“Take your master’s elbow. We’re going to slip away. Move slowly, and keep your eyes down.”
And as Hansen shuffled Sir Cosmo and his valet slowly towards the gallery and to safety, his fellow guards were herding the courtiers out through the double doors; the noblemen couldn’t get out of the chamber quick enough. Baron Haderslev, with General Müller and Alec beside him, approached the dais and the Margrave. They had barely straightened out of a respectful low bow, when Ernst suddenly came to life. He leaped up, sending his high-back chair to the floor with a clatter, and stabbed a finger in the air at all three men, shouting at his captain of the guard,
“Westover! Arrest him! Arrest that traitor! Arrest Baron Haderslev!”
C
APTAIN
W
WESTOVER
hesitated. He didn’t believe for a moment the Court Chamberlain was a traitor. That small hesitation was all the time Alec needed to step right up to the dais, set the small jewelry casket in front of Ernst, and put his hands flat on the table. He then leaned into him and spoke in a voice that had all jaws in the room swinging.
“Haderslev isn’t a traitor, and you know it, Ernst,” Alec admonished mildly, as one does a small child. “You’re just being bad-tempered for its own sake because you never thought to see me again. But here I am! Returned! Aren’t you pleased to see an old friend?”
Ernst’s bottom lip quivered. He was instantly reprimanded. He pointed at Haderslev.
“
He
said you wouldn’t come!
He
said we’d never see you again!”
Alec came around to his side of the table, propped a buttock on an edge and casually swung a booted leg.
“But here I am! Just because the Baron said I wouldn’t come, doesn’t mean he’s a traitor, does it?” Alec cajoled. He jerked his head towards the others in the chamber. “Send them away,” he said softly. “Then we can talk… Just you and me… It’s been too long, and I’m certain you have so much to tell me…”
Ernst hovered in indecision. He glanced over at the main entrance as the last of the noblemen were being herded out and the large bronze inlaid doors closed on their backs. The guards were now also on the other side of the doors. He then looked at Baron Haderslev who was wringing his hands, and beside him he recognized Colonel Müller. He thought he’d sent him to Emden… And over by the gallery were the two English prisoners, and a guard. What were they still doing here? He didn’t want any of them here now; he just wanted to speak with Alec, who had come all this way from England to see him—No! He’d come to collect his English friend! Why should he pretend otherwise? Why should he listen to him? But Alec had not once looked over at the Englishmen. It was as if they were not there at all. Alec had kept his eyes on him and him alone.
He wanted—no he
needed
—to be alone with him, to talk with him. Just the two of them. He was so lonely now Papa was gone… And he had to talk with him before Joanna got wind of his return, because she’d be there in a trice, and monopolize Alec’s time as she always did, and he’d never get another word in… She was becoming more and more demanding, and he was running out of excuses to keep her locked up. He hated not being in control… He was the Margrave… No one had a right to tell him what to do. No one.
And then Westover came over and set his chair to rights, and spoiled his mental musings. And when the Captain continued to hover by his shoulder, it irritated him beyond measure. As much as the Captain’s presence had been a comfort, there when he needed him, like an old favorite toy, for some inexplicable reason now, at this moment, with Alec Halsey smiling down at him, asking to be alone with him, he didn’t want Westover or anyone else near him. He just wanted to be with Alec; just like the old days. Just like it was before Joanna got it into her head it was somehow
his
fault Alec had abandoned her. Well, she wasn’t the only one who’d been abandoned!
“Get out, Westover! Take them with you! I don’t want any of you—”
“Highness, I cannot leave you! I must stay—”
“Get out! Get out!” Ernst screeched.
“But Highness, he has a sword—”
“—and I’ll use it on
you
if you don’t leave us!”
“Highness, I must and will protect you!”
“Then protect me from over there somewhere! Just get out of my face! And if you send word of this to my sister, it’ll be your head on a pike! Understand me!? Not a word to her!”
Westover blinked. “Not a word, Highness. Not without your permission!”
“Come, Captain,” General Müller said quietly at Westover’s shoulder. “Let us repair to the gallery.”
Alec unbuckled his sword and held it out. “Here. Take it.”
“There. You can’t have any objection now he’s unarmed,” Baron Haderslev said at Westover’s ear. “If you stand just inside the entrance you can still see what’s going on through the lattice. You’ll be only two strides away.”
