Princess in Love (11 page)

Leopold’s grip on her arm loosened, and he lowered his hand to his side. “Forgive
me, Rose.”

They faced each other in the hazy summer heat. She felt almost dizzy with confusion.

“Again you ask me to forgive you,” she said. “I should say no. I should tell you that
I am offended beyond repair and I never wish to see you again.”

“But you won’t tell me that,” he insisted, “because it is not true. And you don’t
love the archduke.”

“How do you know what I feel for Joseph? You know nothing about me. All you know is
how to fight for what you want, and how to win it at any cost. I don’t think you even
know how to lose. It is beyond your comprehension.”

Turning quickly, she gathered her skirts in her fists and waded through the tall grass
to fetch Zeus. She took hold of the reins and patted his neck.

“Don’t leave yet,” Leopold said as he followed.

“I will do as I wish, and what I wish to do is to return to the palace. I require
your assistance to mount, if you would be so kind.”

She faced him expectantly.

“Rose…” His voice was seductive and soothing. His hands cupped her face.

A wood pigeon cooed from somewhere in the brush, and for a moment Rose felt completely
conquered. What was the point in fighting this? Despite all her fears and doubts,
her attraction to this man was a fierce and potent thing. The mere touch of his hands
on her cheeks made her forget who she was and the importance of her duty as a royal.

“Do not give up on me,” he said. “Perhaps Randolph would understand. Perhaps there
is a chance he would let you choose for yourself.”

Some sort of madness overcame her. She covered his hand with her own, turned her lips
into his palm and kissed it. All sensible thoughts escaped her, and before she could
weigh any decisions about her future, Leopold’s mouth covered hers in a deep kiss
that made her tremble all over with shock and ecstasy.

He let out a husky groan of need as he tilted her head to the side, looped an arm
around her waist, and pulled her close to the incredible searing heat of his body.

Inflamed by memories of past kisses and intimacies, Rose reached up to lay her hands
on his broad shoulders and squeeze the heavy fabric of his riding jacket. She couldn’t
seem to get enough of the delicious sensations and sighed with pleasure as he thrust
his body closer, pulling her tight against him.

His mouth was soft and damp. The warm pressure of his tongue caused a throbbing ache
between her legs, and all she wanted to do was surrender to whatever he proposed.
She wanted to sink down to her knees and lie back on the grass, invite him to cover
her body with his own, and wrap herself around him like a glove.

As he blazed a trail of sweet kisses across her cheek and down the side of her neck,
she tried to wake herself from this dream, but alas, she could not.

After the sorrow and darkness of the past few weeks, this surging physical connection
was like some kind of drug. Warmth and sunshine rained down upon her, and she felt
alive again. She was overwhelmingly happy to be back in Leopold’s arms after the terrible
loss of him so very long ago. How many nights had she dreamed of this and prayed for
one more chance to be with him? Even when she had accepted Joseph, she had nursed
a sad regret for the final death toll of that wish.

“Ah, Rose,” Leopold whispered in her ear. “I beg of you…” He took her face in both
hands and looked into her eyes. “Consider my suit as well. I am heir to a dukedom
and a great fortune. My ancestors were kings of this country. Surely Randolph would
consider the possibility of a union between our families.”

She heard what he said but couldn’t seem to form words or reason out an answer. All
she could do was press her lips to his again and kiss him with all the pent-up passion
that was buried so deeply in her soul.

Her aggression ignited a matched response in him, and he clung to her with unstoppable
desire. One large warm hand cupped the nape of her neck while he ran the other hand
down over her hip and around to her backside.

He carried her to the shade of an ancient oak at the edge of the clearing. Slowly,
gently, he knelt on one knee and set her down on the grass, removed her hat and set
it aside, then gazed at her with those determined dark-lashed eyes.

Quite naturally she parted her legs to welcome him into her open arms, and he kissed
her with tantalizing lust and loving affection.

“Why can’t I resist you?” Rose sighed.

“You’re not meant to resist this because we are destined to be together. Do not marry
Joseph. You are mine. You’ve always been mine.”

