you tell me. And from what you’ve told me so far, I have as much sympathy for the Stamboloffs as I do for the Janaceks—with the exception of Yuri.”
“Then let me see if I can correct that, Princess. Your brother, innocent in all of this, was taken from his own bed one night, dragged before the entire Stamboloff family for a mock trial, and found guilty. Janos then had him tied to a wall in his courtyard, and each member of that damn family put a bullet into him, even Janos’ eight-year-old grandson. His body was left on the road outside the palace. The blood-soaked note attached to him said, ‘A son for a son.’ However, this wasn’t enough proof against Janos—not until one of his daughters-in-law had too much to drink at a party and happened to brag about it to the wrong people.”
“I hope Janos was shot on the spot!”
Stefan raised a brow at her. Color came back to cheeks that had gone quite pale.
“You have no sympathy left for that fanatic?”
“None,” she said more quietly.
“Well, he wasn’t shot on the spot. He was tried and sentenced to hang. The day after the execution, Leos’ only brother, sister-in-law, and their two children were found in their home with their throats cut. The note left behind this time was explicit. `Every Janacek dies now.”’
“But that was a wanton act of vengeance. How could they justify it?”
“They didn’t have to. Two of their own had been killed. Those remaining now saw this as a personal war with the king, a blood feud, and there were a goodly number of them remaining—Janos’ second son, five grandsons, two younger brothers, and three nephews. Janos had also called for revenge, his very last words on the scaffold before he was hung. But it was now treasonous, this revenge, with Leos himself being threatened. The five older men were killed resisting arrest. The grandsons and one remaining nephew, all under eighteen years of age at that time, were merely banished.”
“You didn’t mention the women. What about that daughter-in-law?”
“There were two Stamboloff wives, and Janos had one daughter. They were eventually banished from Cardinia, along with the men, when it was suspected that one of them drowned your sister in her bath. “
“I had a sister, too?” Tanya asked in a small voice.
“She was fourteen, the second oldest child. But getting every Stamboloff out of the country still didn’t stop the killings. Ion Stamboloff, Janos’ oldest grandson, was caught attempting to kill Leos’ cousin, the only living son of your great-uncle, who was already deceased.”
“Why him?”
“He bore the name Janacek,” Stefan said simply.
“But he survived?”
“No. A month later they went for him again and succeeded. It was Janos’ daughter this time, found before she could leave the city. Then your two younger brothers were shot a few weeks before you were due to be born. This caused your mother to start her labor early. You were born small, but healthy. Your mother, however, never completely recovered. She had lost all of her children but you, and you were betrothed the very day of your birth. They say that Leos’ insistence that the betrothal be finalized immediately was an indication he didn’t expect to live much longer himself, and that contributed to your mother’s decline. When you were three months old, she died of natural causes that a healthy woman could have easily withstood.”
“And my father?”
“Leos was stabbed in the back at his own table while he was eating dinner. The assassin had slowly worked his way up through the kitchen and had finally been allowed to serve at the table. He had no hope of escaping. He knew that. A confession revealed that he was dying of some disease, that the money he had taken to kill the king was for his family, the only way he could leave them cared for.”
“But did he reveal that a Stamboloff had hired him?”
“Not a Stamboloff, Princess. That family was so arrogant by then in their hate for the Janaceks that there had been no secrecy in hiring this man. He named each one of them, the two remaining women right down to Ivan, Janos’ youngest grandson, and since they each had contributed something of value for the assassin’s payment, they all shared in this victory. And for them it was a victory. A Barany was put on the throne because the last Janacek wasn’t expected to live out the year if she remained in Cardinia.”
“So I was sent away?”
“Not immediately, not until the first attempt was made on your life. Your nurse died instead. My father then devised the plan to send you away in secrecy, with only Baroness Tomilova to know of your whereabouts. He also put a high price on the head of each Stamboloff.”
“Even the children?”
“They didn’t quibble about killing children,” he replied harshly. “Your youngest brother was six years old. You were five months old when your nurse took the bullet meant for you. This was a blood feud, Tanya. It would not be over until one family or the other was completely destroyed. They wouldn’t stop until you were dead. We couldn’t bring you home until the last one of them was found and eliminated. But they were no longer children. It took years to find just one of those remaining, for they scattered and went into hiding when you disappeared. And only one of them was captured without a fight and brought back to be executed for treason, the rest all fighting to the end. And the last, Ivan, wasn’t found until this year. Even then, he nearly escaped in a ship. But he left port so quickly, he didn’t have enough crew to handle the storm they met. His ship went down in the Black Sea. Sandor’s men were close enough behind to pick up any survivors, but Ivan wasn’t one of them.”
