When they reached Park Lane, Victoria steered the gig west in the direction of Primrose Hill. Neither noticed the strikingly beautiful blonde in the coach that had just pulled to a halt in front of Campbell Mansion. Nor did they see the woman’s coach move to follow them at a discreet distance.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Victoria halted the gig in front of the old cottage. Samantha looked at the cottage and saw Rudolf as he’d been on New Year’s Eve when they’d passed the night before traveling to Scotland.
“Are you coming?” Victoria asked, drawing her attention.
Samantha climbed down from the gig. She missed him already.
“I brought food here yesterday,” Victoria told her, handing her the satchel. “I’ll bring more in a week or so. Do you want me to stay with you?”
Samantha shook her head. “I need to be alone.”
“How long will you stay?”
“I need some peace of mind,” Samantha said with a shrug. “Will you do me another favor?”
“Anything.”
“I need you to reassure Grant and Drake that I haven’t abandoned them,” Samantha said. “Tell them I’ll be home in a few days. Don’t let the prince know where I’ve gone.”
“I will die before I breathe a word of your whereabouts,” Victoria promised.
“Keeping silent won’t be easy,” Samantha warned. “Rudolf will know that you know where I am.”
“Torture won’t make me tell,” Victoria said.
Samantha hugged her. “Thank you, sister.”
Victoria climbed into the gig, waved good-bye, and turned the horse in the direction of London. Samantha watched her sister drive away. Then she lifted her satchel off the ground and walked into the cottage. She hoped she was doing the right thing.
* * *
At Campbell Mansion, Rudolf paced back and forth in front of the hearth in the small drawing room. He halted and checked the time on his pocket watch.
Damn Olga to hell, Rudolf thought, resuming his pacing. She was forty-five minutes late. Now he would have to speak with Samantha after his scheduled meeting with the duke and the marquess. He couldn’t live like this for the rest of his life, and he was tired of going to all those balls and society functions. If another simpering blonde clung to his arm, he might do her bodily harm.
Rudolf recalled the way Samantha had asked him to listen to her. She had refused to hurt him with the word he despised most, bastard.
There was no doubt his wife loved him. He owed her the respect of listening to her explanation of why she’d given the Venus to Vladimir. Perhaps she hadn’t truly understood the significance of her actions.
“Your Highness, Princess Olga has arrived,” Tinker announced.
“Bring her here, and then fetch Zara and Sweeting.”
A few minutes later, Olga strolled into the drawing room. Rudolf couldn’t understand how he could ever have loved her. Yes, Olga was strikingly beautiful but so, too, were poisonous snakes. Only this one walked on two legs instead of crawling on her belly.
“Good to see you again,” Olga greeted him, offering her hand.
Rudolf ignored the hand and the greeting. “Zara is on her way down.”
“Have you married the little cripple yet?”
Rudolf felt his muscles tense at the word cripple. His former wife was looking for an argument. He decided to disappoint her and inclined his head in the affirmative.
“Where is the new princess?” Olga asked. “I assumed she would be here, too.”
“Samantha has other duties and would never intrude on your visit with Zara,” Rudolf said.
“I do hope you manage not to lose this wife through inattention.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve been keeping up with your busy social schedule by reading the Times,” she answered.
Rudolf said nothing.
“The red-haired sister should be spanked for her insolence,” Olga told him.
Rudolf raised his brows. “You mean, Lady Victoria?”
“Victoria is no lady,” Olga said. “She threatened me with a dagger.”
Rudolf smiled at that. He must remember to thank his young sister-in-law for her loyalty to his wife.
“Did you beat your wife for her betrayal?”
“Have you come here to badger me about Samantha?” Rudolf asked. “Or did you want to visit Zara?”
Princess Olga smiled. “Dearest Rudolf, I came here to do both.”
“Why do you want to visit Zara?” he asked. “She barely knows you. After all, you wanted nothing to do with her after you learned that I was—”
“A bastard,” she finished for him.
