Samantha remained silent, unable to think of a suitable reply. She searched her mind for the magic words that would bring down the wall he had built to shut her out.
“I want to explain about today,” Samantha said, holding out a badly shaking hand to him.
Rudolf dropped his gaze to her hand, held out to him in supplication. He turned his back, and removed his jacket and cravat, tossing them aside even as he was tossing her aside.
“I have no desire to hear lies at three in the morning,” he said. “Return to your own chamber.”
“I need to explain.”
Rudolf looked at her, pinning her to the spot where she stood. “You are trying my patience, Princess.” He reached out to lift her chin and stare into her eyes. “Today, you swore before God to obey me. Are you breaking your vows already?”
Samantha stared in silence at him. She saw no love, no warmth in his black gaze, only a desire to hurt her.
Long, silent moments passed. The prince folded his arms across his chest.
“You are dismissed,” Rudolf said. “Return to your chamber.”
“I will never forgive you.” Samantha left the chamber.
* * *
Awakening the next morning, Samantha reached for the bread on the table. There was none.
Her husband of one day hated her. The dream she’d cherished for all of those years crumbled beneath her husband’s hatred.
Why had God chosen to torment her by giving her a husband who hated her? Yes, she had picked more than a few pockets, but she wasn’t a bad person.
You are a pathetic cripple. Even her husband thought so.
Samantha forced herself to get out of bed and dress. Perhaps she would have an opportunity to explain herself over breakfast.
And then her Douglas pride swelled within her. After what he’d said to her the previous day, Rudolf deserved no explanation. Let him think whatever he wants. In fact, she hoped he had already eaten and left the dining room. She needed peace of mind more than she needed him.
Samantha kept her face expressionless when she walked into the dining room and saw her husband sitting at the table. Ignoring him, she walked to the sideboard. “Good morning, Tinker,”
“Good morning, Lady Samantha.”
“She isn’t Lady Samantha,” Rudolf snapped.
Both Samantha and Tinker looked in confusion at the prince. “Who is she?” the majordomo asked.
Rudolf looked at her almost reluctantly, his expression telling her how disgusted he was by her presence. “She is Her Highness, Princess Samantha.”
“I apologize profusely, Your Highness,” Tinker said.
“You don’t need to address me like that,” Samantha told him.
Rudolf banged his fist on the table, making them jump. “He does if I say he does.”
Samantha said nothing. Though her husband had stolen her appetite in less than two minutes, she spooned scrambled eggs onto her plate and then a roll with butter.
Turning to the table, Samantha chose not to sit beside him. Instead, she sat at the far end of the table. Samantha forced herself to eat but kept a wary eye on her husband. She had no idea what he would do next.
Tinker appeared at her side and placed the morning paper beside her plate. “His Highness sent you this.”
“Thank you, Tinker.”
Samantha looked at the headlines and then turned to the society column on page three. She hoped the reporter had found someone else to malign. The remarks about Lady Randolph’s ball caught her attention:
Abandoning both wife and betrothed, Prince Rudolf Kazanov attended Lady Randolph’s ball and danced until dawn with London’s most sought after beauties. Judging from his many female admirers, this reporter believes the prince has joined the ranks of London’s most sought after. Is he available or not?
Samantha felt the first flush of fury. Her groom had passed their wedding night dancing with London’s most sought after beauties.
“Your Highness, are you trying to give me ideas?” she asked, gesturing to the newspaper.
“What do you mean?”
“I may decide to follow your example.”
“Do not even consider playing games with me,” Rudolf said. “You cannot win.”
Samantha arched an ebony brow at him. “I’m perfectly serious.”
“Try it, and I’ll send you—”
“Will you send me to an insane asylum?” Samantha asked, bolting out of the chair so fast it toppled over. “You are the insane one here. You passed our wedding night dancing with London’s most sought-afters. God, how I wish I had never met you.”
“Are you finished with your theatrics?” Rudolf asked, the ghost of a smile flirting with his lips.
Samantha didn’t answer. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her hand flew to her throat as she fought the nausea. Then she turned to leave the dining room.
“Stop,” Rudolf ordered, leaning back in his chair. “You are becoming tedious. Are you capable of anything besides weeping and vomiting?”
Samantha said nothing. Calling him a bastard appealed to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Well?”
“Apparently not.” Samantha paused at the doorway. “Your company has become tedious, Your Highness. Enjoy your evenings with my blessing.”
“Bravo, Your Highness,” Tinker said from where he stood at the sideboard. “Will there be an encore?”
Rudolf turned to stare at the man. “I beg your pardon?”
The majordomo said nothing.
“Bring me another cup of coffee.”
Tinker looked down his nose at the prince. “Get it yourself.” Then he stalked out of the dining room, too.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Samantha sat on a stone bench in the garden. Beside her sat Mrs. Sweeting and Giles. Grant, Drake, and Zara gamboled around and around the garden, reminding Samantha of puppies and kittens at play.
“Drake, don’t push Zara,” Samantha called. “You need to be gentle with little girls.”
