The Forbidden Princess He Craves by Lorraine Hall

Author:Lorraine Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-07-14T13:45:20+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

SINCE SHE WAS ALONE, and it seemed unlikely anyone would return right away, Elsebet let herself cry. She did not only cry. She also planned. But the tears streamed down her cheeks as she planned.

Her heart felt bruised. And she wanted only anger and hatred, but... Oh, she knew better than to think him not answering her question about what he wanted might mean something. She would be a fool to believe he had also felt the connection between them that she had, or kissed her and spoken of saving her because he wanted to.

But her heart had nursed that notion, and apparently her heart was a fool.

What did it matter anyway? Regardless of what he wanted, he was taking her to his country, his king. Giving her away. Choosing his duty, just as she’d chosen hers.

But something eased inside of her. That this might be duty over want. Believing, no matter how her brain told her not to, that he didn’t want to hand her over to his king. Maybe she hadn’t been so totally fooled. Maybe there was some...side of him that felt some of the things she felt. She had seen yearning in his eyes. She had felt his response to her when she touched him, kissed him.

Surely such things couldn’t be faked...could they?

She didn’t know. So she cried nearly silently and she searched the entire room. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for. A weapon? A way out? A telephone? Something that might give her a chance.

But the room was essentially empty aside from bedding and toiletries. There was a tiny circular window, but it was dark outside, so there was nothing to see.

There was a little desk connected to the wall and she looked through its contents, finding a few pens and pencils. She looked at the door.

When she’d been a little girl in the palace, she had often tried to learn how to pick locks. She’d never gotten very far. A chaperone always showed up before she could accomplish anything, and the palace locks were much different than anything on this ship.

But what did it lose to try? She had literally nothing to lose at this point.

So she knelt at the door with the pens and pencils gripped in her hand, studying the lock. It did not look as though it locked from the outside, but when she tried to turn the knob it didn’t budge. So there had to be some sort of mechanism.

Maybe it was a pointless endeavor, but it gave her something to focus on. She took apart one pen, used the bits and pieces to poke at the lock.

She could not give up. She had to find a way out. What then? You’re on a ship.

She could jump overboard, of course, but they’d likely sailed far away enough from shore that a swim home wouldn’t be possible.

Would she rather die than be taken to a king, drown in the vast ocean?

She knew nothing about this king. Was

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