Page 29 of The Accidental Prince (Accidentally in Love #3)

S erena began pacing across his bedchamber, her thoughts in turmoil.

Though she’d told herself that she’d been right all along, that Karl had only used her, it felt like he’d lied.

There was more that he hadn’t said, a hovering sense that he did want her, even without a kingdom.

He’d offered to stand by her side when she faced her father.

She didn’t know what to think of that.

A knock came at the door and her ladies entered. Serena sat at her dressing table while the ladies helped her out of her gown and brushed her hair. They offered to stay with her or read aloud, but she dismissed them for the night.

One of the ladies sent her a secretive smile. “Your Highness, forgive me for saying so, but I think your elopement was the most romantic tale I’ve ever heard.” She let out a sigh and offered, “Even if he’s no longer the crown prince, Fürst Karl is wonderfully handsome.”

Serena gave a nod of agreement. Karl wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense, but there was a rugged quality to him, of a man who wasn’t entirely as refined as the other princes she’d known over the years. He broke the rules and did as he pleased.

He was also unbearably stubborn and refused to listen to reason. Her mind grew numb as she imagined her father’s guards arriving, seizing Karl, and imprisoning him for what he’d done. They might even execute him.

She closed her eyes at the thought. Though she was angry about the way he’d used her, she didn’t want him to die.

In spite of his misguided actions, she had seen glimpses of a good man.

No, she could never ask him to stand by her side and face the king.

He had to leave now, before the men reached Vertraumen.

Serena signaled to one of her ladies-in-waiting. “Please send for the…prince,” she finished, unwilling to call him her husband. “I would like to speak with him.”

The woman bobbed a curtsy, but it was nearly a quarter of an hour before Karl returned to her chamber. His face was damp, and she caught the faint spicy sandalwood aroma of the soap he’d used. Serena dismissed her women, leaving them alone.

“You summoned me, Your Highness?” Karl said, in a light mocking tone.

He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. But she needed to confront him before she sent him away.

“I want you to leave the island in the morning. You shouldn’t be here when my father arrives.”

Karl crossed the room, his hazel eyes boring into hers. He came close, as if daring her to hold her ground. “But I’m not the obedient sort, am I?”

Her heartbeat quickened at his closeness, and she forced herself to stare at the woven carpet. “I thought I should warn you.”

“And leave you alone to face his wrath?” There was disbelief in his voice, and he reached out with one hand to cup her cheek. “You can’t do it alone.”

She pushed his hand away. “He might hurt me, but he’ll kill you.”

“I don’t run from a fight.” He bent his face against hers, his breath warming her throat. “Why did you really summon me to your bedchamber, Serena?”

She shuddered when his mouth kissed her pulse. His hands moved over the soft linen of her nightdress, loosening the ties. “Was there something else you wanted?”

“Just—just to ask you to leave Vertraumen.”

His hands moved down her sides, reaching between her arms to slide against the curve of her breast, down her ribs, to her waist. He’d removed his coat earlier and the shirt he wore held the dampness of water.

He pulled her hips close, and she felt the length of his arousal nestled against her. “And that’s all?”

At the press of his body against hers, she felt a strange aching. It reminded her of the sensations she’d felt when he’d touched her in the bath. And she knew that the longer she allowed him to stay, the more dangerous he was.

Serena closed her eyes and forced herself to push him back. “That’s all.”

In the morning, Karl sat inside the study with a map of Vertraumen unrolled before him.

He wrote down lists of island assets, as well as the liabilities.

The organized lines calmed him as he made a second list of ideas for improvements.

If they could devise a method of draining off the excess water from the fields and collecting it for other uses, it might be a way to improve the agriculture.

Though he agreed with Serena that the majority of food needed to come from the mainland, it was never wise for an island to be entirely reliant on others.

The sound of footsteps approaching broke through his reverie. Serena stood near the door to the library. She wore a blue tarlatan dress with a fringed shawl and white gloves. Her hair was tucked in a neat arrangement, her blonde hair intricately braided around the chignon.

“I don’t understand why you won’t leave the island,” she began.