How easily she was swept back into the obsession that had once nearly destroyed her.
She did love Leopold, still. She had never stopped. She had only convinced herself
that she hated him in order to survive.

“It would cause a terrible scandal,” she said, as she arched her back beneath him
and nearly fainted at the pleasure of his lips on her throat. “I don’t know what Randolph
would say.”

“Tell him you love me. Tell him you will be miserable if you are forced to marry a
man you do not love.”

It was a sobering thought to imagine such a conversation. And what of Joseph? How
would she ever explain it to him? He thought the world of her. He believed her to
be virtuous and dutiful and pure of heart. What would he say if he could see her now,
thrusting her body wantonly in the throes of passion with an ex-lover in the grass?

Oh God, what was she doing?

“Please stop.” She placed her open palms on Leopold’s chest. “This is wrong. Let me
up.”

Scrambling to her feet, she smoothed out her skirt and picked up her hat. Pressing
it firmly back onto her head and tucking in a few loose tendrils of hair, she strode
toward Zeus.

“Rose, wait,” Leopold said. “Do not do this.”

She whirled around to face him. “Do what? Come to my senses? Remember my betrothal?
I don’t know what just happened, but I’m not that sort of woman. I lost my head.”

She took hold of Zeus’s lead rope and walked him to a fallen tree, where she stepped
up onto the trunk and mounted into the sidesaddle without assistance.

Her father would be so disappointed in her. Was he watching her from heaven above?
Did he know what she had done this morning?

She wheeled Zeus around to steer him to the path that would take her home, but Leopold
grabbed hold of the bridle. Zeus tossed his head and trotted backward, but Leo would
not set them free.

“I must escort you back,” he said.

“That is not necessary. I know my way.”

“I gave my word to your groom, and we cannot part like this.”

Her heart was racing. She took a few deep breaths and fought to calm herself. “Very
well, then. We must return together and behave as if nothing improper has occurred.
Please do not betray me, Leopold. I need time to consider all of this.”

“I am your servant in all ways,” he replied. “I will wait forever if I must.”

Zeus stomped restlessly and reared up, forcing Leopold to release them and step aside.

“You may catch up to me in the meadow beyond the wood,” she said. “But I must leave
you now. Without any promises.”

Responding to the firm kick of her heel, Zeus carried her across the clearing into
the cool shelter of the forest. Only then did she slow him to a walk and shut her
eyes.

Leopold would soon follow and be upon her. She must strive to regain her sanity and
think rationally. She was a royal princess and had agreed to a political marriage
that would benefit her brother’s realm.

She loved Randolph. He was the best brother in the world.

Her father had sanctioned the marriage. He was not alive to advise her now, which
was a tragic circumstance, for he had always put her happiness and well-being above
all.

But happiness and well-being were sometimes two very different things.

She was not entirely certain that Leopold was good for her. He had caused her terrible
pain in the past.

Her father had never known of it, for their affair was kept secret from everyone except
Nicholas. Though she suspected Randolph knew. She could never confess it to her father,
for it was wicked and wanton. She had desired Leopold so desperately that she had
sneaked through the secret passages of his father’s manor house to visit him in his
bedchamber and spend the night with him.

Not unlike what she had done this morning by agreeing to a secret rendezvous in the
woods.

What was it about Lord Cavanaugh that brought out the worst in her? She was not a
fast or wild woman. She was a dutiful princess and a virgin.

She did not behave like one, however, when she was alone with Leopold Hunt.

Chapter Ten

“Upon my word, Rose. You are much better at this than I am.” Alexandra lowered the
archery bow to her side and grimaced at the fact that her arrows had landed deadly
strikes in two tree trunks and an elderberry bush beyond the target. Meanwhile Rose
had hit the target every time and had come very close to the bull’s-eye.

“I’ve been practicing since I was twelve,” Rose explained as she waved a servant closer
to bring her another arrow. “It was one of Father’s favorite summer pastimes.”

She raised her bow, took aim, and let another arrow fly. That one hit the bull’s-eye,
dead center.