Westover capitulated. He glanced at Alec, who remained inert beside the Margrave, then bowed deeply and turned on a heel. General Müller went on ahead of him. He had seen the two prisoners with their guard slip into the gallery, and he now went after them, found them making for the door cut into the paneling and demanded they stay where they were.
Instantly, Hansen stepped in front of Sir Cosmo and Matthias, shielding them, drawing his sword as he did so.
“I am taking these two innocent men to safety! That, or you will have to cut me down where I stand! I’ve had enough of His Highness’s particular brand of justice!”
“Wait! Stay!” General Müller demanded in a loud whisper, a look over his shoulder and a gloved hand raised. His sword remained in its scabbard. When Hansen remained where he was, he asked, “Who are these two men?”
“They are Englishmen. A lord and his servant.”
“Sir Cosmo Mahon?” asked Müller with surprise, taking in the disheveled dirty state of both prisoners. When Hansen nodded but said no more, he added, “You’ll be safer with me. Trust me. Events are about to overtake the Margrave.”
Hansen hesitated in indecision, weighing up whether this was a ploy to get him to put away his sword, before having them all arrested. It was Sir Cosmo who decided him. The Englishman’s knees buckled and he collapsed. Matthias caught his master, and Hansen, still with his sword drawn had only one hand free so was unable to help. In two strides, Müller pushed past the guard and had Sir Cosmo by the other elbow. He helped Matthias sit him down, back up against the paneling, before rising up to face Hansen.
He put out his hand to the guard, who immediately sheathed his sword, and took it.
“Prince Viktor could use a soldier like you, Herr—?”
“Hansen Bootsman, Herr Colonel!” said the body guard, coming to attention. He could not hide his grin. “Yes, he could, Herr Colonel!”
“It’s General Müller. But we’ll worry about the formalities later. For now, look after these men with your life. When this is over, we’ll discuss your career prospects.”
Müller returned to stand with Baron Haderslev who was at Captain Westover’s shoulder.
The Captain of the Guard peered at Müller with a frown. “What is the meaning of this, Colonel? What is going on—”
“Don’t look at me! Turn about and watch!” Müller hissed. “Watch and
listen
.”
All three men peered through the lattice screen, listening, disbelieving their own eyes and ears.
~ ~ ~
A
LEC
WAITED
UNTIL
he was alone with Ernst in the cavernous audience chamber before moving to close the gap between them. Having Alec in such close proximity, Ernst cowered. But he did not move away. His bottom lip set to trembling again and tears filled his eyes. He quickly blinked these away because he had to be certain his long-lost friend was still there, that this wasn’t a bad dream. Instinctively, he put out a hand and almost had his fingers to Alec’s cheek, when Alec took hold of his hand and held it in a firm clasp.
“Now that I am holding your hand,” Alec said with a friendly smile, “do you believe I am truly here with you?”
Ernst nodded and sniffed, but then tugged his hand free and said crossly, though there was no heat in his voice, “You didn’t come here to see me. You came to save your hairy English friend. You were almost too late, too! He’s practically dead already, so not much use anymore as a friend, is he? I should still have him killed, just to teach you a lesson for leaving us—for leaving
me
.”
“I cannot believe you meant to kill him, all to have your revenge on me?” Alec lied.
He had forced himself not to look at Cosmo, though he had been aware of him and his valet, and the guard standing over them both. He assumed Müller had taken them away to some place safe, and he would take care of Cosmo, be reunited with him, once he had this creature and its monster locked away for all time. For now he could not afford to think of anyone or anything but the fine-boned nobleman whose hand he held. He smiled down on him with such a lovely smile he was sure Ernst was fast believing the lie he had come all this way just for the pleasure of his company, English friend and the war be damned.
“I hope you brought me a gift worthy of a Margrave?” Ernst said peevishly. “I’m Margrave now, don’t y’know!”
“Yes. I do know. And yes, I did bring you a gift.”
Alec opened the casket and tipped its contents onto the table by the candelabra. Out spilled strings of pearls, gold rings, brooches, diamond-encrusted shoe buckles, and gold earrings dripping with precious stones. There were pieces set with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. There was even a large handful of single gems, and then there was the ruby necklace Alec had mistaken for Selina’s heart when she had been struck down in the crossfire at Aurich.