“Lady Samantha, may I join you?” a familiar voice asked.
Samantha turned and saw Alexander Emerson, walking in her direction. She gave him a sunny smile. Here was a friend who had always been kind to her.
“I’d like to speak privately if possible,” Alexander said, taking her hand in his.
Samantha nodded. “Sweeting, would you take the children inside and give them cider?”
“Come, children,” the nanny called. “We’re going to have cider now.”
Samantha watched them walk into the mansion and then patted the bench beside her. “Sit down, my lord. It’s good to see you again.”
“I have business with His Grace and thought I’d come a few minutes early to see you,” Alexander said. “How are you feeling?”
Samantha tried to smile, but her bottom lip quivered. “You must have seen the article in the Times about my wedding day fiasco.”
“I think your aunt wants to propose a match between me and Tory, but if you need a father for your child, I would be proud to marry you and care for you and the baby,” Alexander said, his hazel eyes filled with compassion.
His kindness was her undoing. He had always been kind, and she had repaid him by climbing into the prince’s bed. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Alexander put his arm around her. “If I can help in any way—”
“Rudolf and I wed yesterday here at the mansion.”
“Tell me what I can do for you.”
“Take your hands off my wife,” Rudolf said, walking toward them.
Samantha leaped away from Alexander. There was no telling what the prince would do now.
Alexander stood to face the prince. “Your bride of one day is reduced to tears. What have you done to her?”
“My marriage is none of your business.”
“I am making it my business.”
“I’ll countenance no violence on my property,” Duke Magnus said, materializing from inside the
mansion.
“Your Grace, I simply asked Lady Samantha how she was feeling, and she burst into tears,” Alexander told the duke. “Something is definitely wrong.”
“Whatever is wrong is Samantha’s fault,” the duke told him. He turned to the prince and said, “I have business with Alex and invited him here. There’s no need for any challenge. Why don’t you see to your wife.” The duke leveled an irritated look on Samantha that told her the enmity between the two men was her fault.
Rudolf held out his hand as he’d done the first night they met at the ball. Samantha placed her hand in his and rose from the bench. “You will be confined to your chamber until Vladimir leaves London,” he said, leading her to the door. “Once he’s gone, I will be moving into Montague House, and you will be sent to live in seclusion at my estate on Sark Island. I will, of course, return for the birth of our child.”
Reaching the third floor, Rudolf opened her chamber door for her. She turned to him before going inside and asked, “What will you tell the children?”
“I will think of something plausible.”
Samantha walked into her chamber. She whirled around when he locked the door. She really was his prisoner, and he was determined to banish her from his life. It would be worse on Sark Island. Everyone there would be on the prince’s payroll. There would be no friendly face.
Samantha sat on the chaise and took up her knitting. Sometime later, she heard a knock on her door. “Who is it?”
“Tory.”
“The prince has locked me in here,” Samantha told her sister. “In a few days, he’s sending me to his estate on Sark Island.”
“Where will he be?” Victoria asked.
“He’s remaining in London.”
“I’ll make him listen to the truth.”
“Don’t bother,” Samantha told her sister. “After last night, I don’t want him anymore.”
“What happened last night?”
“I went to his chamber just as he was returning home from his social schedule,” Samantha answered. “He refused to listen to any explanation and ordered me out of his chamber. Her voice broke when she added, “I want to go home.”
“You are home.”
“No, I want to go home to the cottage.”
“Will you live there alone?” her sister asked.
“I promise I’ll come back eventually,” Samantha said. “Perhaps, if I’m gone, Rudolf will see things differently and listen to me.”
“He should be begging for your forgiveness,” Victoria said. “I’ll sneak some supplies out there today. Tomorrow, I’ll help you escape.”
“How will I get through the locked door?” Samantha asked.
“You’ll climb out the window and down the tree,” her sister answered.
“It’s three stories down. What if I fall?”
“Then you won’t need to worry about the prince anymore.”
“What?” Samantha was already beginning to panic.
“Don’t be a twit,” Victoria said. “I’ll simply climb up and get you. Put a few belongings in a bag tonight.”
“Tory?”
“What?”
“I love you, sister.”
“I love you, too.”
Samantha grabbed a few necessities, packed them into a satchel, and hid the satchel under the bed. Then she changed into a nightgown and lay down on the bed to worry about the next day.
Would she reach the ground safely without injuring her baby? Would Grant and Drake believe she had abandoned them? What would Rudolf do when he discovered her missing?
Later that evening, Samantha heard the sound of the door being unlocked. Sitting on the chair near the window, she knitted a blanket for her baby. Though she didn’t look up, Samantha felt her husband’s presence with her whole body.
Rudolf set the tray with her supper on the table. She looked up at him then. He stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets and watched her.
“How can you see without daylight?”
“I don’t need to see what I’m doing.”
“What are you knitting?”
“A blanket for my baby.”
“Blue for a baby?” The hint of a smile touched his lips.