“Marvelous!” Alexandra said, tucking her bow under her arm to applaud Rose’s skill.
“You are a true master.”

While a servant hurried to collect all the arrows, Rose and her sister-in-law strolled
to the refreshment tent to enjoy some cool lemonade.

It was stiflingly hot on the lawn. Rose was perspiring despite the fact that she was
dressed in a gown of the very lightest muslin. Her maid handed her a sunshade. She
twirled it around as she sipped the cool drink and looked out over the flat expanse
of green lawn where the targets had been set up.

There were very few people about, except for the servants. No one was fool enough
to brave the heat and humidity, she supposed, but it provided a welcome opportunity
to speak to Alexandra about her current quandary.

“May I ask you something?” she said as they strolled along the hedgerow with their
lacy sunshades.

“Of course, unless it concerns archery, in which case I shall be of very little assistance.”

Rose linked her arm through Alexendra’s. “How do you know when you love someone? How
do you know if it’s real?”

Alexandra gave her a curious sidelong glance. “I presume you are referring to your
betrothed?”

“Yes, of course,” Rose replied, for she did not wish to confess her transgression
on the ridge with Lord Cavanaugh three days prior. She hadn’t told anyone about it,
and until she determined what was best for her and the country, she would continue
to keep it secret.

“Are you unsure of your feelings for him?” Alex asked with both understanding and
concern.

“Not entirely. I like him well enough. He possesses a pleasant demeanor and is quite
handsome. You haven’t met him, but you will. He promised to visit Petersbourg again
in the spring before I depart for Austria.”

“Are you worried that you haven’t had enough time to become better acquainted with
each other?”

“Yes, there is that, but we have our whole lives ahead of us, so that will come in
time. What concerns me is that I do not…” She paused. “I do not long for him in the
way I feel I should. Nor did I ever feel particularly…” She paused again. “I don’t
quite know how to say it, so I shall be as blunt as possible. He has never made my
heart go boom. You know, like a cannon.”

Alexandra did not chuckle or seek to appease her. To the contrary, she stopped on
the gravel path and lowered her sunshade. “Does this concern you?”

Rose fanned her cheeks with her hand. “I don’t know. How was it with you and Randolph?
You were prepared to throw away your chances at becoming queen when you did not know
he was heir to the throne. Now you have everything you wanted—a passionate romance
with your husband, while doing your duty at the same time. You are very fortunate.”

“Yes, I am, but I would have married Randolph even if he was not the heir. It was
a love I could not deny.”

“When you say ‘love,’ do you mean passion? Or was it something else that told you
he was the one?”

Alexandra lifted her sunshade and they resumed their pace on the gravel path. “It
was most definitely passion, and to be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing at the
time. It was as if the whole world had spun out of control. I tried very hard to be
sensible and listen to my head, but in the end, my heart won the war. Thankfully it
all worked out, but now I know there is not a single chance I could have been happy
marrying anyone else but him. My whole life would have been a lie. The nights would
have been torture.”

“The nights…”

“If I had to give myself to one man, while I was in love with another,” she explained.
“But that is not your problem, or is it? Do you love someone else? Because if you
do, you must speak to Randolph. Surely he would not force you to be miserable for
the rest of your life in the name of duty.”

Rose swallowed uncomfortably. “No, I do not wish to speak to Randolph about it. At
least not yet. Not when I am so unsure of my feelings. I admit there is someone who
excites me, but I do not trust my heart. It could simply be that Joseph is very far
away and I have been melancholy since Father’s death. Perhaps when we see each other
again, I will be more certain of my affection for him.”

Alex was quiet for a moment. “This man who excites you … is he here at court?”

Rose spoke carefully. “He is a citizen of this country, yes, but I would prefer not
to reveal his identity, for this infatuation may simply pass, and I would not wish
to incriminate him as a person of danger.”

“I see.” She paused. “Well, please know that you can come to me, Rose. I only want
to help. I cannot speak for Randolph, but I would not wish to see you marry a man
you do not love.”