The Princess Masquerade by Lois Greiman

Author:Lois Greiman [Greiman, Lois]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2012-06-29T14:04:03+00:00

Chapter 16

The palace was quiet. Nicol could hear the guards’ conversation drift up from the bottom of the steps. But other than that the world seemed entirely silent.

The princess’s chambers were just down the hall. Anna always slept alone. She would abide no one to accompany her at night. Indeed, she would not even allow another at her door. There were guards surrounding the palace, guards at the stairs, and guards following her every minute of the day, she said—surely that was enough. And none gainsaid her. Perhaps because none would suspect her of immorality. She was too cool for passion—unlike her counterpart, who shone with life, who burst with vitality. Nicol could remember how she felt in his arms, like a living sunbeam against his skin. Like—

He shut his mind down and frowned into the darkness. It was then that he heard a noise, a tiny snick of sound. Hurrying around the corner, he glanced toward her door, and there, at the far end of the hall, he thought he saw a shadow disappear into shadow. Perhaps he was only imagining, but worry niggled at him. Hurrying up to the girl’s door, he set a hand to the latch, paused for a moment, then stepped inside. Once there, he scanned the darkened room. Nothing. He must have imagined the noise. Upon the mattress, he could see the small shape of the pretend princess. Her slim form barely made a crease in the blankets. But suddenly he realized he had thought that before. And he had been tricked. His heart jerked with anticipation.

Closing the door silently behind him, he strode across the floor. Upon the pillows, he could see a wild cascade of hair, but was it her hair? Hurrying around the foot of the bed, he gazed down and now the firelight told the truth. She had not left. Had not escaped into the night. Had not lied.

There was no fire in the grate tonight, but a bevy of tapers in a brass candelabra cast the room in a rosy glow, and by their light, the girl’s gamine face looked peaceful, neither as cool as the princess’s nor as intense as the thief’s. But as beautiful as both. God help him. She thought him in love with Tatiana. An icicle of pain shivered through his heart. She would laugh if she knew the truth, for she was not a person who would understand weakness. Not like him. Now for instance. He knew he should leave. Knew he should return to his own sleepless chamber, and yet he lowered himself onto her mattress and watched her slumber.

It was odd, he thought. He was a viscount, wealthy and secure. Yet he could not manage a full night’s rest. She was a thief, barely surviving. Yet she slept like a babe.

Or like an angel. He almost laughed at his own sentimentality. She was here because she had robbed and molested him. She was here because she had no other choice. But she looked so right beneath the pristine sheets.

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