“Because I don’t like being told what to do?” Because hell would freeze over before he’d allow her to face more of her father’s physical wrath. He fully intended to stand between Serena and the king.

“I’m only trying to help,” she said. “Why can’t you be reasonable?”

“Because you’re asking me to be a coward. And that’s not the sort of man I am.”

Her troubled green eyes met his, as if she were searching for a way to convince him. Karl turned his attention back to the map. “Is that all you wanted?”

“No. I thought I would return to the village today and speak with Frau Bauherzen.” She walked back into the hall, where her ladies held out her red cloak and bonnet. “While I await my father’s men, I’d like to know what else may be done to help the islanders.”

“You’re not going alone,” he warned, standing from his desk and following her.

Serena accepted her bonnet from one of the ladies and stood still while another tied the ribbons. Already she was slipping back into the role of a princess, letting others perform the tasks she was not expected to do. “I’ll take several of the guardsmen with me.”

He didn’t know if it was naivety on her part or pure stubbornness, but she wasn’t leaving the house again. “No. You’ll stay here.”

“And do what? Organize the linens?”

“Read and drink cups of chocolate,” he suggested.

“In other words, behave like a princess.” She glared at him.

“No. Like a lady.” He raised an eyebrow at her and spoke in front of the servants. “As my wife, I believe it is your duty to obey me.”

Her face flamed, for she seemed to have forgotten about their fictional marriage. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she formulated her own argument.

“I…” She paused, reconsidering her argument. “I believe we should talk further, my lord.” Without waiting for his reply, she returned to the study. The color in her cheeks and the clench in her jaw meant she had more than a few words to say to him.

When she closed the door behind her, he crossed his arms. “Why are you so eager to leave the house?”

“If I keep waiting here…for him, I’ll go mad. I have to be useful somehow.”

“I’ll go with you, then.”

“It seems a waste of your time while I speak with a dressmaker. Shouldn’t you continue the work you’ve been doing?” She crossed over to the desk, studying the map he’d laid out of the island. She skimmed over his notes, her face turning serious as she absorbed his ideas.

“What will you do about all of the people who have gone from Vertraumen?” she asked. “How will you bring them back?”

“Their families can write to them. Once we’ve brought opportunities for the existing families, I imagine many will return.”

“Have you thought more about my idea to make the island a place for the wealthy to spend their holidays?”

He hadn’t, but he sat down across from her, letting her spin off her ideas.

When she spoke of cottages along the sea coast, her face grew animated, her green eyes lit up with excitement.

“It would give the women a way of bringing in coins, not just the men. They could cook and clean for the guests, and—”

“Who would watch over their children?”

“They could take turns,” she offered. “Or perhaps the older women could look after the little ones. It could work, Karl. I know it could.”

He studied her. “It will take a great deal of time to build the houses. Most would be unwilling to live in small cottages.”

“The cottages could be kept for the servants. We could build grander houses for the guests.”

“And who would pay for the houses?” he asked. “I’m a bastard, remember? I haven’t the funds for it.”

“Your brother does.” He said nothing for a time but took out a piece of paper and handed it to her. “Write down your ideas.”

A hesitant smile crossed her face. “You mean, you’ll think about it?”

He nodded. “And after you’ve left the island, I’ll know what your wishes were.”

A shadow crossed her face at that, as if she no longer wanted to leave. “You’re truly going to stay here, then?”

He saw little alternative, since he had no desire to return to the empty house he owned near the borders. Turning his attention back to the map, he added, “I do know how to care for a country or a province, even if it’s no longer my right.”

She picked up the paper and reached for a pen, pulling up a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

For the next few minutes, she wrote out lists, her hand moving steadily across the paper.

Perfectly formed letters emerged from her pen, and as she bent over the paper, she pressed her lips together in thought.

Karl found himself wishing that one of her tightly pinned locks of hair might fall loose against her face so he’d have an excuse to touch her.

What on earth had made him ever believe he could seize a creature like this and force her to wed him?

Even if his plan had succeeded, she’d have grown to hate him for it.

Perhaps it was best that none of it had come to pass.

And he didn’t lose sight of the irony, that she’d lied to the servants about a marriage, in order to maintain appearances.