“Are you sure he was the last?”
“The Stamboloffs weren’t just enemies of your family. Their assassination of the King of Cardinia made them enemies of the crown. A unit of twenty men was formed for the specific task of hunting them do
wn. These men didn’t make mistakes. It may have taken twenty years, but they were thorough.”
“But a child, grown to manhood and not seen for ten or fifteen years. Who could possibly recognize him and say for certain this is a Stamboloff?”
Stefan grinned at her. “An excellent point, little Tanya.” He went on without noticing the blush that his near endearment caused her. “But the Stamboloffs were one of those unique families whose members looked alike—at least the men did. The remaining grandsons were each dark of skin, blond, and blue-eyed, and all bore a striking resemblance to Janos and his sons when they were full-grown. And not one but five of Sandor’s men knew the Stamboloffs personally. When they found one, there was never any doubt that they had found the right man.”
Tanya shook her head slowly, denying the emotion churning inside her. “All those deaths, because one old man couldn’t accept that his son was a murderer. Yuri must have hidden his true character well from his loved ones.”
“It is human nature to do so.”
“Is it?” she asked in a whisper. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had any loved ones.”
He couldn’t mistake the mist forming in her eyes. His hand reached toward her, but drew back as the coach stopped. She didn’t notice, turning her head aside to dab briskly at her eyes.
“Where are we?”
“At a house I have on the outskirts of town. We will spend the night here while everything is readied for the last leg of our journey.”
His hand was offered again, but this time to help her from the coach.
“You own a house here, so far from home?”
“I merely leased it when we came through Danzig in the spring.”
Tanya turned a look of amazement on him. “And you kept it all these months just so you would have somewhere to spend one night on your return? Lord help us, Stefan, someone ought to have a serious talk with you about the way you squander money.”
He laughed because she was serious. “The house cost very little, Tanya. “
She looked up at the two-story edifice and exclaimed, “Sure it did!”
“And it was needed for the attendants who were left behind.”
“Oh, well, that makes sense,” she replied dryly. “Especially since it only takes a few weeks to reach Cardinia from here—but you’ve been gone, what, seven or eight months?”
He frowned at her now and took her elbow to lead her up to the front door. “The cost was negligible,” he said with curt dismissal, “and my attendants chose to wait for me here. I fail to see—”
The door flew open, and a lusciously curved redhead threw her arms around Stefan’s neck and plastered her lips to his mouth. Stefan could “fail to see” till his eyes fell out, but Tanya could see perfectly well why this attendant had chosen to wait for him here.
Chapter 36
There was a positive benefit in being forced to stand there and watch her betrothed kissing another woman. It took Tanya’s mind completely off that depressing tale she had just heard about her family. It also made her see red, and not just in the color of that strumpet’s hair.
To give Stefan credit, however, he didn’t seem to be returning the woman’s enthusiastic kiss. He seemed to be trying to end it. But it was taking too damn long for him to do so, as far as Tanya was concerned. And she didn’t doubt for a minute that if she weren’t there to witness this reunion, he’d be participating in the kiss instead. But she was there, and he knew it, so what could he do but make this halfhearted effort to pry the redhead’s arms loose from his neck?
When he finally accomplished that miraculous feat—the woman really was clinging to him—he was treated to a gushing explanation for her behavior. “It was too bad of you, Stefan, to be gone so long that I would miss you unbelievably. And we have been so worried. Your father even sent a man who will no doubt leave within the hour to take him news of you. The anxious fellow has been a pure nuisance hanging around here, but I suppose Sandor has been as concerned about your tardiness as the rest of us, and didn’t want to wait even an extra few days to hear that you have returned safely. “
“My father still lives, then?”
“I have heard nothing to say otherwise,” she assured him with a bright smile.
Tanya stiffened as the woman reached for Stefan again, obviously with the intent of showing him her delight in having him returned to her. Tanya felt a very strong urge to reach for the knife now strapped to her thigh, though she wasn’t sure what she meant to do with it. It was merely a small eating knife that she had confiscated on the ship, and she had had to find a new place to conceal it after Sasha got rid of her boots, but old habits were hard to break. She might have one or more of four strapping, capable men always there to protect her, but she preferred to depend on herself.
Right now that knife would look very nice placed against the redhead’s throat with a warning to back off. Of course, she would then have Stefan to deal with, and she couldn’t imagine him being pleased by such an unexpected display of jealousy. And it was jealousy. She couldn’t very well call it anything else when the sight of that woman kissing Stefan made Tanya mad enough to scratch her eyes out.
