Duchess in Flight by Marina Pacheco

Author:Marina Pacheco [Pacheco, Marina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781999609498
Publisher: Marina Pacheco
Published: 2020-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

It was all Erasmus could do to keep calm and shave. But he forced himself to look as though he wasn’t at all bothered that his secret had been revealed. This, when for most of his life he’d been in hiding, praying that he was never found out.

Now he had an astonished nobleman and his amazed daughter watching him as if he were some extraordinary freak. It was enough to make him want to melt into the background.

‘Are you really Wolfgang’s eldest son?’ Beatrix said.

‘I am,’ Erasmus said, and it felt strange to acknowledge that fact.

‘Did you always remember?’

‘I tried not to, but yes, I remembered.’

‘I see.’ Beatrix went back to treating his wound with a shake of her head.

‘Well, this adds an interesting new wrinkle to my plans,’ Weymar said. ‘I should tell the others.’

‘I would prefer you didn’t.’

It was as Erasmus had feared. The situation was already spiralling out of his control.

‘Good God, man, why not?’

‘You ask that now, with the duke dead and Anders at your gate?’

‘You give us legitimacy.’

‘What about your grandson?’ Erasmus said, flicking his head in Thomas’s direction.

‘Well … he is an heir too, that’s true.’

‘And, until I came along, the sole remaining heir.’

‘I realise that. But he is a bit too young. With you here we can fight under your banner.’

‘My banner?’ It was Erasmus’s turn to stare at the count as if he were a lunatic. ‘I have nothing but a name. I have no army and no allies. I haven’t been brought up to rule and I can’t fight. What use is it to mention my existence?’

The count was about to argue the point when Beatrix stepped in and said, ‘Can we talk about this later please, Father. We all need some sleep, especially Innocent.’

‘You go ahead and sleep,’ the count said. ‘I can tell everyone about Erasmus in the meantime.’

‘No,’ Erasmus said. ‘Not before you agree it with me.’

It felt frightening to put his foot down with this nobleman. But not as intimidating as he might have expected it to. That was probably because he hadn’t actually seen a nobleman, a truly high-ranking one, in a long time. Or maybe it was because he was so tired it dulled everything, even the fear.

Weymar glared at him for a moment. Then he shrugged and said, ‘We can discuss this when you wake up. There is no sense in trying to reason with an exhausted man.’

‘There really isn’t,’ Lady Beatrix said as she tied a knot in the bandage she’d wrapped around his arm. She smiled up at him and said, ‘Let’s go to bed. I am so tired I can barely see straight.’

‘Go to bed?’ Weymar said. ‘With him?’

Beatrix gave her father an astonished look and said, ‘No, of course not. But I do want Innocent nearby. I trust him. I feel safer with him close at hand. I also want to be sure he is treated properly.’

‘Considering who he is, you can be sure he will be treated with the greatest respect,’ the count said.

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