Page 55 of Lost with a Scot
The king nodded back at Ashton. “Good.” Then he looked to her again. “Princess Anna, you have your secret army.”
CHAPTER14
Anna had an army.
She was so relieved that she almost hugged the king, but at the last minute she stopped herself. Spending so much time with Aiden and his brothers had broken down her royal training to stay professional and reserved.
“Now, with all that unpleasantness over with, I wish to enjoy the ball.” King George crooked an arm to her in invitation. “I believe you owe me a dance, Princess Anna. Let’s set the chins wagging, eh?” he teased as she accepted his arm and they returned to the ballroom. She chanced a look back at Aiden and the others, wondering if they planned to follow her.
“Go on, Your Highness. We have a few things to discuss before we rejoin you,” Ashton reassured her. Aiden gave a small nod, and she tried to hide her disappointment that he wasn’t coming right away.
Anna and the king rejoined the revelers in the ballroom. Lady Eugenia hovered near the entrance, waiting for them.
“Lady Eugenia, I’ve asked Princess Anna to dance with me. A waltz, if you please,” King George said. Lady Eugenia rushed over to the orchestra to give them their instructions.
Anna spotted Erich in the front row of onlookers and gave him a gentle smile as she and the king took their places for a dance. The music started, and they began a lovely waltz.
“I am sorry about your situation, Princess Anna,” King George murmured when they were far enough away from the other dancers.
“I am as well,” she replied.
“You understand why I cannot take a public stand. We’ve only just ended a war with France, and England wishes to stay out of wars for a while. We cannot be seen openly assisting another country.”
“I understand,” she said, but in truth, she couldn’t believe how blind the king was.
She understood that the Holy Roman Empire had dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars, leaving the entire region in chaos. Her uncle was the sort of man to take advantage of that. While Ruritania did not have any impressive military forces, she could certainly imagine Yuri would attempt to buy support from other nearby countries. He’d always talked of spreading control beyond their borders, and it would not be a stretch to see him use someone else’s army to do that. But she understood King George’s reluctance. If he sent troops through France, even if they were bound for Ruritania, it might ignite fresh battles, and it could also upset the fledgling German Confederation, which included most of Prussia.
Once the dance was over, the king clapped along with the other dancers and then gave a slight bow to her.
“I apologize that I cannot stay longer tonight. Good luck, Princess Anna.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” She stood there in the middle of the ballroom, feeling so very alone, as King George walked away. His small retinue followed behind him, filing up the staircase.
Rosalind came to her side. “You look like you need a bit of rescuing,” she said, trying to reassure her.
“I do. Is there somewhere we could go for a few minutes? I should like a chance to sit down without everyone staring at me.”
Now that she had made a grand entrance and had a private audience with the king, whispers were drifting back to her. Royalty always had that effect. She’d been to plenty of court functions in her own country and others, but the attention bothered her far more than it used to. Perhaps it was because of the relatively quiet and wonderfully secluded month she’d spent in Scotland with Aiden, where she’d been allowed to be herself and not a princess. Playing her royal part again felt suffocating compared to the freedom she’d tasted with Aiden in the Highlands.
“Come with me.” Rosalind waved her fan in greeting at a few ladies as she led Anna back out of the ballroom. A footman stood just outside the door, and Rosalind asked him where the nearest retiring room was.
Once they were secure inside, Anna sank gratefully into a cozy wingback chair. A few other ladies present in the room eyed them with curiosity. Their fans fluttered as they murmured amongst themselves, eyes darting between Anna and Rosalind. One woman with a turbaned head full of ostrich plumes seemed so excited by Anna’s presence that the feathers quivered on top of her head.
Rosalind went over to the group of ladies. “Princess Anna is in need of a few minutes of quiet. Would you mind giving her the room? She would be very grateful.”
The women nodded hastily and departed the room with beaming smiles.
“That was easier than I expected.” Rosalind chuckled as she fluffed a few pillows on the settee across from Anna and then sat down. “I suppose no one wants to upset a princess.”
“It’s one of the few things that’s nice about the role,” Anna admitted, but she would have gladly given that up for the long list of freedoms she would gain by not being royalty.
“So... did things go as you wish?” Rosalind kept her tone light and didn’t ask specifically about Anna convincing the king to give her an army.
“Yes, better than I feared, but not as well as I’d hoped.”
Knowing her uncle had gotten to the king of England first had been a disheartening blow. It made her more than aware of the fact that the other countries that were Ruritania’s trade partners and nearby allies had likely been approached by Yuri’s envoys and given the false stories as well. There would be so much political damage she and Alexei would have to undo after they’d stopped her uncle.
She let her head fall back against the chair and sighed. She was ready to go home and crawl into bed next to her husband and feel the hard warmth of his body as he lay beside her. She had spent too much of her life at balls and official functions. Now that she had tasted freedom with Aiden, she wanted nothing more than to go back to Scotland, but she couldn’t rest until she stopped her uncle.