But how could she explain that to Stefan? He would believe that as much as he had believed her taunt that she might be a virgin—not at all. Why should he? She had rejected him completely the very last time they were together, before the Carpathia had sailed. The best she could do was offer the truth, that since she had accepted their upcoming marriage, she now had it set in her mind that he belonged to her, and if she was going to have him, she wanted him exclusively.
But she couldn’t even tell him that without making a complete fool of herself, because he didn’t feel the same way. He had admitted to wanting her, but also to hating that he did. And his wanting her was so temporary, it wasn’t worth mentioning. One time was all he was interested in, she supposed for the novelty or the challenge, because she had rejected him. Big deal.
What was more telling was his resentment that he had to marry her, and that resentment had always been crystal clear. If it wasn’t a matter of duty, he’d never do it. And standing before her was still another reason that he wouldn’t.
She had been told by Vasili that Stefan had a mistress. She just never dreamed she would have to meet her. Nor had it occurred to her that Stefan probably had no intention of giving up his mistress. Why should he, after all? He was being forced to marry Tanya, but standing right here was a woman he gave his affections to by choice.
It was fortunate that Stefan prevented the woman from plastering herself to him again, because Tanya honestly couldn’t say what she would have done if she had to watch them kissing again. He put his arm around her waist instead and turned her toward Tanya, and in that moment of green eyes meeting blue, Tanya knew this little demonstration of devotion had been staged for her benefit. Stefan’s mistress must feel threatened by her. What a joke.
Any satisfaction she might have felt from that realization was ruined by Stefan’s expression. He was so delighted to be reunited with his mistress again, he didn’t even try to hide it. Tanya didn’t consider that his obvious pleasure had come from hearing that his father still lived.
“Princess Tatiana, may I present to you Lady Alicia Huszar? Alicia wanted to meet you before the rest of the court, because she desires to be one of your personal attendants when you are queen.”
Over our dead body, missy. No, over hers, Tanya corrected herself. But she’d rather die than be as obvious as they were about their feelings right now. Stefan was not going to know she was pea-green with jealousy. So she didn’t dare say a word. She merely nodded to acknowledge the introduction.
Alicia was forced to offer a perfunctory bow now that Tanya’s identity had been established. Tanya was a royal princess, after all. To do even that must have galled her, but Tanya couldn’t find any satisfaction in thinking that either.
“I’m sorry, your Highness,” Alicia said, pretending surprise she couldn’t possibly
feel. “I didn’t even notice you standing there. “
Liar. She had seen them arrive from one of the windows, or Tanya would eat her new shoes. But she didn’t say so, not directly anyway, since she still didn’t trust herself to say anything to the redhead. She glanced at Stefan instead and raised a slim brow to accompany an expression as skeptical as she could make it.
He at least got the message, or she assumed he did, for he took his arm away from Alicia and frowned at her, perhaps finally realizing that she hadn’t kissed him just in greeting, something he was no doubt accustomed to, but she’d done it in front of his betrothed.
Stefan, to give him his due, would want to be discreet, at least until the marriage was an accomplished fact. He probably hadn’t counted on Tanya suspecting anything about his sweet Alicia. But did he really think she would accept his mistress as one of her attendants? His mistress, for crying out loud! If that was the way things were done in Cardinia, Tanya wasn’t leaving Danzig.
For his part, Stefan was as embarrassed as Tanya was furious. He had left Alicia here with the promise that she wouldn’t be supplanted. He had had no intention of giving her up for a woman he was being forced to marry, and although he would marry her, he had intended it to be in name only.
But he hadn’t counted on his reaction to a plain-faced Tatiana, his delight that she wasn’t what they’d expected, his anger that she was a whore. All he should have felt was satisfaction that she was what he could bring back to his father with the taunt, “Here is the princess you would bind me to, but neither of us will ever know if her issue is royal or bastard.” Instead he had been fiercely glad that she would be his, had desired her from the first moment he saw her, and by the time her beauty was revealed, it was too late. His emotions were already thoroughly involved with her.
Now he knew exactly what he wanted, and it was more painful than he could have imagined, knowing that he’d never get it. She even teased him about it, perhaps not cruelly. since she didn’t know how he felt, but it had hurt just the same that she could deal with the subject so frivolously. Tell her that he couldn’t live without her, that he loved her madly? He’d actually found the only peace he’d known since meeting her by staying away from her on the ship, because every time he was near her, his passions were roused to either anger or desire. And he had no control over what she made him feel. Anger, lust, jealousy, love, it all went hand in hand where Tanya was concerned.
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