When We Meet Again (18 page)

"Are you sure?" Pamela said weakly.

"Positive. " Aunt Millicent nodded. "Besides, even if they did, once started, insanity is a nasty rumor to dispel."

"Indeed it is. " Alexei shook his head in a mournful manner. "There are any number of royal houses whose members are as sane as you and I, but even so, they cannot dispel the belief that they are mad, and their every action is viewed accordingly."

"Of course there was that particular princess from some kingdom, whose name escapes me now, who was continually batting at flies that did not exist. " Roman said. "Do you remember?"

"Indeed, I do. " Alexei thought for a moment. "She ate them too as I recall. Most distressing. Although in that instance I believe she was at least a little deranged."

"Very well then. " Pamela blew a long breath. "Insanity will not work, but surely—"

"No, " Aunt Millicent said firmly. "There is no way to extricate us from this situation at this point without causing a huge amount of embarrassment and scandal as well. Far too many people know. Any hope you have of being accepted in society will be dashed. I will admit I did not expect it to escalate quite in the manner it did, and perhaps the entire plan was not properly thought out—"

"It was not thought out at all. " Pamela's voice was grim.

"But we are in it now, and we were in it the moment the butler heard the news. We shall just have to carry it off as best we can. Besides"—Aunt Millicent drew a deep breath—"if my sister ever learns the truth, she will never let me forget it. She will hold this over me for the rest of my days."

"As well she should!" Pamela glared. "You don't ever intend to tell her then?"

"I haven't decided. " Aunt Millicent considered the question. "However, if it works, she'll be quite pleased."

"Good Lord. " Pamela closed her eyes and clenched her fists, obviously searching for calm. Or she might have been praying. At last she drew a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Very well then. We shall play our parts, and this farce may not be our downfall after all. Now, if you will excuse me, I feel the need to lie down for a while with a cold cloth across my head." Alexei raised a brow. "Headache?"

"Brought on by a severe lack of sleep. I had a great deal on my mind. Not nearly as much as I have now, however. " She nodded and headed toward the door.

"Miss Effington, " he said without thinking.

She turned back. "Yes?"

He smiled his most engaging smile. "I cannot think of anyone I would rather be trapped with in a farce." The corners of her lips quirked slightly in a reluctant smile. "I see even this morning's encounter has not dimmed that infamous charm of yours."

"That is one of the very best things about charm. It rises to the occasion."

"I daresay it will have numerous opportunities to rise in the coming days. " She sighed and again started to take her leave.

"Oh, and Miss Effington, I meant it when I said I wished to spend ever)-' moment together." She paused for a long moment, heaved another sigh, of surrender perhaps, then glanced back at him over her shoulder, a genuine smile on her face. "Good."

Before he could respond she had disappeared through the doorway.

"I, too, have a number of things to attend to. " Aunt Millicent studied him thoughtfully. "And I, too, meant what I said."

"Oh?" Alexei said absently, still staring at the doorway. Whatever had she meant by good?

"About chaperones, Your Highness, " Aunt Millicent said.

Alexei laughed. "You do not trust me then?"

"You look at her in a way that does not encourage trust, Your Highness. Worse, she looks at you in precisely the same way. " Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure I trust either of you." Alexei shrugged. "It is simply part and parcel of the act, Aunt Millicent. "

"See that it is, Your Highness. " She considered him for another moment, then nodded, bid them good morning, and swept from the room.

Alexei stared after her thoughtfully.

"That was very good, Your Highness, " Roman said.

"What?"

"The soliloquy about hearts reaching for one another through the years."

"Yes, it was, wasn't it. " Odd, for a moment when he had gazed into her eyes, he had meant everything he had said. "Have you had the opportunity to query Lady Overton about Pamela's past or their travels for an idea as to where she and I might have met?"

"Not yet, Your Highness. " Roman chuckled. "But I will."

"And you caught the name the younger Miss Effington mentioned?"

"Penwick?" Roman nodded. "I shall look into it at once."

"Excellent."

"Your Highness, " Roman said slowly. "It does strike me that if you are not extremely careful, you could end up married."

It was an intriguing thought and not entirely distasteful. Still, it was the height of irony that when he was heir to a kingdom and had the world to offer the lady who would be his wife, he had had no choice in the selection of a bride. Now that he could marry whomever he pleased, he had nothing to offer save his name, and that was of little consequence these days.

No, he had no intention of marrying anyone. As for Pamela, there was something brewing between the two of them. He felt it as surely as he felt the beat of his own heart and knew as well that she felt it, too. He had no idea where it would lead, but she was no innocent virgin. She was a strong-willed, independent woman responsible for her own decisions. And an insurmountable challenge for any man. Except, perhaps, for him.

Eight

When I see my sister again I shall not let her suspect even for a moment that while my life hasbeen everything I have ever wished and I am truly happy, still, I cannot help but envy on occasion,the path she chose of wonderfully exciting new places and interesting new men. And I will never,ever let her know that there is the tiniest possibility that I could ever think she was right.

Abigail, Lady Edward Effington

"Good day, Your Highness. " Pamela's horse cantered up beside Alexei's, and she slowed him to a walk. "A lovely morning for a ride, don't you think?"

"Indeed I do, Miss Effington. " Alexei smiled a warm welcome as if he were genuinely glad to see her.

"And made all the lovelier by your presence."

Pamela raised an approving brow. "Very good, Your Highness." He grinned. "I thought so. " He glanced behind her. "Have you managed to escape without a chaperone, or is your aunt lurking somewhere in the bushes?"

