A Scandalous Adventure by Lillian Marek

Author:Lillian Marek
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2016-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-five

They did not precisely march in. Count Herzlos, at the head of the party, moved at a stately pace that accentuated the distance from the door to the prince. Hugo, fuming, stumbled over his feet every few steps in an effort to keep himself behind his father. Helga, on the arm of Angriffer, floated behind them. The determined smile on her mouth was not quite good enough to counteract the effect of the angry color on her cheekbones.

In contrast, Angriffer looked not only calm but faintly amused. He caught Susannah’s eye and winked at her, prompting a low growl from Staufer. Helga also noticed and tightened her grip on Angriffer’s arm while darting a glare at Susannah.

Count Herzlos paid no attention to this byplay. He was stiffly proper as he came to a halt before the prince, clicked his heels, and bowed. Hugo managed to do the same, but with far less grace. While his father looked icy, he was seething with ill-concealed rage.

“How could you—” burst out of Hugo’s mouth before his father held up a hand to silence him.

Conrad looked coldly at the son for a moment before granting the father a courteous smile. “Good afternoon, Count. You wished to see me. It was something urgent?”

“My apologies, Sire,” said the count, his face impassive, “but my son shares my distress at your recent actions.”

“Distress? At my actions? Dear me, have I failed to recognize someone whom I passed in the hall? Greeted someone I should have ignored?” The prince’s voice was pleasant, though there was an edge to it.

Susannah, sitting between Max and Olivia, watched with nervous interest as Count Herzlos stiffened even more. She would not have thought such a feat possible, but he managed it.

“You must know, Sire, that your safety, the safety of your realm, rests upon the loyalty of the army. To undermine the authority of your officers is an act of folly, dangerous folly.”

“Really, Uncle, I assure you that I have done nothing that would undermine the lawful authority of my officers.”

None of the three observers made a sound, but their eyes brightened at the emphasis on the word “lawful.”

Hugo could no longer be restrained. Stepping forward, he slammed a fist down on the desk. “You humiliated one of my officers in front of the entire town. You disgraced him, and I will not stand for it.”

The prince did not move for a long moment, then looked down at Hugo’s fist resting on the desk before raising his eyes to look directly at Hugo. “You forget yourself, Baron.” His voice was soft, but cold enough to drop the temperature in the room by several degrees.

There was a hissed intake of breath—Susannah thought it came from Helga, but she could not be sure. In the silence that followed, she held herself very still, as did Olivia and Max. This was the prince’s scene, and they had no desire to draw the attention from him. From the corner of her eye, Susannah could see Angriffer.

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