Page 109 of A Tenuous Betrothal
When they returned to the small clearing, Frederick was tying a handkerchief into a man’s mouth as Kristoff wrestled both the man’s hands behind his back. When Rhi and Marc were close enough that he could see them, he merely nodded. “Brother, nice of you to join us.”
“A bit late to the party, I see,” Kristoff said.
“A bit,” Marc said.
Kristoff pulled Marc to him in a fierce embrace, then started working on the knot behind his back.
“Where’s the team?” Marc kept his voice low. “We have a whole camp of Napoleon supporters past the next clearing who would love to win them a family of Wilhelm brothers.” He frowned. “And do we need to talk about why on earth the woman I love is out here in the dark on a mission?”
“No, we don’t need to talk about it.” Rhi pressed a hand to his face. “We need to get out of here.”
Marc shook his head. “We are so close. We could take them down. We could cause a large rift in their support...” When no one responded, he looked from one to the other. “What?”
“We could not.” Kristoff shook his head. “That is not our job. The scouts are coming back. We can let them know. Besides, we don’t even know how many there are in the camp. What’s your plan? Shoot them all? Tie them up? You’re an excellent pugilist, but you aren’t that good.”
Frederick shook his head. “We’ve all done a lot of thinking.”
Rhi nodded, and Kristoff stood at Frederick’s side.
“I know.” Marc held up his hand and sighed. “I’ve done a lot of thinking too. I was merely frustrated and wishing we could avail ourselves of the opportunity to take them down while we know where they are. But I realize my actions have endangered our whole nation. Allowing them an opportunity to hold a prince for ransom was beyond stupid.”
“You couldn’t have known.” Rhi stepped closer to him.
“I did not know; you are correct. But the other stupid thing I did was leave you, to put someone as precious as you aside.” He shook his head. “But you are correct. We must go.” He waved his hand, and they crept away as quickly as they could, leaving the Frenchman tied and gagged for his fellow countrymen to find.
As soon as they were far enough away that Rhi was not looking back over her shoulder for pursuers, she breathed out, “At least we found you. Any idea where you were going?”
“That’s the most important news I have. I have confirmation that they will try to free Napoleon. We were correct all along. A meeting is convening in Paris, where a large group expects that he will escape and they will be ready for him when he does.”
“So we spread the word, we prepare. We send a warning to the Island of Elba. We do what we can.” Frederick nodded.
“Yes, let’s deploy scouts. Their expertise would be better used here than ours,” Marc said.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Marc gained some real wisdom during his capture,” Kristoff said.
“That’s not all I gained.” Marc pulled Rhi close and held her, looking deeply into her eyes.
She wished he’d never look away. The moment felt like a piece of eternity opening up into their small bit of forest and capturing them in its splendor.
But Frederick cleared his throat, and Kristoff moaned a bit about getting moving.
They made their way back to where they’d left the horses, and Marc helped Rhi onto a horse and then climbed up behind her. From there, they instructed the scouts and rode to the castle in Prussia.
His arms cradled her, holding her close. “I can’t ever let you go again.” His murmur in her ear felt glorious.
He called to his brothers, who were riding just ahead. “We will impose upon the royal family’s kindness and send runners back to Oldenburg.” He was every bit the leader he had been when she’d first met him in Wales. Teasing aside, everyone stepped to move as he directed. She was proud of him.
Their farewell at the door of her room in a lavishly decorated Prussian royal palace was poignant and not long enough.
“I prefer when we are together.” Marc pressed his lips to her hand.
“As do I. I’m pleased to hear you say so. Perhaps I won’t have to ride out in the middle of the night across Europe to rescue you in the future.”
“I will not be allowed to forget this, will I?”
“Not likely.” She grinned.
They held hands for as long as they could, and his gaze travelled over her face, stopping at her mouth. She swallowed. And then he leaned closer, her heart rate picking up its erratic beat in her chest. When his lips were as close to her skin as they could be without touching, she held her breath. And then he tilted his head and brushed his mouth on her cheek, the briefest feather of a touch. “You are a wonder I don’t deserve, my dear Rhi.”
