To Charm a Prince (31 page)

Too frightened to argue, Samantha walked toward the door. She paused there and tried again. “Please, let me explain. I’m begging you to listen.”

“Get out of my sight before I do something I will regret,” Rudolf ordered, anger leaping at her from his black eyes.

Samantha looked straight into his black eyes. “You have already done something you will regret.” And then she quit the chamber, her head held high.

Chapter 17

Why wouldn’t Rudolf listen to her? Samantha asked herself that question for the hundredth time since being sent to her chamber.

Sitting on the chaise in front of the hearth, Samantha looked down at her nearly transparent light-as-gossamer nightgown. The gown had been made for her wedding night and meant to entice. This was her wedding night, and the prince would surely come to her. Then she would explain what really happened.

Hours had passed since then. The sounds of supper had quieted many hours earlier, and now the household slept.

Not Samantha. Though bone weary, she couldn’t find release from her pain in sleep.

Why shouldn’t she go to him? Rudolf was her husband. There was nothing improper about seeking him. He would be drowsy with sleep and more amenable to listening.

Determined to set things right between them, Samantha rose from the chaise and lifted the candle off the table. She hesitated a fraction of a moment before she opened the door to his bedchamber. There was nothing to fear. He was angry but would listen to the woman who carried his seed in her body.

Stepping inside the dark chamber, Samantha walked to a table to set the candle down. Then she turned toward the bed.

The bedchamber was empty. The bed was unused.

Samantha stared in confusion at the bed. Where was he? Had he moved his chamber to get away from her?

Turning to leave, Samantha froze, and her breath caught in her throat. Looking heartbreakingly handsome in his formal evening attire, Rudolf stood just inside the doorway and stared at her.

“Are you looking for something to steal?” Rudolf asked.

“Why are you dressed like that at this hour?” Samantha asked.

Rudolf sauntered across the chamber. His gaze raked her body in the flimsy nightgown. There was no love in his expression, not even lust, only barely suppressed rage.

“I will ask the questions,” Rudolf said. “Are you here to steal something else?”

Samantha lifted her chin a notch. “I thought you would come to my chamber.”

His smile chilled her. “Our marriage was consummated before the ceremony,” he said. “The proof grows inside you.”

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.