Page 43 of Once Upon an Enchanted Kiss

“With all due respect, princess, you lied to me, too,” he countered.

“Princess?” The one with the bright blue eyes peered at her as shock registered on his face. “This is Princess Rosamund?”

“I told you the truth,” she snapped, ignoring the outburst. “You could have done the same when you knew who I was. Yet you didn’t. You let me believe you were nothing more than a…a…peasant!”

Jeffrey chortled. But Phillip found her intended remark to be an insult. Good. She meant for it to be.

“Rose—” Phillip said.

“Donotcall me that.”

She clutched the reins in her hands and did the only thing she could think of to do. She kicked her horse into action and fled.

Chapter 18

Rosamund’smountgallopedbetweenPhillip and the other men. She heard him calling for her to wait, to stop. But she didn’t want to stop. Her heart was pounding a wicked beat. The flames of fury burned within her, threatening to consume all that she was.

To think, she thought him handsome! That she liked him. That she went out of her way to bring him cushions and blankets when they spent the night in the first cabin. What a fool she’d been.

She’d told him things. That she didn’t want to be married to someone she had never met. That he wasthatperson. Hot tears of anger at his deception burned through her.

Ahead, she saw a clearing and headed for it. Behind her, she heard the pounding of another horse and knew he followed. She urged her horse onward, faster. So fast, she saw the limb hanging down too late to avoid it. She ducked, but the end of it scraped across her cheek. A stinging sensation erupted in the cool breeze. She felt the dampness of blood.

“Rose, wait!” he called after her.

She threw a look over her shoulder to see he was nearly upon her. He was a better rider than she was, she had to admit, and was closing the gap. The other two men were right behind him as they chased her down.

“Yah!” she shouted, urging her horse to go faster.

It was not enough. He caught up to her, pulling alongside her as they entered the clearing. He was close. So close he reached for her reins. She batted his hand away.

“Go away!” she shouted.

“Rose, please. Let me explain.”

Her mount stumbled in a divot in the ground and came to an abrupt screeching halt. She was thrown from the saddle and landed with a thud in a thick tuft of grass that managed to cushion most of her fall. She managed to roll out of the way before she was trampled by her spooked horse. She was on her back, staring up at the late afternoon sky with wispy clouds. A quick inventory and she realized everything hurt from head to toe. The next thing she saw was Phillip’s face in her line of vision. Concern etched his features as he slipped an arm around her. He pulled her into his lap and cradled her to his chest.

“Are you all right?”

She glared up at him, the fire still burning through her. She pressed her lips together, wishing she had the energy to shove him away. As it was, she was rather weak and in a lot of pain.

“Your cheek is bleeding but it looks like only a scratch. Is anything broken?” His hand slipped down one arm, feeling the bone.

Again, she wanted to bat his hand away but it hurt too much to move. Still, she didn’t think she had broken anything.

“I’m fine,” she muttered.

“That was quite a tumble she took.” She recognized Jeffrey’s voice. He had dismounted and moved to stand in front of them. “Is the princess all right?”

“Theprincessis quite awake and aware you’re talking about her as if she were unconscious,” Rosamund spat.

“Quite the spitfire, isn’t she?” the other man said.

Jeffrey gave him a half-hearted shove with his elbow. “Quiet, Charles.”

“Both of you shush,” Phillip snapped. Then he turned his attention back to her, his expression softening. “Rose?”

“I told you not to call me that.”

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