Rudolf looked past her. “Here they are now. Sweeting, come in and close the door behind you.”
“Zara, my sweet, come and give your mother a hug,” Olga said.
Frightened, the little girl clung to her father’s hand. “Where is the other mother?” she asked him.
“I am your mother,” Olga told her.
Zara shook her head. “The other mother plays with me. We watch cloud pictures together.”
“Zara is referring to Samantha,” Rudolf said.
“She plays with children?” Olga said. “How bourgeois.” She looked at the little girl, saying, “Lady Samantha is not your mother. I am your mother.”
Zara shrank back from her. “Is Samantha my mother?” she asked, looking up at her father.
“Yes, sweetheart, Samantha is a real mother who takes delight in her children.”
“You have been too indulgent with her,” Olga said, clearly irritated. “She needs to learn proper manners.”
“Sweeting, do not let Zara out of your sight for any reason,” Rudolf ordered, turning to the nanny. He grabbed his former wife’s arm. “Your time is up, Olga. Zara wants nothing to do with you. Go home to Vladimir.”
At that, Rudolf forcibly escorted his former wife down the stairs to the foyer. Instead of waiting for the majordomo, he opened the front door himself and shoved his former wife outside.
“Good to see you again, Olga,” Rudolf said, echoing her own words.
Closing the door, Rudolf turned to Tinker. “If that woman ever shows her face here again, do not allow her entrance to this house.”
“I understand, Your Highness.”
Rudolf took the stairs two at a time. The sooner he met with the duke, the sooner he could speak with his wife.
Knocking on the study door, Rudolf entered when he heard the duke call out to him. The marquess was already there.
“Would you like a shot of whiskey?” Robert asked.
Rudolf nodded. “I have just endured an interview with my former wife.” He reached for the glass of whiskey and gulped it down. “I gave Tinker instructions not to allow her entrance again.”
“Your Highness, are you and my niece still not in accord,” Duke Magnus asked.
“I see you have a copy of the Times there,” Rudolf hedged.
“I am beginning to doubt the wisdom of giving her to you in marriage, pregnancy or not.”
“I am on my way to have a long talk with her,” Rudolf told him. “I think Samantha did not understand the implications of her actions.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Duke Magnus said, smiling with relief. “The birth of your baby will settle any lingering differences you have.”
“There is nothing like motherhood to calm a woman down,” Robert agreed.
Rudolf smirked. “Oh, really?”
“The extra energy a spirited female has to argue with her husband is spent on nurturing the babe,” Robert told him.
“I never found that to be true,” Rudolf said, the hint of a smile touching his lips. “As I recall, after she recovered from the birth of Zara, Olga began an affair with my brother.
Robert flushed. “Oh, perhaps some women are different.”
“Do not concern yourself with Olga,” Rudolf said. “If she hadn’t fallen into Vladimir’s bed, I would never have m
et and married Samantha.”
“Before we turn to business,” Duke Magnus said. “I have another matter to discuss.”
Rudolf raised his dark brows at the duke. “Speak freely, Your Grace.”
Duke Magnus cleared his throat. “I would like to know if you can set aside your animosity for Alexander Emerson and welcome him into the family at some future time.”
“Are you considering adoption,” Rudolf asked, “or is he another of your by-blows?”
“Roxanne wants a marriage between Alexander and Victoria,” the duke said. “My wife’s youngest niece has a wild streak. She was allowed an unusual amount of freedom at an early age. She is exceptionally undisciplined and unruly. Roxanne feels that Alexander is strong enough to control Victoria.”
“I can stomach the man as long as he stays away from my wife,” Rudolf answered.
“I am relieved to hear you say that,” Duke Magnus said. “Alexander and I settled on a betrothal agreement yesterday. Of course, we’ll give her another year to mature.”
“Does Victoria know she’s betrothed?” Robert asked.
“Good God, no,” the duke said. “Alexander insists on courting her first, so she won’t fight him.”
