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Michael turned and saw Lady Brentford waving at him. He had no desire to speak with the viscountess, but perhaps he could excuse himself.

“Lady Brentford, I’m sorry, but this isn’t a good time.”

Her gaze turned knowing, and she smiled. “No, I suppose it isn’t. You were rather close to Lady Hannah, weren’t you? I know more about why she left. If you’d care to hear her reasons, why don’t you join me for a few moments?” She began walking toward one of the sitting rooms.

He didn’t at all believe Hannah would have confided in the viscountess. However, he had so little information, perhaps she might have something to offer.

Once they were inside, she closed the door. Michael’s gut warned him that Lady Brentford’s intentions were not altruistic. Particularly since she had a stepdaughter of marriageable age.

“What is it you want, Lady Brentford?”

She gave him a serene smile. “I want to see everything put back the way it should be. And we both know that after tonight’s dinner, there will be rumors about you.”

“I hardly care about the gossiping tongues of women who don’t have anything better to do.”

She flinched slightly. “Well. Be that as it may, I think you will have an interest in this matter.”

He waited for her to go on. She walked around the edge of the salon, behaving with a familiarity that seemed out of place. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been in the palace, you know.”

He didn’t respond. She traced her hand over a porcelain figure of a shepherdess. “I was a long-time companion of Konig Sweyn. His mistress, you might say.”

Horror washed over him when he stared at her.

“No, I am not your mother,” she said, voicing his fears. “But I think you know the man who is my son.”

“Karl,” he said slowly.

“Yes, Karl.” Lady Brentford walked towards the door, stopping before it.

“The king and I were lovers, even after he married Astri. When the queen became pregnant, she denied him her bed. It was easy enough to coax him back into mine. But it was short-lived. Soon enough, he went back to her and sent me away.”

“Did he know about Karl?”

“I tried to tell him, but the queen refused to let me into the Schloss. So, I decided that if I could not take my rightful place on the throne, then my son would.”

Michael sensed a ruthlessness, a woman who would stop at nothing to get her desires. He edged his way towards the door, to prevent her from leaving.

“It took a great deal of planning to switch two children,” he said. “I presume it was you who hired the men?”

A grim smile crossed her mouth. “Yes. I had to marry the viscount for his money and influence, a year after Karl was born. Lord Brentford never knew anything about my son. I paid a woman to keep him in the village, far away from us. And my husband was so occupied with his beloved little girl, born from his first wife, he didn’t care whether or not I gave him a child. ”

“You waited years,” Michael said. “I was three when you made the switch.”

She nodded. “I had to wait until Brentford was traveling abroad, before I could come back to Lohenberg with Karl. It took time to choose the right men who could hide among the palace guards. And of course, every detail had to be right. Even the scar upon Karl’s leg.

I carved the wound myself when he was two,” she said, with a note of pride.

Knowing that she’d hurt her own child made Michael even more tense. “You want him to become the king.”

“If he is king, then my blood will be part of the royal line, just as it always should have been.”

Michael chose his next words carefully, for he knew it was too late for Karl to claim the throne. Not after the queen had formally acknowledged him tonight. “What do you want from me?”

Her icy smile grew thin. “I want your life, in exchange for Lady Hannah’s.” She opened the door, her eyes narrowed. “Karl will not lose what I’ve worked so hard to gain.”

Hannah’s throat was raw, and her eyes were burning. She didn’t know what had happened, but one minute, she was preparing for the banquet, and the next, she was opening her eyes inside a darkened coach.

A man sat across from her, a revolver in his hand. “So, you’re awake, are you? Good.”

“Where are you taking me?”

He smirked. “Away from the Schloss. Once Lieutenant Thorpe learns you’ve been taken, he’ll come after you. I imagine he won’t want anything to happen to a pretty one like you.” He tipped the revolver toward her.

Hannah’s heart clamored, realizing that they meant to lure Michael to her and then kill him. She closed her mouth, not wanting to provoke her attacker by asking more questions. She wondered if he’d been sent by Fürst Karl.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the side of the coach. Once again, she’d been taken captive by a man against her wishes. Only, with Belgrave, she’d relied upon Michael to save her. This time, she had to save herself.

Remain calm , she urged herself. Think of your options.

Her hands weren’t bound, but jumping from a moving coach was dangerous.

If she fell badly, she could break her neck.

But then again, once she reached their destination, her escape options would be worse.

They’d probably tie her up. And if Michael did come to rescue her after they’d killed him, no doubt they would take her life as well.

She stared down at her violet gown. The skirts were going to be a problem, hindering her escape. But perhaps if she removed the petticoats, the gown wouldn’t billow out so much.

“How much farther are we traveling?” she asked her guard.

The man shrugged. “An hour, perhaps.”

There was a chance he would fire his gun at her, but more likely he needed her alive, in order to lure Michael. Her best chance of escape was now.

Hannah pretended to settle back against the seat, but she inched the back hem of her gown to rest above her hips, so that she was no longer seated upon it.

The front of the gown covered the numerous petticoats, but now she could reach the ties that bound the skirts.

With her fingers working quickly, she untied them.

The man didn’t seem to notice her efforts, since it was so dark.

When the last petticoat was unfastened, Hannah stared at the coach door. She would have to open it in one swift motion, stepping free from the petticoats and leaping from the moving coach.

Her common sense told her that this was not a good idea. She would probably tangle up in her skirts and fall on her face.

In her mind, she could almost imagine what her mother would say. “A proper young lady would never dream of trying to escape. She would simply fold her hands in her lap and wait calmly to be killed.”

Hannah grimaced, and began easing the petticoats past her hips, keeping her lap covered with the dress.

Her pulse was pounding so hard, it was a wonder the man hadn’t heard it. Her courage was waning with every second, while her brain screamed out all the things that could go wrong.

Before she could change her mind, Hannah reached for the door handle and threw herself outside the moving carriage. Her body struck the ground hard, and a vicious pain rolled over her as she tumbled off the road. Every inch of her would have bruises, she was certain.

But she was alive.

The sound of male voices shouting made her aware that she couldn’t stay for long. They would search for her, and she mustn’t be found.

Without the petticoats, her gown hung down low, and she gathered up the hem with both hands.

Thank heavens her dress was violet; it would keep them from seeing her clearly in the darkness.

Ignoring the pain, she held fast to her skirts and ran toward the forest. She didn’t know where she was or how far she was from the palace.

Her chest ached from running so hard, but she forced herself to keep going. For this time, her life depended on it.