Page 75 of Lost with a Scot
“I know you will.” He hugged her tight, and Anna held her breath, foolishly thinking it would ease the breaking of her heart.
“You had better go tell your Scot the good news. He’s been far too quiet these last four weeks. I think he fears losing you.”
Even though she and Aiden had been sharing a bedchamber, they’d seen surprisingly little of each other in the last month, between her helping Alexei and Aiden assisting Lord Morrey’s men in rebuilding the villages that Yuri had destroyed. Often they’d missed entire days with each other, and one or the other of them would come back to find the other dead asleep in bed. It proved her theory right that if she stayed, she’d hardly get to spend enough time with Aiden to enjoy a real life with him. Returning to Scotland was what they both needed.
“You’re right.” She sighed, and the two of them let go of each other. She was smiling despite her tears as she looked at her twin. “Long live the king.”
His eyes lit with adoration. “Long live theprincess.”
* * *
Aiden rodehis borrowed horse down toward the Winter Palace and reined the beast in as he saw the distant crowd of people still filling the streets. The coronation had ended two hours ago, but the people who had come from far and wide to be there seemed content to continue celebrating. He couldn’t blame them. They had had their country torn apart by war and greedy ambition. Now was a time of peace, a time to return to normal, and yet things had certainly changed as well. Anna’s brother had formed a parliament, and while it was in its infancy, she believed it would in time become a good voice for her people.
All during the ceremony, while everyone else had looked at Alexei, Aiden only had eyes for Anna. She had worn a red-and-cream gown, much like the one she’d worn in London at Lady Eugenia’s ball. Pearls gleamed all over her skirts, and more pearls were threaded through the intricate strands of her coiffure. She looked like the radiant princess she truly was. It had made him realize that he had a lot to think about, both for his future and for Anna’s. In the last few weeks, Anna had been busy with the new governmental changes and the preparations for the coronation. Aiden had helped Lord Morrey’s forces settle into their role of rebuilding villages and chasing down any of Yuri’s guards still roaming about the country. It had kept him busy and focused.
Ashton and his friends had stayed a week or so after Yuri’s death to ensure the stable transition of the men Morrey sent, and then they’d boarded ships for home. Aiden’s brothers had gone with them, and the memory of that parting was still an aching wound in Aiden’s chest. They’d said their goodbyes, not goodbye forever, for he planned to visit them in a year, but Brock and Brodie had understood that he wasn’t ever going to live at home with them again. He’d made his choice.
He would find a way to be more like Erich, to become dashing and sociable and play the part of a prince consort so that his wife could fulfill her duties as a princess of Ruritania. Even if it meant leaving his home and family, he would do it for Anna.
Aiden entered the courtyard of the palace and slid off his horse. One of Alexei’s guards spotted him and came over.
“Mr. Kincade, the princess has been looking for you.”
Aiden nodded. “Where is she?”
“I believe she has retired to her chambers for the evening, sir.”
Aiden thanked the guard and headed into the castle. The corridors were full of bustling servants, and the extra staff members were working hard to restore the palace to its former glory. He climbed the stairs that led to Anna’s bedchamber and found her door open. Anna was by the window, silhouetted against the setting sun.
“Lass?” He spoke the word uncertainly.
She had one hand on the glass windowpane, fingers splayed as she gazed at the countryside. When she turned, her slender gold crown caught the light and sparkled like the flash of a shooting star across the night sky.
Aiden’s heart stopped, and every doubt he’d ever had about leaving his home and family vanished. Helovedthis woman, loved her more than his own life, and he would do whatever he must to make her happy.
“You went riding without me,” she said.
Aiden wondered if she was teasing him or hurt by his actions. He couldn’t tell. “I had a few things to think about,” he said.
“As did I.” She crossed her arms in front of her as if she was cold. “Could we sit down and talk?” She nodded at the chaise at the end of her bed. She sat down at one end and joined him. He noticed that she had somehow found his tartan plaid among his travel cases and had unfolded it on the settee like a blanket. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
“Aiden, I—”
“We should—”
They laughed nervously. “You first,” she insisted, her hands clamped together in her lap.
Aiden noticed her twisting her fingers together, and he gently stilled her hands, covering them with one of his own. “Ye belong here. Ye belong with yer brother and yer people. I would never ask or expect ye to leave that for me. So I’ve decided to be the man ye need me to be, if that’s what ye wish.”
Anna’s eyes grew dark and luminous. She withdrew a letter from the pocket of her gown and held it out to him.
“Please, read this.” She pressed the letter into his hands, and he unfolded it and read the words that shattered his heart. He swallowed thickly and gave it back to her.
“What are ye trying to tell me, lass, that you choose Erich?”
Anna reached up and with delicate fingers brushed the hair back from his eyes, then smiled at him.
“Foolish man. I’m not choosing Erich. I’m choosingyou.” She read her mother’s words, the part she’d been too shattered to focus on after seeing that Erich had wanted to come to renew his suit. She emphasized the part about how she’d always been destined to leave.