“You already have a daughter. I assumed you would want a boy. If you would prefer a pink blanket . . .”
“I have no preference.”
His wife seemed eager to please him. Too eager. She feared him. He thought he would feel better if she feared him, but he was wrong. He felt worse.
“Good night, Princess.”
“Good night, Your Highness.”
It was late when Rudolf climbed the stairs to the third floor again. He’d purposefully gone to several balls and danced every dance so that his wife would read about his social life in the Times.
Pausing at her bedchamber door, Rudolf reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. He let himself into her chamber and stood by the bed to stare down at her.
Samantha appeared angelic in her sleep. He was hard-pressed to believe she could be so treacherous.
Drawing the coverlet away from her body, Rudolf touched her belly where his child grew. He wished things could have been different. What was it about him that made women betray him?
Chapter 18
No bread. Samantha had hoped the prince would leave her bread.
Samantha rose from the bed and dressed in an old gown, the one she would wear when she returned to the cottage. Wearing one of the gowns the duke or the prince had purchased was out of the question. She didn’t want to call attention to herself while staying at the cottage.
Opening the window, Samantha breathed deeply. Spring was in the air. Down below in the garden a forsythia bush bloomed with yellow flowers.
Samantha heard the door being unlocked but remained at the window. She couldn’t wait to feel the sun on her face. This afternoon, she thought, at the old cottage.
“Breakfast, Princess.”
Samantha turned away from the window. “Are you actually going to keep me prisoner?”
Rudolf ignored the question. “Eat your breakfast.”
Samantha sat down and looked at the tray. The prince had filled the plate with a mountain of scrambled eggs, several slices of ham, and two rolls with butter. Beside the plate lay a copy of the Times.
“Were you feeling generous this morning?” Samantha asked, looking at the heap of food. “Or did you think my appetite had increased overnight?”
Rudolf said nothing. Samantha broke off a piece of roll and ate it. The prince seemed reluctant to leave. With his arms folded across his chest, he stood near the window and watched her.
“Have you given up reading the morning paper?”
Samantha glanced at him and then down at the Times. Apparently, he wanted her to read the paper, which meant there was something in it about him. “I am no longer interested in your social life.”
“This is a complete reversal.” Rudolf cocked a dark brow at her. He was taunting her.
“I am no longer interested in your social life because I am no longer interested in you.”
“I am so disappointed,” he drawled.
Samantha couldn’t find a crack in his armor. Frustration stole her appetite, and she tossed the roll onto the breakfast tray.
“I prefer the maid deliver my meals,” Samantha said, “Your presence gives me indigestion.”
Samantha resisted the urge to read the Times’ society gossip. Instead, she tore the paper and threw the pieces out the window.
Later, Samantha heard a light tapping on her door. “Who is it?”
“I have the gig in the alley,” her sister whispered.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Toss your satchel out the window,” Victoria instructed her. “I’ll come around and help you down.”
“I don’t want to be caught,” Samantha said. “Do you know where my husband is?”
“He’s downstairs with Zara,” Victoria answer
ed. “Princess Olga is expected to visit her daughter. I’m leaving now.”
Samantha grabbed her satchel and tossed it out the window. Next went her cloak.
Victoria appeared a few minutes later. Samantha watched as her sister climbed the oak tree.
“Good morning, sister,” Victoria said, sitting on a branch outside her window.
Samantha looked down. “Tory, I don’t think I can do this.”
“Do you want to be banished to Sark Island while Rudolf remains in London?” her sister asked.
“lf I fall, my baby will be hurt.”
“You won’t fall as long as you don’t look down,” Victoria told her. “We’re going to take this tree one branch at a time.”
Samantha nodded. “I understand.”
“Climb arse-first out the window,” Victoria instructed her. “Only one leg first, though. Then sit on the branch like you would sit astride a horse. Hold on with both hands.”
Samantha watched Victoria descend to a lower branch. Then she climbed out the window as instructed.
“I think I may be stuck here,” Samantha said. “You’ll need to fetch my husband to get me down.”
“You are doing fine,” Victoria said. “Move your arse back toward the tree trunk when I drop to a lower branch. Then lean to the left and lower your left leg to the branch I’m standing on now. You will dismount the branch as if you were dismounting a horse.”
“I understand.” Samantha watched her sister descend to a lower branch, and then she moved.
By slow degrees, Victoria guided Samantha down to the last branch. “Drop to the ground,” she said. “I’ll break your fall.”
Samantha let go and dropped into her sister’s arms. They looked at each other and smiled.
Victoria grabbed the satchel and took Samantha by the hand. Hugging the house with their backs lest they be seen from a window, the sisters moved around the house. They cut through the garden to the alley where the gig was parked.
Victoria climbed into the driver’s seat, and Samantha climbed up beside her. Samantha took a deep breath. She was finally free.
Her heart ached for her husband, but leaving him was best for both of them. He needed time to realize that he should have listened to her explanation before judging her guilty of betraying him.
To Charm a Prince Page 25