“And if Victoria does not develop a fondness for Emerson?” Rudolf asked with a smile.
“She’ll go down the aisle anyway, but she’ll fight us all the way,” Duke Magnus said, his expression grim. “I can’t begin to tell you how infuriating Victoria can be.”
Robert laughed out loud. “Poor Alexander thought he was getting sweet, biddable Samantha but ended up with the family’s hellion. I can almost hear the sound of crashing crockery.”
“Samantha is nothing like her younger sister,” Rudolf said. “Except for that lapse in judgment, she would never do anything contrary to my wishes. I know where she is and what she is doing at all times.”
Robert hooted with laughter. “That’s because you’ve locked her in her chamber.”
There was a knock on the door, and Tinker entered. “Your Highness, three gentlemen are asking for you. They claim to be your brothers.”
“Send them in,” the duke told the majordomo.
Rudolf grinned. It was about time. Too bad they hadn’t arrived a few days earlier. He would still have the Kazanov Venus.
And then they were there. Rudolf rose from the chair and hugged each brother in turn. “Your Grace,” he introduced them, “here are Viktor, Mikhail, and Stepan. Brothers, this is my wife’s uncle, the Duke of Inverary, and his son, also my brother-in-law, the Marquess of Argyll.”
The three princes shook hands with the duke and the marquess. Robert remarked, “Viktor looks exactly like Vladimir.”
“They are twins,” Rudolf explained. “Unfortunately, Vladimir is older by two minutes.”
“They have the look of you except for the blue eyes,” Duke Magnus said. “Sit down, please. Robert, pour them whiskeys.”
“Vladimir tried to kill me to get the Venus,” Rudolf said in English for the benefit of the duke and the marquess. “Olga is in London with him.”
“They married after you left Russia,” Viktor told him.
“How long have you been married?” Mikhail asked.
“Two days.”
“Why are you speaking with us instead of getting a son on your wife?” Stepan asked.
Rudolf’s eyes lit with amusement. “I took care of that before the wedding.”
“What is her name?” Mikhail asked.
“What is she like?” Stepan asked. “We want to know everything.”
“Samantha is an angel, everything Olga was not,” Rudolf told them.
“We went to Montague House first,” Viktor said.
“Igor directed us here. He asked me to tell you he is accepting your offer as soon as Vladimir leaves England.”
“Who is lgor?” Duke Magnus asked.
“Igor is the man who abducted Samantha and me from your estate,” Rudolf said. “I offered him a job while he had us locked in that cellar.”
“You trust him to work for you?” the duke asked.
Rudolf nodded. “I always liked Igor. Besides, he had the opportunity to kill us but didn’t.”
“Let’s join the ladies for tea,” Duke Magnus said. “Your Highnesses?”
The Kazanov brothers looked at each other and laughed. “Call me Viktor” the twenty-seven-year-old said.
“I am Mikhail,” said the twenty-five-year-old.
“Stepan, if you please,” the twenty-three-year-old said.
The prince turned to the duke and said, “Call me Rudolf.”
Duke Magnus was obviously touched. The two men shook hands.
“Can I call you Rudolf, too?” Robert asked.
Rudolf grinned and teased the other man. “You may call me Your Highness.”
Laughing and talking all at the same time, the six men walked down the corridor to the drawing room. The duchess sat in a high-backed chair, and Victoria sat on the settee.
“Your Grace, I would present my brothers, Viktor and Mikhail and Stepan,” Rudolf made the introduction.
“I am so pleased to meet you finally,” Lady Roxanne told them.
“And this young lady is my wife’s younger sister, Victoria,” Rudolf added.
Victoria gave them an easy smile. “Welcome to England.”
“What an interesting color hair,” Mikhail said, admiring her fiery mane. He sat beside her on the settee.
“I saw her first,” Stepan told his older brother, sitting on Victoria’s other side.
Victoria laughed, pleased by their attention.