Ernst’s eyes lit up with unconcealed avarice and he let his fingers caress the precious pile. He picked up a shoe buckle, then found a particular diamond ring, dropped the shoe buckle atop the pile and slipped the ring on a slender finger. He held out his hand to admire it.
When Alec slowly guided Ernst’s hand into the candlelight and gently turned his lace covered wrist so that the diamond’s facets winked, General Müller, Baron Haderslev, and Captain Westover moved closer to the lattice screen so that their noses were almost poking through the holes in the woodwork, all just as mesmerized as Ernst. And when Alec moved closer to Ernst, their chests a mere button width apart, General Müller and Baron Haderslev held their breath.
Alec looked down into Ernst’s delicate features framed by an overabundance of blond ringlets, the wig falling in fat curls to the shoulders, and at the bright blue eyes that blinked up at him with something akin to adoration, and he forced himself to continue on with the subterfuge. He knew his next move could very well decide Cosmo’s fate, and his. So while his voice might be soft and pliable, every fiber, every sinew of his being was taut. It was as if his boots were nailed to the parquetry. His jaw was clenched and his hands were in fists; those behind the lattice screen saw this, but Ernst did not.
“It’s a beautiful ring, isn’t it,” he murmured near Ernst’s ear. “A beautiful ring for a beautiful woman. It will fit Joanna’s finger perfectly. But will she like it, do you think? Is it worthy of your sister? Look at it closely and tell me what you think, Ernst. Tell me if the ring is worthy of a princess…”
Ernst stared at the diamond ring, at the way the light caught in the many facets. How it winked in the candlelight and drew in the surrounding colors. Light and color swirled before him. And when his hand moved out of the light, as if by magic, for he was certain it had a mind of its own, his gaze remained riveted to the diamond. And all the while he listened to Alec’s voice near his ear. The deep dulcet tones washed over him like the warm water of his bath, and when his hand drew level with Alec’s chin, his gaze slid effortlessly from the diamond to Alec’s face, to the dark stubble that dotted the square chin, up to the curve of his lovely mouth, then up further to the angular lines of his cheekbones. His friend’s face was thinner. Older. There were creases at the corners of his eyes. Eyes that were blue, but much darker than his own. Had his hair always been so thick? He knew that when it was not caught up in a ribbon it fell in waves past his shoulders. He’d forgotten just how blue-black was his friend’s hair. Joanna had always been covetous of such hair…
“You’ve not shaved… Everyone must shave…” Ernst managed to mutter. “It’s the law…”
“No. Not shaved,” Alec repeated in a low, soothing voice. “That’s how she prefers me. She likes it when I wear my hair out, down my back… She likes my cologne, too. It’s sandalwood with a hint of pepper… Do you remember it?… Do you remember how it makes you feel… How I make you feel…?”
Ernst fell deeper under the spell of Alec’s caressing tone. He swayed as he breathed in the scent of him… It had been such a long time since he’d smelled anything so-so—
manly
. It brought to the fore memories of a time long ago, of carefree days spent in the company of his English friend. The days of the summer at Friedeburg Palace spent swimming in the lake, fencing at the academy, hunting in the forests, flirting in the corridors and at balls with the daughters of the court nobles. He was able to forget for a time this dark place, and the demands of his twin. Alec had helped him forget, and to gain a new-found confidence in himself. He dared to think that he might just be able to exist without Joanna telling him what to do; without Joanna at all. Such was his confidence that he invited Alec to Herzfeld Castle when it was time for him to return to his duties with the Midanich army. With Alec by his side, he would have the confidence and strength to stand up to Joanna, to stand up for what he wanted in life, and not what she told him he wanted.
He should have known better. He should have realized that as soon as Joanna saw his English friend, she would want him all to herself. If only she had allowed him this one friend, things would have turned out very differently. But Joanna had a way of making him believe that what she wanted was what he wanted too. And with Alec Halsey that was indeed true. She convinced him they could share him. Twins shared everything, even those they loved. Did they not share Papa? And they had always shared their lovers. What was the point of love, of enjoying being loved if it could not be shared with the one you loved most in the world? And she loved her brother more than she loved anyone or anything. Surely he felt the same about her? She could not live if he did not love her as much as she loved him. He could not be so cruel as to keep the handsome Englishman to himself. Ernst capitulated. He always did. But this time he refused to be relegated to spectator. They would share the Englishman in all things and every way or he would not let her into his bedchamber. She had agreed, and he couldn’t have been happier.