Page 46 of Lost with a Scot
Ashton let out a shaky breath as he reached a hand toward Anna as if to touch her cheek and see if she was real.
Aiden’s grip on Anna tightened protectively. He had rarely seen Ashton Lennox ruffled, let alone at a loss for words like he was now.
“This woman is Anna Maria Zelensky, princess of Ruritania. Her entire family was murdered in a political coup by the late king’s younger half brother about a month ago.”
“A princess...,” Aiden whispered. He stared down at Anna. He had married aprincess?
“But how do you know who she is?” Rosalind demanded.
Ash’s eyes narrowed. He seemed to be thinking and strategizing even as he prepared to answer his wife.
“I met her when I traveled to Ruritania two years ago. I was there to establish a trade agreement for shipping exports of wheat and timber on my vessels. I had the honor of dancing with her once at a ball before I left. I only found out last week from one of my captains what happened. My ship’s crew barely escaped the harbor after they learned the palace was on fire. The other ships in the harbor were set on fire and the crews imprisoned or killed to silence them. People were fleeing the countryside, and everyone was rushing to the harbors to escape, but even the non-Ruritanian ships were destroyed. My own crew managed to save several refugees. They all told the same story—the royal family had been slain. They were good, kind people. They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
“Why haven’t we heard about this in the papers? Why haven’t you told anyone, Ash?” Rosalind asked her husband, clearly stunned that he’d kept this information quiet.
“Because I’ve been waiting to see when the news would spread. I didn’t think it prudent to sound the trumpet of alarm myself and possibly upset trade routes with the Baltic nations until I could sort out the truth of the stories.”
Aiden glared at his brother-in-law. “Ye and yer bloody politics...”
Ashton looked up at Aiden. “How... how did she get here? How did you find her?”
The room was silent as Aiden rose, lifting Anna in the cradle of his arms.
“We need to see to Anna first, then I can tell ye all that I know about how she came to be with me.”
“Of course. Follow me this way.” Rosalind stood and headed out of the drawing room. “We’ll take her to one of the spare rooms.”
Everyone followed as he carried Anna to the end of the corridor. Rosalind opened a door to a room decorated with bright, forest-green silk damask walls. A four-poster bed sat against the far wall. Aiden set Anna down on the bed, and then he carefully placed a pillow beneath her head. She was still unconscious, and he wouldn’t leave her side until he was certain she was well. Ashton was right there beside him, looking on at the sleeping woman in the bed with concern.
“Now, tell me everything,” Ashton said, his voice soft so as not to wake Anna.
“I was in North Berwick, preparing for Lydia and Brodie to arrive from France. I found Anna washed up on shore after her ship wrecked.”
“And the name of the ship?” Ashton asked.
Aiden answered, which led to more questions, and soon Aiden felt as though he was being interviewed—or interrogated. But he could see that with each answer, Ashton was adding another piece to a puzzle in his head. Though to what end was anyone’s guess. By the time he was done, Aiden had told Ashton all that had transpired, except for the time he and Anna had spent at the fairy pools.
“And she truly doesn’t remember who she is?” Ashton murmured. He stroked his chin, his gaze pensive. “It’s not a ruse to avoid detection?”
Aiden shook his head. “It’s coming back, little by little, and she tells us what she can when it does. We came here to find her brother, Alexei. She remembers him more than most other things. But she didna have any idea who she really is...”
“Officially, Alexei perished with the rest of the family, but if Anna is alive, then perhaps Alexei is too. It would explain some of the rumors I’ve heard from my ships that have carried other passengers from ports on either side of Ruritania, rumors of a resistance.” Ashton sighed, the sound ancient with weariness. “We can only hope Alexei is alive, for Anna’s sake, if nothing else. She’ll be in danger until the matter of Ruritania’s rule is settled.”
Aiden didn’t know anything of Ruritanian politics. All he cared about was Anna.HisAnna. He brushed a lock of hair back from her face, unable to hide the wave of tenderness that swept through him. He’d thought the moment he first saw her that she was a fairy princess... and he’d been right.
Ashton noticed the tender touch and reached out and put a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “Who is she to you, Aiden?”
Aiden knew what the man was asking and couldn’t hide his secret any longer.
“She is my wife.”
* * *
“She’s yourwhat?”A shrill voice pulled Anna out of the darkness of her unconsciousness.
“My wife. We married the day before yesterday.”
“Youcan’tbe married to her; I would remember the wedding,” Joanna said sharply.