“Be careful, Victoria,” Rudolf said, laughing. “My brothers could charm the virginity out of a celibate”
“I wish the settee had space for four,” Viktor complained.
“I’ll get Samantha,” Rudolf said. “She’s upstairs.” He turned to leave the room, but his sister-in-law’s voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
“You won’t find her there, Your Highness,” Victoria announced. “She’s gone.”
Everyone except for his brothers looked stunned. And then his sister-in-law had the temerity to inform his brothers, “His High-and-Mighty Highness locked my sister in her bedchamber.”
“Where did she go this time?” Rudolf asked, his irritation apparent.
Victoria looked him straight in the eye. There was no mistaking her hostility when she answered, “I have no idea.”
Rudolf felt his temper rising. The sister knew where Samantha was hiding.
He impaled her with his black gaze and knew he’d frightened her when she shrank back into Stepan. “I will protect you,” his brother whispered.
“Stepan, mind your own business,” Rudolf ordered.
He looked at Victoria and asked, “How did she escape from a locked room? You stole the key and opened the door, didn’t you?”
“I did not,” Victoria said, lifting her nose into the air. She gave him a smug smile, adding, “Samantha climbed out the window and down the tree.”
“Samantha did that?” the duchess asked, her surprise obvious.
“With my assistance,” Victoria amended. She gave Prince Stepan a sidelong glance and said in a loud whisper, “I needed to climb up the tree to get her down. She was desperate to get away and—”
Rudolf was heartened to see her pale when she looked at him. He was enraged by her bragging about disobeying his orders. He could feel his cheek muscles twitching. His hands itched to slap both sisters, especially this one who had obviously encouraged Samantha to endanger herself by going out the window.
He watched the girl turn to her aunt. “Perhaps climbing down the tree was not a sterling idea.” She turned and looked him straight in the eye, adding, “I don’t blame her, though. You are a tyrant.”
“I commend your loyalty to your sister,” Rudolf said. “However, you have no idea of the seriousness of her actions.”
“You don’t know what her actions were,” his sister-in-law told him. “You jud
ged her guilty without giving her a chance to explain herself.”
“What did the lady do?” Viktor asked.
“My wife handed the Venus over to Vladimir,” Rudolf answered his brother.
“The Venus is merely a piece of metal,” Mikhail reminded him.
“The medallion is important to Fedor,” Rudolf said.
“When will you stop fighting that war?” Stepan asked.
“Have you forgotten what Fedor did to our mother?” Rudolf said.
“We have forgotten nothing,” Viktor answered.
Rudolf turned to Victoria, intending to frighten her into telling him where Samantha was. He was unprepared for her verbal attack.
“You ruined her wedding day, and you ruined her wedding night,” Victoria accused him, her voice rising with anger. “When she tried to explain herself, you hurt her.”
“You hurt Samantha?” the duchess asked.
“I hurt her pride,” he answered.
“Pride was all she had,” Victoria shouted.
Rudolf snapped his black gaze to his young sister-in-law. Her words rang with truth, but his anger had blinded him to the fact that Samantha was not Olga.
“Suppose you tell me what exactly her actions were.”
The twit had the audacity to lift her nose into the air. “Your willingness to listen comes two days too late. My sister doesn’t want to explain now. She only wants to be left in peace.”
“You are going to be left in pieces if you don’t start talking,” Rudolf growled. “Now.”
He could see the seventeen-year-old trembling, but she put a brave face on. “Your oh-so-treacherous wife took her entire life’s savings of one thousand pounds—”
“How did Samantha manage to save one thousand pounds?” Aunt Roxie asked.
“I will begin at the beginning,” Victoria told Rudolf, “but you will not like yourself very much by the time I finish.”
Rudolf inclined his head. “I will chance that.”
“Since we became his wards, His Grace has been kind enough to give us an allowance,” Victoria said. “Samantha saved hers, never even spent a penny.”
That surprised Rudolf. Women were notorious for squandering money, and his wife hadn’t spent a penny. “What was she saving for?”
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