"Don't be absurd. This is far too early in the day for Aunt Millicent. She considers anything before noon to be obscene. My mother's visit yesterday is the only thing that would have roused her from her bed."

"Then I am safe for the moment?"

"For the moment. " Pamela laughed. "She has been rather vigilant of late."

"Vigilant?" Alexei snorted. "I have been surrounded by armed men whose sole duty it was to protect me from assassins who were not as vigilant as your aunt. I must confess I have never before spent a full day and an entire evening without once being able to manage so much as a moment alone with whatever woman I intended to spend a moment alone with. She watched us, or rather me, like a hawk eyeing a rabbit."

"Perhaps she thought you were the hawk and I was the rabbit?"

"Do you think I am the hawk?"

"You do have that reputation, you know."

"Ah yes. " He sighed in a regretful manner she didn't believe for a moment. After all, he had already confessed to having thoroughly enjoyed his past. "My reputation. Surely we can put that behind us?"

"Have you?"

He grinned in a most wicked manner, and a delightful chill raced down her spine.

"I do have chaperones, " she said abruptly, then winced to herself. Good Lord, she sounded like a frightened, well, rabbit for lack of a better word. A virginal rabbit at that. This was ridiculous. She was well used to flirtatious banter, and she'd had years of practice with men every bit as polished in the art as Alexei. Prince or not, he was merely another man. She would do well to remember that and treat him as such. Still, there was scarcely another man alive who could make her heart skip a beat simply by walking into the room.

Pamela shrugged in an offhand manner as if the question of chaperones, present or not, wasn't of the slightest significance. "Lady Overton is directly behind us." Concern furrowed his forehead. "Alone?"

"No, Count Stefanovich is accompanying her."

"I see. " He chuckled.

"What exactly do you see?"

"Only that Lady Overton and Roman are the perfect chaperones. Mature, discreet and, "—he glanced behind them—"and still nowhere in sight."

"Precisely why I asked them to accompany me."

"Oh?"

"I have never before spent a full day and an entire evening without once spending even a moment alone with whatever gentleman I had intended to spend a moment alone with. " She grinned. He considered her thoughtfully. "The rabbit usually prefers not to spend any time at all with the hawk."

"Yes, but we have yet to decide which of us is the rabbit. " She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. "And which is the hawk."

"Excellent, Miss Effington. " He laughed. "Well said."

"Indeed it was. " She tilted her head and studied him. "You called me Pamela yesterday. Are we back to Miss Effington then?"

"I only called you Pamela when we were around the others because it seemed appropriate to the illusion. However"—he met her gaze directly—"I would be honored to call you by your given name if you wish."

"I do."

"Very well then. " He smiled. "Pamela."

Perhaps he should call her Miss Effington. The way he said Pamela, as if he were savoring the sound of it on his tongue, did decidedly odd things to the pit of her stomach.

"And I would much prefer you to call me Alexei rather than Your Highness. In truth, it seems rather hollow now, vestiges of the past and all that. I do not mind it so much with Roman or Dimitri or your aunt but with you"—he glanced at her—"it seems so... impersonal. I have never been in an engagement before, fraudulent or otherwise, and I suspect impersonal is to be avoided."

"But you've been called Your Highness all your life. I can't imagine your mother did not refer to your father in the same manner."

"He was a king, she was a queen. They were bound by traditions and expectations that no longer exist for me. My life is substantially different from that of my parents. " The faintest hint of regret showed in his smile, so slight as to be overlooked altogether if one weren't acutely aware of the changes in his life. They rode side by side in silent companionship. She had decided to join him this morning because they hadn't had a chance to talk alone since the evening of her arrival. She thought it wise, if they were to appear publicly in just two days, to become at ease in one another's presence. She found it as annoying as he did never to be able to speak privately, thanks to her aunt. There was much she wished to know about him—what his thoughts were and what he now wanted for his life. Surely a fiancée would know such things.

"Why have you never married?" she asked without thinking. It was the first thing that popped into her head and the one question she'd wondered about for years.

"I have a brother, " he said simply.

"A brother? I don't understand."

"My brother, Nikolai, was next in line for the throne should anything happen to me. Therefore, there was no particular urgency to wed and produce an heir. I should have married years ago, I suppose"—he slanted her a quick grin—"but I was having entirely too much fun."

"I recall some mention of that."

"And then my father fell ill, there were political problems—"

"Caused by the princess?"

"Encouraged by her more than caused. Even she never had the power to do more than stir the pot although she did manage to stir it to a frenzy. " Alexei shrugged. "Avalonians have always been easily roused to a good fight. We are a very passionate people."

"Indeed. " At once she recalled quite vividly exactly how passionate the one Avalonian she knew could be when roused. She pushed the thought aside.

"Perhaps I was avoiding the inevitable, but I was too busy to give the search for a bride my attention. In truth, I had always thought I had more than enough time to find a lady who would not only serve as wife but as queen. One does think that, does one not?"

She drew her brows together. "That there is enough time to find a wife?"

"That there is enough time for everything one has planned. That life will continue as it always has. " He paused, obviously gathering his thoughts. "I knew the world was changing, Pamela, thanks in great part to Napoleon's rampage as well as any number of other factors. Among them the progress of mankind itself I suppose. Countries that had existed independently from time immemorial were vanishing into one empire or another. Claimed or conquered by greater powers. I knew Avalonia's position was precarious. It always had been. But what one knows in a logical, rational sort of way has little to do with the emotion of it all. One's acceptance of the reality of the state of the world on an intellectual level has nothing whatsoever to do with what is felt in one's heart.